Sunday, February 27, 2000
Mason relishes business boom
City commits to growth
BY KEVIN ALDRIDGE
The Cincinnati Enquirer
MASON — Buoyed by booming commercial and industrial development, this city finished 1999 with its strongest corporate investment and jobs numbers in five years.
Nearly a dozen companies moved to Mason last year, while several existing ones chose to reinvest in the community. That translated into more than $106 million in new investment, 1,571 new jobs and more than $10 million in added payroll.
And with city officials reporting a strong start to this year, the business boom shows no signs of slowing.
“Whoever predicted that the opening of the new Union Centre interchange in Butler County would draw significant development away from neighboring communities like Mason needs to spend a day with me,” said Melissa Koehler, Mason's economic develop ment director.
Strong growth in Mason, Ohio's second-fastest-growing city, is helping Warren County. Experts have projected that Warren County will experience an 85 percent or better leap in housing development through 2010.
An annual report issued in May by the Partnership for Greater Cincinnati found that investment for all of Warren County topped $72 million in 1998, and 1,103 jobs were created. Mason, the county's largest city, captured more than $40 million in new investment in 1998, and 592 new jobs.
Mason landed a number of high-profile projects in 1999, including Paramount's Kings Island's $40 million expansion and improvement project, a $9.5 million improvement project by Mitsubishi Electric, Flowserve Corp.'s $9.4 million manufacturing plant and an $8 million expansion by CNG Fi nancial Corp.
Mrs. Koehler said the crown jewel of last year's development was Central Parke of Mason, a $40 million office complex on Mason-Montgomery Road. The office park, developed by Cincinnati United Contractors, features seven office buildings and will be home to such companies as Sibcy Cline, CNG Financial and Group Health Associates.
“Every lot but one is spoken for in less than 12 months of planning and developing,” Mrs. Koehler said.
Mason City Manager Scot Lahrmer said the city's success in capturing powerhouse firms such as Cintas and Procter & Gamble is grounded in its commitment to business retention and recruitment.
“We've created and nurtured a very pro-business climate here,” Mr. Lahrmer said. “Mason is widely known as a business-friendly city, and the fact that we have two people on staff who work exclusively with the business sector is a very strong statement that we value business development.”
David Davis, a spokesman for CNG Financial, told the Enquirer in an October interview that Mason officials “won us over with just, really, their attitude about business.”
But some residents worry that Mason might be too business-friendly. While new business may generate jobs and tax revenue, some Masonites say it also triggers more congestion on crowded arteries such as Mason-Montgomery, Tylersville and Fields Ertel roads.
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