ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & MAJOR PROJECTS

The Economic Development and Major Projects Divisions serve as liaisons between City departments, businesses, and the development community. They are dedicated to cultivating commercial development in all of Cincinnati’s 52 neighborhoods by providing financial, informational and technical assistance to businesses seeking to relocate or grow. The staff is adept at helping commercial developers, business owners, real estate brokers, and site selectors navigate the administrative and legislative processes related to their projects. BUSINESS EXPANSION AND ATTRACTION PROJECTS

In 2016, the Economic Development and Major Projects Divisions helped to create and retain more than 4,035 jobs and leveraged in excess of $272 million in private investment through economic development projects. This success was achieved by attracting new businesses to the City and helping existing companies expand their operations.

FIGURE 1: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND MAJOR PROJECTS DIVISION PROJECTS

Jobs Created Jobs Retained Housing Units Private Investment City Investment Other Public Investment Project Statistics

2,203 1,832 205 $272.1M $42.5M $10.1M

Development projects in our urban core get a lot of attention. However, it should be noted that our department works tirelessly to help attract and facilitate investment throughout all of Cincinnati’s neighborhoods, such as Lower Price Hill, Roselawn, West End and Queensgate. Together with our community partners, the Economic Development and Major Projects Divisions helped facilitate more than $37 million in development in these four neighborhoods in 2016.

Q-Labs (Lower Price Hill) Q-Labs, a full-service laboratory servicing the food ingredients and flavorings, cosmetic, pharmaceutical, and health and beauty care industries, will soon begin rehabilitation of two buildings totaling 25,000 square feet and the construction of a new 30,000-square-foot laboratory within the Knob Hill City View industrial park on Radcliff Drive in the Lower Price Hill neighborhood. This $7.5 million project will retain 100 full-time permanent jobs and create 47 new jobs. Jet Machine and Path Forward IT (Roselawn) TechSolve II Business Park, located in Roselawn near the southwest corner of Reading Road and Seymour Avenue, was, until recently, a blighted, underutilized shopping center known as Seymour Plaza. The City partnered with the Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority to demolish and remediate the property, making it ready for new construction.

Jet Machine broke ground on a 105,000-square-foot industrial facility on nine acres, the largest undeveloped parcel in the TechSolve II Business Park, in September 2016. Construction is expected to cost approximately $5 million, and the company will invest a total of $12 million in the project. The new space will allow the company to create 52 new, permanent, full-time jobs, and retain 118 existing full-time jobs in Cincinnati. This expansion will also free up space at one of Jet Machine’s existing buildings in Bond Hill for an office tenant, Path Forward, to expand and create 150 new jobs and retain 151 existing jobs.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & MAJOR PROJECTS (cont.)

Messer Construction (West End) Messer Construction acquired two properties on Cutter Street in the West End to construct a two-story, 50,000-square-foot facility that will house the company’s corporate operations. The project broke ground in October 2016 and is expected to be completed by the end of 2017.The roughly $12.8 million project will support the retention of 116 jobs, as well as creation of 40 new jobs. SFA Architects (Queensgate) SFA, an architecture and engineering firm with more than 47 years of experience, is renovating a warehouse building at 555 Carr Street in Queensgate. The building is 60,000 square feet and located along a prominent gateway into Cincinnati off the Sixth Street Viaduct. This new expansion will retain their headquarters in Cincinnati and be a major investment for the Queensgate neighborhood. The total project cost is $4.7 million and the company will commit to increase their employment from 60 full-time permanent employees to 85 full-time permanent employees.

PROJECT SPOTLIGHTS

Medpace (Madisonville) Economic development activity in Cincinnati also included a major business expansion project initiated by Medpace, a clinical research organization for the development of drugs and medical devices. Medpace’s commitment to Madisonville started in 2008 when it selected the former NuTone site at the corner of Madison and Red Bank roads for its headquarters, where currently it has 1,150 employees. Now, just eight years later, the company will add another 962 jobs at the new Madison Square development. The new jobs will have an approximate annual salary of $55,000. The addition of these employees will positively affect neighboring businesses and will serve as a catalyst for new business attraction in Madisonville. Madison Square is being developed by RBM Development LLC. The project features office and retail space. There will also be a Dolce Hotels & Resort Lifestyle Collection hotel, which will have 239 rooms and conference space. All in all, the development could bring $200 million in investment to Madisonville.

309 Vine Street (Downtown) Cincinnati has seen its apartment market boom in the Central Business District due to urbanization.

Cincinnati has seen its apartment market boom in the Central Business District due to urbanization.

There are two primary factors driving urbanization. First is the “millennial effect.” It has been widely reported that Millennials and those in Generation Y are migrating to urban areas. Second, it is not just the younger generations moving to urban areas. Today, more baby boomers and retirees are calling downtown home. These two populations converging on downtown forces developers to become innovative in their projects. They must offer amenities that appeal to both population segments.

One such change developers are making is the sacrifice of living space for entertainment and social common areas. There is no greater example of this in downtown Cincinnati than the 309 Vine Street development.

The Chicago-based developer Village Green is currently converting the 348,934-square-foot Union Central Life Building Annex at 309 Vine Street in the Central Business District into approximately 300 market rate micro apartments, approximately 400 square feet each, with 18,000 square feet of retail space and 24,500 square feet of office space. When finished, the $70 million project will be the first of its kind in the Cincinnati market.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS

Business Retention and Expansion Business retention and expansion visits (BRE) are a top priority for the Economic Development and Major Projects Divisions. Our teams conduct BREs with local companies to continue to cultivate relationships and serve the needs of businesses located in the City. The goals of these are to facilitate greater communication and remain connected to local businesses. In 2016, 181 BRE visits were conducted, a 170% increase over the number completed in 2015.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & MAJOR PROJECTS (cont.)

Neighborhood Business District Development The Neighborhood Business District Improvement Program (NBDIP) is a highly versatile program that was created to assist communities in implementing projects that stabilize, maintain, and improve their neighborhood business districts. These projects can come in a variety of forms, including parking additions, façade improvements, or building renovations. The program can also provide indirect benefits by funding streetscapes or wayfinding signage to make the district more appealing to visitors and residents.

For the 2017 round of the NBDIP, we estimate that $750,000 in City Capital funds will be available to selected qualifying groups. Final funding applications are due from neighborhood business district development groups on April 21, 2017. Funding recommendations will then be made in June, with funding becoming available in July and August, subject to City Council approval.