Norwood

Norwood is surrounded on all sides by Cincinnati and has grown beyond its early industrial roots to become an ideal neighborhood for young professionals to purchase their first homes. Adjacent to neighboring Xavier University in Evanston and Hyde Park to the east, Norwood's revamped older homes and tree-lined streets are complemented by beloved family-owned restaurants like Sorrento's and Quatman Cafe and countless small corner taverns to dive in for a drink. Norwood is also home to Alloy Development Co., which is a marketplace where organizations, businesses and communities can find the resources they need to grow.

Wasson Way bike path advocates hope to transform rail spur

By Soapbox

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Development News

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June 14, 2011

A group of residents from several Cincinnati neighborhoods spoke at the June 7 meeting of Cincinnati City Council's Quality of Life Subcommittee. Their subject? A recently closed railroad spur and a proposal to change it into a 6.5-mile cycling and walking path."This could really serve as an important connector for the many [multiuse path] projects Cincinnati has going on," said project advocate Jay Andress.The proposed project would convert a Norfolk Southern Railroad spur into a path that would connect with the Little Miami bike trail in Newtown and run into the heart of downtown. Advocates at Tuesday's meeting pointed out that the path would only cross seven roads in its entire length, making it a true rarity: a nearly uninterrupted trail running through several neighborhoods in a major urban area.But beyond the health benefits and transportation options that the path could provide, some residents at the meeting brought up another point: building the path could resolve a growing problem with the semi-abandoned line.Hyde Park Neighborhood Council President Anne Gerwin said the point where the line crosses Wasson Road has been a maintenance and safety issue for years. "We struggle many times each year to have the city and railroad maintain it," she said. The neighborhood's council passed a resolution supporting the project.Likewise, Hyde Park resident Lindsay Felder, who said her home is within sight of the track, said there's been a visible deterioration of it - and an uptick in people loitering along the weedy path - since it became inactive in 2009."We've always wondered about the tracks," she said, explaining that she began going door to door to drum up local support after meeting Andress and learning about the proposed project."We see it as a great upcycling of existing property that is underutilized," she said.Subcommittee chair Laure Quinlivan said there are a number of details to clarify before the project moves further forward, such as determining if Norfolk Southern has future plans for the line, and if an arrangement can be made that would allow the city to adapt the path into light rail if that becomes a future transit option."This is really a great proposal," she said. "The best ideas don't always come out of City Hall. If we could make this happen, it would be such a great asset to so many residents."Story: Matt CunninghamPhoto: Wasson Way Project

Queen City Angels host 10th annual entrepreneur boot camp

By Soapbox

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Entrepreneurship

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June 14, 2011

Cincinnati venture mentoring and investment firm Queen City Angels held its 10th annual Entrepreneur Boot Camp June 6 and 7 at the Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati's offices. For two days, entrepreneurs networked, met and learned from guest panelists, Queen City Angels' experienced members and each other."These are entrepreneurs who are starting their first business, or haven't raised money from strangers before," explained Jim Cunningham, Queen City Angels member and executive director of C-Cap, Cincinnati's angel capital hub. He noted that the two-day seminar focused heavily on financial and funding matters. "That's what we do, and most entrepreneurs don't have a financial background."As local entrepreneurs and experienced venture capitalists discussed topics ranging from online branding to creating a business plan that appeals to investors, attendees took copious notes and enthusiastically asked questions. Often, one attendee would help answer another's question, giving the seminars a sense of thorough, complete engagement on both sides of the speaker's table.Jocelyn Cates, who founded the Cincinnati Innovates prize-winning business Venue Agent, said she attended the boot camp after her experiences in Queen City Angels' Morning Mentoring program. She noted that much of the seminar served to reinforce the value of coaching and networking, two key aspects of her business as she prepares to seek additional financing."I want to make sure I have all the tools under my belt," she said.Selena Cuffe, founder and CEO of wine importer Heritage Link Brands, said being part of the boot camp helped her clarify plans to handle her company's early growth; in the first six months of 2011, she said the company has already exceeded its 2010 sales by 40 percent."I came here to try and decide how to best move forward," she said. "When you're going through the steps of taking your business to the next level, it's nice to have somebody you can bounce ideas off of before you do that," she said.Queen City Angels chairman Tony Shipley said the boot camps don't only offer a chance to help entrepreneurs like Cuffe and Cates move forward; they also inspire and energize the veterans who come to provide advice."It's always good to be engaged with people who are passionate about taking good ideas and bringing them to market," he said. "From the investment standpoint, you get to see all these neat ideas and meet people making the ideas happen. It's high-energy stuff." Story: Matt CunninghamPhoto: Courtesy of Queen City Angels

Andy’s Mediterranean takes over XU eateries

By Soapbox

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Development News

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June 7, 2011

Diners at Xavier University's Gallagher Student Center now have new dining options, in some very familiar places. Local restaurateur Andy Hajar officially took over management of the university's Ryan's Pub and Fusions Café, incorporating the Middle Eastern fare of Andy's Mediterranean Grille into these popular campus restaurants."We are very excited to have Andy become part of the Xavier family," said Tom Barlow, XU's director of auxiliary services. He pointed out that Andy's, which was started 10 years ago by Hajar after he immigrated to Walnut Hills from Zahle, Lebanon, fits well with the university's commitments to both local business and creating a diverse campus culture."As a commitment to Xavier's mission to support our local community, we seek only local, family-run businesses," Barlow said.Greg George, business manager for Andy's Mediterranean, said the warm regards are mutual."Andy thought this was a fabulous opportunity to team up with an institution like Xavier," he said. "It offers him a great environment to improve on the brand, and lays the platform for expanding the brand."George noted that, although the healthy, natural ingredients in the Andy's menu may be a shift for some diners, the look and feel of XU landmark Ryan's Pub will remain mostly unchanged. The pub was built and named in honor of Steve Ryan, friend of building patron Charlie Gallagher, and the new manager intends to respect that history."Ryan's won't look any different beyond the branding," George said.Both Ryan's Pub and Fusions opened under Andy's management June 2. And George said that excitement at the restaurants remains high."This is a dream come true for Andy," he said.Writer: Matt CunninghamPhoto provided by Xavier University

Medpace moving toward physical, financial growth this summer

By Soapbox

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Development News

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June 7, 2011

Cincinnati-based clinical research organization Medpace is having a year of notable changes, thanks to the continuation of a long-laid plan, and a recently announced partial acquisition.In 2010, Medpace began the relocation of its operations to a new facility on Red Bank and Madison roads in Madisonville. The move, supported in part by a 15-year, 75 percent LEED tax abatement on the first of three planned buildings, a 132,000 square-foot office building.The company has planned from the beginning to construct two additional buildings to house research labs. Construction manager Al Neyer, Inc. recently closed the bidding process for subcontractors for the new buildings, and on May 25 Cincinnati City Council approved a pair of 15-year tax exemptions for the new buildings, which are planned to be built to LEED certified standards. "Originally, when we built the headquarters, we had two labs in Norwood," said company spokesperson Mary Kuramoto. "The plan has always been to move them to the new location."But Medpace's latest news has little to do with its brick-and-mortar developments: the company announced May 23 that affiliates of the global private equity firm CCMP Capital Advisors, LLC, are in talks with the company to acquire an 80-percent ownership share. The acquisitions will allow Medpace to expand its global reach and enhance its ability to conduct phase I-IV clinical studies, said Medpace CEO August Troendle in a press release announcing the move.A spokesperson for CCMP Capital Advisors' New York City office declined to comment on the deal, but noted - as did Medpace via press release - that more news on the deal may be released in June.Writer: Matt CunninghamPhotography by Matt Cunningham

The Essence of Zoom

By Feoshia Henderson

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Entrepreneurship

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November 30, 2010

Meet the creative minds behind Hebron-based ZoomEssence, a nimble research and development firm, working to make over the powder flavor industry.

BlueGreen Alliance creates green jobs’ incubator

By Newsroom

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General

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November 2, 2010

Cincinnati could soon be on the path to becoming a green jobs incubator, according to a local task force made up of key players in local business, education and economic development. And the critical steps to make this a reality are starting to be taken, say those involved with drafting the report, "Pathways and Policies Towards Green Jobs in Cincinnati."The green jobs initiative behind the report began in June 2009, when the Pew Charitable Trusts ranked Ohio fourth in the nation in terms of the number of green jobs. While this nascent category is not large - Ohio had a total of 2,800 green manufacturing related jobs, according to the Pew report - it stands ripe for growth on the back of the state's manufacturing heritage. From July to October of that year, Norwood design firm emersion DESIGN led a series of meetings with Cincinnati-area stakeholders to determine how the Queen City can best tap the region's potential to become a leader in green industry. The report, sponsored in part by the BlueGreen Alliance, was released October 21."Pathways and Policies Towards Green Jobs in Cincinnati" is available online from BlueGreen Alliance's website. The 83-page PDF document outlines a series of recommendations and findings about green job creation in the area.But what happens next? Will the report lead to boots-on-the-ground progress, or is this a rhetorical parlor game for optimistic planners?Evidence suggests it's squarely the former, according to officials at emersion DESIGN. Shawn Hesse, an architect/designer with emersion DESIGN and one of the report's authors, says the local chapter of BlueGreen alliance has taken on the task of forming a green jobs steering committee. "They're starting to identify key individuals to serve as the organizing committee," he says, adding that the group is focusing first on recruiting from the report's steering committee.emersion DESIGN principal Chad Edwards says that the green jobs steering committee is a critical first piece in the fulfillment of the plan's vision."The green jobs council can form a coalition of leaders in education, job development and business," he explains. "In that way, this council will be an effective body, versus everyone trying to do their own pieces. For us that's critical."Edwards adds that the council can direct ways to achieve the report's other key recommendations: solidifying the definition of "green jobs," supporting existing companies in their transition to green jobs, developing a strong funding model to support green investment, adding green "strings" to existing government incentives and enhancing existing green jobs policies to make them more effective.According to Hesse, this initial step in the process has garnered support from powerful places: councilmember's Chris Bortz and Laure Quinlivan have expressed interest in the initiative, as has Office of Environmental Quality Director Larry Falkin. Falkin and Bortz were both on the report's initial steering committee.The green jobs concept has stood as a tantalizing fix-all for the hit Ohio's manufacturing economy has taken in the past decade, but a cohesive, structured move to make it a reality has yet to gel. In this case, however, the combination of motivation from the Pew study, support from government, business and academia, and the concrete steps already underway suggest that this initiative to build Cincinnati's green economy may indeed have some traction.Writer: Matt Cunningham