Tag: economic

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Business Development News

CDFC $2 million closer to investing in Northern Kentucky’s urban neighborhoods

Thanks to an equity investment from PNC Bank, the Catalytic Development Funding Corporation (CDFC) of Northern Kentucky is $2 million closer to its $10 million capitalization goal. With the recent investment, the Catalytic Fund is up to $6.5 million.

Once the $10 million goal is met, CDFC will begin making targeted investments in catalytic development and redevelopment projects in northern Kentucky’s urban neighborhoods in order to spur additional investment and revitalization in the area. The Catalytic Fund investments will provide patient capital for projects that could not occur due to private capital market constraints.

Patient capital does not always take the same form, but generally it is more flexible and willing to accept more risk than conventional funding. The purpose is to fill in gaps in a financing package to make a project more attractive to primary lenders. Patient capital tends to be the first money into a project and typically is repaid after the primary loan payment is made each payment period. This is a similar model that 3CDC uses when deploying Cincinnati Equity Fund capital.

In addition to providing patient capital for development projects that meet the Catalytic Fund’s investment criteria, CDFC will also facilitate development by acquiring land for future projects, providing technical assistance to developers, and recruiting developers to participate in northern Kentucky’s urban renaissance.

The CDFC and the Catalytic Fund will be in very capable hands. Jeanne Schroer, the executive director of CDFC, has over 25 years of experience as a real estate professional specializing in project financing.

The CDFC and the Catalytic Fund were created in 2008 based on a recommendation by the Urban Renaissance Action Team of northern Kentucky’s Vision 2015 planning initiative. Since the fund’s inception, Jeanne Schroer has been working tirelessly to raise $10 million during tough economic times. This is a list of all the contributors to the fund so far:

Photo courtesy of Jeanne Schroer

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Arts & Entertainment Development News

Framester takes event photography to the next level

Chances are, if you have a Facebook account, you’ve seen the pictures floating around your friends’ feeds. High quality photo booth style pictures, perfectly capturing the essence of an event or party. This phenomenon is the brainchild of local entrepreneurs David Dewitt and Adam Kleshinski. It’s called Framester.

The philosophy behind the event photography company is that, given the circumstances, every person wants the chance to show their creative, spontaneous selves… and to take the perfect picture. The self-timed setup – a camera, a backdrop, and a little red button – allows party goers to create their own portraits in a way that traditional event photographers can’t.

DeWitt, a former DAAP student at the University of Cincinnati, set up his camera one night at a friend’s party in 2008, and was taken aback at the response it received. “It took a lot of trust, to leave my lighting and camera equipment up all night, but no one messed with it,” David explained. “My friends loved it, and it turned into something bigger.”

Through various connections around town, DeWitt took his setup to local philanthropic events over the next year, experimenting with props, backdrops and photography techniques. Bars and parties began to hire him as a special addition to their shindigs- tagging and sharing the pictures on Facebook helped gather name recognition for the venues, as well as give everyone kick-ass profile pictures.

DeWitt and Kleshinski connected near the end of 2010, where the Xavier MBA graduate saw a business opportunity that couldn’t be passed up. “I couldn’t believe it was just [DeWitt],” said Kleshinski. “I knew it could be something bigger.” The two worked through a business plan, and launched the Framester brand in the beginning of May.

“The goal now is to expand through the Cincinnati area,” explained Adam. “We want it to expand organically, and with 2.5 million people in the region, there’s a lot of room for growth here. Things are changing and moving in the right direction. Cincinnati is a base of ingenuity and entrepreneurship and good business – it’s a great market.”

The duo feels that Cincinnati is a perfect test market – a microcosm with enough diversity to try out different things as they tweak the business model and prepare to grow.

The difference between Framester’s services and any huckster with a camera is the professional level of quality and attention to detail for each event – no two are alike. The service naturally offers a distinctive brand marketing advantage to event sponsors and venues by levering advances in social media technologies, and former clients have seen immediate results in collecting contact information from their attendees along with targeted brand exposure.

Ultimately, Framester is helping to celebrate and showcase the momentum that is driving Cincinnati forward. Kleshinski and DeWitt both say it’s been incredible watching the amount of energy building in Cincinnati’s urban core.

“For too long there’s been this theory that Cincinnati is boring – there’s nothing fun to do here,” said DeWitt. “We know that’s not true – and we’ve got the pictures to prove it.”

CityBeat Best of Cincinnati Party photo provided by Framester.

Categories
Business Development News

Dive Bar set to open this week on Short Vine in Corryville

A new neighborhood tavern is slated to open in Corryville soon along Short Vine. The new establishment, Dive Bar, occupies the space previously used by Submarine Galley and is scheduled to open this Thursday just in time for Cinco de Mayo.

Those familiar with the location may not recognize the space from the street as the building has undergone a significant renovation that has completely restored the historic structures exterior and interior spaces.

“It was a disaster inside,” said Dive Bar partner John Pedro. “We started working, on the space, in January and have used five big dumpsters to clean it out inside.” Pedro says that while he and his business partners have focused on the 1,800-square-foot interior, the Uptown Consortium assisted financially with exterior renovations including roof repair.

The bar will include lounge seating, free wifi with plentiful electrical outlets, simple street food prepared by Flop Johnsons, and a rotating menu of beer and wine. The beer, Pedro says, will include $1 Pabst Blue Ribbon cans all the time, but also a large selection of craft beers including Dogfish Head, Anchor Steam, Great Lakes, Mt. Carmel, Christian Moerlein and Hudepohl. In total he expects there to be between 30 to 40 different beers, and 15 to 20 different wines available at any given time.

To further the experience, Pedro says that patrons will be able to purchase a mug for a quarter. The purchased mug will then have the patron’s name etched on it and hang behind the bar for only their use, and will get them $3 drink specials. The whole idea is to create a neighborhood-oriented feel that caters to regulars.

“All of our places are neighborhood joints, and this place is no different,” said Pedro who is also involved with Hang Over Easy and Village Idiot in Columbus. “We think it’s great when you can walk into these neighborhood type dive bars and know the people working there.”

In order to accomplish that Pedro and his partners have hired all local individuals to operate the bar, and value their business model on being able to serve as an incubator, of sorts, for local talent. Additionally, Pedro says that the group is excited to enter the Cincinnati market and become a part of the evolving Corryville neighborhood, but that recent streetcar setbacks have been disappointing.

“We felt the connectivity to downtown, and the activity down there, would have been great, but at the same time the neighborhoods surrounding the university are great,” Pedro explained. “We’re hugely disappointed because that connectivity to downtown, and all the activity happening down there, would have been great. Slowly but surely things will connect, but in Columbus it’s taken 20 to 30 years for Short North to connect with the downtown there.”

Dive Bar (map) will be open Monday through Saturday from 11am to 2:30am, and will be closed on Sundays except during football season. Stay connected with Dive Bar for details on future specials and weekly events.

Dive Bar exterior photograph by Jake Mecklenborg for UrbanCincy.

Categories
Business News

Currito embarks on urban expansion effort throughout Cincinnati

Currito has announced that they will open two new locations this year in Evanston and Downtown, and an third independent restaurant in Over-the-Rhine called Bakersfield Taco Grill. The Cincinnati-based company already has locations in Clifton Heights and Florence, but their recent announcements mark a bold move into the urban frontier that they wish to call home.

“Downtown is experiencing some very positive changes, and we really want to be a part of the forward motion that is happening there,” Currito co-founder Joe Lanni told UrbanCincy last week. “We are committed to continued growth in this market, and downtown is the best place to gain exposure to people from all over the city.”

In the end, Lanni believes that the exposure these urban locations offer is invaluable to promoting the company’s overall brand and image identity.

The downtown restaurant will be Currito’s flagship location when it opens within the 3,074-square-foot space located inside the Mercantile Building (map). Lanni says that they have signed a 10-year lease on the space, with two five-year options.

Joe, and his brother John, will open up a new Currito location on Xavier University’s campus in Evanston this August before opening the two new restaurants in Downtown and Over-the-Rhine (map) this October.

“We are excited to have found a location that is central to the exciting events that happen on Fountain Square,” Lanni said about their future flagship location downtown. “We were very conscious about looking for a high-profile place to roll out our most current design in our home market.”

Once the Lanni’s complete their next wave of growth in Cincinnati, Currito will boast 15 locations in eight different states. The non-Cincinnati locations are managed through franchisees which the Lanni’s have overseen since they founded Currito in 2005. Stay up-to-date by following Currito on Twitter @CurritoBurrito, or by becoming a fan on Facebook.

Photograph of Currito’s Clifton Heights location by Randy A. Simes for UrbanCincy.

Categories
News Politics

Stories of Cincinnati’s strong history, promising future highlight 2011 State of the City

Last night, Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory delivered his sixth State of the City address. In the speech Mayor Mallory gave those in attendance a bit of history lesson about Cincinnati in tough economic times, and stood boldly in the face of opposition to his administration’s projects and programs.

The history lesson began with a story of two men, Jim and Bill, who started a company during tough economic times in 1837. Those men, Mayor Mallory says, did not listen to the naysayers and eventually created the world’s largest consumer products company – Procter & Gamble. The history lessons continued with examples of bold investment projects like the construction of Union Terminal in 1928 and Carew Tower in 1930.

“The naysayers keep saying we need to slow down; we need to pull back; it is not the right time,” stated Mayor Mallory. “In these economic times, we need to be bold when others are scared. That is how you prosper.”

The mayor then tied those history lessons to more recent endeavors that have attracted significant opposition. Mayor Mallory cited the development of The Banks, implementation of the City’s Enhanced Recycling Program and 2010’s CitiRama in Northside. Mallory’s assertion, in part, is that a city must continue to change, innovate and investment in order to stay competitive.


Cincinnati Skyline photography by Aaron Davidson.

“What brings people to a city is when there is clearly something going on, when the city is on the move. People want to be in cities where things are happening. And clearly things are happening in Cincinnati.”

One of those things, Mayor Mallory contended, is the Cincinnati Streetcar project for which he reserved some of his most pointed comments.

“The streetcar project will bring jobs and development to the city and that is why my administration will continue to pursue the streetcar,” Mallory exclaimed. “And yes, we will do it in the face of opposition. The reality is opposition never built anything…and just like we built The Banks, we will build the streetcar.”

Mayor Mallory also discussed the vibrancy of downtown, the new Cincinnati Horeshoe Casino, massive investments taking place in Over-the-Rhine, the redevelopment and expansion of Washington Park, renovation of Fay Apartments into the nation’s largest green housing development and a $100-200 million project that will transform a polluted creek into a clean park space.

In short, Mallory said, “Few cities are seeing the type of rebirth that we are seeing in our urban core.”

Other highlights include:

  • Launch of a new initiative called Bank On Greater Cincinnati that will transition 8,000 people from payday lenders to banks or credit unions.
  • Progress made on cleaning up lead paint from households with the help of $7.5 million in federal grants.
  • 72% of Cincinnati households now recycle, and 36% more has been recycled so far in 2011 following the introduction of the City’s Enhanced Recycling Program.
  • The Enhanced Recycling Program was expected to achieve $47,000 per month in savings. In March 2011, the program actually saved $83,000.
  • Since 2007 the City has decreased energy usage by more than 15%, which exceeded their 10% goal, saving the city more than $1 million in 2010.
  • Graduation rates at Cincinnati Public Schools have increased from 51% in 2000 to 80% in 2010, and college enrollment has increased 10% over the last four years.
  • The Cincinnati Initiative to Reduce Violence (CIRV) has been responsible for getting several violent gangs indicted in federal court and has significantly reduced violent crime throughout the city.
  • Unemployment has dropped from 10.1% to 8.6% since last year.

Mallory concluded by reflecting on these accomplishments and looking forward.

“Let me make it clear. We do not lie down. We do not give up. This is Cincinnati. When times are hard, we work harder. It is a part of our history. It is part of our heritage. It is in the very fabric of who we are as a city. So, what are you willing to work on? What are you committed to? I challenge all of you to find something you are passionate about to make Cincinnati greater. Future generations of Cincinnati will thank you.”