Southern Air has opened its new headquarters in Florence near the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. The international freight carrier expects to bring 150 jobs to the area. Reports the Cincinnati Business Courier:

Beginning in 2015, Toyota will build the Lexus ES 350 at its Georgetown, Kentucky plant, boosting production to 550,000 vehicles a year and creating 750 jobs in Kentucky. The company will also invest $531M over several years to upgrade its Georgetown facility.  Reports the Associated Press:

"It is fitting that the first country to build the ES outside of Japan is the United States," Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda, the company's top executive, said in New York. "This is the home for Lexus. It was where the brand was founded and it is still the biggest market for the luxury brand."

 

A leader in Northern Kentucky's business community has been selected to help guide Kentucky's efforts to better serve the state's small businesses. Normand Desmarais, founding partner and chairman of the board of TiER1 Performance Solutions, will join the Kentucky Commission on Small Business Advocacy. Governor Steve Beshear selected Desmarais to represent the 4th Congressional District for a three-year term. TiER1, based in Covington, has seen accelerating success since winning its first contract in 2002, when the company was based out of a dining room. TiER1 has been included on the Inc. 5000 list every year since 2007 and in 2012 was ranked twelfth on Inc. 5000's Top 100 Kentucky Companies list. TiER1 has also played a catalytic role in Covington specifically. Last year, it co-hosted a forum on growing Covington's IT sector and partnered with Gateway Community and Technical College (soon to boast an urban campus in Covington) on an associate degree program in instructional design and learning technologies. "Norm Desmarais and TiER1 Performance Solutions are long-term supporters of the entrepreneur network, Northern Kentucky ezone and the City of Covington," said Dan Tobergte, CEO and President of Northern Kentucky Tri-ED, in a press release. "We are pleased that Governor Beshear recognized Normand's expertise and TiER1's growth, involvement and advocacy of Northern Kentucky and small businesses. Normand and TiER1 have served as mentors to many start-ups and entrepreneurs, helping to grow our region's entrepreneurial climate." The Kentucky Commission on Small Business Advocacy (CSBA) supports Kentucky's Small Business Services Division in responding to the needs of the state's small business. The Commission's mission is "to make the Commonwealth of Kentucky a state that is friendly to small businesses through education, cooperation, and advocacy," as stated on its website. To learn more about Northern Kentucky Tri-ED's work to support the region's businesses, visit NorthernKentuckyUSA.com. A leader in Northern Kentucky's business community has been selected to help guide Kentucky's efforts to better serve the state's small businesses. Normand Desmarais, founding partner and chairman of the board of TiER1 Performance Solutions, will join the Kentucky Commission on Small Business Advocacy. Governor Steve Beshear selected Desmarais to represent the 4th Congressional District for a three-year term. TiER1, based in Covington, has seen accelerating success since winning its first contract in 2002, when the company was based out of a dining room. TiER1 has been included on the Inc. 5000 list every year since 2007 and in 2012 was ranked twelfth on Inc. 5000's Top 100 Kentucky Companies list. TiER1 has also played a catalytic role in Covington specifically. Last year, it co-hosted a forum on growing Covington's IT sector and partnered with Gateway Community and Technical College (soon to boast an urban campus in Covington) on an associate degree program in instructional design and learning technologies. "Norm Desmarais and TiER1 Performance Solutions are long-term supporters of the entrepreneur network, Northern Kentucky ezone and the City of Covington," said Dan Tobergte, CEO and President of Northern Kentucky Tri-ED, in a press release. "We are pleased that Governor Beshear recognized Normand's expertise and TiER1's growth, involvement and advocacy of Northern Kentucky and small businesses. Normand and TiER1 have served as mentors to many start-ups and entrepreneurs, helping to grow our region's entrepreneurial climate." The Kentucky Commission on Small Business Advocacy (CSBA) supports Kentucky's Small Business Services Division in responding to the needs of the state's small business. The Commission's mission is "to make the Commonwealth of Kentucky a state that is friendly to small businesses through education, cooperation, and advocacy," as stated on its website. To learn more about Northern Kentucky Tri-ED's work to support the region's businesses, visit NorthernKentuckyUSA.com.

Northern Kentucky Tri-ED has launched a new marketing campaign for the region that highlights real estate options available throughout the region.

Overstock.com Inc. has opened a new distribution and returns facility in Hebron. The facility will receive product returns and handle outbound shipments.  

In an op-ed for the Cincinnati Enquirer, former Mayor of Covington Chuck Scheper writes that the turn-around Covington experienced during his term would not have been possible without "collaborative leadership and fact-based decision making." Writes Scheper: 

Covington is a city with many diverse assets and opportunities. We have historic neighborhoods and yet we embrace the modern architecture of the Ascent. We have a diverse population and were the first city in our region to adopt a human-rights ordinance. We have old businesses like Motch Jewelers, which has been in operation for 155 years. We have new technology companies like Tier 1 and C-Forward. We have traditional manufacturing companies and an emerging life-science corridor led by Bexion Pharmaceuticals. And we have more public green space than any other city in Northern Kentucky.

 

When you step back and admire the individual colors that make up our mosaic city, you see a beautiful picture that is Covington. I "Love the Cov," and so do many developers we've been courting.

Read the full op-ed here.

An in-depth look at Newport's Monmouth Street finds the corridor poised for a big revitalization. The city of Newport has created a "fitness corridor," a revived Southgate House draws crowds, and development projects such as the Saratoga Flats, a 102-unit apartment complex a block from Newport on the Levee, are creating space for urban residents. 

In between, on seven-tenths of a mile between Third and 11th streets, are more than 100 businesses, restaurants, bars and retail establishments. They include decades-long fixtures such as Ebert's Meats, trendy new hangouts such as Mammoth Café, [and] growing employers such as Red Hawk Technologies. ... 

 

The area is thriving, with fewer than a dozen vacant storefronts along the eight-block corridor.

 

"They've done a very good job revitalizing that district," said Jeanne Schroer, executive director of the Catalytic Funding Corp. of Northern Kentucky, an urban development agency. "The appearance of the district looks very good. And I think the kind of businesses they've already attracted are very conducive to the kind of residents that would be the perfect target for (Saratoga Flats)."

Read the full story here.