A Cincinnati non-profit recently began a fundraising campaign in hopes of developing a manufacturing and job training complex in the city’s Avondale neighborhood.
CoMade President Rich Kiley told the Cincinnati Business Courier that the group reached an agreement with local development group the Uptown Consortium to secure property for the proposed three-story, 100,000-square foot hub.
Organizers will reportedly need to raise $21 million to acquire the land and construct the facility, plus an additional $5 million in planning and start-up costs. CoMade hopes to begin housing businesses by late 2020.
Once open, the non-profit would provide affordable space near the University of Cincinnati’s R&D complex. The building aims to attract entrepreneurs to develop new products and manufacturers that need to add scale.
In addition, the CoMade facility would provide some 300 local residents, including those transitioning out of the corrections system, with manufacturing job training skills each year.
Kiley, who helped found numerous area companies and served as an executive at Cincinnati-based consumer products giant Procter & Gamble, said the building would put product design, manufacturing,and workforce development under one roof for the first time in the city.
Image Credit: CoMade
