Uptown Consortium, Inc. (UCI) recently received a prestigious award from the International Economic Development Council (IEDC). The organization won a Bronze Rank in the category of Creative Financing for the Uptown Innovation Corridor, a 65-acre mixed-use development in the Cincinnati Innovation District.
"The winners of IEDC's Excellence in Economic Development awards represent the best of economic development and exemplify the leadership that our profession strives for every day," said 2021 IEDC Board Chair and Invest Buffalo Niagara, President, and CEO Tom Kucharski. "We're honored to recognize the more than 100 communities whose marketing submissions, projects, and partnerships have improved regional quality of life."
According to the IEDC, the awards recognize the world's best economic development programs and partnerships, marketing materials, and the year's most influential community leaders. Awards are judged by a diverse panel of economic and community developers, followed by a nomination process held earlier in the year. In total, IEDC received over 500 submissions from four countries.
The Creative Financing award specifically “recognizes the creative use of traditional and non-traditional financial tools and/or financial institutions for economic and business development, projects, activities, and programs.”
“The Uptown Innovation Corridor project is a unique collaboration between UCI, anchor institutions, private developers, adjacent neighborhoods, and public entities,” said Beth Robinson, President and CEO of UCI. “We are honored to receive an award recognizing our work by a prestigious organization serving the economic development industry.”
UCI formed partnerships to bring capital and investment to implement the community’s vision for the area. Upon completion, the Uptown Innovation Corridor project will transform an area suffering from disinvestment into a world-class hub of innovation and job creation, underpinned by community engagement and inclusion.
According to Robinson, UCI funded and led extensive site planning work to guide investments in the Corridor in a manner consistent with innovation district best practices: well-designed spaces, pedestrian-friendly grids, varied housing choices and an amenities-rich environment. UCI then undertook $35M in property acquisitions within the project area to assemble development parcels. The City of Cincinnati contributed $5.6M to this effort.
“The significant investment and site assemblage attracted real estate developers eager to develop sites within the Corridor,” Robinson shared. “We partnered with three private developers who agreed to develop sites in accordance with the Master Plan, bringing capital and expertise for implementation.”
In addition, UCI and its member institutions assembled a 16-acre site for a federal research facility to anchor the Corridor.
The impact of the project
More than 1.1M square feet of new space totaling more than $1 billion of investment is complete or underway in the Uptown Innovation Corridor. The Corridor Master Plan predicts $2.5 billion in investment, more than 2 million square feet of mixed-use development and 7,500 jobs retained/created. Five major projects are underway:
An 180,000 square-foot office building will be home to UC’s Digital Futures headquarters;
NIOSH, a $110 million state-of-the-art federal research facility will expand research/ collaboration;
A $350 million multi-phase mixed-use development (office, residential, hospitality and commercial uses);
Innovation Greenway designed to be an amenity for tenants and the community;
Mixed-use development led by Cincinnati’s first minority-owned development team.
The Uptown Innovation Corridor in the Cincinnati Innovation District has induced significant economic development in areas adjacent to the Corridor development, including but not limited to UC's 1819 Innovation Hub, UC Gardner Neuroscience Institute and Uptown SMART Transit Center.
Lessons Learned
Submissions in the Creative Financing category were evaluated by goal or purpose; the project’s impact; obstacles or barriers; if the project can be adapted for use in other communities, and lessons learned.
“Planning and implementing a major redevelopment project within an existing urban neighborhood is never an easy undertaking. This rare opportunity to undertake a catalytic redevelopment emerged when the State of Ohio announced plans to construct a new I-71 interchange to provide better access to Uptown Cincinnati. The ability to attract sufficient capital to undertake the project from a variety of public and private sources was critical to the success of this project,” Robinson explained.
“By forging partnerships with community stakeholders and leaders, UCI has maximized this once-in-a-generation opportunity to remake the entryway into Uptown,” she shared. UCI partnered with the City of Cincinnati, and led an intensive planning and community engagement effort to establish a vision and framework for the interchange & surrounding area. The MLK/Reading Road Vision Study was completed and adopted by Cincinnati City Council in 2016, and UCI began leading its implementation.
UCI accepted its award during a virtual meeting as part of IEDC's Annual Conference. It is the third award UCI has received from IEDC. The organization received a Gold Economic Equity and Inclusion award in 2020 for UCI’s inclusion efforts and a Gold Award for Neighborhood Development in 2013.