DORA

2021 saw another big year for Hamilton’s Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area (DORA), which first started in 2018. The city continues to provide free cups to local participating businesses in order to support the program, and sales were at an all-time high. The success of the initiative has caused further amendments to the district in 2021, including extending operating hours to be from 9AM-Midnight, a 41 acre expansion into neighborhoods such as Prospect Hill, Dayton Lane, the North End, and Jefferson, and the ability for special events to sell into the district.

292 22 55k 7 ACRES BUSINESSES CUPS SOLD NEIGHBORHOODS

Local Expansions

There is no denying that the small business sector in Hamilton is thriving. Even in spite of the pandemic, several local favorites have expanded or announced upcoming expansions in 2021. The Studio, a pottery painting workshop, expanded to a larger location on Main Street, and Wildfire Hygge Goods completed renovations on their second location in German Village in. Sarah’s House, Municipal Brew Works, and Petals & Wicks will all be completing second locations in Spooky Nook, and Luke’s Custom Cakes will soon be undergoing expansions in their current building as well.

Residential

The city is working to keep up with the rising demand for housing within Hamilton. Several major upcoming projects were announced in 2021, totaling more than 300 new units. The most substantial of these is the $20 million redevelopment of the Schuler-Benninghofen Woolen Mill in Lindenwald. The project will be a mixed-use with approximately 100 apartments, and retail and restaurant space on the ground floor. Another adaptive reuse of an old industrial site in the city announced in 2021 is the $50 million redevelopment of the Beckett Paper Mill, located on the North End, by Becket Lofts LLC. This project will similarly include over 250 upper floor residential units, with space for commercial uses on the ground floor.

A new apartment complex was also announced, near the intersection B Street and Main Street. The development would include a $6.5 million investment and over 30 units, with retail and space for the Great Miami Rowing Center on the first floor. The Third + Dayton complex also announced plans to complete the remaining floors of the building for residential use, and has secured two tenants for their retail space early in 2021: Headlines Sportswear and Sweet T’s Desserts. As for for-sale housing, plans for the new Westfield Subdivision, located beside the Hamilton Freshman school, were also approved in 2021, with plans to break ground in early 2022.