October 17, 2011

Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory is the recipient of the 2012 Mayoral Inner City Leadership Award given by the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC). Mallory received the award from Michael Porter, Harvard Business School professor and founder and Chairman of ICIC, at this year’s Summit of the Inner City Economic Forum, October 3-4 in Chicago.

In presenting the award, Porter said, “Mayor Mallory displays a rare passion for his city, coupled with a high level of strategic thinking on how major development projects can build on the city’s existing public and private assets.”

“Since first taking office in 2005, Mayor Mallory has pursued bold projects to transform the city and build upon its natural assets. He has proven dedication to inner city economic revitalization through initiatives directly aimed at economic development, business recruitment and increased city revenue, as well as to projects for inner city community development,” said Mary Kay Leonard, ICIC’s President.

The mayor’s accomplishments include an agreement with Hamilton County to develop The Banks – 18 acres of land between the Reds and Bengals stadiums at the Southern edge of Downtown along the Ohio River. The mixed-use development, currently under construction, will be home to shops, restaurants, a hotel, apartments, condos and office space. The first phase, including 80,000 square feet of retail, 300 luxury apartments, and 1,600 parking spaces, opened in the spring of 2011 with the first restaurants and residents moving in. The Banks and the adjacent new Riverfront Park will transform downtown Cincinnati into a place everyone can enjoy.

In his first year of office, Mallory commissioned the GO Cincinnati (Growth and Opportunities) Project to help create jobs and grow the local economy. GO Cincinnati, aimed at increasing the city’s tax revenues through targeted economic development strategies, has helped the city attract and retain businesses. Several new businesses including Medpace, Eurostampa, and Rockfish as well as existing businesses like P&G, Macy's, Humana, US Bank, FirstGroup, Burke, Inc., Graeter's, and Cincinnati Children's are located in Cincinnati partly due to GO Cincinnati. Cincinnati's aggressive effort to attract business investment and expansion has helped the city to grow despite the national economic challenges.

On the pubic safety front, Mallory worked with public partners to help reduce gun-violence. The Cincinnati Initiative to Reduce Crime or CIRV is a multi-agency initiative designed to limit crime with a focused preventative strategy. CIRV uses statistical analysis to map criminal networks for increased law enforcement, community and social service attention. The collaborative approach to safety has become embedded in local law enforcement and has garnered international recognition. Since the program’s inception in 2007, annual homicides have declined in Cincinnati more than they had in the sixteen years prior.

Mallory is currently advocating for the construction of a modern streetcar that would connect the city's two largest employment centers, Downtown and the university and hospital area known as Uptown. The Streetcar project is designed to spark development, job creation, neighborhood accessibility, growth in the urban core and help attract young, talented individuals. The Cincinnati Streetcar is on track to complement the Metro bus system and serve as a catalyst for a multi-modal transportation system. For every $1 spent on the project, an additional $3 is expected to be returned to the local economy. The first segment should create more than 300 construction jobs and 25 permanent jobs needed for ongoing operations.

Another focus of Mallory has been revitalizing city neighborhoods and increasing housing opportunities. Cincinnati’s award winning Neighborhood Enhancement Program targets specific neighborhoods for 90 days of concentrated city services. The program focuses on developing neighborhood assets and producing services such as concentrating building code enforcement’ identifying and "cooling down" crime hot spots; cleaning up streets, sidewalks, and vacant lots; beautifying landscapes, streetscapes and public right-of-ways; and engaging property owners and residents to create and sustain a more livable neighborhood.

Speaking to the Summit’s attendees, Mallory gave a moving history of Cincinnati, describing how its namesake, the Society of Cincinnati, grew out of the inspiration of civil war soldiers to care for the families of their fellow fallen comrades. He told the audience, that whatever they did, they must do so from inspiration, for a love of their respective cities.

The Inner City Mayoral Leadership Award is reserved for mayors who have a passionate approach and a proven track record for supporting inner city economic revitalization. Mallory will be in great company with past recipients that include Columbus (OH) Mayor Michael B. Coleman, Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, Rochester (NY) Mayor William A. Johnson, Denver Mayor Wellington Webb, and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino.