General Electric Co. is about to strengthen its ties to downtown Cincinnati in the latest sign that urban centers in the Rust Belt are becoming more attractive to U.S. corporations.

The company's link to Cincinnati dates back to 1948 when GE took over an abandoned aircraft-engine factory near the city. About 10 GE facilities now are located in the region, including the aviation unit that employed Jeff Immelt's father for nearly four decades. The future chief executive grew up in the city and was captain of the Finneytown High School football and basketball teams.

But almost all of the GE jobs in the Cincinnati region have been in suburban locations.

Now that is changing. General Electric in late June cut a deal with county and city officials to move a number of operations—including human resources and finance—to a new $90 million downtown facility on the banks of the Ohio River.

The 338,000 square-foot building is expected to bring at least 1,500 new jobs to Cincinnati. Atlanta-based real-estate firms Carter and the Dawson Co. have been given the nod to build it in a project named "The Banks" between the two stadiums that house the city's professional baseball and football teams, the Reds and Bengals.