Tag: over-the-rhine

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Business News Politics

Cincinnati designated consumer marketing Hub of Innovation & Opportunity

Ohio governor Ted Strickland traveled to Cincinnati on Friday, July 9th to officially announce Cincinnati’s newly appointed status as a Hub of Innovation and Opportunity in the area of Consumer Marketing for the state of Ohio.  With companies like P&G, Landor, Kroger and LPK located here, Cincinnati has long established itself as a global leader in the fields of marketing, branding and forward thinking.

“Cincinnati’s Hub designation will assist this region’s already strong business and educational community in attracting young creative talent, new companies and job opportunities in consumer marketing to Ohio,” Governor Strickland said to a packed house of dignitaries on Friday at LPK’s headquarters in downtown Cincinnati.  “Targeted investments in Ohio’s urban regions and businesses are a critical piece of our economic development strategy to create jobs and strengthen Ohio’s economy.”

The Hub designation is much more than a point of civic pride. According to the Ohio Department of Development, the Ohio Hubs are envisioned as regional economic development initiatives that build upon leading assets in our urban centers to accomplish three major goals:

  1. Propel innovation through cutting-edge, market-driven applied technology and knowledge spillover;
  2. Foster the opportunity for job creation and retention; and
  3. Catalyze the formation of new companies in the region, while at the same time helping to ensure that Ohio’s existing industries retain their competitive advantage in the global marketplace.

Now more than ever, the state of Ohio seems committed to investing in Cincinnati’s comparative advantages. The $415 million the state has invested in the city has already translated into $2.3 billion in development. The Consumer Marketing Hub of Innovation and Opportunity will focus on promoting entrepreneurship, economic development and commercialization in the consumer marketing industry, providing the intelligence, insight, innovation, and infrastructure to sell Ohio’s products and services. The designation comes with $250,000 in seed money for the city intended to spur growth, encourage entrepreneurs and attract and retain creative talent in the area.

“The Ohio Hubs are vital to the continued economic success of our state’s communities,” said Mark Barbash, Assistant Director of the Ohio Department of Development. “Today’s investment in the Cincinnati region will further enhance Southwest Ohio as a globally recognized hot-spot for consumer marketing and branding.”

Further illustrating Cincinnati’s dominance in the consumer marketing industry, the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber, Procter & Gamble, Kroger Company, the University of Cincinnati and Macy’s have partnered in order to strengthen and create job opportunities in Ohio’s consumer marketing industry.  Other local companies, including branding firms Landor, Bridge Worldwide, and LPK, and consumer marketing service companies such as Dunnhumby USA and AC Nielsen/Buzzmetrics have also committed to support this effort.

Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls spoke at the event, connecting the Hub designation to the recent announcement of money received from the federal government for the Cincinnati Streetcar.  “These announcements are transformative for the greater Cincinnati region.” Qualls said.

“The hub designation strengthens partnerships and creates new opportunities for the citizens of Cincinnati, and the streetcar will now physically connect the Central Business District to the Uptown/University area – the city’s two larges employment areas. These projects are an investment in attracting and keeping the creative class, and they will help make this a great place to live for young folks who are the anchor of this region”

The Cincinnati Regional Action Plan states the goal of creating 200,000 new jobs by 2020. Local business leaders believe the hub designation will help Cincinnati hire even more creatives who are looking to stay in the region.

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Arts & Entertainment Business News

Brighton Gallery Walk to engage Cincinnati fashionistas, art lovers – 7/10

The Brush Factory in Brighton has only been open by appointment only this summer so that the designers could create more products, but the public is invited to come visit the fashion and jewelry boutique during the monthly Brighton Gallery Walk.

The event will take place from 7pm to 11pm, and will allow those interested to try out some of the clothes and jewelry put together by the boutique’s 11 designers.  Once in the fashionable attire, guests will then be treated to a unique photo booth experience so that they can ham it up for the camera all while being entertained by DJ Stacks.

The Brush Factory will be joined on Saturday night by four other galleries in the Brighton sub-neighborhood including U-Turn Art Space which is helping to establish the area as a bonafide creative district once again.

“Like many arts districts, one reason we live and work and mount exhibitions in Brighton is because it is a low-cost living, far cheaper (in our experience) than equivalent spaces in Over-the-Rhine proper or Northside,” says Matt Morris of U-Turn Art Space in an interview with Soapbox Cincinnati.  “The galleries in Brighton have the advantage of total creative license because they don’t function as anyone’s primary source of income and are therefore not restricted by market or commerce.”

The Brighton Gallery Walk is free and open to the public, and is best started at The Brush Factory (map).  Free on-street parking is available in addition to bicycle parking and Metro bus service (plan your trip) which are available in the sub-neighborhood.

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Development News Politics Transportation

Cincinnati wins $25M Urban Circulator grant for modern streetcar project

Cincinnati’s modern streetcar project has won a $25 million federal grant through the Urban Circulator Systems program. The grant was announced by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff as they awarded $293 million in federal funding for 53 transit projects nationwide.

The $24,990,000 amount awarded to Cincinnati virtually matches the city’s full $25 million request, and the $25 million maximum that could be awarded to any one project through this program. The additional money brings the total project funding to $114.5 million out of the total $128 million needed. Project officials and city leaders believe that enough money is now in place to begin initial utility relocation and construction work in fall 2010, with a potential opening of the modern streetcar system in spring 2013.

“This announcement illustrates the broad-based support for the streetcar at all levels of government,” said Brad Thomas, Founder, CincyStreetcar.com. “Transportation experts at the city, regional, state and federal level have all examined the Cincinnati Streetcar and have come to the same conclusion – it is a worthwhile project that they support.”

The Urban Circulator funding was awarded to bus, streetcar, and trolley projects that help improve circulation within urban environments while also improving livability in those areas. The projects were assessed on four primary elements:

  1. Livability
  2. Sustainability
  3. Economic Development
  4. Leveraging of Public & Private Investments

“Streetcars are making a comeback because cities across America are recognizing that they can restore economic development downtown – giving citizens the choice to move between home, shopping and entertainment without ever looking for a parking space,” said Rogoff. “These streetcar and bus livability projects will not only create construction jobs now, they will aid our recovery by creating communities that are more prosperous and less congested.”

St. Louis, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Chicago, Dallas and Ft. Worth were the six successful Urban Circulator proposals out of more than 65 applications totaling more than $1 billion in requests. Urban Circulator applications in Atlanta, Washington D.C., and Seattle were left out, and the 47 successful bus projects included in the funding were among 281 applications totaling over $2 billion in requests.

“This federal award will create jobs in Cincinnati, link our largest employment centers and improve the quality of life for Cincinnatians by reducing air pollution and providing new transportation options for Cincinnatians,” Thomas emphasized. “The increased tax revenues from the business and new residents along the line will provide additional resources for our city that can be used to benefit all of Cincinnati’s 52 neighborhoods.”

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Arts & Entertainment News

Venue 222 to show The Maltese Falcon – 7/11

Venue 222 will be hosting its second movie night on Sunday, July 11 from 6pm to 10pm. The urban event space will be showing the 1941 adaptation of The Maltese Falcon which is based on the detective novel written by Dashiell Hammett. The film was nominated for three Academy Awards and is considered to be one of the greatest films of all time.

To compliment the film, Fork Heart Knife will be preparing 1940’s style food that will include Bacon Wrapped, Manchego Stuffed Dates; Chimichurri Chicken Skewers; Peppadew Deviled Eggs; Bloody Mary Gazpacho; Blueberry Lavender Jello Mold; and Mini-Brown Butter Sugar Cookies.

The film showing will take place at Venue 222 (map) and does require reservations as space is limited. The event costs $6 per person and reservations can be made online.

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Arts & Entertainment Business Development News

Traffic revisited ten years later in Cincinnati

The last major motion picture to be filmed in Cincinnati was the 2000 box office hit Traffic which highlighted America’s relationship with drugs.  In the movie, a conservative politician from Cincinnati was appointed as U.S. Drug Czar all while his young daughter deals with a drug addiction of her own.  The wealthy politician, and his family, lived in the extraordinarily affluent Indian Hill neighborhood, and his daughter would travel into Cincinnati’s inner city to support her drug habits.

The movie focuses on the wide reach of drugs in contemporary American society and illustrates the role both wealthy and poor individuals play in the drug trade.  The movie portrayed the inner city as a place of decay where the dirty elements of the drug trade take place.

Filmmakers chose Over-the-Rhine because of its urban form and its state of decay that helped tell the story at the time the movie was filmed.  Since that time a dramatic revitalization has occurred throughout Cincinnati’s inner city that has included the renaissance taking place in Over-the-Rhine that has netted hundreds of new residents, dozens of new businesses, and plummeting crime rates.

Soapbox takes a look the locations used in Traffic ten years after the movie first entertained audiences.  The video, produced by 7/79 ltd, shows that most all of the locations have been rejuvenated over that time, and those involved with the film say that Over-the-Rhine continues to be a draw for filmmakers as it provides an affordable alternative to filming in New York while providing a similar urban form to use.

“A big part of their decision to come to Cincinnati was Over-the-Rhine.  They just fell in love with that whole area, and felt that it had a wealth of opportunities and architectural detail to offer the film,” said Deidre Costa, Location Manager for Traffic.  “I would say hands down that the biggest selling point of Cincinnati has been Over-the-Rhine.”