Hamilton’s Second National Bank Building gets repurposed
Hamilton will soon get a high-profile coworking space to support its growing demographic of work-from-home employees, thanks to support from the JobsOhio Vibrant Community Program.
The city’s historic Second National Bank building is being repurposed and renovated by COhatch, a shared work and social space company, which is the anchor tenant and lead developer.
COhatch is a rapidly growing, community-focused shared work and social space company with locations across the U.S., including Mason, Kenwood, Hyde Park, Milford and Over-the-Rhine. As a part of this most recent expansion, the company also has plans for a new Covington, KY location.
“We’ve gotten tons of requests to expand north and south of Cincinnati, so we’re making it happen,” said Megan Dotzauer, Cincinnati Market Leader for COhatch. “We’re chomping at the bit to better support the Hamilton and Covington areas, as well as surrounding communities through our workspace solutions and event spaces, as well as through our impact programs.”
Hamilton’s Second National Bank building is located at 219 High Street. Updates to the 26,000 square foot building will include coworking seats, private offices, meeting rooms and an event space. COhatch is exploring options with local partners for a food and beverage operation as well.
“COhatch investing in downtown Hamilton is another indication we are transforming our city into a vibrant work-live hub,” said Joshua Smith, City of Hamilton city manager. “Their shared work and social space will be an amenity that will attract more business and residents to our community, and we are thankful they chose us as their next expansion.”
JobsOhio’s Vibrant Communities Program was established to assist small and medium sized communities like Hamilton with the implementation of development projects that fulfill a market need and represent a significant reinvestment in the area.
“Ohio’s historic downtowns are at the heart of our local communities, and rejuvenating them contributes to our state’s economic success,” said Ohio Governor Mike DeWine. “Restoring the historic Second National Bank building and creating new space for the citizens of Hamilton to work and connect will infuse job growth and support future development.”
“COhatch is an Ohio-based company with a plan to create a unique and vibrant space to attract entrepreneurs and professionals to downtown Hamilton,” said J.P. Nauseef, president and CEO, JobsOhio. “Along with REDI Cincinnati, we look forward to partnering with COhatch in refurbishing the historic Second National Bank with a JobsOhio’s Vibrant Community grant that will help transform and revitalize the city of Hamilton’s Main Street.”
As for COhatch’s expansion south of Cincinnati in Covington, the space, which is above Juniper’s, will include all of its core services including 11,000 square feet of workspace, with coworking seats, private offices and meeting rooms. The Covington COhatch location will be at 407 West 6th Street, which used to be the John R. Green building that provided office and school supplies, as well as furniture and hardware. The two new Cincinnati area sites will bring COHatch’s total number of locations open or under development to 41. The company plans to have 500 locations in 50 communities across the U.S. by 2032 with as many as 20 being in the Greater Cincinnati area.
“Cincinnati’s been a really great community for us,” said Matt Davis, co-founder and CEO of COhtch. “We’re excited to see COHatch members, local nonprofits and startups use our Cincinnati-area locations to grow and thrive in these new spaces.”
Construction for Hamilton will begin later this year with the facility expected to open later in 2024.
