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Growth in urban core one sign of Cincinnati's vibrancy

If you've been  to Over the Rhine lately, you know people are flocking  there on the weekends and increasingly during the week. New restaurants, new shops, and new apartments and condos are helping transform the urban core.

The subject came up during the 2015 Regional Economic Outlook at Eggs 'N Issues Tuesday at the METS Center. That's where members of the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerceand the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber heard:

  • The area can expect modest growth in 2015
  • Lower unemployment
  • Low interest rates
  • Modest Inflation

At least one chamber member asked Vision 2015's Kristine Frech about growth in the urban core. She said it's not just the young professionals. All ages are moving to Over the Rhine.

"Even among young professionals in some situations you are really seeing them build families in the urban core. They are not going back up to the suburbs and if they are it's perhaps just one or two tiers as opposed to going all the way out to Mason and they may be thinking a little more about Northside or Mt. Washington."

Macy's economist Brian Richard has noticed the vibrancy, comparing it to ten years ago when he left work on Seventh Street downtown. "When I first got there you would come out at night and it was dead. It was five or six o'clock at night and now you go north and there is tons of stuff. There are so many places to go."

Richard and Frech say one key to continued growth in the area is having a qualified work force.

You can read the full Regional Indicators Report here. It was compiled by economists from Northern Kentucky University and the University of Cincinnati.

Ann Thompson has decades of journalism experience in the Greater Cincinnati market and brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to her reporting.