Cities Civil and Municipal December 2024

Sharonville, Ohio

January 2, 2025

Sharonville, Ohio

A Tale of a Thriving City

At the hub of residential, commercial, industrial, and population growth

“This is a great community to live, work, and play,” David McCandless, Economic Development Director, states when asked to describe what makes the charming community of Sharonville stand out from its neighbors.

Located within the outer belt of the city limits of Cincinnati, commuting to work, school, or around town is a breeze for its lucky 14,000 residents. This dynamic commercial, industrial, and residential hub is looking forward to a productive year ahead and continued growth.

Sharonville is blessed with its strategic location, thoughtful elected leadership, thriving diverse business community and the impressive array of housing options available for those who may be moving to the area. For the roughly 35,000 people who work there, its accessibility is very attractive.

Firmly focused on business attraction and retention, residential opportunities, beautification projects in the downtown core, known to the community as “The Loop”, as well as adding to its great parks and green spaces, Sharonville has its finger on the pulse of civic development.

“Our community is located just 15 miles north of Cincinnati. We are surrounded by critically important interstates, with I-75 within the city limits, just a mile from I-71 and within the I-275 outer belt, it’s easy to get to a lot of places.”

“This is great for both residents and businesses,” McCandless notes.

Sharonville is also proud to be comprised of a diverse mix of residents of all demographics ranging from single adults, young families, to senior citizens across the income spectrum. In Sharonville, K-12 education in addition to the skilled trades is a community priority. Princeton City Schools is a major employer in Sharonville serving roughly 6,000 students and Great Oaks Career Campuses providing skilled trade training to over 20,000 students each year.

When it comes to a sense of place, the community boasts a variety of natural and established amenities and community resources. “We have Sharon Woods, a 723-acre park for those who love the outdoors, a bustling community center as well as a public library and historical society,” he adds. “We have all the things that a big city would have, including our own chamber of commerce,” McCandless elaborates. Connectivity is a focal point of its comprehensive plan, Sharonville 2030, as the already walkable community adds additional bike and walking paths.

Beyond the top-tier park system, Sharonville can also lay claim to leading arts amenities.

“We have our own Cultural Arts Center which is a big hit for parents and students alike and plays a big role in our community,” McCandless highlights. The center is actively involved in everything from theater to photography and painting and is an active participant in most community events.

Cross section of business sectors

Per capita, Sharonville hosts a surprising number of top companies covering a cross-section of business sectors.

“We have a diverse array of Class A and B commercial office space, most of which one could argue is doing much better than the national average, as we navigate the changes and challenges in that market in recent years. Engineering, legal services, human resources and other professional service providers are major tenants. We also have a significant light and heavy industrial base primarily located in the middle of the city and anchored by the Ford Motor Company. They have a 182-acre transmission plant here with over 2,000 employees.” Beacon Orthopaedics, General Mills, Ferguson, and UPS are also major employers.

Other business anchors include the world headquarters of Gorilla Glue in addition to a considerable number of aerospace companies and chemical companies such as StandardAero and Dubois, a major chemical supplier across a variety of industries.

On the western side of Sharonville lies the hospitality district, otherwise known as the Northern Lights District, home to the city’s own convention center. The Sharonville Convention Center recently completed a 40,000 square foot expansion to accommodate business conferences, trade shows, and many other special events. The center is city run and operated and works closely with its hotel partners as well as food and beverage destinations like the award winning Third Eye Brewing Company.

One of the city’s newest employers is Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center which is in the process of building out and renovating a former trucking building to serve as the home of its new Applied Gene and Cell Therapy Center. “We are grateful for their investment here and we look forward to seeing them operational,” McCandless added. This project alone is a $60M plus investment.

Offering residents housing options

As many communities continue to struggle with providing a variety of housing options for residents and those who may be relocating, Sharonville believes it’s in a good place with an eye towards continued growth. According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, Sharonville has been rated as the hottest housing market in Cincinnati.

“We have a healthy mix of multi-family, single family homes and senior living,” McCandless said.

While attractive to many buyers and families, Sharonville is working to expand its housing offerings beyond the traditional single detached, larger established family homes.

“For the first time in a long time, we have some new apartments being planned in the northern part of the city, and we are looking at other potential redevelopment opportunities as well,” McCandless details. Active seniors also have a new housing option after Silverfern opened its doors, a $20M project that featured converting a former hotel to high-end apartments with all the amenities of a small community to include a movie theater, restaurant, workout facility and more.

With plenty of housing options available and more in the development stage, Sharonville can continue to welcome new residents as established companies in the city continue to hire and new companies move in to take advantage of the perks of laying business roots in the community.

Open for business could sum up the city’s approach to attracting new business investment and they have the tax advantages to back up their efforts.

“As a city, we are unique in that we don’t levy property taxes. The City Council chose several years ago that they were not going to do that and instead fund city services via its payroll tax, a competitive one and a half percent.”

The city has a Job Creation Incentive Grant Program that it strategically uses to incentivize growth or retain companies, on a case-by-case basis. This incentive is most appealing to larger companies. In Sharonville, however, small businesses have long been valued too.

“The city has long rewarded small businesses who invest in themselves by making exterior facing and façade improvements, leading to more attractive properties and additional job growth,” McCandless noted. A qualifying small business could receive a reimbursable grant up to $10,000 for improvements such as painting, new siding, uplighting, and signage.

There are many success stories in Sharonville, home to a number of non-chain restaurants such as the Blue Goose Sports Café, Chef’s Café, and Rocafella’s Pizza. Among them is the Third Eye Brewing Company, a 2024 Grand National Champion award winner.

McCandless is the first to acknowledge that businesses thriving in the region have partially been a result of the city’s work with key entities. He points to the Northern Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce which has been a valued partner serving the needs of the business community from networking events to a wide array of benefits and member discounts. When it comes to workforce partners, Princeton City Schools and Scarlet Oaks Career Campuses are always top of mind.

Investing in infrastructure improvements

McCandless points out that the city has been heavily investing in its infrastructure with a special emphasis on beautifying its downtown area.

Recent additions in keeping with its Downtown Streetscape Master Plan include Depot Square, a central gathering area with a fountain feature and stage in the heart of The Loop. “The next phase of our streetscape improvements includes new sidewalks, a road diet with additional on-street parking, and other amenities,” Anna Ehlerding, Assistant to the Mayor outlines.

The work that the city is putting in to help make downtown a more walkable, community-oriented, and beautiful place for residents to meet and socialize, while taking part in local events is paying off. “We continue to add new events such as Bark & Buy, Loop Quest, and musical performances for our residents, and feedback has been very positive,” Ehlerding continues.

“Ohio Magazine named Sharonville as one of its Best Hometowns in 2023. It was only the second time, I believe, in the magazine’s history that a Hamilton County community had been featured,” McCandless enthuses.

Looking to the year ahead

McCandless sums up the vision and priorities for the city as we look ahead to a new year.

“We will work to keep the progress and momentum going by continuing our business-friendly policies, facilitating growth where possible, and by continuing to wisely invest into the amenities our community’s residents and businesses enjoy.”

Ehlerding is also optimistic as she plans new and exciting events for the year ahead. “2025 will be very exciting for our community and we are grateful to have the support and leadership of our Mayor Kevin Hardman and our city council.”

“We appreciate our businesses, and we thank them for choosing Sharonville, a great place to live, work, and play.” McCandless concludes.