Home of Cincinnati's 16-inch astronomic telescope and Ault and Alms parks, Mt. Lookout boasts locally-owned, one-of-a-kind specialty shops, as well as upscale restaurants and neighborhood watering holes. The neighborhood is inviting with a bright mix of traditional and modern elements scattered around the easily walkable Mt. Lookout Square.Featuring a well-maintained stock of stately older homes, a new wave of young families and singles have recently taken to moving up to the hill in search of housing deals conveniently located to a vibrant nightlife and strong community involvement.
Greater Cincinnati’s industrial history has left the region with a legacy of brownfield sites, abandoned or underutilized properties that are difficult to redevelop due to real or perceived environmental contamination. […]
Duke Energy sponsored a forum yesterday at the Queen City Club that was an opportunity for consultants and governmental leaders to network and to learn the latest strategies in economic development in Ohio and Kentucky.J.R. Wilhite, commissioner in the Department of New Business Development for the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development, says that regardless of all of the innovations and new technologies on the horizon, it still comes down to "blocking and tackling"."Economic development is changing," he says. "But just like football has changed with its many rule changes, so must we."Wilhite says that one of his state's strategies has been a greater focus on Europe, where the Kentucky has contracted with ROI to research the continent's firms and to make initial contact.Steve Schoeny, director of the strategic business investment division of the Ohio Department of Development, says that Ohio not only needs to do a better job of telling its story, but of developing its workforce as well."Our services are of a national caliber," he says. "However, the system for delivering those services is not."Schoeny says that Ohio economic development will improve by attracting and retaining young talent through initiatives such as Ohio Means Home and the Ohio Young Talent Network, properly training state staff to focus on clients rather than individuals, and setting up a culture of customer service.Marti Bremer, senior manager of state and local tax for KPMG, LLP, gave an overview of some of the domestic trends in economic development, including the targeting of industries, benchmarking, giving monetary incentives, public/private partnerships, entrepreneurship programs, development of shovel-ready sites, and workforce development.Managing director Greg Burkart, of the Novi, Michigan office of Duff & Phelps, provided some insights on economic development websites from the client point of view."You may be ruled in or ruled out long before you know it just based upon what information is publicly available," he says.The final speaker, vice president and director of Austin Consulting Don Schjeldahl, says that alternative energies such as photovoltaic, concentrated solar, and wind power are poised to make significant gains in the next 10 to 15 years, and the geographical pattern for how those industries will be defined has not yet been set."If you don't have your act together, you're going to miss the window," he says.Schjeldahl says that there are still opportunities for Ohio, if they can create market demand for the new technologies and can create awareness of and preparedness for sustainability in the state's communities.Writer: Kevin LeMasterSources: J.R. Wilhite, commissioner in Department for New Business Development, Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development; Steve Schoeny, director of Economic Development Division, Ohio Department of Development; Marti Brenner, senior manager of state and local tax, KPMG, LLC; Greg Burkart, managing director, Duff & Phelps, LLC; Don Schjeldahl, vice president and director, Austin Consulting
Cincinnati and Hamilton County have reached an agreement on a new regional transit agency that could give more say to suburban governments - if they are willing to pay.The Greater Cincinnati Regional Transit Authority would consist of a 13-member board, with seven being appointed by the City of Cincinnati and six from Hamilton County.Butler, Clermont and Warren counties would be able to directly appoint board members if they formally join the new agency, and could gain a majority of the board seats if they contribute more than 50 percent of the agency's budget.Both the City of Cincinnati and the Hamilton County Commission are likely to consider resolutions on the matter this month.Read the full article here.
For the third year in a row, the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County (PLCHC) has ranked in the top 10 nationally.Cincinnati placed 10th among 79 library systems in the "Over 500,000 population" category in Hennen's American Public Library Ratings.The ratings are based on statistics such as circulation, customer visits per hour, and number of volumes owned per capita.While PLCHC executive director Kim Fender is pleased with the ranking, she tells WLWT.com that "our Library is much more than the number of items on the shelves".Read the full article here.
This weekend, the City of Cincinnati and the Cincinnati chapter of the Urban Land Institute will convene the Building Valued Neighborhood Conference, a two-day open exploration of how form based codes can attract talent and develop "places that matter".
Cincinnati USA's branding efforts deliver a consistent and persuasive message, according to the Branding Strategy Insider.Ed Burghard, executive director of the Ohio Business Development Coalition, writes that it is his belief that place branding is an effective strategy for accelerating the economic growth of a location, either through direct foreign investment or through the expansion of already established companies.In his opinion, the Cincinnati region does a great job across seven different place branding strategies, making the area even more competitive for capital investment.But Burghard warns that other cities and states are also in the game, so both the state and the region must continue to push their brand promises while continuing to improve their business climates.Read the full article here.
Hamilton County is currently in third place in the large counties category in the National Association of Counties' Green Counties Competition.The competition encourages county employees and residents to take the Energy Star Campaign pledge to save energy and help fight global warming.By joining the pledge, employees and residents will receive a 10 percent discount on Office Depot's Green Brand Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs, and the county with the most pledges will receive 1,000 free lightbulbs.The competition runs through November 30.Read the full release here (PDF).
Thousands of low-income Cincinnati Public Schools students should get a better shot at getting to college with a $2.4 million federal grant to a Cincinnati partnership led by the University of cincinnati. The grant, expected to be for a total of six years, will be matched in value of services contributed by the partnership, called GEARUP SCORES, led by UC and Cincinnati Public Schools. GEARUP stands for Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs, and it emphasizes increasing the number of disadvantaged students prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education. The grant is the highest ever awarded to the partnership since it was first funded in 1999. The partnership will support sixth-and-seventh-grade students in 31 Cincinnati Public Schools and follow them through their high-school graduation. For the first time, this new funding will also track the success of GEARUP students as they enter their first year of college, trade school or other postsecondary education. A total of 4,000 students will be linked through the program over the six-year period, supported by academic and enrichment programs, advising and mentoring to increase student achievement. The program also educates students and their families about higher education options, about dual-enrollment programs in which students earn high-school and college credit, and about the financial resources to get to college.
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