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Strategic Plan

2013Economic DevelopmentCity of Hamilton

Economic Development 2013 Work PlanIntroductionDespite the challenges of the current economic climate, Hamilton experienced significant economic development suc-cesses in 2012, including an increased number of prospective companies inquiring about sites in Hamilton and an in-crease in responses to these inquiries with information that met their specific criteria. This progress can be attributed to the Department’s focus on implementing the City’s Strategic Plan, establishing relationships with the local and regional business community, and redeveloping underutilized land and preparing it for investment.

The Economic Development Department intends to continue to expand and improve this strategic effort in 2013. Equipped with the findings of the 2012 annual report, the Economic Development Department has developed this stra-tegic plan that challenges our staff to even bigger goals in 2013.

VisionThe Economic Development Department seeks to foster economic development activities that retain and create jobs, increase the tax base, and improve the City’s sustainability and quality of life for the citizens of Hamilton.

2013 Goals1. Continued emphasis on business retention and expansion2. Continued business attraction efforts3. Continue to build a regional approach to economic development4. Promote a more proactive recruitment strategy with Economic Development Partners5. Support and expand small business community6. Assist lead organizations in attracting businesses to the Urban Core7. Attract funds and manage brownfield program8. Administer and improve Land Bank efforts and operations9. Market available properties more aggressively10. Improve and expand Economic Development marketing material11. Continue to strengthen volunteer program and special events12. Work with City Manager/ELT on strategic initiatives and legislation13. Identify and engage developers interested in redevelopment opportunities

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An employee at work at Pease Warehouse. Photo Courtesy of Greg Lynch at the JournalNews

Objectives & Activities1. Continued emphasis on business retention and expansion. Business retention and expansion is a major component of the City’s economic development efforts. The Economic Development staff, city officials, and partner organizations strive to build strong relationships with Hamilton’s employers, working with them on a wide variety of issues intended to strengthen their operations. All of these efforts are aimed at providing the existing business community support and assistance. Objectives for 2013 include:

a. Meet monthly with major public and private sector employers i. Introduce the Department staff to companies ii. Assist with any needs that companies may have iii. Identify programs and/or assistance that may benefit their local operations

b. Develop a small- and mid-size company retention strategy i. Identify companies to meet with throughout the year and build relationships ii. Develop process for engaging this group

c. Develop an institutional history of companies and interactions using Sales Force. Utilize Customer Lifecycle Management to proactively communicate with local businesses and document this development

2. Continue business attraction efforts. Another vital component of economic development is the attraction of new busi-nesses to Hamilton. The Economic Development Department does its best to provide prompt, tailored responses to prospective companies and, through these efforts, experienced a significant increase in inquiries and responses from 2011 to 2012. The primary source of prospect leads are: JobsOhio, the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce, real estate professionals, and the various proactive strategies conducted by the City’s Economic Development Department. Objec-tives for 2013 include:

a. Continue to promptly respond to leads from various business attraction activities b. Provide tailored responses to each inquiry c. Continue to build relationships with sources for prospect leads d. Identify companies in targeted business cluster and develop a communication strategy

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Groundbreaking at Fort Hamilton’s new Emergency Room expansion

3. Continue to foster a regional approach to economic development. Economic development is a regional effort. Hamilton is healthy when Southwest Ohio is healthy, and vice versa. Regional collaboration is important to economic development for many reasons, and therefore the Economic Development Department emphasizes relationship-building with regional partners. Activities to achieve this goal include:

a. Grow relationships with regional development entities, such as Cincinnati USA Chamber, JobsOhio, Butler County Economic Development, Butler County Port Authority, Workforce One b. Capitalize on opportunities to collaborate with neighboring entities and build these relationships

4. Promote a proactive recruitment strategy with Economic Development Partners. Collaborating with local economic develop-ment partners within Hamilton requires a clear strategy to reduce redundancies and improve effectiveness. Defining roles and creating opportunities for communication are crucial. To achieve this, the economic development partners in Hamilton have identified the activities that must occur and which organizations will take the lead and which have supporting roles in each activity. These partners are the City of Hamilton, the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce, and the CORE Fund. Objectives for 2013 include:

a. Emphasize projects that City is lead on, which are the following: i. Business retention and expansion ii. Respond to requests from JobsOhio and administer economic development assistance programs iii. Brownfield funding and administration iv. Production of Economic Development marketing material v. Assist local business and industry introduce their products into new markets vi. Land bank administration and implementation vii. Attract infrastructure funding for economic development projects viii. Develop legislative agenda ix. Develop proposals for business and industrial prospects x. Small business expansion and development xi. Recruiting new business and industrial prospects

b. Provide a supporting role for all other economic development activities and maintain clear and consistent lines of communication between partners i. Marketing and recruiting to retail and service prospects ii. Advocate for workforce development issues

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City Manager Joshua Smith (right) with Josh Asbury from Liferay at the State of the City Address in 2012. Photo courtesy of Greg Lynch at the JournalNews

iii. Community events iv. Administer and evaluate gap financing for projects in the urban core business districts v. Provide design services to CBD prospects vi. Execute CBD business attraction plan

5. Support and expand the small business community. Small business and entrepreneurial endeavors are essential to a healthy economy. Therefore, the Economic Development Department has made small business development a priority. 2012 was the first full year the City had a Business Development Team which acts as the liaison between the City and the business, making it easier to invest in Hamilton. The Economic Development Department intends to continue to strengthen these efforts in 2013, with activities including:

a. Utilize the Business Development Team to facilitate speedy and customer-friendly responses to businesses by enhancing interdepartmental communication and building awareness of business needs b. Assist small businesses by connecting them with resources to assist in their on-going growth c. Organize target small-medium size business list and utilize Customer Lifecycle Management to proactively communicate with our businesses throughout the life of their business d. Facilitate pilot projects to encourage small business activity, such as an Ideas Café to encourage good ideas to come forward and gain support

6. Assist lead organizations in attracting businesses to Urban Core. Revitalizing the Urban Core is central to the City’s Strategic Plan. The Economic Development Department will assist the CORE Fund and the Chamber of Commerce in attract-ing businesses to the urban core. The Economic Development Department will play an important role in these efforts through the following activities:

a. Collaborate with the Chamber of Commerce in their efforts marketing and recruiting to retail and service prospects, particularly in the urban core. Some projects include: i. Collaborate on initiatives such as Pop Up Shops, Cash Mobs, Idea Cafes, and other ideas that bring people, businesses, and ideas to the urban core ii. Continue to attend Business District and Rediscover meetings iii. Small Business Council – revisit the establishment of a small business council to serve as a voice for the small business community – from what I understand this group used to exist

b. Establish new relationship with the CORE Fund and assist them in their efforts to promote projects in the urban core business districts

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Ryan’s Tavern, a locally-owned restaurant in Downtown Hamilton

7. Attract funds and manage brownfield program. The Economic Development Department has been working collaboratively with the State of Ohio to clean up and reuse underutilized properties in the City through the Clean Ohio brownfield program. The goal of the brownfield program is to demolish nuisance properties, remediate identified areas of concern, and to redevelop the site into an economically beneficial use. In the last ten years, the City has leveraged $10.9 million in Clean Ohio Revitalization Funds, remediated 48 acres of land, and developed 5 new uses for old sites. The Economic Development Department anticipates 2013 will be another successful year for the brownfield program through the execution of the following activities:

a. Pursue applicable Clean Ohio programs for projects b. Pursue applicable US EPA programs for projects c. Identify potential new projects/locations d. Manage current brownfield projects: 1550 Grand Boulevard, 845 East Avenue, and 550 North Third Street

8. Administer and improve Land Bank efforts and operations. The City gained a new tool in 2012 to revitalize blighted build-ings and vacant lots: The Butler County Land Reutilization Corporation, better known as the Land Bank. From a lawsuit the State won against mortgage servicers and local matching funds, Hamilton has $2.2 million to demolish nuisance properties, redevelop existing structures, and provide new side lots for neighboring properties. The funds must be used before the end of 2013, making it an important priority for the Economic Development Department. Activities in 2013 include:

a. Communicate donation program, and benefits of, to local, regional, and national lending institutions, and local and regional tax auditors, and other professional service providers b. Secure additional funding sources for Land Bank efforts (e.g. Grants) c. Work for the continuation of the Land Bank after the Moving Ohio Forward grant is completed

9. Market available properties more aggressively. In 2012, the Economic Development Department recognized that certain properties in the City were not being marketed to their full potential. To ensure that buyers and leasers connect with sellers, more must be done to improve visibility. Goals for 2013 include:

a. Improve interaction between databases, sites, and buildings b. More aggressively collaborate with the real estate community and work to get the right people marketing properties c. Collaborate with TvHamilton to do virtual tours of available spaces d. Post building stock on new networks

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Employees at ThyssenKrupp Bilstein, one of Hamilton’s largest employers

10. Improve and expand economic development marketing material. The Economic Development Department has been emphasizing the importance of communication and marketing initiatives to highlight the positive activities going on in Hamilton and ways to get involved. The Department intends to continue to expand and improve these efforts in 2013. Activities include:

a. Standardize real estate brochures for available properties for easy tailoring to prospective company needs b. Continue to expand the reach of quarterly e-newsletter c. Continue to write press releases and communicate with Journal News, Business Courier, and Cincinnati Enquirer to highlight positive Economic Development stories in Hamilton d. Continue to update and distribute Initiative Update e. Partner with TvHamilton to showcase positive activities occurring in Hamilton f. Improve and expand the department’s social media presence

11. Continue to strengthen volunteer program and special events. Special events are an important source of economic devel-opment. Festivals, concerts, and annual events all bring people into Hamilton and enhance quality of life for residents. The people that come to Hamilton for special events not only have a positive impact on Hamilton businesses, but also get to experience the renaissance occurring in the urban core, which has led to new residents and a changed opinion on Hamilton. Because of these benefits, the Economic Development Department has a volunteer coordinator. Through the efforts of the volunteer coordinator, 2013 objectives include:

a. Continue working with Special Event Committees to bring events downtown b. Work with the Foundation and others in the scheduling of RiversEdge c. Continue to attend community meetings such as Accent Hamilton, Rediscover, Vision 2020, Parks Commission, and Visitor’s Bureau meetings d. Increase the number of volunteers, especially placing more volunteers in City Offices e. Increase volunteer recognition with activities such as a volunteer dinner and High Street banners f. Increase collaboration/communication between volunteer organizations g. Create job descriptions for volunteer positions h. Institute background checks for volunteers

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Vora Technology Park is one of Hamilton’s available properties that the City is targeting through marketing efforts

12. Work with City Manager on Strategic Initiatives and legislation. The City’s Strategic Plan is a roadmap for all of Economic Development’s activities. Therefore, the Economic Development Department will lead or assist in Strategic City Initia-tives whenever appropriate. Activities identified for 2013 include:

a. Measure performance against the Strategic Plan’s economic development metrics b. Assist City Departments in attracting infrastructure funding c. Allocate resources to the Green/Innovation initiative i. Identify opportunities to create a university driven research and technology partnership ii. Communicate our green energy advantage to existing and prospective companies and partners iii. Continue to work to improve/assist business incubation d. Collaborate with City Departments on proactive economic development activities, such as infrastructure improvements, marketing, and land reutilization

13. Identify and engage developers interested in redevelopment opportunities. Hamilton, with its numerous historic districts, has plentiful opportunities for redevelopment. Rehabilitating historic buildings and developing new infill projects are important to revitalizing Hamilton’s urban core. In recent years, the City has experienced success in attracting develop-ers that are familiar with the intricacies related to redevelopment. The City must continue to encourage redevelopment efforts and partner with developers. 2013 objectives include:

a. Explore best practices and identify quality projects that have occurred in other communities b. Develop a relationships with identified developers and encourage them to undertake projects in Hamilton c. Work with the developers to reduce roadblocks to redevelopment and leverage assets such as the CORE Fund to make projects a success d. Develop the concept of a “developer day” where we invite developers from throughout the region in to brief them on opportunities throughout the city and tools that we have put in place to encourage redevelopment (anticipated to be held in 2014)

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One of the City’s strategic initiatives is sustainability. To this aim, the Meldahl Hydroelectric Facility is being constructed. Once completed, 70% of the City’s energy provided to its customers will be from renewable sources.

Measures of Success1 Year Goals

Retention visits with large employers 25Contacts with small and medium employers 100Number of prospective company inquiries 100Number of responses to inquiries with a match 80Begin to measure ROI/economic impact of special events N/A

5 Year Goals

# of net new jobs 2000 in 5 years# of new jobs exceeding per capita income 80% increase over 5 years# of creative- and/or technology- based enterprises 10 over 5 yearsDowntown occupancy of commercial space 60% increase over 5 years# of net new small business enterprises 25 over five yearsCommercial capital investment in the community $125 million over 5 yearsMeasure private investment leveraged by public money invested (ROI) 2:1

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Many 2013 Economic Development goals center on supporting Hamilton’s existing business community, such as Community First Solutions (their banners are featured in this Downtown Hamilton photo), which is the second largest private employer in the city.

Economic DevelopmentDepartmentDirector ....................................................................Jody Gunderson

Economic Development Specialist...........................Stacey Dietrich-Dudas

Business Development Specialist............................Antony Seppi

Business Development Specialist............................Liz Colombo

Business Development Specialist...........................Peggy Bange

Volunteer Coordinator.............................................Karen Wittmer

Office Manager.......................................................Karen Bowling

Phone.....................................................................513-785-7070

E-Mail.....................................................................econdev@hamilton-oh.gov

Website...................................................................www.hamiltonohiobusiness.com