July 15: Hamilton County Board of County Commissioners
Covered by Documenter Frazier Smith.
In September, Cheviot, Lockland and Mount Healthy were awarded assistance by Hamilton County’s Community Impact Program (CIP) to implement community revitalization projects.
The county’s program, supported by U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grant funding, supports local governments with projects that revitalize their communities, help with property development, attract small business, and improve public infrastructure.
Smaller communities were eligible for the program, Hamilton County Commissioner Denise Driehaus explained in a Tuesday board meeting. They wanted economic development, but their local governments didn’t have enough resources to manage the projects and facilitate grants without outside assistance.
“The idea here was to make sure the communities that don’t always participate in trying to get trants because they don’t have the capacity … to do it,” Driehaus said. “These are the smaller communities that really need the help.”
The county hired Alloy Development to provide local officials with those resources. Here is the status on those projects, according to a presentation by Alloy during the meeting:
Cheviot project: Central Station
Cheviot City Council applied for assistance as they faced challenges revitalizing a 14,000 square-foot, city-owned building at 3625 Harrison Ave. in the heart of the city’s business district.
The city in 2024 was awarded a $320,000) grant to do so, but had to change course on a planned microbrewery as other taprooms began closing across the area.
The building, previously a Woolworth’s Department Store and then a Cappel’s costume shop, has been vacant since 2019. The concept is called Central Station, described as a family-friendly entertainment destination focused on a pickleball complex, with live music, a sports bar and permanent food truck parking.
The project will bring an estimated $1.5 million in private investment and create up to 40 jobs.
Mount Healthy project: The Hive
Mount Healthy city officials are aiming to redevelop five city-owned buildings at Hamilton and Kinney avenues to establish The Hive, a public gathering space for pop-up events with an adjacent parking lot.
Plans call for streetscape improvements, as well as infill development at nearby properties for affordable homeownership.
Alloy has been assisting Mount Healthy with establishing a National Register Historic District in order to use historic tax credit incentives for redevelopment.
Lockland project: the Locks Site
Lockland village officials are seeking to redevelop a 12-acre former manufacturing campus, known as the Locks Site. The village wants to attract an advanced manufacturing user to generate payroll revenue, as the neighboring Mill and Dunn Historic Business District suffers disinvestment and high vacancy.
The Locks Site is situated next to the Lockland Split at Interstate 75. That could cause issues with future development, so the village is working with community stakeholders to determine some short-term projects that could generate positive momentum about the site.
Lockland obtained $290,000 through a county grant program to buy a historic bank on the site. Further grant assistance may be needed to perform further capital investments at the building.
Follow-up questions about this meeting:
- How much revenue does Lockland stand to gain from a new manufacturer on the Locks Site? How will this lift up the business district?
- What specific eligibility requirements were there for these “smaller” communities?
- How will the city of Mount Healthy gain revenue from The Hive?
