Writer: Liz Palmer
4 min read December 2022 — Cincinnati and its surrounding municipalities had a busy 2022 between investment announcements and doubling down on entrepreneurial initiatives and economic diversification. It’s no surprise that 2023 is anticipated to be more of the same, with the seeds planted over the past two years coming to fruition.
Growth continued to be a key theme in Greater Cincinnati, with the region reportedly seeing over 122 projects, $1.1 billion in capital investment and 10,433 jobs in 2021 through August 2022. “The Cincinnati region is ideally positioned for growing companies, whether they are already located in our MSA or are considering a new location. Not only does our 8-hour proximity to 60% of the U.S. population serve as an important asset, but we are blessed with a business community that has built an ecosystem of support and collaboration that helps businesses to thrive here,” said Kimm Lauterbach, president and CEO of REDI Cincinnati, in a press release.
The Small Business Administration (SBA) released a report this year revealing that 99.6% of Ohio’s business community are small businesses (fewer than 500 employees). The pandemic caused a ripple effect that impacted the 2.2 million employees of small businesses, or 44.7% of Ohio’s workforce. In Greater Cincinnati, public and private leaders joined to support small businesses this year through programs such as the Women’s Business Enterprise Loan Program, Ohio Micro-Enterprise Loan Program, MicroCity Loan and Grow Cincinnati Fund. The OTR Chamber of Commerce also aimed to keep business local this holiday season by partnering with 3CDC to launch a holiday shopping campaign, and the Business Development & Entrepreneurship of the Urban League of Cincinnati provided programming and resources to local entrepreneurs that included “Acceso a Capital para Pequeños Negocios,” “Accessing Business Credit,” a food truck seminar and more.
Sustainable growth through entrepreneurial advancement has been a priority of University of Cincinnati’s President Neville Pinto, as well, having decided to bolster the Venture Lab and 1819 Innovation Hub initiatives. “Universities are in a unique position to bring together multiple constituents — not just students and faculty, but also alumni, the community, and leaders across industries — to solve challenges and seize opportunities in new and unexpected ways,” he told UC News, the university’s newspaper. “Having a dedicated innovation hub enables us to do that; it’s a space where these collisions can occur.”
For what were tumultuous years for real estate nationwide, Southwest Ohio included, Cincinnati’s housing market is expected to cool in 2023 due to increasing mortgage and interest rates, according to Realtor.com’s forecast. It is estimated that prices will still sit higher than normal, but the difference will be in the forecasted inventory increase, with 2021’s historical data at -19.4% year-over-year and 2023 projected to be up by 22.8%. The report doesn’t sway one way or the other in predicting a buyer’s or seller’s market in 2023; but rather, next year may prove to be “nobody’s market.”
As for business expansion, significant announcements flooded Greater Cincinnati in 2022, most recently Nestlé Purina’s intentions to add another factory to the mix in Clermont County. It is estimated to be a $550 million project. Clinical contract research organization Medspace’s employee count will increase by 1,500, or 70% by 2028, with an average salary of $60,000. “It’s impossible to overstate how groundbreaking a deal like this is for our city’s mission of attracting young, diverse talent,” said Mayor Aftab Pureval. “Medspace wants to be here (and) wants to continue investing in new opportunities in Madisonville.”
An hour’s drive from Cincinnati, Honda and LG Energy Solutions made public a $3.5 billion Fayetteville-based joint venture investment in constructing a battery plant in 2023 — its completion is estimated to be in 2024. The announcement follows Honda’s plans to produce electric vehicles in North America, and their batteries to be manufactured for those operations in 2026. Workhorse Group, a tech manufacturing company with a niche in electric vehicles, decided to stay local when it decided to switch headquarters from one Southwest Ohio city to another, selling its Loveland facilities to settle into Sharonville park. The Loveland location’s buyer is not public knowledge yet.
Following a theme of new industries and expansion into the region, 2023 is set to be a net positive for Cincinnati and the business community.
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