Cincinnati State expansion

Journal story...

Grant to help renovate Cincinnati State property

By Rick McCrabb
Staff Writer
MIDDLETOWN — A $68,500 grant from the Duke Energy Foundation will assist in the redevelopment of a downtown property for Cincinnati State Community & Technical College, it was announced Friday.
To meet regional needs, the college must expand beyond the one building it occupies at 1 N. Main St., said Judy Bober, assistant director. She called the grant “very important” to the growth of the college and the continued redevelopment of downtown.
Michael Chikeleze, director of the Middletown campus, said the goal is to turn the vacant property at 1021 Central Ave., the former Butler County Job and Family Services building, back into “productive use.” He said the grant will help fund feasibility studies and architectural and engineering services to determine the best use of the building as the college continues its downtown footprint.
He said it was too early in the planning stages to determine a cost estimate of renovating the property.
Cincinnati State owns four downtown properties: the former Cinergy Building, where the campus is located; the former Butler County Jobs and Family Service; the former Middletown Area Senior Citizens Center; and the former First National Bank building.
Chikeleze said eventually Cincinnati State will construct a downtown campus, and the redevelopment of the Central Avenue property is “the next phase” of that project.
Cincinnati State Middletown’s enrollment has more than doubled to 700 students since it opened in the fall 2012, he said. To meet regional needs, he said, the college plans to increase enrollment to 3,000 within five years.
The more the college grows, the larger the impact it has downtown, said Denise Hamet, the city’s economic development director. She said additional students means there will be more of a demand for services, and that will spur growth.
The money from Duke Energy was part of 10 economic development “catalyst grants” totaling $280,000 to be used in urban communities within the company’s Ohio/Kentucky service area to spur additional commercial re-development activities, said company spokeswoman Sally Thelen.
This year’s donation pushed the company’s total for the program’s giving to more than $1 million since it began in 2011, she said

WELL, I DON'T UNDERSTAND THIS STORY. CS NEEDS TO EXPAND BUT THE ENROLLMENT NUMBERS HAVE BEEN DRASTICALLY REDUCED FROM THE ORIGINAL 5000 IN FIVE YEARS TO 3000 IN FIVE YEARS. A FEW YEARS HAVE FALLEN OFF THE ORIGINAL FIVE YEAR TIMELINE AND THE ENROLLMENT IS ONLY AT 700 OR SO AT LAST COUNT. I HAVE HEARD INFORMATION THAT THE ENROLLMENT NUMBERS ARE ACTUALLY DOWN IN THE 500'S NOW AS THEY HAVE ACTUALLY LOST NUMBERS THE LAST TWO YEARS.

I SEE HAMET IS STILL PUSHING THE OLD "CS WILL HAVE AN IMPACT DOWNTOWN" ROUTINE. HASN'T HAPPENED YET AFTER A FEW YEARS HAS IT? SHOULD BE SOME DOUBT STARTING TO ENTER INTO THE DOWNTOWN PICTURE ABOUT NOW SHOULDN'T IT? WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN TO CONVINCE HAMET AND OTHER SPONSORS OF THIS TITANIC MISADVENTURE THAT THIS ISN'T GONNA WORK? CS MAY HAVE A DECENT ON-LINE RESPONSE TO THEIR PROGRAMS, BUT IT WOULD APPEAR THAT IT HAS DONE LITTLE TO BRING THE FOOT TRAFFIC DOWNTOWN AS PROJECTED. JUST WONDERING HOW LONG THIS CHARADE IS GOING TO LAST. IT IS WHAT IT IS DOWNTOWN SUPPORTERS. "A" FOR EFFORT BUT AN "F" IN THE MONEY SPENDING CATEGORY. TIME TO ADMIT IT MAY NOT WORK OUT.