Data center project part of the growth happening in Hamilton

The data center is about a $15 million investment off Grand Avenue by South Hamilton Crossing on the Riverside neighborhood’s border with Lindenwald. It will take about 14 to 16 months to construct, and will be one of many projects happening in this part of the city.

Demolition clean up on the former Linden Lanes is nearing completion but city officials said there are no immediate plans for city-owned land at 640 Williams Ave. in the Lindenwald Business District. It’s next door to the former Shuler Benninghofen development, which has long been planned for a mixed-use development featuring apartments. The project has already received $1 million from the state capital budget, and is seeking state historic tax credits.

The Logistix project and the Shuler Benninghofen development are just two projects in this area of the city that align with two of Hamilton’s key strategic objectives, said City Manager Craig Bucheit, which he said are being neighborhood-focused and development-driven.

“From an economic development perspective, we are witnessing growth in the business sectors that are on the cutting edge of technology and education,” he said. “The (nearby) Darana expansion (off Ohio 4) plays into the advanced manufacturing transformation in the Lindenwald area.”

The area also secured $1.25 million in grant funding from two state agencies (the Ohio Department of Development and the Ohio Department of Transportation) for roadway work supporting the Darana expansion.

The University Commerce Center development on the northeast corner of Grand Avenue and University Boulevard also ties into this redevelopment. This will be where the Butler County Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Hub will be developed in Hamilton, and has been dubbed a “transformational project” for the city. It will be a new school and training facility at the former Vora Tech facility that provides students the ability to not only learn the skills needed but also train on some of the exact machines they’d use in the advanced manufacturing field.

One of the city’s focus areas is building neighborhoods back up, but to make these communities complete, they need to create job opportunities, housing, and access to advanced education and training. He said the innovation hub and the new developments are “key steps in revitalizing two of our traditional neighborhoods, Riverview and Lindenwald.”

Complete communities also include paved streets, which has already included Hilda Avenue in Lindenwald, and the plans are to repave Laurel Avenue from Ohio 4 to railroad tracks, Andrew Avenue from North Riverview Drive to Laurel Avenue, and North Riverview Drive from River Road to Andrew Avenue.

In the Riverview neighborhood includes repaving Long Street from South Second Street to Central Avenue and Washington Street from South Second Street to Central Avenue.

Swain is excited be a part of the growth happening in this area of the city.

“Hopefully we’ll create and add to everything they’re doing around there,” he said. “Certainly, the data center can help replenish what had been lost years and years ago when all the manufacturing and paper mills left and quit consuming some of the electricity the city owns.”

Riverview and Lindenwald are two of the 17 designated neighborhoods in the city of Hamilton, and Bucheit said they “are the building blocks of a better community. These projects are about more than just development; they’re about laying the foundation for Hamilton’s long-term future success.”