Uptown Consortium, Inc. (UCI) and the Cincinnati Regional Chamber Minority Business Accelerator recently hosted an event, with support from WEB Ventures, to connect minority-owned businesses and Uptown developers on project opportunities, including $760 million in projected investments in the Uptown Innovation Corridor. The event was hosted in the UC 1819 Innovation Hub in Avondale.
“The Accelerator is thrilled about our partnership with Uptown Consortium in support of our shared inclusion goals that were highlighted during our first Uptown Connector event. We will continue to work together in support of economic growth in Uptown,” said Darrin M. Redus, SR, Vice President and Executive Director of the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber/Minority Business Accelerator.
Representatives from five Uptown developers presented about current and future project details, updates and opportunities and networked with attendees:
Peter Horton, Terrex Development & Construction
Jedi Cowart, MLK Investors I
John Brownrigg, Queen City Hills, LLC
Barry Rosenberg, Steiner + Associates
Dan Schimberg, Uptown Rentals
Attracting minority investors, contractors and tenants is part of UCI’s larger economic inclusion strategy. UCI is dedicated to ensuring that inclusion is an intentional part of all development from the beginning planning stages through pre-construction, construction, tenant selection, staffing and beyond. To achieve these goals, UCI enlisted WEB Ventures, an economic inclusion consultant, to help identify and select minority- and women-owned business partners and to engage with Uptown residents.
As part of UCI’s economic inclusion initiatives, each developer in Uptown has a preferred developer agreement with inclusion goals for minority-owned businesses, such as the Uptown Connector event attendees, women-owned businesses, Uptown residents and more. Events like Uptown Connector help introduce developers and minority-owned businesses to begin building relationships that can translate into working partnerships in the future.
“This event provided an opportunity for our developers to connect with some of the many talented minority businesses in Cincinnati, as well as an opportunity for some of those businesses to learn about opportunities in Uptown that they might not have otherwise known about,” said Beth Robinson, president and CEO of Uptown Consortium.