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State Awards Historic Tax Credits in Hamilton
Tax credits will be used to rehabilitate Fifth Third Building on High Street
In late December 2016, the State of Ohio announced the latest recipients of historic tax credit dollars, one of which was Historic Developers LLC. Historic Developers handled the redevelopment of the Mercantile Lofts, Robinson Schwenn, and the old Journal News building, all of which have brought life and vibrancy back into downtown Hamilton.
Historic tax credit awards were highly competitive, and Hamilton was the only city in Butler County to receive them this round. The credits will be used to redevelop two of the upper floors in the Dollar Federal Bank Building at the corner of High and 3rd Streets. This building was constructed in 1956 and served as a bank and office space until Fifth Third Bank closed its downtown Hamilton operations in 2012. The two rehabilitated floors will be used once more as Class A commercial office space. To read the press release by the Ohio Development Services Agency,
click here.
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Community First Solutions Completes Jamestowne
$13 million facility on Main Street to open soon
Community First Solutions recently completed construction on Jamestowne Inpatient and Outpatient Therapy, a 42,000 square foot healthcare facility on Main Street. This $13 million facility includes 42 privates suites, high quality dining options, spa services, and a 5,000 square foot therapy gym. Jamestowne will provide physical, speech, and occupational therapy to short-term, post-acute patients. The facility has received licensure from the Ohio Department of Health and is currently awaiting final inspection and certification from the agency before it opens. To read more about Jamestowne,
click here.
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Marcum Park Construction Update
Dedication ceremony to be held in spring 2017
Construction on Marcum Park began in April 2016 and will be finished in the next few months (weather permitting). This six-acre park is located in the heart of downtown Hamilton in the eastern section of the RiversEdge Amphitheater area. Total cost for the park is estimated at $3.9 million. Marcum Park is named after Joe and Sarah Marcum, who made a generous $3.5 million gift to the Hamilton Community Foundation in 2015 and made construction of the park possible. Marcum Park will have a variety of amenities, including walking paths, a great lawn, and water features. Marcum Park will be officially dedicated on May 6, 2017.
Click here to read more about Marcum Park.
Recent pictures show the progress of construction on Marcum Park
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Hamilton is Looking Forward to 2017
Many exciting projects will move forward over the coming year
In 2016, the City of Hamilton made significant progress and
received a lot of positive media attention, but according to City Manager Joshua Smith, 2017 will be a "transformational" year for Hamilton. Construction is expected to start on two major projects, the Marcum Apartments and Champion Mill Sports Complex, both of which will bring new life back into abandoned or underutilized space and dramatically change the appearance of downtown Hamilton. The Hamilton Parks Conservancy will finish construction of two major downtown green spaces, Marcum and Rotary Parks. Main Street is expected to see even more progress than in 2016, as CORE begins rehabilitating their buildings to add six new storefronts and 18 upper level apartment units. Finally, Barclaycard and STARTEK are both expected to ramp up their hiring efforts; between them, the two companies hired 650 people in 2016 and will be hiring another 1,500 in the next few years.
Click here to read the Journal-News article that highlights Hamilton's recent and upcoming progress, and keep an eye out for the 2017 Initiative Update!
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Pipeline H2O Participant Making Waves
WEL Enterprise has been making news with water reclamation technology
WEL Enterprise, one
of The Hamilton Mill's newest members, has been very busy lately. The company will be taking part in The Mill's first Pipeline cohort beginning in early 2017, after recently graduating from the Fall 2016 Bad Girl Ventures class, a nonprofit organization dedicated to building and sustaining well-managed, profitable, and woman-owned businesses. Katrina Eckard, CEO of WEL Enterprise, won the competition that capped the Bad Girl Ventures class, which includes receiving a $25,000 loan. In November 2016, WEL launched its industrial water reclamation system at Municipal Brew Works, allowing the brewery to save about half of the water they use in production.
Click here to read more about WEL's partnership with Municipal Brew Works or
click here to read about WEL's award from Bad Girl Ventures.
WEL Enterprises CEO Katrina Eckard at Bad Girl Ventures Fall 2016 LAUNCH Graduation. Photo credit: Bad Girl Ventures
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StreetSpark Announces 2017 Call to Artists
Three buildings in Hamilton chosen to be painted in 2017
StreetSpark announced their 2017 Call to Artists in December 2016 and will be accepting designs until February 3, 2017.
StreetSpark, a program created through a partnership between the City of Hamilton and the Fitton Center for Creative Ats, provides opportunities for local artists while at the same time showcasing Hamilton's flourishing art scene and enhancing the visual appeal of the city. Last year, two murals were painted downtown through this program, and in 2017, three Hamilton buildings will be painted. If you are an artist interested in submitting designs for StreetSpark,
click here for the application; if you are interested in helping to paint the chosen designs,
click here for the painter-only application, which is due by March 31.
"Make Way for McCloskey", the StreetSpark mural on the old municipal building at 20 High Street, was designed by local artist Stephen Smith
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Dan Bates becomes GHCC President & CEO
New President brings over 20 years experience to the Chamber
In early December 2016, the Greater Hamilton Chamber of Commerce (GHCC) announced the appointment of Dan Bates as its new President and CEO. Mr. Bates most recently worked as the President for the Sharonville, Ohio Chamber of Commerce and has over 20 years of experience in both the corporate and the social services worlds. In his most recent position in Sharonville, he was a catalyst for positive change, bringing strategic leadership, vision, meaningful collaboration, and new industry-focused events. As a resident of Hamilton, Mr. Bates has a history of community involvement and volunteering. He began his role at the GHCC on January 1, 2017.
Click here to read the GHCC's press release.
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Hamilton Businesses Chosen "Best of the North"
Magazine competition celebrates best small businesses north of Cincinnati
Cincy Magazine's annual Best of the North event took place on October 27, 2016. Several local Hamilton businesses were chosen as finalists, including the
Almond Sisters,
High Street Cafe,
Municipal Brew Works,
Plaza One Grille,
Sara's House, and
True West Coffee. True West Coffee won Best of the North in the Independent Coffee Shop category for the fourth year in a row, and the Almond Sisters, which celebrated its one year anniversary in November 2016, won in the Best Bakery category. Other winners include Plaza One Grille and High Street Cafe, which won in both the Best Family Dining and the Best Local Chili categories. To read more about the Best of the North Celebration,
click here.
The Almond Sisters booth at the Best of the North Celebration in October 2016
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Five New Stores Open Downtown
New businesses in Hamilton bring shoppers out for the holidays
In the fourth quarter of 2016, five new businesses opened in downtown Hamilton. On historic Main Street alone, three new businesses opened in November 2016. At 408 Main Street,
Lah-V-Dah is now open, selling lotions, soaps, makeup, jewelry, and crafts designed by local artisans.
Sherry's Petals at 209 Main Street creates floral designs, arrangements, and centerpieces using all kinds of different materials. Next door, at 211 Main Street, are the offices of Plumtree Realty. In German Village, Freddy's cookies opened at 346 North Third Street just in time for the annual German Village Christmas Walk. At 120 North 2nd Street,
Amantra Nails & Day Spa officially opened in October 2016 and held a grand opening celebration in December 2016. With these new stores, a total of 13 new small stores opened their doors in downtown Hamilton in 2016, 11 of which were on historic Main Street.
Click here to visit the new Main Street website
or
click here to find out how to get involved with redevelopment efforts on historic Main Street.
Amantra Nails & Day Spa held a ribbon cutting ceremony in December 2016
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Over 100,000 Visitors came to Hamilton in 2016
A variety of events in 2016 brought a record number of visitors to Hamilton
An estimated 100,000+ visitors came to Hamilton in 2016 for events ranging from shop hops such as Alive After 5,
which was featured on a WKRC segment
, to music festivals such as David Shaw's Big River Get Down. Operation Pumpkin, which takes place the first weekend of October every year, had a record 30,000+ attendees in just three days. Going into 2017, one event to look forward to is IceFest, which will be held on January 20 & 21. This event takes place in downtown Hamilton every other year and is the biggest fundraiser for the City of Sculpture, a nonprofit organization tasked with the acquisition, installation, and maintenance of public sculpture in Hamilton. To find out more about IceFest,
click here.
Musical headliners at Operation Pumpkin played for a record crowd
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Property Highlight: 528 South 7th Street
This property is just south of downtown Hamilton and was the site of a former printing company. The building is 14,000 square feet with 2,500 square feet of office space and would be ideal for a light industrial user. For more information
click here to view the brochure or contact John Stretch with North Ridge Realty Group at 513-860-5050.
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Need assistance from the City? Contact the Business Development Team
The City established the Business Development Team to make investing in Hamilton easier for current and future business owners. The Team focuses on assisting retail and commercial development. It is a single point of contact that coordinates between all necessary departments to help businesses from the first inquiry until the issuance of final occupancy. To contact the Business Development Team, call 513.785.7070 or email
startmeup@ci.hamilton.oh.us.
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