A 15-year, $120 million tax credit from Ohio will support General Electric Co.’s plan to invest more than $100 million in capital improvements during the next several years at its GE Aviation complex in suburban Cincinnati, including demolishing some buildings that date to around World War II, GE said Thursday, Nov. 5.

Company officials said they are also talking with the University of Cincinnati about having the university establish an aerospace research facility on GE Aviation’s 400-acre complex along Interstate 75 in Evendale, north of Cincinnati. The university and GE have collaborated for years on aerospace research projects, and UC co-op students have received job training during employment at GE Evendale.

Gov. Ted Strickland joined officials of GE and the university for the announcement Thursday afternoon.

In July, the Ohio Department of Development helped lay groundwork for the plan by granting GE a 50 percent job retention tax credit, valued at $120 million. Its terms require GE to retain at least 5,000 jobs in suburban Cincinnati for 18 years. GE officials said they expect to have a larger work force than that at the company’s modernized complex.

“Our goal is to transform our Evendale headquarters into a technology centerpiece for decades to come,” said David Joyce, president and chief executive officer of GE Aviation.

The village of Evendale, where GE is located, is providing a $1 million grant to support the modernization and building renovation. Demolishing old, energy-inefficient buildings, improving newer ones and investing in energy conservation projects there will help GE streamline its operations and reduce operating costs, company officials said.

In September, the governor designated Dayton a state-endorsed hub of aerospace innovation and technology.

GE, along with rival aviation engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce, is a partner with the Air Force Research Laboratory in a research and development project to develop military jet engines that will be more fuel-efficient and able to operate more effectively under differing atmospheric pressures.

- John Nolan