Megan Mongillo
Oct 8, 2018
EVENDALE, Ohio (WKRC) - A multi-million dollar development in the Tri-State is flying under the radar. For two years, the village of Evendale has been buying up land and is ready for its new project, AeroHub, to take flight.
There's a lot of construction happening on I-75 at Glendale Milford Road. Most of it is the Ohio Department of Transportation working on the highway, but you can also see a wooden tower starting to take shape. That's part of a $3-million effort by Evendale to showcase the village with two towers and a light-up bridge.
"We saw it as the opportunity of a lifetime to build something while the construction is going on on the highway," said Evendale Mayor Richard Finan.
Finan says it'll be an entryway into AeroHub, a new aerospace accelerator. The village spent $9 million to buy up 52 acres, but they have their sights set on hundreds of acres of more land.
A promotional video being used to attract local, national and possibly international business touts the project. It’s situated next to the world headquarters of GE Aviation.
AeroHub is an advanced manufacturing ecosystem. Part of drawing new business to Evandale is the promise of skilled workers. That's why Cincinnati State is a partner in the AeroHub project. They started a new course in September to get people trained.
3D printers are set up in a classroom at Cincinnati State's Workforce Development Center in Evendale. The college met with business leaders and crafted a program that's 75 percent hands-on learning.
Amy Waldbillig with Cincinnati State said, "They are actually building machines, breaking machines, fixing machines, understanding how to troubleshoot because it's designed by the folks who are hiring these folks."
Exact businesses looking for workers in additive manufacturing are the exact businesses that AeroHub is trying to attract. Finan promises location, purpose and benefits
"It does not take you a year to get a building permit here. We boom, boom, boom put them through quickly," he said.
Dirt is being moved to get the infrastructure ready for the first customer. Sharonville-based The Model Shop will break ground in the winter.
AeroHub is happening around the St. Rita School for the Deaf. The village did acquire a small parcel of land for $90,000 by eminent domain, but the Archdiocese of Cincinnati says it has no plans to sell the school.