NKY Thrives

$5 million grant will keep Covington families in homes

The state of Kentucky is boosting efforts by the Covington to combat blight brought on by foreclosed and abandoned homes with a $5 million grant from the new federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program. The money will allow the city to buy foreclosed and abandoned homes, then rehab and sell them to qualified homeowners.The $5 million is part of a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) program. And a HUD Representative, along with Gov. Steve Beshear, recently announced the award. It’s part of a $37.4 million grant Kentucky received through HUD’s Community Development Block Grant Program.Covington Mayor Denny Bowman applauded the announcement.“We’ve seen a reduction in the enrollment of our city schools in excess of 1,000 because families are losing their homes, being forced to move in with relatives or go elsewhere.  This affects economic growth and job opportunities,” said Mayor Bowman. “These NSP funds will help put these homes back on the market, bring back the residences and students, create opportunities for jobs, boost small locally owned businesses and eliminate blight.”Kenton County has the second-highest need in the state behind Louisville’s Jefferson County, based on the number or percentage of foreclosures, subprime mortgages and mortgage defaults and delinquencies, Kentucky state officials said.“Many areas across the Commonwealth have suffered from the effects of foreclosures and declining property values, but Covington has been especially hard hit,” said Gov. Beshear. “The city has put together a great plan to help clean up communities, put families back in these abandoned homes and stabilize neighborhoods and I’m pleased to support them.”    Congress has mandated the funds be put to specific use within 18 months.The homes will be available to families not exceeding 120 percent of the area medium income, or currently $83,050 for a family of four. Families can buy, or in certain cases, rent the homes at a reduced rate. Buyers must undergo at least eight hours of housing counseling from a HUD-approved agency and obtain a mortgage from a lender who agrees to comply with sound lending practices.Covington plans to contract with Catholic Charities and Brighton Center to provide homeowner training. Writer: Feoshia HendersonSource: Kentucky Governor's Office 

Urban gardening taking root in Cincinnati

Peak10 launches regional Technology Assistance Program

Peak 10, Inc. has announced the creation of the Greater Cincinnati and Dayton Technology Assistance Program (TAP), a partnership of key local technology and business associations that will help cultivate business incubation in the region. The first 30 companies accepted into TAP will receive cabinet space within Peak 10's enterprise-class Cincinnati data center and will have any one-time or monthly recurring costs, up to $5,000, waived. Collaborating partners include the Hamilton County Business Center, the Greater Cincinnati Venture Association, BIOSTART, Northern Kentucky ezone, C-Cap, and the Entrepreneur Center in Dayton. "We are very excited that Peak 10 has organized the TAP program in an effort to bolster our innovative businesses by aiding their competitiveness," Patrick N. Longo, director of the Hamilton County Business Center, tells dBusinessNews.  "This program's impact will be felt by local entrepreneurs and individuals seeking employment from these start-ups who now have the option to take advantage of a technology program fueled by Peak 10's enterprise-class facility, support and technology services." Read the full release here.

NKAPC LinkGIS assisting Library of Congress in national archiving effort

The Northern Kentucky Area Planning Commission's LinkGIS has been asked to participate in a Library of Congress effort to develop standards for archiving and preserving digital mapping data.Kentucky officials selected LinkGIS and Louisville Metro's LOJIC to join state archivists and GIS professionals from North Carolina and Utah to assist in the national effort to save these public records, which may hold legal, fiscal, analytical, and historical value.Because of the nature of GIS systems, this data can often be overwritten and lost forever when updates or changes are made.Trina Brush, deputy director of GIS administration for NKAPC, says that her staff's effort to archive data over the past several years is part of the reason they were asked to participate in the effort."The state was aware that we had taken it upon ourselves to archive our data," she says.  "Once it's gone, these data are unavailable for future use and analysis."Kentucky’s collaborative Geo-MAPP effort also is working to set geospatial standards for the rest of the state. One of the goals is to decide what local governments and their constituents want archived and what conditions should be applied to the specific layers.Brush says that she and her team are excited to be part of the process."GIS data represent a model of our world at specific points in time," she says.  "We lose a lot when these files are overwritten or deleted.  We aren't just doing this for our own benefit, but for all those who hopefully will benefit from it in the future."Writer: Kevin LeMasterSource: Northern Kentucky Area Planning Commission

Cincinnati State wins $500K grant to develop green jobs, businesses

Cincinnati State Technical and Community College has received a grant of nearly $500,000 to expand its programs in renewable energy, green manufacturing and construction, and other fields related to energy conservation and pollution control.The funding, from the U.S. Department of Labor, will be used over the next three years to expand course offerings, workforce training programs, and collaborative efforts between the college, employers, non-profits and governmental agencies to increase job opportunities in green industries."This grant recognizes Cincinnati State's commitment to help meet the needs of 'green' industries," says Cincinnati State president Dr. John Henderson.  "We believe these industries can become a significant catalyst for growth in southwestern Ohio, and help provide high-quality jobs."In addition to helping create new certificate programs, the grant will also help ensure that these courses can be more easily transferred between partner schools such as theUniversity of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky University.A portion of the grant will support the Manufacturing Technology Small Business Development Center at TechSolve, providing comprehensive business management and education services to businesses interested in expanding into green energy fields."This program brings together a broad coalition and leverages their resources to strengthen these efforts," says Larry Feist, program chair for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at Cincinnati State's Center for Innovative Technologies.Cincinnati State also plans to continue to develop articulation agreements with career and vocational high schools through the Greater Cincinnati Tech Prep Consortium and will keep reaching out to employers through the Southwest Ohio Workforce Investment Board (WIB), the SuperJobs Center, and TechSolve."The WIB and SuperJobs Center are excited about the opportunity to identify green employers and partner with the leadership of the Energy and Environment Center at Cincinnati State," says Sherry Marshall, president and CEO of the Southwest Ohio Workforce Investment Board.And the federal grant will also be used to support a green business initiative launched through the Greater Cincinnati Workforce Network to help employers find and retain skilled employees and help low-skill, low-income residents further their education and get good jobs.Writer: Kevin LeMasterSources: Dr. John Henderson, president, Cincinnati State Technical and Community College; Larry Feist, program chair for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Cincinnati State's Center for Innovative Technologies; Sherry Marshall, president and CEO, Southwest Ohio Workforce Investment Board

Business is like baseball, you can’t win ’em all: reflections from NKY entrepreneurs

In the business world, what truly separates the winners from the losers is how they deal with failure. Setbacks can and will happen. Some entrepreneurial Northern Kentuckians who know a thing or two about growing a business tell Thrive that those challenges have to be met head-on. And if you learn from them, like they did, you can grow and come out of adversity stronger, smarter and better prepared.

Northern Kentucky’s Entrepreneurial Spirit

Entrepreneurship is a necessary and integral component of the business community in any vibrant and growing region. Contrary to what people might think, entrepreneurship often thrives during down economic times. Northern Kentucky has a thriving entrepreneurial climate that is largely driven by the ezone, a division of Northern Kentucky Tri-County Economic Development Corporation (Tri-ED)

Living well at the Ascent at Roebling’s Bridge

Daniel Libeskind's dramatic addition to the Covington skyline, the Ascent, is celebrating its one year anniversary. In that year, over 50 families have moved into the sweeping blue luxury tower. n addition to the striking views, the Ascenti, a moniker residents have proudly adopted for themselves, have discovered additional benefits to living in one of the most important architectural statements in Northern Kentucky – a sense of community. Regular events such as the Wine Club gatherings held in a Libeskind designed wine cellar help neighbors in the glass building bond. The building also has its own set of Yoga and Pilates classes held in the 2,600-square-foot wellness suite complete with private massage room and state-of-the-art cardio and resistance equipment chosen by local celebrity trainer, Aaron Lakanen. The building even boasts its own private driver, John Callahan, who can be seen ferrying passengers around in the building's midnight blue stretch Lexus. "I have a great job," said John. "I get to help make life easy for some really nice people. Whether it is helping get a business trip started off with ease or taking a couple out for a special night on the town, I really enjoy what I do." Writer: Jeff SyroneyPhotography by Scott Beseler

Northern Kentucky developer Drees offers incentives to home-buying

Despite a 41 percent drop in new home sales from last year, Northern Kentucky's Drees Homes is moving forward with plans to begin construction in the northern Ohio city of Independence. Drees also has plans for another, as yet unidentified, Northeast Ohio development of 25 to 30 homes. Where other developers are pulling back, Drees believes their unique purchase incentives will help sell homes. These incentives include an insurance program offering as much as $15,000 to new buyers who lose their jobs. The program was developed to counter fears of losing a job which, in some cases, has prevented prospective buyers from purchasing. To read the full article click here. Source: Cleveland Plain DealerWriter: Jeff Syroney