As developments in the Uptown Innovation Corridor progress, the innovation district continues to attract local, regional and national attention. The past few weeks are no exception. Uptown Consortium, Inc. (UCI) and the Corridor recently landed on several local media outlets featuring development updates and UCI’s innovative approach to economic development and inclusion.
“New tenants in the Uptown Innovation Corridor will include chemists, biologists, and engineers”
The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is moving forward with plans to build a $110 million state-of-the-art research facility on the northwest quadrant of the Corridor at the intersection of Martin Luther King Drive and Reading Road. Locating in the Corridor increases opportunities for NIOSH to expand its collaborations with the University of Cincinnati and EPA.
“NIOSH’s choice to build a research facility in the Corridor aligned with the Consortium’s vision for the area as a destination for research and medicine. The potential for collaboration with nearby University of Cincinnati, the Environmental Protection Agency, and hospital systems was instrumental in the site selection.”
Learn more about the development in Soapbox Cincinnati.
“Community leaders, developers work together to make Innovation Corridor car, pedestrian friendly”
Master plans for the Corridor call for pedestrian-friendly developments focused on walkability and connectivity. However, the Corridor’s location near the I-71 interchange at Martin Luther King Drive and Reading Road poses unique challenges for pedestrian walkability on the busy thoroughfares. UCI works with international design firm Sasaki to create development principles and planning guidelines for the Corridor, including streetscapes and traffic control.
Fred Merrill, principal, Sasaki, shares how UCI and Sasaki are working on efforts to calm traffic and create a holistic, collaborative environment for everyone who lives in, works in and visits Uptown.
For more information on UCI’s pedestrian safety planning efforts, visit WCPO.
“Uptown Innovation Corridor is a National ‘Best Practice’ for Economic Inclusion”
Last month, UCI hosted the eighth annual Anchor District Forum. During the event, more than 35 professionals from 15 peer anchor districts across the country gathered to learn about UCI’s community development efforts and progress in the Corridor. The goal was for peer organizations to learn best practices from UCI and from one another that they can implement in their own anchor districts. Throughout the forum, UCI highlighted the Corridor and its impact on Uptown and Greater Cincinnati.
“This is the region’s best opportunity for economic growth,” said Beth Robinson, President and CEO, UCI. “Companies need to be near talent to solve problems and attract employees, and this area is perfectly poised for that.”
Read more UCI’s national best practices in economic development and community inclusion in the Uptown Innovation Corridor on Cincy INNO.
“The Corridor Conversation: David Adams”
In the most recent version of the Uptown Innovation Corridor newsletter “The Corridor Conversation,” David Adams, Chief Innovation Officer at the University of Cincinnati and Chief Executive Officer of the UC Research Institute, discusses the 1819 Innovation Hub and UC’s Digital Futures effort in the Corridor.
For more information on David Adams, read the latest version of The Corridor Conversation.
For real-time updates on UCI and the Corridor—including recent news coverage—follow the Corridor on Twitter at @uptownINNcorr or follow Beth Robinson at @BethUptown.