From Tire Review

AKRON, Ohio – It took four years, but ground was finally broken in Akron, Ohio, this week for a new global headquarters for Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.

A Goodyear blimp floated over the official event, which included Ohio Governor John Kasich, Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic, Summit County Executive Russ Pry and Goodyear Chairman, President and CEO Rich Kramer, as well as a group of federal, state and local officials who helped negotiate the deal.

The groundbreaking took place on the site of the new headquarters, just south of the company’s Akron technical center. The project had been delayed because of the financial crisis.

Even as ceremonial shovels were digging into the new headquarters site, city and county officials signed off on the final financial aspects of the project. The two financial packages were the last pieces of some $161 million in government backing for the project, which will keep Goodyear’s headquarters in Akron until at least 2038.

“This was truly a remarkable team effort and a good example of the public and private sectors working together for the common good,” said Kramer. “Goodyear is proud to be a global company headquartered in Akron. Both Goodyear and the city have changed and grown over the years, but our commitment to Akron remains constant. Goodyear will continue to be a vital part of this community’s future.”
 
The construction project is now scheduled to be completed in early 2013, and the new building will physically connect with the technical center. Some 2,000 employees will be relocated into the new headquarters, Goodyear said.