DUBLIN, Ohio (WCMH) -- The City of Dublin has been one of the areas at the center of central Ohio's growth for several years now, and city leaders said last week’s State of the City address proves the community’s journey is just beginning.  Jenny Rauch, Dublin’s community planning and deve lopment director, said the city is laser-focused on innovation, always thinking about how to help existing businesses grow and how to bring in new ones. Ohio voucher program: Data shows nearly 90% of participants are not low-income “So it's not just making a pretty picture; it's how to help set the steps to make that happen,” Rauch said.    During last week's State of the City address, city leaders said they will allocate more than $325 million over the next five years to capital improvement projects. One of the biggest portions of that money will go to transportation.  “We have within that something called a multimodal thoroughfare plan and that is really looking at all modes of transportation and how we make sure that we're prioritizing not just vehicles but pedestrians and bicycles,” Rauch said. “So there's a really great opportunity within each of those to sort of, again, tie the city together, tie people to those places and get around with ease and options.”   Rauch said the goal would be for people to easily get to each section of the city, including areas like Bridge Park and the soon-to-open COhatch Riverview Village, which she said will be in the heart of Historic Dublin. Rauch said the hope is the project will bring in many startups and small businesses to the area. DOGE cancels $699K OSU research grant examining cannabis use in LGBTQ+ women The city also hopes the transportation plan will connect people to up-and-coming areas of the city like Metro Center, which is being developed from a single-use employment center to a mixed-use destination, as well as the land the city has acquired to create its West Innovation District.  “That's a really great opportunity in the western portion of the city to help bring to life, you know, that innovation, opportunity, looking at new businesses, new sectors that we've not typically engaged with,” Rauch said. “So instead of always being focused on office development, opportunities for more flex research, light industrial opportunities.”  Rauch said to plan for the future, the city is laying out a framework for what a passenger rail station could look like at the West Innovation District.    “We've done some initial planning efforts with our additional land purchase out there,” she said. “We are now looking at that again in a more holistic fashion. So, we're really looking at how, you know, how we can set ourselves up for the future success of that.”  People who live and visit Dublin said they’ve enjoyed watching the city grow. Spontaneous Ohio Lottery ticket purchase leads to $2 million win “It's the coolest thing,” Dublin resident Kinnedy Kuhn said. “When I moved here, it was still the old Tim Horton’s and the Planet Fitness and all of that, and it’s, I mean, it's just so fun to have something to do all the time, to be close by.”  Kuhn believes the Dublin community is welcoming and open to change.  “People want to start a business here, people want to come here to visit, live here,” she said. “There's something to do all the time."  Rauch said some of those projects like the COhatch Riverview Village are expected to start construction later this year. However, others are still in the early phases of development.  ...read more read less