Port Shorts: TriVersity Construction Breaks Ground in Walnut Hills

When The Port says it’s focused on economic equity in our region, those aren’t just hollow words in a mission statement hanging on some wall.

In fact, The Port’s efforts in assisting in the growth of minority-owned businesses has some real teeth to it.

Just look at the thriving Walnut Hills business district.

Since 2017, The Port has been a key cog in supporting three minority-owned businesses in the heart of Walnut Hills.

Just Q’In Barbecue, located at 975 E McMillan Street, The Esoteric Brewing Company at 918 E McMillan Street, and MORTAR Cincinnati, located a few blocks away on Vine Street all recently opened their doors in Walnut Hills, each with The Port playing a key role.

In each case, The Port’s public finance practice helped arrange a portion of the loans needed in order to help close any finance gaps for the business owner.

And now, make it four minority-owned businesses putting down new roots in Walnut Hills, again with a big assist from The Port.

In mid-July, The Port hosted a groundbreaking event for one of the region’s largest contractors, connecting two minority-owned businesses for the project’s development.

Minority-owned TriVersity Construction announced it will be moving its headquarters from Norwood to Walnut Hills, relocating all 115 employees to its new location at 921 Curtis Street. TriVersity also announced it has contracted with Sanders Development Group, also a minority-owned business, for the development of its new headquarters.

For this move, The Port purchased this site, cleaned it up and prepared it for new development before selling it in 2019.

 

“The Port takes properties like this, which are hard to commercially pull off, and they prepare the sites to make them commercially viable. We must do more to enable The Port to do more projects like our new headquarters by providing them more resources and tools so they can continue to do even more great work.” - Mel Gravely, CEO, TriVersity Construction

The Port, through its managed entity the Landbank, originally purchased the vacant, blighted, 20,000 square foot property in 2017. The Port then prepared the site for new development, conducting remediation and paving a new 19,000 square foot parking lot. The Port then found an interested end-user in TriVersity, making it the fourth Port supported minority-owned business to open in Walnut Hills in the last four years.

“This project represents everything the Landbank was established to do, which includes partnering with municipalities and local communities, clearing titles, eliminating blight and creating equitable ownership opportunities. The TriVersity groundbreaking is a great example of bringing The Port’s equitable and inclusive development strategies to life in our city, and it represents all of our collective commitments to take blighted, disinvested real estate and turn it into opportunities for job creation and economic growth." - Laura Brunner, President & CEO, The Port

And The Port’s work has not gone unnoticed. Its commitment to building minority business ownership is recognized as critical to the economic growth of Cincinnati, and is strongly supported by community leadership.

“The Port’s engagement in “We Are Walnut Hills” is instrumental. Whether it’s from the REACH projects in our southwest quadrants or being engaged in our Central Business District, it is important there are organizations like The Port who give an overarching view of projects, and can make the connections and collaborations to bring projects to fruition.” - Kathryne Gardette, Walnut Hills Area Council

The Port’s work in this space is not yet complete.

It’s a long-term commitment to creating economic vibrancy in communities such as Price Hill, Avondale, Bond Hill, the West End, and of course Walnut Hills, where The Port has clearly been flexing its muscles in the name of economic equity.