It's a good time to be involved with UpTech, as the "super accelerator" program at Northern Kentucky University's College of Informatics expands its efforts to support fledgling business. 

Construction is scheduled to begin this summer on a mixed-use commercial development in Taylor Mill. The 157-acre development near I-275 will include large retail stores, restaurants, hotels, small service businesses (coffee shops and dry cleaners), and a professional business hub. Reports the Enquirer:

Development costs are expected to exceed $5 million, with the project generating 115 new jobs.

 

Gary Holland, who runs the restaurant group with business partner Ron Rosen, said the new development will be a first-class facility that's convenient for many.

 

"It's close to the interstate, and it's very convenient to the neighborhoods that we serve in Taylor Mill," Holland said. "We can still deliver to our existing customer base."

Read the full story here.

Jacobs Automation is creating 26 jobs and investing more than $1.7M to build a new facility in Erlanger, the Cincinnati Business Courier reports.  The 13,200-square-foot facility is located near the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. "Jacobs Automation is an innovative company with revolutionary technology in its field," said Gov. Steve Beshear in a press release. "We are excited to see 26 new jobs and $1.7 million in investment, but we're even more proud to have Jacobs Automation in the Commonwealth. The company is providing rewarding high-tech careers and adding even more quality to our talented work force." Read the full story here.

Teenagers say they want to be treated like adults, and that they want more responsibility. But what happens when you give it to them in the classroom? Turns out they like it. They REALLY like it. This past school year, the Kenton County School District began a major shift in how it educates its most motivated, tech-savvy high school students. The school created the Kenton County Academies of Technology and Innovation in Edgewood, in the the former J.D. Patton Career and Technical Center. The building houses six career-based academies, all centered on in-depth study, collaboration and project-based learning. They include:

• Biomedical sciences
• Engineering 
• High performance production technology (HPPT)
• Informatics 
• Media arts 
• Sustainable energy technology engineering 

The district chose these areas of study based on regional job growth potential over the next several decades, says Academy Director Francis O'Hara. "Those jobs of the future are here, especially in the Commonwealth," he says. "These areas are where we're going to see the most growth." Students spend half a day in the classroom, and the other half at their respective academy. Kenton County is embarking on this new approach in order to energize a student body that is more technologically savvy than any before them, O'Hara says. "These students are digital natives,” he says. “They don't know a time before the Internet and computer technology. But they are also digital introverts; they don't usually demonstrate their knowledge. What we're doing through the academies is motivating the students to take ownership of their education and exposing them to different professions.” In its first year, 230 students (all 10th and 11th graders) from the district's three high schools worked in the academies. All were chosen through an application process. Next year, more than double that number are expected to take part, O'Hara says. Read the full story here.

More than 300 members of the 204th Aviation Support Battalion and the Kentucky Division of Emergency Management have a new home in NKY. The Kentucky National Guard's new $19M readiness center was dedicated in a ribbon cutting ceremony on May 10. Reports the Cincinnati Enquirer:

With 86,000 square feet of space, the center is a state-of-the-art training facility designed to train and support soldiers and airmen, facilitate search and rescue missions in conjunction with KYEM and other agencies, serve as a staging area to receive and/or deploy soldiers and airmen and provide homeland security support in multiple arenas including reinforcing law enforcement during civil disturbances – among other uses.

Read the full story here.

Northern Kentucky is full steam ahead, says Northern Kentucky Tri-ED. Last year, 24 projects generated $300 million in capital investment and thousands of jobs in the region. This year should be no different - and may even break the books. Says Karen Finan, Senior Vice President of Northern Kentucky Tri-ED:

"Right now, we have ten projects that we have announced; we have over 500 jobs that have been created and over $80 million in capital investment," said Finan. "The first half of this year has been very strong, in part, because of the pipeline we have established in attracting and creating that awareness about Northern Kentucky."

Read the full story here.

Tourism revenue in Kentucky grew 4.4 percent last year, but the increase was more than twice as large in NKY. Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties saw an economic tourism impact of $325.8 million, a 9.1 percent increase over the $298.5 million impact in 2011. The region’s percentage gain is the biggest in the past five years and second only to 2007. The increase provides a positive economic impact for the entire Greater Cincinnati region. Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati tourism generated $551 million in state and local tax proceeds last year, according to the Northern Kentucky CVB. That equals a $644 average household tax burden offset. Read the full story here.

What makes Kentucky great? Innovation? Education? Manufacturing? Logistics? Start-ups? Small business? Bourbon? Basketball?  The Cabinet for Economic Development has launched a new video, This is My Kentucky, that highlights everything that makes Kentucky a great place to live, work, and do business. Watch it here!