Empowerment Zone, CRA agreements promise 87 jobs, new medical offices

On June 16, Cincinnati City Council passed unanimously three ordinances that promise to bring at least 87 new jobs and a new medical office building to Cincinnati.

Nehemiah Manufacturing Company will receive $2 million in Cincinnati Empowerment Zone funding to acquire and rehabilitate a 38,000-square-foot warehouse building at 1130 Findlay Street in the West End. Of that $2 million, $300,000 is structured as a five-year, 3.5 percent interest loan that will provide the company with additional working capital.

The company, which manufactures Procter & Gamble brand products, will relocate from Oakley and plans to create 75 new positions over the next five years.

The A&B Deburring Company, located at 525 Carr Street in Queensgate, will receive a $300,000 Cincinnati Empowerment Zone three-year forgivable loan for a new 6,000-square-foot steel building, electrical upgrades to its existing 27,000-square-foot building, and additional metal finishing equipment.

The expansion will allow the company to expand its business in the surface preparation areas of blast cleaning and parts washing, creating 12 new positions over the next three years.


VA getting new space

Council also approved a Community Reinvestment Area (CRA) LEED tax exemption agreement with Highland MOB that will aid in the construction of a new Class A medical and administrative office building at 2929 Highland Avenue in Corryville.

Upon completion, the Veterans Affairs Medical Center will lease the 24,700-square-foot Highland Avenue Medical Office Building for use by its opthamology group, its sleep lab, and its engineering group.

A 100-car parking facility also will be built as part of the $5.9 million project.

Under the 15-year agreement, Highland MOB will receive a 75 percent property tax exemption, reducing its tax liability by approximately $1.1 million.

The project has been registered with the U.S. Green Building Council as a LEED-CS 2.0 (Core and Shell) project.