MasonBuzz.com

Cliff Peale reports:

Sinclair Community College will spend $3.7 million renovating a building adjacent to its Courseview campus in Mason.

The Dayton-based college hopes the renovations to the former Stress Engineering building will be done by August, providing more space toward its goal of adding 1,000 students within five years.

Sinclair President Steve Johnson will update Warren County commissioners on the project this morning.

Sinclair, which has about 1,050 students at Courseview this year, ultimately plans to build to 8,000 or more students on 75 acres it controls just off Interstate 71.

The Stress Engineering project, to be completed by Quandel Construction Group, will create seven classrooms, five labs and a community meeting room.

Posted in: Business, News |

Tags: Tags: courseview campus, expansion, mason, sinclair, sinclair community college, steve johnson, warren county

Lisa Bernard-Kuhn reports:

Countless health care groups and non-profits applauded Gov. John Kasich’s decision Monday to expand Medicaid coverage to hundreds of thousands low-income Ohioans under his proposed two-year state budget.

The move positions Ohio among a growing contingent of Republican-led states that are leaning toward extending coverage, an option given to states under the federal Affordable Care Act, the law dubbed Obamacare and opposed by most GOP officials.

• Interactive: For or against Kasich’s budget
• Documents: Kasich budget proposals
• You said: #kasich in one word

The proposal will now be up to Ohio’s legislature to decide. That means Kasich will have to get to work converting members of his own party in order to bring $13 billion in federal funds to the state and extend coverage to at least 275,000 additional low-income Ohioans.

“I am not a supporter of Obamacare,” Kasich said Monday, “but I think (Medicaid expansion) makes great sense for the state because it will allow us to deliver care using our dollars for people who, up until now, haven’t been able to afford (healthcare insurance) through their job, or they were not able to find a job.”

About 2.2 million Ohioans currently have Medicaid coverage.

Kasich estimated that at least 275,000 more Ohioans would be eligible under the expanded program. But other estimates show as many as 600,000 Ohioans could be eligible.

Another 300,000 Ohioans are expected to fall into a category officials call the “woodwork effect”: People who are currently eligible but not enrolled and expected to sign up in the coming years. The federal government would not be on the hook for covering the costs those individuals, officials have said.

(more…)

Posted in: News, Ohio |

Tags: Tags: affordable care act, budget, coverage, expansion, health care, John Kasich, medicaid, obamacare, ohio

Intelligrated, Inc. celebrated the opening of a new $10 million office expansion in Mason Wednesday that is expected to bring hundreds of high-tech jobs to the area.

The expansion, which nearly doubles the space of Intelligrated’s headquarters just off I-71 on Innovation Way, is an integral part of the fast-growing supplier of material handling systems’ growth strategy, said CEO Chris Cole.

The 122,000-square-foot addition will allow Intelligrated to expand engineering, research and development staffing.  The company added 180 mostly technical and professional Ohio jobs in the past year and expects to add 200 more employees in 2013.

“We have a facility here that I think is the most modern and advanced facility in our field,” said Cole.  “This facility should make it easy to hire the very best technical talent in the industry.”

The expansion is the latest milestone in the company’s rapid growth since it launched in 2001, a week before the 9/11 attacks.  Intelligrated acquired larger rival FKI Logistex’s North American operations in 2009 and completed the acquisition of New York-based Knighted, a provider of supply chain software solutions, in December.

Intelligrated, one of Greater Cincinnati’s largest privately held companies, doesn’t disclose sales, but Cole said the company broke $600 million in new orders in 2012 and enjoyed a record year in profitability.

“When we started we wanted to be a $500 million company.  We passed that goal now and we’re working on the goal to a billion dollars or more in sales and we think we can do in the next five years,” he said.

(more…)

Posted in: Business, News |

Tags: Tags: business, chris cole, david nichols, expansion, grand opening, headquarters, high tech, intelligrated, jobs, mason

Marion’s Piazza manager John Davis knew the restaurant would be a hit when he opened the doors for lunch and was greeted by a party of 30 hungry guests.

The Dayton-based chain celebrated the grand opening of its newest restaurant — its ninth overall — Tuesday at the corner of Tylersville and Snider roads in Mason.

The Mason opening marks the company’s first Greater Cincinnati location.

“We were real busy,” said Davis of the lunch crowd.  “Everybody said, ‘We can’t wait until you get here.’”

• Photos: Marion’s Piazza opens in Mason

The 11,000-square-foot Mason location employs about 50 people and seats 520, including 70 in an outdoor patio and 100 in a private banquet room. Carry out service is also offered.

Marion’s is one of the first developments to break ground on the 9-acre site owned by Everybody’s Farm Inc. A dermatologist office is slated for another lot, according to Jeff Eichhom of Henkle, Schueler & Associates, whose sister company, Bunnell Hill Development Co. Inc., is the project’s developer.

The chain’s success lies in its pizza, known as Dayton-style pizza, said Roger Glass, company president. The crust is thin and pies are cut in bite-size squares instead of slices, he said.

Eighty-five percent of the company’s sales are pizza; other fare includes salads, sandwiches, lasagna and spaghetti.

“We must be doing something right. We keep setting records for business every year,” said Glass. “If you come to Marion’s, you’ve got to be hungry for pizza.”

Mason proved an attractive area for expansion because it is a populous area with a solid base of industry and other development, said Glass.  Mason is also close to the company’s Dayton-based commissary, which ships out fresh dough daily.

Linda Bonnell of Loveland got hooked on Marion’s in the 1990s after her child’s basketball team played in the area.  She was at the restaurant on opening day for dinner.

“We couldn’t wait until this one opened,” she said.  “The pizza is wonderful, absolutely the best.

Restaurant hours are 10:30 a.m. -11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; 10:30 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday.

Marion’s is at 6176 Soundwave Blvd. and can be reached at 513-398-9998.

Posted in: Business, News |

Tags: Tags: business, dayton, everybody's farm, expansion, marion's piazza, mason, opening, pizza, restaurant, roger glass

The newly remodeled carriage house chapel at the Manor House Banquet & Conference Center in Mason. Owners Bill and Kathy Kinane expanded onto the old Western Row Golf Course and hired the Robert Lucke Group to renovate the existing clubhouse. Photo provided

If you asked Bill Kinane 15 years ago where he’d be today, he’d say semi-retired and on a golf course.

Kinane, who owns the Manor House Banquet & Conference Center in Mason with wife Kathy, now finds himself on a golf course, but far from living a life of leisure.

The Kinanes, who opened the Southern plantation-style facility in 1997, are celebrating the business’s 15th year anniversary with an expansion onto 10 acres of the adjoining old Western Row Golf Course.

The couple has spent $4 million purchasing the property and renovating the existing clubhouse into a lodge-style carriage house with two indoor and two outdoor wedding ceremony sites.

“We’re trying to take the whole wedding and wedding receptions events to a new elevation,” said Bill Kinane. “Everybody has gazebos and courtyards and outdoor ceremony sites. Very few people have what they say is a real indoor chapel-like ceremony room.”

• Photos: See the dramatic before-and-after transformation
  

The Kinanes purchased the property five years ago, but say they’ve been waiting for the right time to expand.

“We’ve seen the good and the bad and we’re thinking that the recession is behind us and that we need to move forward now,” said Bill Kinane. “We also feel there is a huge need for ceremony sites. There are more brides than there are wedding ceremony venues.”

The business hosts 120 wedding ceremonies each year at its existing atrium and outdoor gazebo site, and 200 wedding receptions and 350 corporate events at its banquet center.

The Kinanes hope the expansion will allow them to increase the number of hosted wedding ceremonies by 30 percent. The facility will be open daily for corporate events.

The new 3,100-square-foot carriage room accommodates 400 guests and the 2,600-square-foot coach room can seat 225 guests. The property’s manicured grounds and gardens allow for two outdoor venues.

The Kinanes hired the Robert Lucke Group to renovate and expand the existing facility, which included adding 2,000-square-feet, bumping out the front facade and incorporating high-end finishes throughout.

“We’re proud that we didn’t knock the building down,” said Kathy Kinane. “Rather than known down and start new, we wanted to keep the history here. A lot of it is new but we wanted to preserve the building.”

“It kind of felt like we hit the nail on the head with this building. It’s perfect,” added Bill Kinane.

Ceremonies at the new facility are $1,500, with wedding reception packages beginning at $5,000. Events are already booking fast, say the Kinanes.

“There really isn’t anybody who has anything like this,” said Bill Kinane. “We kind of have the lock on the market right now in being heads above the competition.”

Information: 513-459-0177; www.manorhouseohio.com

Posted in: Business, News |

Tags: Tags: bill kinane, carriage house, ceremony, chapel, expansion, garden, kathy kinane, lodge-style, manor house, manor house banquet & conference center, mason, plaza, robert lucke group, wedding, western row golf course

Cliff Peale reports:

Posted in: News |

Tags: Tags: college, dayton, expansion, foundation, mason, middletown, sinclair community college, sinclair courseview, stress engineering, warren county

EMerge Health Solutions, a six-year-old medical documentation company, is expanding into new headquarters in Mason.

The company, which grew out of a gastroenterology practice in Avondale and had been operating out of the Mason Municipal Center, announced its relocation this week to larger office space along I-71 at 7264 Columbia Road.

The move allows eMerge to accommodate growing demand for its for its high-tech medical records system and growing workforce, company officials said.

The company’s hands-free documentation and workflow solutions for the healthcare industry allows physicians and nurses to document procedures in real time by utilizing keyword-driven voice commands. The system is designed to eliminate paperwork and increase productivity.

“We chose this new space to accommodate the increasing demand for our solution and our rapid company growth,” said Trent McCracken, the company’s president and CEO.

EMerge relocated its headquarters from Avondale to Mason earlier this year after receiving a $250,000 investment from CincyTech, the downtown-based public/private venture fund.

The money is part of $850,000 raised from investors as the company moves toward broader commercialization.

After five months, the company outgrew its office space at the Mason Municipal Center and will now occupy space vacated by AssureRX, another Mason company that recently expanded into larger office space in Mason.

The move is the latest in a string of high-profile development deals in Mason including Seapine Software’s new $7 million technical center on Western Row Road, and headquarters expansions by Top Gun Sales Performance, AssureRx Health Inc., Rhinestahl Corp. and Intelligrated.

“The way our leadership team understands the dynamic needs of high-tech, entrepreneurial firms has given companies like eMerge Health the opportunity to grow and expand, bringing more jobs to Mason and propelling our city to a new level of business attraction and retention,” said Mason Mayor David Nichols.

The rise of the tech and bio-health industry in Mason has a “multiplier effect” on the city’s ability to accomplish other economic strategies, added Michele Blair, Mason’s director of economic development.

“The intent is gaining this critical mass in the high-technology and bio-health industries that brings momentum in additional emerging companies’ interest and greater workforce availability in science and technology fields,” she said.

The company, which employs 11, expects to expand its workforce to fill the new space, McCracken said.

Posted in: Business, News |

Tags: Tags: biohealth, business, cincytech, city of mason, david nichols, emerge health solutions, expanding, expansion, hands-free, health care, mason, medical records, michele blair, science, technology, trent mccracken, voice-activated, workflow solutions

Dayton chain Marion’s Piazza will open its ninth location and first Cincinnati area location in Mason this November. The Mason location will have the same look and design as its Troy location, which opened earlier this year. Photo provided

Cincinnati-area fans of Marion’s Piazza soon won’t have far to travel to enjoy the Dayton pizza staple.

Marion’s is set to open its latest restaurant — it’s ninth overall– in mid-November at the corner of Tylersville and Snider roads in Mason, said Roger Glass, company president. The Mason opening marks the company’s first Greater Cincinnati location.

Customer demand prompted the expansion, Glass said. The 47-year-old chain opened another location – its first expansion in two decades – in Troy earlier this year.

Troy and Mason are attractive for expansion because both cities are populous areas with a solid base of industry and other development, he said. In addition, the two cities are close to the company’s Dayton-based commissary, Glass said.

“We have fresh dough shipped out every day,’’ he said. “Everything will be fresh daily.”

The 11,000-square-foot Mason location will employ about 50 people and seat about 520, including 70 in an outdoor patio and 100 in a private banquet room. Carry out service will be offered.

Marion’s is one of the first developments to break ground on the 9-acre site owned by Everybody’s Farm Inc. A dermatologist office is slated for another lot, according to Jeff Eichhom of Henkle, Schueler & Associates, whose sister company, Bunnell Hill Development Co. Inc., is the project’s developer.

Interior shot of Marion’s Piazza’s Troy location. Photo provided

Glass says the chain’s success lies in its pizza, known as Dayton-style pizza. The crust is thin and pies are cut in bite-size squares instead of slices, he said.

Eighty-five percent of the company’s sales are pizza; other fare includes salads, sandwiches, lasagna and spaghetti.

“We must be doing something right. We keep setting records for business every year,” said Glass. “If you come to Marion’s, you’ve got to be hungry for pizza.”

Marion’s, which employs 275 in the Dayton area and sells more than 1 million pizzas a year, has no plans to open additional locations in Greater Cincinnati area, Glass said.

“Probably what I will do is relax for a couple of months after opening Mason,” he said with a laugh.

Posted in: Business, News |

Tags: Tags: business, dayton, everybody's farm, expansion, marion's piazza, mason, opening, pizza, restaurant, roger glass

An expanded food court is one of the improvements fans will see in the latest phase of renovations at the Lindner Family Tennis Center for the Western & Southern Open. / The Enquirer/Joseph Fuqua II

Shannon Russell reports:

Posted in: Business, News |

Tags: Tags: center court, cincinnati tennis llc, entertainment, expansion, food, food court, landscaping, lindner family tennis center, mason, music, stage, tennis for charity, vince cicero, w&s open, western & southern open

Top Gun Sales Performance, a fast-growing supplier of sales support, consulting, training and personnel,  is relocating this week to the former CNG Financial Building in Mason.

The $4-million relocation from the company’s current 18,000-square-foot headquarters on Thornberry Court in Mason to its new 68,000-square-foot space is expected to bring 140 new jobs over the next five years.  The company currently employs about 60 employees.

The City of Mason and the Mason Port Authority are providing a $200,000 performance loan to support the relocation.  In addition, the city is providing $200,000 to the company to renovate second-floor space to create an information technology technical resource center for start-up digital information technology and bio-health IT companies.

Mason Mayor David Nichols said the city’s support of Top Gun is part of its aggressive approach toward encouraging new business investment. He said the CNG building, which has been vacant for several years, is one of the last remaining Class A buildings available in Mason.

The move is the latest in a string of high-profile development deals in Mason including Seapine Software’s new $7 million technical center on Western Row Road, and headquarters expansions by AssureRx Health Inc., Rhinestahl Corp. and Intelligrated.

The city said the investment in Top Gun’s new building is expected to produce more than double its investment in earnings tax revenues.

“We are extremely excited about this opportunity to continue our growth in Mason,” said Steven Osborne, president of Top Gun.

Osborne, a former Mason Council member, started the company in 2000. It expects sales this year of $5 million, up 25 percent from last year. Some of the company’s worldwide clients include Panasonic, Luxottica and Procter & Gamble.

Top Gun has doubled its office space twice in the last couple of years. The new building includes a state-of-the art data center to support both Top Gun’s clients and IT start-ups. Osborne said he’s already lined up tenants for the technical resource center.

Mike Boyer contributed

Posted in: Business, News |

Tags: Tags: bio-health it, business, city of mason, CNG Financial building, david nichols, expansion, incentives, information technology, it, mason, mason port authority, relocation, steven osborne, Top Gun, Top Gun Sales Performance