Hamilton County staff recommend economic-impact grants for redevelopment projects; commissioners note $50,000 unallocated

Kelly, a Community Development presenter for Hamilton County, told commissioners May 12 that staff and an advisory committee recommended a slate of Economic Impact Program awards for the 2026 cycle.

“For the 2026 cycle, the program remained incredibly competitive as we received 14 applications totaling more than 4 million in requests and representing nearly 27 million in total project costs,” Kelly said, summarizing the competition and the program’s criteria: site control, readiness, leveraged investment, job creation and demonstrated community support.

The staff recommendations prioritize projects intended to leverage private investment and stimulate broader economic activity. Staff highlighted several projects: a $650,000 recommendation for Sycamore Township to assemble and redevelop more than 30 acres along Reading Road into an industrial/employment hub; a $400,000 recommendation for the Village of Silverton to improve parking, lighting and drainage in its business district; a Reading gateway stabilization request (about $400,000 presented by staff) tied to an expected Valley Bank expansion that staff said would add roughly 10 full-time jobs; and a $325,000 recommendation to support shared parking in Sharonville that staff said would accompany a larger mixed-use project expected to create 225 housing units.

A Woodlawn land-assembly project was discussed by staff; the dollar amount shown in the transcript appears unclear and is recorded in county materials as not specified in the presentation record.

Commissioner Driehaus praised the combined use of general fund and CDBG dollars to maximize impact but pressed staff on the budget math. “Two point two million was available. We allocated 2.15. There is a delta there of about 50 grand, right?” Driehaus said, asking whether the unallocated amount had been diverted to another program and urging continued outreach to jurisdictions whose applications were not yet project-ready.

Staff replied that the advisory committee applied the published criteria and that some applicants were not sufficiently project-ready; they said they will notify awardees, execute funding agreements, present contracts for Commission approval and hold an EIP seminar in August to build local capacity and help future applicants meet readiness standards.

Next steps: staff will provide the Commission with award paperwork for formal approval, share documentation of other committed funders when available, and host the August seminar to help jurisdictions prepare competitive applications.