NIOSH Chooses Uptown Innovation Corridor

Hundreds of scientists including chemists, biologists, engineers and toxicologists will join the region's largest contingent of advanced researchers who call Uptown their professional home, as yesterday the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) announced it has chosen 14 acres at Martin Luther King Drive and Reading Road for its new site.

Thursday’s announcement about the new facility to be built in the Uptown Innovation Corridor came from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). 

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will invest $110 million to create an ultra modern research facility for NIOSH’s occupational safety and health research.

NIOSH’s site selection process began 11 years ago, and became active again in 2014 following the economic recovery. NIOSH Director John Howard, MD, said the new location will expand opportunities for collaboration and partnership with the Cincinnati scientific research community. 

NIOSH’s economic impact on Greater Cincinnati is forecast to be $291.7 million along with $1.2 million in earnings tax revenues for the City of Cincinnati. Much of this economic impact is experienced by local workers and the communities around NIOSH’s locations. All 550 employees at the three existing NIOSH locations will be relocated to the new site in Uptown.

The University of Cincinnati led the process for presenting the Uptown site, with the UC Department of Planning + Design + Construction managing all application, compliance and presentation activities. 

“Investing in research and innovation are key operating principles for the University of Cincinnati. Leading the work to recruit NIOSH to the Uptown Innovation Corridor aligns our commitment to advancing this urban institution and our local community with tomorrow’s global solutions in mind,” said Neville Pinto, President of University of Cincinnati and Chairman of the Board for Uptown Consortium.

Design and construction for the new NIOSH campus is scheduled to begin in summer 2018, with a completion date of early 2021. This development joins the Terrex/Messer Uptown Gateway, the University of Cincinnati Gardner Neuroscience Institute and 1819 Innovation & Research Accelerator as part of the Uptown Innovation Corridor. 

The new site will combine three Cincinnati NIOSH locations with aging facilities.  CDC and GDA representatives are hosting a community meeting on August 1, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Walnut Hills High School for community feedback on issues to be addressed in the environmental impact statement required by federal law.