January 26, 201114 yr The strip mall bars full of overweight suburbanites drinking Bud Select and watching a Nickeblack cover band are carrying a lot of momentum. It's going to be at least 15 years -- societal trends change much more slowly in the aggregate than they do on the micro level. Mullets were a mid-to-late '80s thing, went out of style by 1992 but didn't really go away until 2003 or so.
January 26, 201114 yr The strip mall bars full of overweight suburbanites drinking Bud Select and watching a Nickeblack cover band are carrying a lot of momentum. It's going to be at least 15 years -- societal trends change much more slowly in the aggregate than they do on the micro level. Mullets were a mid-to-late '80s thing, went out of style by 1992 but didn't really go away until 2003 or so. The two really can't be compared. Bits and pieces of Downtown have been revitalized and Gay St is a perfect example to show that, yes, entrepreneurs find dense, walkable areas desirable and so do their customers. Thing is, revitalization doesn't just happen: the foundation needs to be laid. That was done in the case of Gay St which went from functioning as a commuter expressway with empty storefronts to becoming totally occupied by businesses save one spot (I hear that's due to the difficult landlord and not the space) in just a few years. The transition would never have happened were it not for the pedestrianization and two-way conversion to make the strip worth looking at. Long St sits right next door as a relic of the old Gay St: a commuter expressway with at least 50% vacancy among storefronts there. You can give it all the time you want for it to be "discovered" by entrepreneurs who then flock to it, but that street has been configured this way for decades and, guess what, there have been very few takers and even less are still thriving or surviving here. The current function of most downtown streets have not changed and therefore, expecting entrepreneurs to now all of a sudden risk being located in an area where their depends on heavy foot traffic and where the design of the scares off that foot traffic (their bread and butter), is just laughable on its face. A downtown retail consultant of all people should be the one suggesting that this necessary action take place ASAP. As for city leadership, city council's prioritization of what ODOT wants (keep the one ways just the same) to what entrepreneurs want Downtown (see Gay St businesses) is another huge obstacle and aside from a handful of people (myself included) no one spoke up against how ODOT wants to keep these downtown streets empty as ever. Note that businesses located on Gay St could have been chosen to be located next door on Long, but they didn't now did they? Downtown Columbus, from a retail perspective, is going to look much the same as it does today since the city leadership and general public show no interest in having a great downtown; they're happy with a great block or two and see no need for more.
January 26, 201114 yr Yes, and she's the one put in charge of attracting retail and the questions are rhetorical: they should already have been mentioned as top priorities with some serious changes on High St. There is no reason to bother contacting the city and what would you know about me contacting the appropriate people? I never saw you at any city council/community meetings when I was making contact with said appropriate people on important city matters. "More productive" is when I leave the state for a city where the leadership actually supports small business growth and urbanism in general. I don't know anything about you contacting "the appropriate people." which is proooobably why I asked. You never saw me at community meetings cause I don't live in Columbus. I asked because you are often on this board complaining and venting, so I was asking what you do about it. If you attend all of these meetings and contact the people who need to be contacted, then good for you. There really is no need to get defensive about it. Simple, straightforward questions require simple, straightforward answers, not "I didn't see you, etc, etc," defensiveness.
January 28, 201114 yr Central Ohio's jobless rate dips to 7.8% Eight-county region added 2,200 jobs in December; state's unemployment rate is 9.6% Wednesday, January 26, 2011 By Mark Williams, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Unemployment in the Columbus area fell to a nearly two-year low in December as the region added 2,200 jobs last month. The unemployment rate for the eight-county central Ohio region dropped to 7.8 percent in December from 8.1 percent in November, said the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. That's the lowest rate since February 2009. The regional unemployment rate hit a recent high of 9.8 percent in January a year ago. MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/business/stories/2011/01/26/central-ohios-jobless-rate-dips-to-7-8.html?sid=101
February 3, 201114 yr From Columbus Underground: Columbus Leads The Nation in Construction Jobs According to an article in the Dispatch, Columbus added more construction jobs in 2010 than any other metro area in the US. In December, Columbus Underground published a long list of urban development projects that were completed, under construction or announced in 2010. An excerpt of the Dispatch article (and link to the full article) is below: Big projects pump up local construction jobs Tuesday, February 1, 2011 By Marla Matzer Rose and Tim Feran The Columbus Dispatch Central Ohio has been adding more construction jobs than any other metropolitan area in the country, thanks to the cranes seen persistently at Ohio State University, Nationwide Children's Hospital and other sites. From December 2009 to December 2010, the area added 2,700 construction jobs, a 9 percent increase, according to the Associated General Contractors of America, a trade association. Only 66 of 337 metro areas added jobs during the same period, led by Columbus, the Dallas-Plano, Texas, area (2,100 jobs) and Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, Ariz. (1,900 jobs). The numbers came from census data analyzed by the trade group. Even though central Ohio had the biggest gain nationally in number of jobs connected to all types of construction, the area is still not booming like it was a decade ago, officials from the trade group said. "We dropped off a cliff, and we're inching our way back up," said Andrea Ashley, director of public affairs for the trade group's central Ohio office. "We are fortunate in Columbus, though. We're the only city in Ohio with a positive increase." FULL ARTICLE: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/business/stories/2011/02/01/big-projects-pump-up-local-construction-jobs.html?sid=101
March 27, 201114 yr Catching up with a couple of economic development articles from the Dispatch: City's effort to create jobs gains momentum Wednesday, January 26, 2011 By Marla Matzer Rose, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH An effort designed to bring jobs to Columbus is closing in on its funding goal, has chosen an agency to market the city and has hired additional people to coordinate the work. Four months into its fundraising drive, the Columbus Partnership has $23 million in pledges from public and private sources toward its $30 million goal for the Columbus 2020 economic-development plan. The $30 million, which the group hopes to raise by the end of 2011, is expected to fund the initiative for the next five years. The 2020 project's goals include adding 180,000 jobs in central Ohio over the next decade. READ MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/business/stories/2011/01/26/citys-effort-to-create-jobs-gains-momentum.html Veteran chamber exec takes over here Wednesday, February 23, 2011 By Marla Matzer Rose, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH The Columbus Chamber will introduce a new leader this morning at its annual meeting, after a months-long search. Michael Dalby, who comes from the economic-development group One Southern Indiana in the Louisville, Ky., area, will become president and CEO of the Columbus Chamber. Dalby has an extensive background in economic development and chamber of commerce work. He is expected to start in his new role in early April. His appointment comes as the focus of the chamber shifts to retaining and expanding existing central Ohio businesses. The job of attracting new businesses is increasingly being taken on by Columbus 2020, a new nonprofit development group spearheaded by the Columbus Partnership that is located Downtown with the chamber in the Lazarus Government Center. READ MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/business/stories/2011/02/23/veteran-chamber-exec-takes-over-here.html
April 8, 201114 yr MORSE ROAD CORRIDOR Immigration's effect subject of lecture Wednesday, March 30, 2011 By KEVIN PARKS ThisWeek Community Newspapers Ohio Wesleyan University assistant professor David M. Walker has studied contemporary urban issues while conducting extensive research in Mexico. But the instructor in urban, economic and cultural geography found fertile soil for his research practically just around the corner, along the Morse Road corridor that was devastated by the 2002 closing of the Northland Mall. In the years since, immigrant entrepreneurs from Somalia and Latin America have filled some of the voids left by the departure of businesses from strip centers all along Morse Road. Walker, an assistant professor of geology-geography at the liberal arts college in Delaware, will be outlining findings from research he conducted last summer in a presentation on Thursday, April 7. Entitled "Immigrantification: Global Immigration and Landscape Changes The Revitalization of the Morse Road Corridor in Columbus, Ohio," Walker's lecture will get under way at 7:30 p.m. in the Benes Room of the Hamilton-Williams Campus Center in Delaware. . . . The Northland area has become home to 35,000 immigrants from Somalia, the second-largest population in this country behind that of Minneapolis, he said. And, depending upon whose statistics are to be believed, the area is perhaps home to as many as 70,000 Latinos. "I thought there's something afoot here, some changes going on here," Walker said. "In 2002, Northland Mall closed, and the formerly prospering neighborhood began to decline," the OWU announcement stated. "In recent years, immigrant entrepreneurs have opened stores and restaurants in vacant buildings, culturally and economically spurring urban revitalization. READ MORE: http://www.thisweeknews.com/live/content/northland/stories/2011/03/30/immigrations-effect-subject-of-lecture.html?sid=104
May 11, 201114 yr A follow-up article on the "Immigrantification" research being done on the economic revitalization of the Morse Road retail corridor in Columbus: Immigrants lead the way on Morse Road Thursday, April 7, 2011 By Mark Ferenchik, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Travel no farther than Morse Road to witness the melting pot Columbus is becoming. Once one of the city's premier commercial corridors that featured national retail chain stores, Morse Road is beginning to more closely resemble the immigrant populations that have moved into the area in the past decade. Somali, West African and Latino restaurants and stores have opened in buildings that businesses left vacant after Northland Mall closed in 2002. These changes intrigued a local researcher who wanted to study the impact of these businesses on revitalization efforts. David Walker, an assistant professor of geography at Ohio Wesleyan University, found that from 2002 through 2010, the majority of the 180 business licenses the city issued for along Morse between Karl Road and Cleveland Avenue went to people with Latino or African surnames. READ MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2011/04/07/immigrants-lead-the-way-on-morse.html?sid=101
May 12, 201114 yr Unemployment in Central Ohio drops to 7.6%, lowest in 2 years Business First Date: Tuesday, April 19, 2011, 11:59am EDT Central Ohio’s unemployment rate dipped back below 8 percent to hit its lowest point in more than two years in March, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services reported Tuesday. . . . Around the state, rates ranged from an Ohio low of 6.2 percent in Delaware County to a high of 16.3 percent in Ottawa County. Franklin County’s jobless rate hovered just below the regional average at 7.5 percent. READ MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2011/04/19/unemployment-in-central-ohio-drops-to.html
May 12, 201114 yr Nationwide readies worker shift to downtown under deal with Columbus By Brian R. Ball, Business First Date: Friday, April 29, 2011, 6:00am EDT Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. plans to begin relocating 400 workers from Dublin as part of its year-old agreement with Columbus to bring 1,400 employees to the insurer’s downtown office complex. Nationwide spokesman Eric Hardgrove said the company’s workers in the former BMW Financial Services building at 5513 Parkcenter Circle will begin leaving the 115,000-square-foot property in July. The information technology division workers will join 200 other IT workers relocating from 250 West Street in the Arena District on seven floors of the 280 Plaza, a Nationwide-owned building at 280 N. High Street. Nationwide is one of the region’s largest private employers, with more than 11,000 workers in Central Ohio. The insurer pledged to move 1,400 jobs into the city after Nationwide Realty Investors Ltd., its real estate development business, sought Columbus’ help in renovating West Third Avenue to serve its Grandview Yard project. That mixed-used project, while mainly in Grandview Heights, includes redevelopment land on Edgehill Road and West Third within the city’s borders. READ MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/print-edition/2011/04/29/nationwide-readies-worker-shift-to.html
May 18, 201114 yr Chase holds out prospect of more jobs here CEO Jamie Dimon also says that new mortgage positions may be long-term Tuesday, May 17, 2011 By Mark Williams, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH As it turned out, worries about what would happen to the 12,500 area employees of JPMorgan Chase and Bank One after the two banks merged in 2004 were unfounded. Central Ohio has become only more important to Chase. "If we built a healthy company, it will mean more jobs to this town," was what JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon recalled saying when Chase bought Bank One. "That was like 5,000 jobs ago," he said yesterday. The bank will have its annual shareholders meeting (Tuesday) at the McCoy Center at Polaris, which is Chase's largest office building, home to 9,200 workers. Chase has 75 branch offices in central Ohio, plus several large campuses that provide technology, marketing, finance and other national support functions for the company. READ MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/business/stories/2011/05/17/chase-holds-out-prospect-of-more-jobs-here.html?sid=101
June 27, 201113 yr Battelle, its laboratories garner 19 R&D awards Monday, June 27, 2011 The Columbus Dispatch Battelle and the national laboratories it manages and co-manages for the U.S. Department of Energy won 19 R&D 100 awards recognizing the most significant scientific achievements of 2010. The awards are presented by R&D Magazine. READ MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/business/stories/2011/06/27/Battelle-its-laboratories-garner-19-RxD-awards.html?sid=101
July 24, 201113 yr Author Tech jobs go unfilled for lack of skilled workers Sunday, July 24, 2011 03:16 AM By Tim Feran, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH In a dramatic reversal from the darkest days of the recession, thousands of high-paying information-technology jobs are going unfilled in central Ohio. The problem, affecting big and small companies alike, persists even though the state's jobless rate remains high. http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/business/stories/2011/07/24/tech-jobs-go-unfilled-for-lack-of-skilled-workers.html?sid=101
August 11, 201113 yr Columbus casino GM sets hiring schedule for thousands of jobs Business First - by Jeff Bell Date: Tuesday, August 2, 2011, 11:13am EDT Ameet Patel could be excused for feeling a bit lonely as the first employee of Penn National Gaming Inc.’s Columbus casino, but the facility’s general manager will have plenty of company soon enough. Patel began his duties Monday at the casino site off West Broad Street on Columbus’ west side. His top priority, he said Tuesday morning, will be hiring the 2,000 workers the casino expects to have in place when it opens in the fourth quarter of 2012. “From Aug. 1 to Dec. 1, (2012),’ Patel said, “we will go from one to 2,000.” READ MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2011/08/02/columbus-casino-gm-sets-hiring.html?ana=twt&page=all
September 17, 201113 yr Columbus2020 shows off manufacturing assets to national, Japanese writers By Jeff Bell, Staff Reporter - Business First Date: Thursday, September 1, 2011, 11:23am EDT The economic development group recently hosted five journalists who write for publications that include the New York Times, IndustryWeek, The Daily Green, several trade journals, CBS’s BNET business network and Jiji Press, the Japanese wire service. Columbus2020 honcho Kenny McDonald said the scribes were interested in the region’s manufacturing assets, so he and some of 2020’s partners took them to Marysville to see Honda of America’s auto plant and Scott’s Miracle-Gro Co. They also visited Worthington Industries Inc., Battelle, Ohio State University’s Center for Automotive Research, Edison Welding Institute, Accel Inc. and start-up companies at TechColumbus. READ MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2011/09/columbus2020-shows-off-manufacturing.html
September 22, 201113 yr Columbus Foundation tops $100 million in donations for third time By Rita Price, The Columbus Dispatch Thursday, September 15, 2011 - 3:12 PM The Columbus Foundation received gifts of more than $109 million in 2010, the second-highest total in the history of the 68-year-old community foundation. Contributions to new and existing funds last year represent a big jump — 36.1 percent — over gifts received in 2009, the foundation reported. Last year’s total also marks the third time that foundation gifts have topped the $100 million mark in a single year. More than $96 million was granted to 6,592 nonprofit organizations in a variety of fields, from arts and humanities to education and social services. That’s nearly 13 percent more than in 2009, when grants totaled $85 million. The Columbus Foundation is the 10th largest of the nation’s approximately 700 community foundations. As of Dec. 31, its assets totaled more than $1 billion. READ MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2011/09/15/columbus-foundation-logs-big-contributions.html
September 22, 201113 yr Joe Blundo's recent column featured a profile on Jeni Britton Bauer, the 38-year-old founder and owner of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams. He talks about how Jeni's "overnight success" in business was 16 years in the making - and with assistance from groups in Columbus along the way. SO TO SPEAK Success still a goal at Jeni’s By Joe Blundo, The Columbus Dispatch Tuesday, September 20, 2011 - 7:09 AM It occurred to me recently that every article I’d read about central Ohio as a travel destination in the past year or two had mentioned Jeni’s ice cream, which is becoming the Philly cheesesteak of Columbus. How did that happen? I asked her. MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/life_and_entertainment/2011/09/20/success-still-a-goal-at-jenis.html
October 5, 201113 yr Weiland's new owners should be familiar to community Scott Bowman and Jennifer Williams, daughter of current co-owner John Williams, are former employees who said they are looking forward to running the popular market. By CLIFF WILTSHIRE, COLUMBUS LOCAL NEWS Published: Thursday, August 25, 2011 10:03 AM EDT After celebrating its 50th anniversary earlier this year, Weiland's Gourmet Market and its owners have decided a little change is in store. But don't expect much to change. The community grocery, 3600 Indianola Ave., is under new management as of today (August 25). The husband-and-wife team of Scott Bowman and Jennifer Williams have taken over as Tim Teegartin retires and sells his interests to them. Terms were not disclosed. MORE: http://columbuslocalnews.com/articles/2011/08/25/multiple_papers/news/allboweila_20110824_0433pm_4.txt
October 6, 201113 yr Governor, Battelle push power of research By Joe Vardon, The Columbus Dispatch Friday, September 16, 2011 - 5:20 AM A ribbon-cutting yesterday, a high-stakes energy summit next week, an ongoing effort to build a medical corridor in Ohio. Gov. John Kasich and Columbus-based Battelle are busy working on the same stuff. Yesterday, Kasich shared a podium with Battelle president and CEO Jeff Wadsworth to officially open the company’s Center for Life Sciences Research in West Jefferson. Next week, Kasich, Wadsworth and Ohio State University President E. Gordon Gee will kick off the governor’s 21st Century Energy and Economic Summit at Ohio State. Energy experts and business leaders will flock to Columbus for two days beginning Wednesday to help Kasich craft a statewide energy policy. And Battelle is also a partner in Kasich’s effort to attract biomedical companies to Ohio by coordinating research at the state’s top hospitals. Among the areas of study for Battelle is pharmaceuticals. The organization has played a major role in research for an important drug to treat cystic fibrosis, another to treat HIV and insulin-delivery methods for diabetics. MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2011/09/16/governor-battelle-push-power-of-research.html
October 6, 201113 yr More about the new Battelle facility that opened in West Jefferson and other Battelle investments in Central Ohio from The Madison Press: Battelle opens new facility By Kevin Dye, Staff Writer Friday, Sept. 16, 2011 Battelle unveiled the centerpiece of its $200-million investment in central Ohio as it officially opened its new Center for Life Sciences Research facility in West Jefferson with a ceremony attended Thursday by Ohio Governor John Kasich and other area leaders. Battelle’s new facility is a 220,000-square-foot research center that will employ 150 high-tech scientists and technicians who will perform cutting-edge science to serve its clients in public health, commercial health care and environmental services. The new facility will enhance Battelle’s biomedical and life sciences research to help save and improve lives. (. . .) In addition to the new facility in West Jefferson, Battelle has also modernized and renovated offices and laboratories at its headquarters on King Avenue in Columbus, created a new early education and day care on the western edge of the Columbus campus, invested in its armor assembly facility in west Columbus and expanded its light manufacturing facility in Dublin. That represents a $200 million investment into the central Ohio area and it is estimated that it will have $472.9 million total economic impact. MORE: http://www.madison-press.com/news/local-news/battelle-opens-new-facility/
December 6, 201113 yr Grab bag of older business articles and updates: Huntington bolsters its No. 1 spot in market: The Dispatch looks at the top banks in the Columbus metropolitan area, by percentage share of total deposits for the region. Huntington Bank is #1 for 2011. U.S. EPA gives $93M in contracts to Battelle: A Dispatch article about recent federal contracts awarded the Columbus-based Battelle. The largest is a five-year, $15 million contract to help the EPA enact and enforce the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative - a federally funded project to clean up pollution and fight invasive species threatening the Great Lakes ecosystem. Startup Weekend Columbus unites coders, artists at CCAD: Business First article about software coders and art students meeting at the Columbus College of Art & Design. GE Capital pledges $10M for Ohio State research into middle-market companies: Ohio State University’s Fisher College of Business announced a five-year, $10 million pledge from GE Capital, the financial services arm of General Electric Co., to provide research on middle-market U.S. businesses - companies between $10 million and $1 billion in revenue. Businesses in middle get OSU’s attention - 600 executives attend one-day summit on ‘overlooked’ segment: More about the above mentioned $10 million pledge from GE Capital to OSU's Fisher College of Business and an accompanying one-day summit on the Ohio State campus from the Dispatch.
December 12, 201113 yr An excerpt from an older blog article about Cardinal Health from Business First. I believe anyone can access the full blog post at the link below w/o subscription. CEO says ‘agility’ is key as Cardinal Health passes $100B mark Business First by Carrie Ghose, Staff reporter Date: Wednesday, November 2, 2011, 5:27pm EDT Don’t expect any dramatic local economic impact this year from the Dublin headquarters of Cardinal Health Inc., Ohio’s largest publicly traded company. The international pharmaceutical and medical distributor likely will be adding some jobs to its specialty businesses, and it’s building facilities near the Ohio State University campus in a partnership on radioactive diagnostic drugs, but the Central Ohio presence this year will be largely “stable,” CEO George Barrett told Columbus Business First after Wednesday’s annual meeting. So nothing on the lines of 2007’s $50 million headquarters expansion to accommodate hundreds of transferred jobs. In an uneventful, 27-minute meeting, Barrett gave a recap of the year ended June 30, in which the company passed the $100 billion revenue mark for the first time. MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2011/11/ceo-says-agility-is-key-as-cardinal.html
December 12, 201113 yr One more oldie I found: Abbott to split company; Columbus employment unaffected By Dan Gearino, The Columbus Dispatch Wednesday, October 19, 2011 - 12:14 PM Abbott Labs is splitting into two companies, a decision that will have no immediate effect on Columbus employees. Illinois-based Abbott will continue to use that name for its medical product and nutritional businesses, representing $22 billion in annual sales. The rest of the company will get a new name, which has not been determined. That company will focus on developing new pharmaceuticals, representing $18 billion in annual sales. (. . .) The Columbus operations, which employ about 2,000 workers, are among the parts that will retain the Abbott name. The Columbus operations produce nutrition products, with brands that include Similac and Ensure. MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2011/10/19/abbott-labs-split-will-not-affect-employment-in-columbus.html
December 20, 201113 yr Couple of articles about 1492, a business collaboration between TechColumbus, Columbus State Community College, and Columbus College of Art & Design, with support from the Ohio Third Frontier, that is designed to find and nurture viable business concepts. The program is also designed to accelerate the development of innovative startups in a matter of months rather than years. The 1492 program was first done two years ago. This is the program's second round. Each selected participant will receive up to $20,000 in funding, as well as coaching and mentoring services from some of Central Ohio's leading experts in company formation, venture capital and entrepreneurism. Below are links from two articles from The Metropreneur and the home page for the 1492 program: 1492 business launch competition starting up again soon Five startups selected for participation in 1492 program 1492 home page
December 20, 201113 yr Building jobs rising but appear near peak Area among nation’s leaders in past year with 4,200 new hires By Marla Matzer Rose, The Columbus Dispatch Tuesday, December 6, 2011 - 5:36 AM More construction jobs were added in Columbus between October 2010 and October 2011 than in almost any other metro area in the country, according to data released (December 5) by the Associated General Contractors of America. Columbus added 4,200 jobs in that time, a 15 percent increase from the previous 12-month period, third only to the Houston area and the metro area that includes Kenosha, Wis., along the Illinois/Wisconsin border north of Chicago. Columbus’ construction-job growth far outpaced the state average increase of 4 percent. Nationwide, more than 40 percent of metro areas lost jobs during the year, which the contractors group attributed in part to “declining federal investments in infrastructure projects.” Several major construction projects contributed to the growth, including the expansion of Ohio State University’s Medical Center, Nationwide Children’s Hospital and Penn National’s Hollywood Casino on the West Side. MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2011/12/06/building-jobs-rising-but-appear-near-peak.html
December 21, 201113 yr Deal targets job poaching by communities Columbus, suburbs ready to set limits on luring companies locally By Doug Caruso, Quan Truong and Dean Narciso The Columbus Dispatch Friday, December 16, 2011 - 9:45 AM Mayors and city managers in Columbus and nine suburbs have reached a tentative agreement to curtail job poaching, the practice of enticing companies to move jobs — and the income taxes they generate — across municipal lines. Cities in the agreement would offer incentives only for jobs and investments that are new to the region. That means that if a company wanted to move locally, it would have to show that it was increasing jobs or investment to win tax breaks and other help. Companies from outside the region also would qualify. A city that went beyond that and used incentives to lure a central Ohio company with existing payroll of at least $10 million would have to share half of the income-tax revenue it gained with the city that lost it for five years. Leaders from Columbus, Dublin, Gahanna, Grandview Heights, Grove City, Hilliard, New Albany, Upper Arlington, Westerville and Worthington signed a letter of intent to enact the deal at a meeting in Westerville on Wednesday. Each city’s council would have to approve the pact to join it. The letter says a detailed agreement would be worked out among the city administrations by March 1, and each would pursue council approval in May. MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2011/12/16/deal-targets-job-poaching.html
December 22, 201113 yr Jobless rate for Columbus drops again By Mark Williams, The Columbus Dispatch Tuesday, December 20, 2011 - 11:02 AM Unemployment in the Columbus metropolitan area tumbled last month to its lowest level since December 2008. The rate dropped to 6.6 percent in November, down from 7.6 percent in October, according to figures released this morning by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Columbus posted the lowest rate among the state’s metropolitan areas, reclaiming the mark it lost to Cleveland last month. Rates were down for all of the state’s metropolitan areas and fell in 85 of Ohio’s 88 counties. The report for the counties and metropolitan areas comes three days after the release of figures showing the state unemployment rate was at 8.5 percent last month, also the lowest since December 2008. MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2011/12/20/unemployment-rate-in-columbus.html
December 22, 201113 yr Skreened is a rare domestic t-shirt manufacturing business that is located in Columbus and thriving. Skreened recently moved into a new warehouse production facility to accomodate its growing business. Columbus Underground interviewed Skreened owner Daniel Fox about his business. The article and link to the interview are below: Skreened Expands, Relocates HQ to New Warehouse By: Walker Evans, Columbus Underground Published on October 26, 2011 - 9:00 am It’s hard to believe that Skreened.com is only five years old. In that short amount of time, this local company has grown from a one-man operation where owner Daniel Fox was selling t-shirts out of a tiny half-renovated retail space near the Cup o Joe in Clintonville, to a team of nearly 20 employees printing and shipping approximately 200,000 custom-made apparel items per year to customers around the world. Their latest evolution includes a recent relocation into an 8,000 square foot warehouse at 2887 Silver Drive. INTERVIEW: http://www.columbusunderground.com/skreened-expands-relocates-hq-to-new-warehouse
January 9, 201213 yr Honda to build new Acura NSX sports car at new central Ohio plant By Dan Gearino The Columbus Dispatch Monday January 9, 2012 3:03 PM DETROIT – Honda will build its new Acura NSX sports car at a new plant in central Ohio, the company said today. The specific location and the number of employees will be part of a future announcement. The NSX, a revival of a model Acura produced from 1990 to 2005, will likely go on sale in 2015. “We’re really proud to be able to say it will be manufactured in Ohio,” said Jeff Conrad, vice president and general manager for Acura, speaking at the North American International Auto Show. Read more at: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2012/01/09/honda-to-build-new-acura-at-new-plant-in-central-ohio.html
January 10, 201213 yr More about the 1492 program from The Metropreneur: 1492 Demo Day to be held Upcoming Events — By Melanie McIntyre on January 4, 2012 at 8:00 am For 11 weeks, five local startups have refined their business concepts in preparation for the 1492 Accelerator Demo Day Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2012 at the Canzani Center at 60 Cleveland Ave. on Columbus College of Art & Design’s campus. Registration and networking begins at 2:30 p.m., and demonstrations and business pitches begin at 3 p.m. The 1492 business launch program −a collaboration between TechColumbus, Columbus State Community College and CCAD, with support from the Ohio Third Frontier− is designed to accelerate the development of innovative startups in a matter of months rather than years. The participants are Azoti, Capstone Innovations, Churchsys.com, hungerly, and Infinum Education. (Descriptions of the five startup companies at the Metropreneur link below) MORE: http://www.themetropreneur.com/columbus/1492-demo-day-held-week/
January 10, 201213 yr ColumbusRegion.com receives recognition by Mid-America Economic Development Council Announcements — By Walker Evans on January 3, 2012 at 1:25 pm The Mid-America Economic Development Council’s annual Economic Development awards ceremony took place in Chicago in December, and Columbus received some special recognition. The ColumbusRegion.com website, which launched in June 2011, took home the first place prize for websites in the large market category. More information can be found online at www.columbusregion.com. MORE: http://www.themetropreneur.com/columbus/columbusregion-com-receives-recognition-mid-america-economic-development-council/
February 20, 201213 yr Before we get too deep into 2012, I really should post these 2011 business recaps from The Metropeneur: 2011 Year in Review for Small Business Development Entrepreneur of the Year 2011: Mary Relotto Success Story of 2011: CallCopy Best Business Program of 2011: ECDI Funding Program Best Entrepreneurial Event of 2011: Startup Weekend Best Business Incubator of 2011: TechColumbus
February 20, 201213 yr And an insightful interview from Metropeneur with Cheryl Krueger, who founded Cheryl’s Cookies in Columbus in 1981 - which later became Cheryl & Co. She later sold the business in 2005 and started KRUEGER + CO. Consulting Inc., which helps companies develop marketing and sales strategies. The Metropeneur: Cheryl & Co. founder discusses leadership, a biz’s most valuable assets
February 20, 201213 yr And a late January recap of government supplied employment and salary numbers: Columbus Dispatch: Regional jobless rate dips to 6.4% Business First: Countdown: Ohio cities, ranked by average annual salary
February 24, 201213 yr Columbus Chamber refocuses on existing businesses By Mark Williams, The Columbus Dispatch Wednesday, February 22, 2012 - 11:47 AM The Columbus Chamber’s new effort to bolster the regional economy will focus on helping existing businesses become stronger. Chamber executives laid out the group's “it starts with us” campaign at the chamber’s annual meeting this morning at the Greater Columbus Convention Center before 1,200 business leaders. (. . .) The chamber’s effort will focus mostly on small and medium-size businesses. Columbus2020, the region’s economic-development group, will assist large businesses along with its continuing push to bring new businesses to Columbus. MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2012/02/22/columbus-chamber.html
February 24, 201213 yr A trio of recent good job news for Columbus and Central Ohio: Dispatch: Columbus to gain work as Postal Service consolidates Business First: Limited bringing more La Senza jobs to Columbus Dispatch: Chase will add 350 to its central Ohio work force
March 13, 201213 yr Oh wow, 19,000 jobs here from Chase? And they need new office space? New office complex downtown anybody?
March 13, 201213 yr Oh wow, 19,000 jobs here from Chase? And they need new office space? New office complex downtown anybody? Chase seems to focus on expanding pretty much exclusively in the suburbs. I would not expect that to change.
March 16, 201213 yr They have their massive complex just south of Polaris and most of the rest of their satellite stuff is on the 270 beltway in Westerville, Gahanna and the like.
March 23, 201213 yr 10-Xelerator receives additional $200K from the state By Melanie McIntyre, The Metropreneur February 28, 2012 at 8:00 am The Ohio Third Frontier Commission awarded $760,000 from the Ohio’s New Entrepreneurs Fund to four recipients, including The Ohio State University. OSU’s 10-xelerator was given $200,000 to support 10 teams of entrepreneurs during summer 2012. 10x focuses on information technology with a broad base of applications, including web 2.0, social, mobile, software development, and data services. MORE: http://www.themetropreneur.com/columbus/10x-receives-200k-state/
March 23, 201213 yr Time Warner completes acquisition of Insight Business First by Rick Rouan, Web coordinator Date: Thursday, March 1, 2012, 2:01pm EST Time Warner Cable Inc. has completed a deal to acquire Insight Communications, a cable operator with customers in Central Ohio. Time Warner Cable ranks as one of Central Ohio’s largest employers with more than 1,500 employees, according to Business First research. The company is adding “several hundred” workers in Central Ohio through the acquisition, a spokesman said. MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2012/03/01/time-warner-completes-acquisition-of.html
March 23, 201213 yr After the recession, Ohio is gaining construction jobs; projects in the Columbus area are leading the growth By Steve Wartenberg, The Columbus Dispatch Thursday, March 22, 2012 - 5:15 AM Boosted by expansion at local hospitals and colleges, the number of construction jobs in Ohio slowly has begun to rise. The state’s construction industry employed 177,300 workers in January, an increase of 4,500 — or 2.6 percent — from January 2011, according to a new analysis of Labor Department data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Almost half these gains came from the Columbus metropolitan area. The number of local construction jobs in January stood at 27,300, a jump of 2,200 — or 9 percent — from the previous year’s total. "Ohio State (University) is an economic engine for the city and has roughly $2 billion worth of construction projects right now — and that’s great news,” said Kyle Rooney, the vice president and general manager of the local office of Turner Construction. “There does seem to be an unusual number of large projects all going on at the same time,” he added. Some of these larger local projects that have kept construction companies and skilled laborers busy are the $1.1 billion expansion of the Wexner Medical Center at Ohio State University, the $840 million expansion of Nationwide Children’s Hospital, the new $140 million Hilton Columbus Downtown and the $120 million expansion at Mount Carmel St. Ann’s hospital in Westerville. MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2012/03/22/hard-at-work.html
March 28, 201213 yr Electric-car maker picks central Ohio for battery plant Project has hurdles to clear as civic leaders try to reel in 1,000 jobs Tuesday, May 25, 2010 - 2:53 AM By Dan Gearino, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH A former telecom-equipment factory on the Far East Side might return to life soon making batteries for electric cars, holding out the promise of 1,000 new jobs. Electric-car manufacturer Coda Automotive said yesterday that it has chosen to open a battery plant in central Ohio, a move that is contingent on the approval of federal and state aid. Although the company is looking at several local sites, the leading choice is the former Lucent Technologies factory on E. Broad Street. This is part of a running start for Coda, a company that began last year in Santa Monica, Calif., and plans to begin selling its first vehicle, a compact sedan, later this year. The car would have a range of up to 130 miles on a single charge. Full article: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2010/05/25/coda-columbus-art-gfl8l5kq-1.html?sid=101 I'll go on record saying that I zero faith this will actually come to fruition. I have to give you credit on this one dmerkow. Hot off the Dispatch website: Coda ditches plan to build car-battery factory in Columbus
April 12, 201213 yr NetJets opened their new $21 million, 140,000-square-foot headquarters building at Port Columbus last week. Below are two articles from the Dispatch about the history of NetJets and the timeline behind the new building. Also below is a photo slideshow of the NetJets office building from Columbus Business First: Dispatch: New HQ brings employees together Dispatch: Turbulence eases as NetJets settles in Business First: Slideshow - NetJets moves into new headquarters at Port Columbus
July 26, 201212 yr WOSU's weekly public affairs progream - Columbus On The Record - recently had a special program devoted to exploring Central Ohio's Innovation Economy. Panelists were Carrie Ghose of Business First, Eric Corl of Fundable, and Tim Haynes of TechColumbus.
July 26, 201212 yr One of the groups featured in the above Columbus On The Record special about Central Ohio Innovation Economy was interviewed by The Metropreneur Columbus. The Metropreneur Columbus: Fundable helps entrepreneurs looking to build sustainable businesses
July 31, 201212 yr Some additional articles from Metropreneur Columbus about private companies and institutions in Columbus assisting the creative class and innovation economy in taking ideas from concept to reality: Metropreneur Columbus: CCAD MindShop incubator to help creative businesses Metropreneur Columbus: Founder’s Factory emphasizes startup relationships Metropreneur Columbus: JETPAK aims to bring new inventions, ideas to market quickly
July 31, 201212 yr And while were on the subject of creating jobs from an innovation economy, here is a recent article at the Huffington Post that featured Columbus among five cities profiled for doing this. You can take the article for what it worth because (1) its from HuffPost and (2) it has "keeping it real" in its title. But below is the link to the full article with an excerpt of the Columbus section: From Huffington Post: Silicon America: 5 Startup Economies Keeping it Real and Bringing it Back Columbus: And then there is Columbus. Big. Healthy. And totally undercover. Check it out. The Columbus region has traditionally been heavily reliant on advanced information processing -- with sectors such as banking, retail, insurance and healthcare driving the economy. CompuServe was born here and OCLC maintains the world's largest online library catalog connecting libraries from across the globe. It has been said that the Midwest has always been recognized for doing the "heavy lifting" in software programming for business -- much of which has been done, and continues to be done, in Columbus. This rich history has given rise to a creative class of entrepreneurs, steeped in the knowledge of software development and problem solving who have turned those talents into entrepreneurial pursuits. According to TechColumbus spokesperson Tricia Strahler: "This region is quickly gaining a reputation in healthcare IT with companies such as HTP being launched and eventually acquired by McKesson and Health Care DataWorks, a spin off from The Wexner Medical Center at Ohio State. This was one of the earliest health information electronic data warehouses to achieve "meaningful use" designation under new federal regulations. But Columbus is also rich in research and development assets. In 2008, Forbes named Columbus the "#1 Up and Coming Tech City" primarily due to the number of "significant patents" issued to the city's behemoth research institute, Battelle. Together, the region's institutions, which include Ohio State, Battelle, the Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital and others, represent more than $2 billion annually in managed research and development. This has led to the growth of many startups in areas such as advanced materials, agriculture and healthcare.
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