Cincinnati region reigns in Area Development Shovel Awards
CINCINNATI – June 6, 2023 – Site selection and relocation publication Area Development released its annual Gold & Silver Shovel Awards on Thursday, with the Cincinnati region shining brightly. Medpace, which in December announced an expansion of 1,500 jobs with an associated payroll of $90 million, was recognized as one of five Non-Manufacturing Projects of the Year.
The announcement from Medpace included a $150M commitment for the construction of a new building and parking garage currently planned to span 250,000 square feet of office and 1,000-stall parking spaces, respectively. The State of Ohio, JobsOhio, REDI Cincinnati and the City of Cincinnati collaborated with Medpace to bring the expansion to Cincinnati.
“Congratulations to our partner Medpace for receiving this honor from Area Development,” said Kimm Lauterbach, president and CEO, REDI Cincinnati. “The Life Sciences and life sciences sector has been one of the fastest growing here in the Cincinnati region, experiencing a 16% upswing in jobs from 2017-22, and it is expected to continue a positive trend over the next five years. Medpace’s sustained expansion in our region is a significant contributor to the growing ecosystem, and we are grateful for Medpace’s commitment to our region.”
Aided by Medpace’s announcement and Total Quality Logistics’ 1,000-job, $18M capital investment project, the State of Ohio received the Gold Shovel award in the 10+ million population category. Ohio, which is a regular fixture on the list of states receiving the Silver Shovel Award, also won the Gold Shovel Award in 2016.
“Under the guidance of Governor Mike DeWine, Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted and our economic-development partner JobsOhio, Ohio continues demonstrating that it has the business environment, talent and livability amenities growing companies seek,” Lauterbach also noted. “This honor is a testament to their work promoting Ohio and is truly deserved. Similarly, I would also like to congratulate our regional partners in Kentucky—BE NKY Growth Partnership—and Indiana—One Dearborn—for their contributions to each of their states’ success.”
The Commonwealth of Kentucky joined Ohio as a Gold Shovel Award recipient and the State of Indiana was presented with a Silver Shovel.
The three-state, 16-county Cincinnati MSA continues its decades-long reign in the economic development awards. In addition to all three states garnering recognition from Area Development, in March, Site Selection Magazine recognized the region as a top-10 metro for the 20th consecutive year. Cincinnati was 9th in total projects but third in projects per capita. Then, REDI Cincinnati and BE NKY Growth Partnership shared honors on behalf of the Cincinnati region as winners of Site Selection’s 2023 Mac Conway Award for Excellence in Economic Development, bestowed annually to the top 20 local and regional economic development organizations in the U.S.
About REDI Cincinnati
The Regional Economic Development Initiative (REDI) Cincinnati is the first point-of-contact for companies locating or growing in the 15-county region at the heart of southwest Ohio, northern Kentucky, and southeast Indiana. REDI Cincinnati is supported by top business leaders and community partners and staffed by a team of economic development experts who are uniting the Cincinnati region to compete globally.
The future is bright, and we’re building it, right now. Join us at REDICincinnati.com.