Table of Contents2015 in Review 4

Downtown Revitalization 14Introduction 6

The Hamilton Mill 16Barclaycard 8

Infrastructure Improvements 18STARTEK 10

Hamilton Utilities 20Small Businesses 12

2015 Awards & Recognition 22

4

5

Introduction2015 was a great year!

The Annual Report

• Major Job Announcements• Small Business Development• Downtown Revitalization• The Hamilton Mill• Infrastructure Improvements• Hamilton Utilities• 2015 Awards & Recognition

In 2015, major announcements and accomplishments reveal that the economic development efforts in the City of Hamilton have produced a boost in employment opportunities, business expansions, capital investments, and quality of life.

During 2015 alone, the City exceeded its 5-year job creation goal with the recent job announcements of two international companies, Barclaycard and STARTEK, and the expansion of ODW Logistics & Transportation Services. In total, these companies will create 2,222 net new jobs. The City also benefited from a total investment of $11.8 million in capital projects and collaborated with public and private partners to tackle major economic development efforts in Hamilton.

Downtown is experiencing a renewed sense of vitality. Nine new small businesses opened downtown in 2015. In June 2015, local business owners increased downtown economic vitality when they worked together to launch a monthly event, “Alive After 5”, which aims to draw people into Hamilton’s central business district with music, food and retail specials on the first Thursday of the month.

The expansion of economic development efforts in a wide variety of areas is evident by the topics included in this year’s report. The contents are also indicative of the collaborative nature of the work as the projects span multiple City departments. The 2015 report is organized by the following sections:

The success of the increased efforts in Hamilton during the year 2015 is apparent through the variety of awards received by the city from the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA). 2015 was a success for economic development efforts in Hamilton, Ohio, and we are working hard to make 2016 even better.

6

7

BarclaycardOne of the largest job announcements in Ohio over the last decade In August 2015, Barclaycard, a payments business and a division of the United Kingdom-based Barclays Bank, announced that their new customer contact center will be located in Hamilton, Ohio. Barclaycard offers 25 co-branded credit card programs and other payments products featuring their brand. Employees will provide customer support to card members of these credit card programs. Barclaycard will provide employees full-time positions with generous benefits like health insurance, dental insurance, vision coverage and a 401(k) plan.

Once fully operational in the coming years, Barclaycard will be able to employ up to 1,500 employees which amounts to nearly $50 million in gross payroll.

The new Barclaycard location in the former Champion Paper headquarters is important to the Hamilton community. Champion Paper was Hamilton’s largest employer for over a century. It has been vacant or significantly underutilized for 15 years. Mahendra Vora, the building’s most recent owner, has worked hard to fill this important building. Barclaycard is investing $9.3 million in the facility and its employees will bring this building back to life.

The Barclaycard project is not only the largest job announcement in Hamilton in many decades, it was the largest job announcement for Greater Cincinnati in 2015 and one of the largest in the state of Ohio in the last decade. Site Selection Group named the project to its top 20 Most Impactful Projects of 2015.

8

The first major job announcement of 2015 was STARTEK Inc., a call center company based in Colorado. In February 2015, STARTEK announced that it would be opening a call center in downtown Hamilton. STARTEK provides business process outsourcing services such as customer care sales support and order processing in the United States, the Philippines, Canada, Costa Rica and Honduras.

STARTEK’s $2.8 million investment in 150 High Street was catalytic in sparking economic activity downtown. Their chosen location was the former downtown department store Elder Beerman, which had been vacant since 2009. Reactivating this large, highly visible building was not only important economically, but also for the Hamilton community. Many Hamilton residents have fond memories of the Elder Beerman store and were very interested in the future of the building. STARTEK’s investment is part of a $7.25 million overall renovation of 150 High Street. Other tenants of the building include Jackson’s Market & Deli, Joslin Diabetes Center, Kettering Health Network physicians’ offices, and InsideOut Studio.

STARTEKNearly 700 new jobs downtown

In July 2015, STARTEK opened with its first group of workers. By the end of 2015, STARTEK had over 200 employees in downtown Hamilton. By 2018, they have committed to employing 682 people. It will be their second largest North American operation. This addition of daytime activity has already had a very positive impact on the retailers and restaurants downtown. Furthermore, STARTEK has become an engaged part of the downtown community, sponsoring many local events.

150 High Street’s renovation was completed by the City-supported Consortium for Ongoing Reinvestment Efforts (CORE). CORE’s mission is to revitalize Hamilton’s urban core. 150 High Street has been CORE’s largest successful redevelopment project since it was launched in December 2012.

10

Small BusinessOne of the twelve goals of the City of Hamilton’s Strategic Plan is to assist in the establishment of 5 new desired retail or restaurant options annually. Due in large part to the growing vitality of downtown Hamilton’s small business community, this goal was quickly exceeded. Nine new retail and restaurant businesses opened in downtown Hamilton alone. All of these businesses enhance the quality of life in Hamilton, making it a better play for people to live and work.

In an effort to continue the growth of small businesses downtown, new and existing local business owners collaborated to create the new monthly event Alive After 5. Alive After 5 is a fun, family friendly event that encourages people to explore downtown. Businesses stay open late and there are children’s activities on the sidewalk. In its first year, it brought thousands of new people downtown, familiarizing them with where to eat, shop, and park - an important part in encouraging them to come down more frequently.

Small business development saw a critical boost in 2015

New small businesses that opened in 2015:

• Almond Sister’s Bakery• EXCEL Development• Hearts of Hope• High St. Cafe• InsideOut Studio• Jackson’s Market & Deli• Kelly’s Bakery• Lillian’s Boutique• Made to Love• Pop Revolution• Renaissance Fine Arts

12

Downtown RevitalizationArtspace Hamilton, a development project aimed to create space for artists to live and work, opened in 2015. The $11.8 million renovation of a key downtown building was completed over the summer. By the end of the year, 100% of the apartment units were leased. In addition to the Artspace art gallery, The Almond Sisters Bakery and Renaissance Fine Art Supplies are retail tenants in the building.

ODW Logistics & Transportation Services (LTS) announced plans early in 2015 to hire 40 employees by 2018, which will double the size of their operations. ODW LTS, established in 2009, is a leading provider of transportation management services and was named one of the fastest growing companies by Inc. Magazine’s Fast 500 in 2013. Due to the company’s continued fast-pace growth, they partnered with JobsOhio, REDI Cincinnati, and the City of Hamilton for assistance with their next phase of growth. ODW LTS is an important addition to downtown Hamilton, as most of their employers fit in the young professional demographic that is much needed in our community.

Artspace 150 High Street

Community First SolutionsODW Logistics expansionIn 2015, Community First Solutions, the parent company of Colonial, Community Behavioral Health, Community First Pharmacy, and Partners in Prime, opened their new headquarters in downtown Hamilton. The headquarters, named the Community First Solutions Resource Center, was a $5.88 million investment in the historic Ringel’s Furniture building. Community First Solutions serves over 46,000 individuals annually and is one of Hamilton’s largest private employers with nearly 700 employees. Community First Solutions President & CEO, Jeffrey Thurman, received the International Economic Development Council’s Citizen Leadership Award, one of the most significant economic development awards. He received it for his long-term commitment to the economic well-being of Hamilton.

After sitting vacant for over five years, 150 High Street, the former Elder Beerman department store was reactivated in 2015. The $7.25 million renovation of the building transformed it into a new commercial center. CORE finished the renovations on the building in December 2015 and it is now home to STARTEK, Kettering physician’s offices, Joslin Diabetes Center, InsideOut Studio, and Jackson’s Market & Deli.

14

The Hamilton MillThe Mill in 2015

Downtown 10

Awards & Recognition in 2015In 2015, The Hamilton Mill (“The Mill”) welcomed the new startups, NewKnowledge United, Edge Prototype/PowerGlide Fitness LLC, Glance Software, and Coaterex Paper to the program. The Mill is comprised of 15 member companies and the Ohio Small Business Development Center (SBDC), and is the entrepreneurial engine of Butler County, specifically focused on advanced manufacturing, clean-tech, and associated applications. The ongoing success of The Mill can be attributed to their numerous public-private partnerships with community organizations including the City of Hamilton, Hamilton Utilities, the Hamilton Community Foundation, Butler Tech, Cintrifuse, CincyTech, Queen City Angels, Miami University and many more.

Over the last five years, The Mill assisted in the creation of 150 jobs and total overall investment of $500,000 in furthering their goal of driving sustainable business development in the region. The Mill and its member companies have received much recognition for their innovation and leadership in the startup community of Southwestern Ohio.

In 2015, The Mill received top honors from the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) for Gold Excellence in Economic Development award for the Special Purpose Website category for communities with a population between 25,000 to 200,000. The Mill also received recognition from the Greater Ohio Policy Center, and the Kauffman Foundation.

Paul Kling, the founder of kW River, a startup that develops water turbine technology for alternative energy, was recognized by the Cincinnati Business Courier in 2015 for his efforts in the green/renewable sector. Another member company, Perceptive Devices, a company developing facial-movement technology, won an award from the Consumers Electronics Association and was recognized by the Cincinnati Business Courier.

The Downtown 10 initiative is a catalytic program The Mill launched in 2015. The goal of the program is to provide services for select new-start businesses along the High/Main corridor of downtown Hamilton. Services provided to participants of the Downtown 10 initiative include marketing and branding, business optimization, and general business coaching.

16

Infrastructure ImprovementsEast High StreetSouth Hamilton CrossingOctober 2015 marked the completion of the East High Street Gateway project. The $8.5 million project was not only important from a traffic perspective. East High is the gateway of Hamilton entering via State Route 129 from Interstate 75. This major infrastructure project has improved traffic flow and enhanced the streetscape by: adding landscaped medians and street trees; relocating all overhead electric, cable and telephone facilities underground; replacing/upgrading underground utility infrastructure; adding turn lanes; and adding new commercial access ways.

One of Hamilton’s most anticipated projects, South Hamilton Crossing (SHX), will replace an existing at-grade railroad crossing with a railroad overpass created by extending Grand Boulevard westerly. This catalytic project will reduce commute times, increase traffic safety and improve transit access to Vora Technology Park, University Commerce Park, and Miami University-Hamilton.

In 2015, the SHX project received support from many regional and state partners. In February, the Ohio Department of Transportation committed $10 million in funding for SHX. In September, in addition to the $2.45 million already awarded to the project, the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments (OKI) awarded the SHX project $3.75 million from the Federal Surface Transportation Program. In December, the City received a $1.1 million Roadwork Development Grant from the Ohio Development Services Agency and JobsOhio for the project. SHX also received support from the State of Ohio, the Butler County TID and the Butler County Engineer’s Office. Hamilton has received a total of $18.1 million in grant funding and commitments in support of the $32 million project.

Right-of-way acquisition for the project began in February 2014. Construction is anticipated to start March 2016 and reach completion in mid-2018. There are records of plans for the SHX project dating back to 1911.

The Third Street Corridor Project was completed in December 2015. The City of Hamilton and Rapier Electric installed new electric conduit and new decorative streetlights and removed all distribution poles, old streetlight poles and overhead wires. This project included the reconstruction of Third Street with a new brick paver roadway and improvement of the landscape with medians, street trees, new street lights, and three new plazas. This project not only improved the utility infrastructure of the area, but also added usable space for community activities while enhancing the aesthetics of the German Village neighborhood. The total cost of the project was $2.6 million and this project was a partnership between the City of Hamilton, the Hamilton Community Foundation and the Lane Library.

Third St. Corridor Project

18

Hamilton Utilities

Efficiency Smart in 2015

Meldahl Hydroelectric Facility

Green. Affordable. Reliable.

The City of Hamilton’s new hydroelectric generating plant, the Meldahl Hydroelectric Facility, has a capacity of 105 MW, with an average gross annual output of approximately 550,000 MW of clean, renewable energy - enough to power approximately 55,000 homes. The associated transmission line consists of approximately 2.2 miles of 138kV line and connects with the existing Zimmer-Spurlock transmission line in

Efficiency Smart provides technical assistance and financial incentives to Hamilton electric customers for the implementation of energy-saving improvements. This comprehensive energy efficiency and conservation program launched in February 2015, and among many projects, assisted with the LED lighting upgrades at McDulin Garage, a parking garage used by downtown residents and businesses. Some of the first year impacts of the Efficiency Smart program include: • 11,152 energy efficient measures installed• Annual energy savings of 2,305 mega-watt hours (MWh)• Annual avoided carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of more than 4 million

pounds• Annual customer savings from avoided energy costs of $220,151• Total customer savings from avoided energy costs over the lifetime of

installed energy efficient measures of more than $2.99 million

Hamilton is unique in the fact that the City owns and operates its own utility services. In 2015, Hamilton Utilities invested $41 million in capital improvements. Hamilton’s Electric Department invested over $6.7 million in capital projects including Greenup Hydroelectric Facility rehabilitation and reliability improvements, Hamilton Hydroelectric canal improvements, utility pole replacements, substation and transformer replacements, and continued efforts to underground electric lines. Over $1.4 million was spent on improvements to the natural gas system including main replacements and CNG vehicle conversions. Over $5 million was spent on water system improvements, along with $27.9 million on wastewater system improvements. In the City of Hamilton, we realize that delivering safe and reliable utility service at a competitive price is critical to fostering sustainable economic development.

Clermont County, Ohio. This new transmission line provides southwest Ohio with additional low-cost power from a renewable energy resource and enhances the service reliability for the region’s municipal electric customers. The Meldahl Hydroelectric Facility represents a significant economic development investment and provides a new source of clean, zero emission electric generation. This $504 million project was a partnership between the City of Hamilton and American Municipal Power.

20

21

2015 Awards & RecognitionUS EPA Smart Growth Awards IEDC AwardsThe City of Hamilton was one of three cities to be recognized by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) in 2015. The City and Historic Developers, LLC, were awarded the US EPA Smart Growth award in the Built Projects category in 2015. From 2002 to 2015, the US EPA has presented the National Award for Smart Growth Achievements to recognize and support communities that use innovative policies and strategies to strengthen their economies, provide housing and transportation choices, develop ways that bring benefits to a wide range of residents, and protect the environment.

The award was for the public-private partnership between the City and Historic Developers, LLC that created three catalytic mixed-use developments in Hamilton’s downtown - the Historic Mercantile Lofts, the Robinson Schwenn building and the former Journal-News building. The projects’ collective $17.2 million investment has spurred an additional $15 million in investment in surrounding buildings and has helped to create a walkable, vibrant downtown community.

The City of Hamilton, The Hamilton Mill, Hamilton CORE, and Community First Solutions CEO, Jeffrey Thurman, all accepted awards for economic development efforts in Hamilton from the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) in 2015. The City received four awards in the category for communities with a population between 25,000 to 200,000, including:

• Gold Excellence in Economic Development award for the Initiative Update in the General Print Brochure category

• Silver Excellence in Economic Development award for the Downtown Developers Day in the Special Event category

• Bronze Excellence in Economic Development award for the Economic Development e-newsletter in the Newsletter category

• Bronze Excellence in Economic Development award for the Data Center Brochure in the Special Purpose Print Brochure category

The Hamilton CORE also received the Silver Excellence in Economic Development award in the public-private partnership category.

22