As I reflect on the past year as President and CEO of Uptown Consortium, Inc. (UCI), I am amazed at Uptown’s continued transformation. 2021 was yet another unconventional year—and Uptown was at the center of it all. Our member institutions led—and are continuing to lead—our region through a global pandemic by providing world-class health care and cutting-edge research. Our neighborhood partners continued to engage and respond to all the challenges. All the while we never lost sight of the importance of the collective work we accomplish together. As the year winds down, I’d like to take this opportunity to highlight all the hard work and dedication to Uptown’s continued growth that was reflected this year.
Uptown Cincinnati is an Economic Powerhouse
The results of the Uptown Cincinnati Economic Impact Study confirmed what we already knew—Uptown is an economic powerhouse. The report summarizes the economic and financial impact of Uptown’s anchor institutions and auxiliary businesses operating in Uptown’s five core neighborhoods and found that Uptown has a significant impact on the local economy.
The University of Cincinnati Economics Center analyzed the potential impact of five development projects in the Uptown Innovation Corridor in the Cincinnati Innovation District totaling approximately $1.4 billion. Upon completion, these projects are estimated to support more than $2.4 billion in total economic output, $635.5 million in total earnings, and 7,862 total jobs. Uptown has over 46,000 residents and is home to over 1,000 businesses employing over 90,000 individuals.
All of this emphasizes the collective power of Uptown anchors and businesses, and it’s exciting to see our vision for Uptown come to life. Together, we are creating a district that is incubating talent and continuing to attract innovative businesses.
You can read more about the findings, which the Cincinnati Business Courier featured here.
Looking Towards the Future
The highly anticipated University of Cincinnati Digital Futures building, the centerpiece of the $200 million Digital Futures Complex, is near completion in the heart of the Uptown Innovation Corridor in the Cincinnati Innovation District. The mixed-use project began in 2019 and is being developed by Terrex Development & Construction and Messer Construction. UCI provided New Market Tax Credits (NMTCs) to help make this project a reality. To learn more about the programmatic plans for the building, which is expected to open in 2022, listen to the Uptown Insights webinar here.
Demonstrating continued confidence in the Uptown market, Office Building Two in the Digital Futures Complex was financed this year and is currently under construction. When completed in 2022, the building will offer 180,000 square feet for companies to locate. Overall, the Digital Futures Complex is a three-phase project consisting of office, hotel, retail and residential developments. In total, the Complex will include 520,000 square feet of office space and 1,800 parking spaces.
We could not be happier to see this project come into focus this year, and we look forward to seeing it advance even further in 2022.
Exceeding MBE, WBE and Resident Inclusion Goals
UCI has worked closely with WEB Ventures LLC, strategic management, diversity and inclusion consultants, which resulted in far exceeding economic inclusion goals in 2021. In 2015, UCI and WEB began developing a long-term approach to inclusion beginning with pre-construction professional services and extending through the life of a project. This ensures Uptown residents and businesses benefit from the developments in their community and provides opportunities for small and large minority business enterprises (MBEs) and women business enterprises (WBEs). UCI’s inclusion initiatives were featured as a best practice in the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) Economic Development Journal.
A recent success story we are incredibly pleased to share is about SURE Mechanical, a certified minority-owned mechanical firm that recently won the largest single contract for its firm as the prime contractor. The contract is for the Digital Futures building and is the result of a collaboration put in place to coach, mentor and advocate to help build the capacity of minority and women owned enterprises to do business on Uptown projects and beyond. This work will continue next year in hopes of creating more successful stories like that of SURE Mechanical.
Highlighting our Other Successes
I could go on about the countless other monumental projects through the year—including progress on the Innovation Greenway, Avondale’s revitalization, The CROWN Connection to Uptown, and the continued expansion of the Uptown Innovation Corridor in the Cincinnati Innovation District. All these projects contributed to the success and growth of Uptown this year. Some of this hard work and dedication was recognized earlier this year with a Bronze Rank IEDC Award in the category of Creative Financing for the Uptown Innovation Corridor in the Cincinnati Innovation District. While UCI played a part in each project highlighted here, none of them would have been possible without the partnerships in place between Uptown’s anchor institutions, community leaders, residents and visitors to Uptown.
As an alumna of UC, it was also exciting to see the Bearcats undefeated season unfold—something we discussed in a Q&A with Coach Luke Fickell earlier this year. Successes like this benefit the Uptown business districts, which in turn further the economic success of the area.
Anchor Institution Wins
Cincinnati Children’s New $600 Million Critical Care Building
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and Medical Center (CCHMC) moved patients into its highly anticipated new Critical Care Building on the hospital’s main campus in Avondale. The $600 million investment resulted in a 632,500-square-foot facility that expands and enhances services and comfortability for children, including patients needing emergency care, newborn or pediatric intensive care, cardiac care, and bone marrow transplants. It’s the largest expansion in the history of CCHMC. We are fortunate to have the No. 4 nationally ranked children’s hospital in Uptown.
Cincinnati Zoo and Cincinnati Children’s Rockdale Urban Learning Garden
Construction on the Rockdale Urban Learning Garden began back in the spring and finished up in the fall. This is a special project between the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden and CCHMC, with contributions from P&G and the Reds Community Fund. The project is expected to be the best outdoor classroom in the U.S., with every dollar going to provide the children of Avondale with educational and nutritional resources. This is an excellent example of how partnerships can create an innovative community for residents by residents. The long-term impact of this project cannot be understated.
TriHealth’s Investment in Good Samaritan Hospital
TriHealth is investing $140 million in significant additions and renovations to Good Samaritan Hospital. The hospital will undergo extensive redevelopment—including a new top-notch surgery facility, a five-story building for various services, and a team member parking garage—over the next five years. This extensive construction project continues to demonstrate TriHealth’s dedication to delivering high-quality healthcare to families in Uptown and across Cincinnati.
UC Health’s New Emergency Department & Expansion at UC Medical Center
University of Cincinnati Health broke ground on an expansion of the emergency department at UC Medical Center in September. The $60 million project is going to add 41,000 square feet onto the existing 35,000-square-foot emergency department as part of a $221 million “Forward” project, which is a five-year project that was announced back in 2019. The commitment shown by UC Health goes beyond providing healthcare—which is, of course, the most important thing—but it shows a continued commitment to the betterment of Uptown.
Looking Ahead at 2022
Despite a difficult year for many, we were able to continue to support, develop, and impact the Uptown area for the better. 2021 was another unconventional year, but it was also one of many successes. I look forward to continuing UCI’s commitment to the Uptown neighborhoods and anchor institutions. The growth and success of Uptown has always been and will continue to be our mission moving forward into 2022.
Thank you all. Have a happy holiday season and best wishes for a successful new year.
Beth Robinson
