Paul Kurtz, who founded Hemisphere in 2002 with his wife, Grace, said he plans to make the Coffee Fest an annual event. The fact that they moved into their new building in mid-summer this year has added to the festivities, but Kurtz acknowledges that the festival involving food trucks, kids activities, vendors, coffee cupping and music is not solely about promoting his own business.
"What we are trying to do with our Staurday event here, the once-a-year Coffee Fest, is really to educate people to what is coffee, how to taste cofee, and what to look for," he said. "It doesn't mean that they're all going to come buy their coffee here, because we hear some people are coming from Dayton. But if they're educated, it will help all roasters that are direct importing." According to Kurtz, the last several years have seen a resurgence in local coffee roasting. One hundred years ago, every cluster of blocks in a large city would have had their own roaster, but since the advent of large, international brands, it has been more common for people to buy their coffee from the supermarket until recently. Hemisphere imports beans direct from farmers in Thailand, Kenya, Guatemala and Nicaragua, then ships to locations all over the United States including about 200 churches, 25 coffee shops like The Spotted Cow in Urbana, and some markets including Whole Foods. But while this this direct trade model has been good for local businesses, Kurtz says it is even better for the farmers who produce the coffee. Read more in the October 12th edition of the Urbana Daily Citizen. Learn more about Hemisphere Coffee Roasters at their website, www.hemispherecoffeeroasters.com/.
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“The idea is essentially investors are able to defer a portion of their gains if they invest the proceeds from a sale into one of the opportunity zones,” said Devesh Kamal, a certified public accountant with Clark Schaefer Hackett, a Springfield accounting firm.
The program could lead to significant new investments into some of the region’s high-poverty neighborhoods, said Tom Franzen, assistant city manager and director of economic development for Springfield. There are a few limitations on the types of business that can qualify according to Clark Schaefer Hackett. For example, investment in a golf course or massage parlor is not allowed, but numerous other projects including housing and retail could qualify. “Now that we have the designated Opportunity Zones, the next step for us to is to analyze the area contained within the Opportunity Zone to ensure that we identify and address potential barriers to attracting investments, such as zoning, permitting, and any others,” Franzen said. One challenge is some of the rules for the new program have not been finalized, said Marcia Bailey, economic development coordinator for the Champaign Economic District which focuses on economic development in Champaign County. “We can market we have an opportunity zone and where it is,” Bailey said. “We just don’t know what the rules are as far as the (Internal Revenue Service) is concerned. Clark County’s four tracts generally focus on an area that includes downtown Springfield. The rough borders include Snyder Park Road to the north and West Grand Avenue to the South. Norfolk Southern rail lines to near Snyder Park form a portion of the West border with East Street on the Eastern border. Franzen said the next step will be for the city to work with partners including the Chamber of Greater Springfield to develop a long-term strategy for the area as well as opportunities to market the zone. “The Opportunity Zone, combined with recent efforts by the city commission to expand Community Reinvestment Act tax abatement opportunities in these same areas, as well as the commission’s refocused efforts on improving our neighborhoods, downtown and major corridors, could prove to be a compelling draw for investors,” Franzen said. Bailey said local economic development officials also need to work with area residents to determine what kinds of investments will be most beneficial. “Just because we have this Opportunity Zone, it’s still up to the property owner of do they want to sell their property for development to occur,” Bailey said. Wendy Patton, a senior project director with Policy Matters Ohio, said one reason to be cautious about the new program is it’s left up to local communities to ensure the investments benefit current residents and businesses in the approved areas. The idea behind the program is to provide a boost to areas that have some momentum, but historically Patton said tax incentives have a poor record in creating jobs. There’s also a concern expensive new developments could force up rents and make it tougher for some lower-income residents to remain in their neighborhoods. A report from Policy Matters Ohio also pointed out the main beneficiaries will be the wealthiest tax filers who have the capital available to invest in the program. “This program could help drive inequality or it could bring opportunity to these low-income people in these communities,” Patton said. The report argues reporting requirements, transparency and enforceable community benefit agreements should be included in the program’s rules to prevent harm to residents. “Our local elected officials and community leaders need to take it on themselves to ensure there’s some wealth that’s coming back to the community,” Patton said. On the web: https://development.ohio.gov/bs/bs_censustracts.htm FACTS & FIGURES 320 — Census tracts in Ohio 73 — Ohio counties in which eligible tracts were submitted 4 — Tracts in Springfield 1 — Tract in Champaign County
The Andersons will receive 250 hours use of an M-Series Kubota tractor, courtesy of Kubota, a $1,000 Grainger gift certificate and an expense-paid trip to New Orleans to attend the American Farm Bureau’s annual convention in January 2019.
The Champaign County Farm Bureau members raise cattle and sell the meat at farmers markets under the Women That Farm name. Brandi is a grain branch manager for Heritage Cooperative and Nick is farm manager of Van Raay Dairy. They are on the Champaign County Farm Bureau board of trustees and are the parents of three young children.
Ashley Cook, Ohio Hi-Point’s new supply chain management instructor at Urbana High School, will serve as the business liaison 10 hours a week. She will coordinate activities that bring educators, students and manufacturers together.
Cook, who will report to Bailey in her role as business liaison, is an Urbana High School graduate and in 2016 received a bachelor’s in organizational leadership from Wright State University. Before becoming supply chain management instructor, she recruited students from 14 partner schools for Ohio Hi-Point’s main campus in Bellefontaine, launched the school’s first online application and led Hi-Point’s Student Ambassador program. “Ashley will visit manufacturers to see what their workforce needs are, and she’ll be going to the schools to help make sure their curriculum is where it needs to be to prepare students for career opportunities,” Deb Wortman, Ohio Hi-Point satellite director, said. Cook adds that she will help manufacturers spread the word to schools about internships and job shadowing opportunities, advertise open positions, and help coordinate job fairs, open houses and other activities where students can learn about career opportunities in local manufacturing. In her roles as instructor and business liaison, Cook said, “I look forward to being in the business world and working with students to prepare them for successful careers.” “At least 75 percent of economic development is retention – helping existing businesses succeed and possibly expand their operations to provide jobs and a tax base that improves our county’s quality of life,” says Marcia Bailey, director of the Champaign Economic Partnership (CEP).
That’s why she and the CEP Board of Trustees created a team that visits local businesses to learn more about them, including what’s working for them and what challenges they face in reaching their goals. So far, the JOBS (Jobs, Opportunities, Buildings and Space) team has visited Honeywell Aerospace, Bundy Baking Solutions and the Hall Company. The JOBS team is available to visit any type of business – not just manufacturing. Businesses wanting a visit may call the CEP at 937-653-7200. The CEP is a partnership of local government and business created in 2015 to promote economic development, workforce development and job retention and creation in Champaign County. The JOBS team varies from one visit to the next, but generally consists of Bailey; a county commissioner; a city and/or village administrator; an education representative, from Urbana University, Clark State Community College and/or Ohio Hi-Point Career Center; and a workforce development representative, from Ohio Means Jobs Champaign County or the Champaign County Department of Job and Family Services. During the visits, the team learns about each business: · Their products, services, markets and history · Local companies they do business with · What they like about doing business in Champaign County · What they think would make doing business easier · Plans, such as expansion, new products or markets, and what they’ll need to make it happen, such as more land or building space, additional utility access, more employees or training for existing staff “Our JOBS team visits enable us to see how the CEP and our partnerships with private businesses, local government, education, workforce development, and regional and state economic development agencies can boost local businesses,” Bailey says. “And our visits help businesses learn about the resources the CEP and our partners have to offer. They learn that we’re ready to help.” She adds, “From these visits I’ve learned a lot about our local businesses. I’m impressed by the quality of the products they produce, the skill and technology that goes into making them and the high regard they’ve earned in markets across the country and around the globe.” In the visits the businesses have cited as advantages good relationships with the city of Urbana, utilities and local suppliers; a relatively good cost of doing business; and the Grimes Field airport. Challenges that they’ve cited include upcoming retirements and meeting current workforce needs, including machinists and entry-level positions. A need for more space to increase business capacity was also mentioned at one of the visits. Representatives of Flaherty & Collins Properties have been working with the city of Urbana and the Champaign Economic Partnership to develop Legacy Place, a proposed 51 units of senior housing that would occupy the former North and South elementary schools as well as the Douglas Inn on Monument Square. Local officials have been working with architect McCall Sharp Architecture, Springfield, and say that they are 10-11 months from closing on the property sale and beginning construction, which they hope will happen in summer of 2019.
On July 24, the Urbana City Council unanimously authorizing a fee waiver of up to $500 in support of Flaherty & Collins’ application to the affordable housing program of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati, including but not limited to water and sewer tap fees, construction permit fees and zoning fees. The resolution affirmed that the city council supports the efforts of Flaherty & Collins to obtain the necessary financing resources to redevelop all three buildings. Flaherty & Collins also obtained tax credits through the Ohio Housing Finance Agency and state historic credits, all of which add points to the competitive application to the affordable housing program, due in mid-August. “The big win was we got a tax credit allocation through the Ohio Housing Finance Agency, that was announced in May, and we still have some smaller pots of money to run after,” said Julie Collier, vice president of development with Flaherty & Collins. “We’re about 10-11 months from closing and construction start. We still need to come up with plans and get our arms around specific construction costs, which we’re doing and putting a lot of work in there to date, but there’s still some work to do. Some of it is just going after some other funding pots. We’ll hear back on those by the end of the year and have some better thoughts and direction then. Our hope is to close June/July of 2019 and start construction then.” Marcia Bailey, CEP’s economic development director, the Ohio Revised Code allows the school district to dis-invest of the two properties no longer needed. Rather than demolish the buildings, the plan is for them to be purchased by the city for $1 each under an already-signed purchase agreement. Then the CEP will act on behalf of the city to sell the buildings to Flaherty and Collins. “The city council agreed to do all of this,” said Bailey. “We had the city schools that were willing because they didn’t want to see the buildings demo-ed either, and it’s a cost savings for taxpayers not to have to pay for the demolition. But the city council agreed that they will take on the buildings … That was an important component, because if the city had not agreed to do that we wouldn’t be where we’re at right now.” When ready to complete the sale of property, Flaherty & Collins will work directly with private owner John Doss to acquire the Douglas Inn. “Just seeing the Douglas get put back into use again is a very positive thing for the community,” said Community Development Manager Doug Crabill. “Seeing those school buildings be reused rather than being torn down and vacant lots gives us a good feeling, because at least we know there is a plan for re-purposing those buildings.” “It’s something we’re used to doing and we feel like there’s usually an extra need for senior housing in communities, and in communities like Urbana there’s a need to help older (buildings) continue their life,” said Collier. “It’s two-fold for us because we’ll help save some important buildings in downtown Urbana, and we’ll also fulfill a housing need for local residents.” The future Legacy Place community will be for residents 55 or older making 60 percent of the area median income or less, roughly $24,000 to $25,000 a year. Bailey said that in addition to providing a built-in customer base for downtown Realtors, the project will be an example to members of the Moving Downtown Forward committee to inform developers how to move projects ahead in downtown Urbana. The company, the oldest continuously owned and operated fire apparatus manufacturer in the U.S., is establishing a new Service, Parts and Refurbishment Center at 49 N. Ludlow Road, Urbana. The company is recruiting service technicians and will initially provide 22 jobs at the Urbana facility. The new location gives Sutphen room to expand its parts inventory and focus more on refurbishing fire engines, a side of the business with promising growth potential, says President Drew Sutphen, the fourth generation of his family to lead the 128-year-old company. Sutphen recently attended a Champaign Economic Partnership (CEP) Board of Trustees meeting with Todd Winnenberg, general manager of the company’s Service and Chassis Divisions. Winnenberg said the new Urbana facility will enable the company to expand chassis assembly operations at Sutphen’s Springfield site. He added that the company will also use the new Urbana site to launch Sutphen University, a new program for training and educating customers. Cooperative Effort “We’re so excited to welcome such an established and growing business to Champaign County,” CEP Director Marcia Bailey said. “And we’re grateful for the cooperative effort that has made this possible.” She gives special credit to Terry Howell of Howell Brothers Development, which originally built Sutphen’s new Urbana location in 2012 for Pioneer DuPont. Howell has worked with Sutphen to modify the facility to accommodate the company’s specialized needs. Howell said: “I really appreciate the County Building Regulations Department working with us and providing guidance in the project. It’s a great use of the facility, and Sutphen is a great company to have in Champaign County. “They will be the largest employer, besides the schools, for the Triad school district – just a great addition to the community.” Growing Business Winnenberg said: “We are working hard to grow the service and parts piece of the business. It’s a good feeling to know that we have grown to the point where we need additional space and employees.” He added that the new location offers space for future expansion. “In a time when we see so much change within manufacturers in the industry, it is refreshing to know that Sutphen is here. Still family-owned, still strong, stable and committed to the fire service, and continuing to grow,” Sutphen said. “We have seen consistent growth in sales, and as a result of that, we can expand the business in ways that will allow us to continue to put out a great product and meet the increased demands we are seeing. It’s all about building a better experience for our customers, and that is what we are committed to.” Sutphen, which is headquartered in Dublin, also is experiencing growth at other locations: * Last year the company announced a new manufacturing facility in Scranton, Pa. * The company’s Hilliard manufacturing facility recently created a new and improved customer final inspection area. * Sutphen’s Dublin manufacturing facility will repurpose an existing building for pumper body assembly to meet demands and increase custom pumper output.
The new joint is the latest venture for the Winners, who already own Winner’s One Stop and Zoom Zoom Drive Thru in the village.
“Mechanicsburg is a very supportive community and we are very proud to be a part of the village,” Winner said. “(We) have forged longlasting relationships with staff members and individuals within the community.” Winner hopes the patrons will like the atmosphere and the food. “The decor is a blend of rustic and industrial styles with accent pieces that pay homage to the history of the building, which was formerly the Village Inn Tavern,” he said. The family hand-picks most of the menu. “Sourcing the meat internally allows (us) to inspect the meat on multiple occasions, which leads to a fresh, never frozen, high quality product. The customers can tell the difference. Fresh food simply tastes better,” Winner said. “MIXX165 also offers a full bar and focuses on Ohio craft beer selections. We believe in supporting our fellow Ohioans.” Reach Justin Miller at 652-1331 (ext. 1775) or on Twitter @UDC_Miller.
“Basically, we wanted to put something together that was of value to multiple layers of our community,” said committee member and property owner Jamon Sellman in a welcome statement. “What we call ourselves is Moving Downtown Forward. And if you look at the committee members, we have a real mixed bag, which we believe is a very positive thing. We have property owners, we have building officials, we have zoning officials, we have the CEP represented, so we have multiple sectors … We’re trying to bring more living, more playing downtown so that we have walking traffic that is wanting to spend their money downtown and therefore we all thrive.” Sellman said the committee’s goals include attracting new residents to downtown Urbana, assisting public and private development projects, providing information and resources to assist all types of downtown stakeholders and partnering with the city of Urbana. Other committee members include city Zoning Officer Adam Moore, city Community Development Manager Doug Crabill, county Building Regulations Director Dana Booghier, architect Sarah Mackert and multiple property owners. “In terms of strategy, you want to start early, and you want to go into things without any surprises so that you can avoid as much stress as possible,” said Mackert. “I will say that developers are high risk, high reward for a reason, but if you have vision and passion I think you can really accomplish a lot.” Developer Jason Duff presented examples of business owners who invested in the city of Bellefontaine and explained how similar investors may lead to a vibrant downtown Urbana. He also suggested putting up street signs that would direct pedestrians to less prominent businesses within the downtown area. Communities partnering together “In my mind, if we could make it uniform through the villages and the city of Urbana and partner with what Bellefontaine has already done … I attended the St. Paris Village Council meeting on Monday and they are putting signs up exactly like Bellefontaine,” said Bailey. “They went up today, so they’ll have them for the (Champaign County Preservation Alliance) Home and Garden Tour … why not do that in Champaign County and Logan County so that we all have that same pattern so when a visitor comes in they know automatically these are way-finding signs and this is how I’m going to find businesses, restaurants and whatever I’m looking for. It may sound like a minor thing but it’s not, not when you don’t know where you’re going.” “Sometimes, even if things have been done the same way for 20 years in this town, I hope that there’s some innovators in this room who will say ‘you know what, we’re going to take our town back,’” Duff said. “‘No longer will we play by these rules. We’re going to take our town back because it’s the right thing to do.’” The meeting closed with a panel taking questions from attendees. The next meeting of the Moving Downtown Forward committee is scheduled for July 19. Christopher Selmek can be reached at 937-508-2304
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