Profile of West Chester Township 2006 

As Cincinnati and Dayton continue to converge, West Chester is emerging as the economic center of the Cincinnati-Dayton Metroplex, the regional commerce corridor connecting the two major metropolitan areas. This super-region, with two international airports, ranks 15th in the nation with a population of nearly 3 million.

West Chester today is Greater Cincinnati's 5th largest community and is projected to become the 2nd largest community in the Cincinnati MSA behind the City of Cincinnati. West Chester was ranked as the fastest growing community in the region (1990-2000) by population growth. Population has more than doubled each of the past two decades and is projected to reach 80,000 at build out. Population as of year-end 2005 was 59,052. Among other Ohio townships, West Chester has one of the highest growth rates and is the third largest township, accounting for nearly 20% of the total population of Butler County.

West Chester is becoming an employment epicenter in the region with nearly 2,500 thriving business and 40,000 employees. There is a labor force of more than one million within a 45-minute commute. Driving this employment growth are factors such as three of the five largest regional industrial parks are located in West Chester, as are a regional medical campus, two universities, and the continued growth of the 7th largest public school system in Ohio, the nationally acclaimed Lakota Schools.

Butler County ranks 24th in the nation for employment growth, outranked only the explosive growth markets in Sunbelt states, and West Chester consistently has been a job growth leader in the county. In 2005, for the second year in a row, Butler County outpaced all other counties in the 15-county metro area in job growth with 4,680 new/retained jobs; West Chester accounted for 3,168 or 68%, of that total. In 2004, Butler County outpaced all other counties with 8,498 new/retained jobs; West Chester accounted for 1,895, or 22% of that total.

Record Business Growth

A long favored residential community, in the past decade West Chester has become a regional powerhouse for business development. The Township ranks among the Tri-state's top tier office and industrial locations for its unmatched access to major interstate corridors, numerous commerce parks, large inventory of land and buildings and dense labor pool - all in an attractive suburban setting. Community leaders have planned for and achieved development of an expansive corporate base to complement and balance residential growth.

A primary factor driving West Chester's record business growth is its prime location with immediate access to five full interstate interchanges - unmatched by any other of the region's suburban communities (three within West Chester at I-75 and two at the regional beltway, I-275, at the community's perimeter). West Chester is the southern gateway to Butler County, which links Hamilton County (Cincinnati) to the south with Montgomery County (Dayton) to the north.

This advantageous regional location positioned West Chester Township to begin experiencing strong business growth in the 1970's as development moved northward from Cincinnati and Hamilton County along I-75. Today, the interior of the Cincinnati regional beltway is almost fully developed, which is driving new growth north to West Chester, the first community outside the beltway.

In 1997 the first new interchange constructed in Southwest Ohio in two decades opened in West Chester. The Union Centre/I-75 interchange (the "Interchange"), located two miles north of Cincinnati's regional beltway I-275, has significantly increased the business sector in the Township. The Interchange opening provided immediate interstate access to approximately 3,000 acres of undeveloped land, making the Township a highly sought-after location for business growth in the Greater Cincinnati area.

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New Office Market in Demand

Historically, the manufacturing and distribution sectors represented the highest concentration of business, but upon completion of the Union Centre Boulevard Interchange, the economy has and continues to diversify to include corporate offices and technology sector companies.

Less than a decade following the opening of the new Interchange, major national and international companies have opened offices and technology centers in West Chester, including Proctor & Gamble Manufacturing Supply Technology, Proctor & Gamble Beckett Ridge Technical Center, United Healthcare, General Electric, Contech Construction, Cintas Corporation, and Rite Track, Combined, these companies employ more than 2,210 office and technology professionals.

The land adjacent to the Union Centre Interchange is being developed in accordance with the community vision for this area and in response to market demand for raw land with interstate visibility and immediate access. Rezoned to a Central Business District (CBD), approximately 250 acres on each side of the interchange are subject to the completion of a master development plan which targets corporate office, light industry and tech, government and community services, and commercial businesses.

One of the key components of the Central Business District is the development of the Class-A office market, featuring a range of office products from mid-rise towers and single-story office condo projects. Following the opening of the new Interchange, in 2000 a nationally prominent developer, Higgins Land Development, headquartered in Chicago, began constructing the Township's first Class A office park. Duke Realty, a national Indianapolis-based REIT, acquired the complex in 2004 and continues to expand the park. There currently are four 120,000 sq. ft. office buildings and plans specify two additional larger buildings totaling 200,000 - 300,000 sq. ft. The first three buildings were built in 2000, and 2002 respectively and the fourth, valued at $16 million, was completed in 2005. Completion of the fourth office building positions the park as the 9th largest suburban complex in the region.

Construction of mid-size professional and medical offices was very active in 2005 west of the Union Centre corporate office district. Ohio Bancorp continued developing its 100,000 square-foot, 14-acre development on Princeton-Glendale/747 just north of Union Centre Boulevard with Building II, a 20,800 sq. ft. professional and medical office facility, and Building III, a 20,000 square-foot, two-story professional and medical office building.

Major new corporate office and technology businesses that established or expanded operations in West Chester in 2005 include: Contech Construction Products, a privately owned civil engineering company, relocated its corporate headquarters to a 72,000 square-foot office occupying the top two floors of Centre Point Office Park Building Four. Contech employs more than 1,800 nationally and has 40 manufacturing facilities. E-Technologies Group, engineering and information technology services, leased a 5,436 square-foot office facility on Union Centre Boulevard in a new 30,000 square-foot retail/office building constructed by Huff Realty. Inter-Tel Technologies Cincinnati, data and telecommunication consultants, leased a 9,510 square-foot facility in Duke's World Park at Union Centre. Kemba Credit Union began construction of a four-story, 32,000 square-foot office building in the Chappell Crossing development on Union Centre Boulevard. The building will house Kemba's 7th full-service branch and corporate office space for lease.

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Record Manufacturing, Distribution Growth

West Chester secured in 2005 not one but two "once in a lifetime" projects for its manufacturing and distribution sector. Amylin Pharmaceuticals, a California based biopharmaceutical company engaged in discovery, development and commercialization of innovative medicines for diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease, announced it will invest $70 million to open a new biomedical manufacturing plant. The 151,200 sq. ft. facility will house Amylin's manufacturing and packaging operations for national and international distribution and will employ 200 at full production.

Dell, the world's leading computer systems company, announced it would assume complete responsibility for its West Chester operations, taking over from partner APL Logistics, Company officials cited as reason for the change the greater than anticipated success of the fulfillment and logistics center. Dell opened the nearly 500,000 sq. ft. facility late 2004, estimating employment at 600 within three years; within only a year employment reached 1,000 jobs.

The top five manufacturing employers combined have over 2,500 employees. These are: Pierre Frozen Foods, a producer of ready-to-eat food items; Armour Holdings, manufacturer of armor for bulletproofing vehicles, FKI Logistex (formerly the Buschman Company), which manufactures conveyor systems; CTL Aerospace, Inc. a producer of fiberglass and plastic parts; and OPW Fueling Components, a division of the Dover Corporation, a manufacturer of nozzles, valves and fittings.

Construction of three new distribution buildings began in 2005 and will add more than 1.6 million new sq. ft. of distribution/fulfillment space in West Chester. SanMar, a Seattle based company specializing in overnight delivery of apparel to screen and apparel imprinters such as Nike and Hanes, announced it will invest $25 million to relocate its existing Cincinnati distribution center to a new 770,000 sq. ft. facility developed by ProLogis. Industrial Development International announced Port Union at Union Centre/Building E, a 136,000 sq. ft. building that will be the fourth distribution facility in the 192 acre park, and Port Union at Union Centre/Building F., a new 697,500 sq. ft. building that will be the fifth building and is already 50% pre-leased. Upon completion, Port Union at Union Centre will be the 12th largest industrial park in the Tri-State.

In 2005, two new buildings constructed by national REIT Duke Realty added nearly 700,000 sq. ft. of industrial/flex space in West Chester: World Park at Union Centre Building 7, 275,000 industrial/warehouse flex, and World Park at Union Centre Building 10, 414,460 sq. ft. speculative industrial.

Existing major distribution facilities located in West Chester Township include Dell, Cornerstone Consolidated Services Group, totes Isotoner, Liz Claiborne, Alliant/US Foodservice, SanMar, Tropicana Products, Crescent Park Distribution Center, and Office Depot/Corporate Express. These companies represent more than 4.2 million sq. ft. of space and 3,800 employees.

Additional major new manufacturing and distribution projects in 2005 (new construction, purchase or lease) include:

Cintas, designer and manufacturer of corporate identity uniform programs, 43,490 sq. ft. expansion to its existing facility; Flavor Systems International, specializing in custom creation of food and beverage flavorings, 26,810 sq. ft. expansion to its existing facility; Grainger, the leading broad line supplier of facilities maintenance products, 63,337 sq. ft. sales/service/distribution/warehouse facility; Harmon, Inc. design, engineering, fabrication, installation and renovation of exterior cladding systems, 78,000 sq. ft. fabrication facility and separate 16,610 sq. ft. sales and operations facility; KAO Brands Company (formerly The Andrew Jergens Company), manufacturer of health and beauty products, 351,000 sq ft distribution facility; Kin Products, designers and manufacturers of custom and stock displays and fixtures for retailers, 110,207 sq. ft. facility, Pole Zero Corporation, designs and manufactures a compete line of tunable filter products for RF filter requirements, 44,100 sq. ft. expansion to its existing West Chester facility; Rite Track Equipment Services, suppliers of track systems for the semiconductor thin film head, solar cell and MEMS industry, 28,000 sq. ft. expansion to its existing West Chester facility; Rolled Alloys, international heat and corrosion resistant and aerospace alloy specialists, expansion of its existing warehouse and processing center to 36,000 sq. ft.; Scholastic Book Fairs, a global children's publishing and media company, relocation 10 123,319 sq. ft.; Shepherd Color Company, a fourth generation, family-owned international business producer of inorganic color pigments, 44,385 sq. ft. expansion to existing facility; SPS Packaging, packaging and fulfillment services, 206,448 sq. ft. facility; Watson's specializing in swimming pools, spas, pool tables, 80,000 sq. ft. facility; and World Wide Technology, Inc., systems integrator providing technology and supply chain solutions (provider of logistics solutions to Dell), relocation to 42,065 sq. ft. facility.

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Emerging Regional Center for Healthcare, Education

As West Chester's office and industrial markets continue to expand, significant development is occurring in the healthcare and higher education sectors.

In 2001, construction began on a regional medical campus in West Chester with a first phase investment of $100 million. UC Physicians, a group of more than 600 doctors and clinical faculty affiliated with the University of Cincinnati, is expanding its medical services to northern Cincinnati and southern Dayton by establishing a 75-acre campus, University Pointe, off I-75 and Tylersville Road. The medical campus is being developed to serve the Cincinnati-Dayton Metroplex markets with a regional hospital, short-stay surgical hospital and cardiology center, and mid-rise medical offices and condos housing a full-spectrum of specialty practices. The campus was the first of its kind in the nation for its joint venture between a private physicians group and developer for a project of such magnitude.

In 2005, a regional health alliance announced West Chester Medical Center, a $207 million, 160 bed hospital at University Pointe medical campus. The Health Alliance, a conglomeration of Tri-State hospitals and physicians, announced the 370,000 sq. ft. hospital will be built on 29 acres at University Pointe. The hospital will offer surgical, outpatient and imaging services, and contain a full-service emergency department staffed 24 hours a day. The hospital will employee over 800. Construction will began on the hospital in July 2006 with a projected opening late 2008. The high-tech, paperless health care facility will be expanded to a 300-bed hospital in the future.

Also new in 2005 at University Pointe: Affiliates in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, medical and surgical office facility; Mid-City Pediatrics, medical services from birth to age 21; Orthopaedic Sports Medicine, and medical office.

UC Physicians announced it will begin construction on three new 22,161-square-foot medical office buildings this year at the University Pointe Medical Campus on Cox Road. The UC Internal Medicine Sleep Clinic has announced it will occupy 7,000-square-feet of one of these buildings. Miller Valentine Group is the developer for these projects.

Project highlights since development of the campus began in 2001 include Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center opened an outpatient services facility (2003) providing services for teens and children in a variety of specialty areas including genetics, neurosurgery, audiology and a special center for infants and children with special needs; Dialysis Clinic, Inc., opened a nonprofit outpatient dialysis center; Drake Center Therapies, a $39 million dollar nonprofit rehabilitation hospital, opened a satellite center for physical, occupational and speech therapies; University Pointe Precision Radiotherapy, a medical facility focusing on the treatment of brain and solid organ tumors opened a medical facility housing a Linear Accelerator used in the treatment of cancer.

These constructed and announced projects have necessitated the widening of Cox Road, a north-south connector to the medical campus and adjacent retail and light industry, from two to five lanes, south to Tylersville Road. Future plans call for the county to extend Cox Road north to Princeton Road, improve the Butler County Regional Highway/I-75 interchange to a full interchange and extend the Butler County Regional Highway one exit east to Cox Road.

As regional healthcare alliances continue to develop major projects in West Chester Township, ancillary medical and technological development is burgeoning. Key projects announced or constructed in 2005 include: Assurant Health, providing health insurance products, Centre Pointe Office Park; Carington Health Systems, specializing in care for the elderly, Union Commerce Center (Carington's second West Chester facility); Community Blood Center, regional not-for-profit blood bank serving hospitals within its 15-county service area, Union Centre; DIT Health Care Distribution, specializing in pharmaceutical distribution, Southwest Business District; Lasik Vision Institute, offering laser correction services, Voice of America Centre; Ohio Valley Orthopedics Union Centre/747 District; Wellington Orthopedic and Sports Medicine, Union Centre District.
New medical, health services and related projects announced or constructed in 2004 include: (2004) Acuity Medical Acupuncture, licensed medical acupuncture practice; Accutek Testing Laboratory; Atricure, a developer of medical devices; Beckett Psychology, medical office; Benco Dental, a dental supply, equipment and consulting company; Butler County Board of MR/DD West Chester Community Services center; Enable Medical Corporation/Atricure, manufacturer of medical bipolar scissors; Home Care Pharmacy, nursing home pharmaceutical supplies; Source One Health Technologies, distributor of medical imaging equipment; Wellington Orthopedic & Sports Medicine, specialized care for bones, muscles and joints; Wetherington Family Medicine, primary family medical practice.

A cluster of higher educational institutions is emerging as three universities have opened or are underway in West Chester. Indiana Wesleyan University and Phoenix University provide adult education at I-75 and Union Centre, and Miami University is developing a 20-acre Learning Center in the Voice of America District, I-75 at Tylersville and Cox Roads.

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Fast-Paced Commercial Development

More than 200 acres of new dining, shopping and entertainment venues are under development in West Chester and more than a hundred more are being actively planned. Major new commercial projects are underway at each of the three interchanges on I-75, providing access within minutes to popular regional and local venues. More than 80 new restaurants opened in West Chester in the past five years (2000-2004) and more continue to open as commercial districts develop. There are more than 10 hotels, many offering executive-oriented services, with more than 16,000 sq. ft. of conference space. More than 600 hotel rooms at the Union Centre interchange alone cater to corporate and social events and tourism, and West Chester leads the county with the highest number of hotel rooms totaling at 1,000.

The first exit north of the beltway is Union Centre Boulevard, under development to become the community's new Downtown District; the interchange is identified within the region by its high-rise landmarks Marriott North Cincinnati, Centre Pointe Office Park and Rave Theater Complex. On the east side of Union Centre Boulevard, Continental Real Estate has completed phase one of a $100 million lifestyle center called the Streets of West Chester. Major anchors include an 80,000 sq. ft., eighteen (18) screen Rave Theater, numerous full-service restaurants and boutique shops, and an anchor bookstore, Barnes & Noble Booksellers. Construction is in process for an upscale urban-style residential component at the Streets of West Chester; the pedestrian-oriented neighborhood of owner-occupied town homes priced $195,000 - $350,000 will feature urban brownstone buildings around a village square.

Cincinnati-based investment group Scott Street Partners purchased 27.8 acres at the southern end of the Streets of West Chester for future development. The site, with full interstate visibility and multiple access points to I-75 and perimeter roads, is anticipated to be a highly sought-after regional location for office and commercial development.

On Union Centre Boulevard to the west, a 25-acre outdoor new urban downtown is under development by Schumacher Dugan Construction. The pedestrian-oriented West Chester Town Centre will feature popular regional specialty boutiques, restaurants, offices and an urban park designed for community celebrations. In 2005, Phyllis at the Madison, a premier upscale full-service salon and spa, announced it will open a salon in West Chester Town Centre. Also, several casual bistros catering to area office professionals opened in 2005 in Phase 1 of the Town Centre.

Among the many restaurants recently opened or planned in the Union Centre district, the upscale Jag's Steak and Seafood attracts clientele from throughout the region with its signature menu.

A second luxury car boutique opened in 2005 across from Volvo of Cincinnati (2004). Mercedes Benz selected West Chester for its second location in the region. Brandi Corp., a Northern Kentucky developer, announced in 2005 it will build a 5,000-square-foot retail center at 747/Union Centre. The retail establishment will have Princeton-Glendale Road frontage.

Aggressive expansion by financial institutions into the West Chester market continued in 2005 with the addition of Park National Bank at 747/Union Centre; National City Bank at Cincinnati Dayton; and KEMBA Credit Union at Union Centre.

To the north of the Union Centre Interchange at West Chester's Midtown - the Cincinnati-Dayton Interchange - new commercial projects opened in 2005 following the completion of a major roadway improvement at the Interchange. Wal-Mart SuperCenter opened its 203,982-sq.ft. facility in Neyer Properties "Highlands" development, a 75-acre mixed-use retail/office project. Also new in the Midtown district in 2005, National City Bank, branch office; Mike's Express Car Wash; and plans for West Chester Station, a new 13,000-square-foot office/retail development, were announced.

At the third and northernmost interchange on I-75, just south of the Butler County Regional Highway, is an expansive commercial corridor along Tylersville Road known as Uptown. Alongside established retail, new large-scale shopping and dining centers have recently opened and more are under construction. Voice of America Shopping Center is a $100 million outdoor shopping and dining district anchored by favorite national and discount retailers.

Numerous new retail and dining establishments opened in 2005 in the Uptown district. Key projects include: Sibcy Cline Realtors, 20,000 sq. ft. office; Soho Japanese Bistro.

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Additional 2005 Business Projects

In addition to the major new projects described in previous sections, the following noteworthy business projects (5,000 sq. ft. or larger of new construction or new lease) developed in 2005 in West Chester Township illustrate the community's economic diversity:

All That Jazz, dance studio (5,900 SF); Associated Materials, Inc., leading manufacturer of installed exterior building products (54,180 SF); Audio Sensations, car and home audio systems (5,400 SF); Byron Products, worldwide supplier of fully integrated metallurgical products for the manufacturing industry (28,232 SF); Guardian Protection Service, specializing in sales, installation and monitoring residential and commercial security systems (5,000 SF); HomeGate Mortgage, mortgage products, (expanded to 5,300 SF); Interior Supply, Inc., a commercial Armstrong ceiling tile (30,050 SF); Lakota Hills Animal Clinic (5,740 SF); Multi-Source, Inc., customized warehouse and inventory solutions (6,200 SF); Star Pressure Cleaning, fleet, restaurant and industrial pressure cleaning services (7,560 SF expansion); Student Lending Works/Kohne O'Neill LLC, a student lending operation (5,000 SF); Wicker Home Furnishings, warehouse/distribution (5,670 SF); and Xcel Sports, multi-sport training facility for individuals and groups (32,000 SF).