With more than 1,000 new jobs recently announced
by businesses in the city of Sharonville, a new hotel under construction
and an expected influx of visitors to events at Princeton High School’s
new Viking Village, Sharonville officials are trying to make sure they
have all the needed amenities in place.
That means making sure there are enough full-service
restaurants in the city to feed all those hungry people. That’s one of
the jobs of Chris Xeil Lyons, the city’s economic development director.
And the first step to bring those restaurants to
town is to make sure developers know how much potential exists in the
city, particularly in what’s called the Northern Lights Entertainment
District, home of the Sharonville Convention Center, says Lyons.
The Northern Lights Entertainment District includes the stretch of Chester Road between Kemper Road and Princeton High School.
“We’ve been trying to work as much as possible with
some developers and just trying to get the story out because a lot of
people don’t know everything that’s been happening along that corridor,”
says Lyons.
What’s been happening is a $6 million investment by
Sharonville in the infrastructure along the corridor and an additional
$2.9 million of work that is planned, including burying utilities, and
installing stamped concrete sidewalks, decorative street lights and
improved crosswalks, she says.
In addition, Princeton High School’s Viking Village,
which includes a 1,200-seat performance theater with a full orchestra
pit, a 2,500-seat sports arena and a 500-seat natatorium, was recently
completed, says Lyons. That means the facility will be home to numerous
tournaments, competitions and performances, she says.
“They’re going to be attracting all kinds of
groups,” Lyons says. “And we really think there’s going to be a need for
more restaurants in that Northern Lights area.”
A new $14 million, 110-room Hyatt Place hotel is
also under construction. The six-story metal-and-glass building, which
will connect to the city’s Convention Center, is expected to open no
later than the first quarter of next year, says Lyons.
“We hope it’s going to improve our convention
center’s competitiveness when courting special events and conventions
because it’s actually going to be connected to our convention center,”
she says.
A $25 million expansion and renovation of the
Sharonville Convention Center was completed in 2013. The Sharonville
Convention Center now has a 1,000-seat ballroom, a 20,000-square-foot
exhibit hall and 19 meeting rooms.
But Lyons is concerned that the word is not getting
out about all that the area has to offer. “Nobody knows that we’ve had
all this investment and improvements,” she says.
That may be about to change. “All of the above
efforts have led to a lot of excitement and interest about the Northern
Lights District,” says City Manager Jim Lukas. “It is my belief that,
within the next few years, many will once again be talking about Chester
Road, the heart of the Northern Lights District, as one of the ‘go to’
places in the region,” he says.
The city in general has certainly become one of the “go to” places for businesses creating new jobs.
United Healthcare recently moved about 200 jobs to
the Summit Woods office park; Club Chef, a Castellini company, plans to
create a new business venture with 355 new jobs in the Caruso building
on Hauck Road; Standard Aero announced a major expansion and the
creation of 120 new jobs; Tata Consultancy Services plans to bring 300
jobs to the One Crowne Point office building; and Gorilla Glue last year
bought a building in Sharonville and agreed to create 110 fulltime
jobs, Lyons says.
Lukas says there are two primary reasons that
Sharonville has become an excellent place to establish, develop and grow
a business. The first is the city’s location near, and access to, three
major interstates—Interstate 275, Interstate 75 and Interstate 71, he
says.
The second reason is probably the most important,
Lukas says, and that is the city of Sharonville’s culture regarding
economic development. “From Mayor [Kevin] Hardman’s direction and
vision, to the support of the other elected officials, to the
relationships that our economic development director, Chris Xeil Lyons,
achieves with businesses and developers, to the expedited review and
inspection process of the city’s Planning Commission and Community
Development Department, we often hear from business representatives how
Sharonville is more approachable and partners with them better than many
others in our region,” he says.
Lyons agrees with that assessment. “We’re a really
easy-to-work-with community,” she says. “Our city council is very
responsive. They’re a pro-business community. Our mayor is very
supportive of everything we do so I think it’s all around having the
administration and elected officials and then all of our departments.”
And that willingness to work with businesses is
important. “Business owners talk with one another and the positive word
of mouth about Sharonville helps us as well,” says Lukas.
Not only are Sharonville officials willing to work
with businesses, but Lyons says it’s her job to provide businesses with
the information they need as quickly as possible. “I work closely with
these companies and try to cut down the timing of some projects and
expedite projects,” says Lyons. “We can get offers to companies pretty
quick.”
Another reasons Sharonville is a great community in
which to locate and grow a business is the availability of a variety of
office space, says Lyons. “We’ve got our class ‘A’ office space in
Summit Woods and then we’ve also got some other more affordable office
space available so people can grow here,” she says. “They can come into a
smaller building and have the opportunity to still stay in Sharonville
and move up with the variety of buildings we have available.”