SHARONVILLE, Ohio — Sharonville's Northern Lights district is experiencing significant economic growth with the groundbreaking of its 24th hotel, adding to the nearly 2,700 rooms already available in the area.
The new apartment-style brand "LivSmart" by Hilton broke ground this week. It’s a mid-scale, long-stay hotel brand appealing to guests who may be traveling for weeks or months at a time, according to the hotel.
"It's a natural fit for folks who are visiting the convention center. It also works great in that it serves our business community," said David McCandless, Economic Development Director for the City of Sharonville.
Watch how the Sharonville Convention Center has experienced an economic renaissance since its recent expansion:
He mentioned that out-of-town employees working for extended periods of time at nearby business headquarters and offices will have another accommodation option for longer-term stays.
"We've been working on this hotel for the past two and a half, three years," said Larry Hatfield, principal owner of North Shore Design.
The hotel will join others surrounding the Sharonville Convention Center along the I-75 corridor, an area that has seen remarkable economic development since the convention center opened nearly 30 years ago.
The Sharonville Convention Center itself recently completed renovations that opened in February 2024, doubling its exhibit hall space and adding unique amenities to enhance visitor experiences.
The exhibit hall grew from 20,000 square feet to 40,000 square feet. That created a “niche” for Sharonville, as the downtown Duke Energy Convention Center’s smallest hall was 40,000 square feet, according to Jim Downton, executive director of the Sharonville Convention Center.
“We really wanted to improve that and elevate that experience and give our attendees a reason to stay here,” Downtown said, highlighting a new standout feature is the convention center's restaurant and bar.
The suburban convention center has been able to capitalize as the downtown Cincinnati Duke Energy Convention Center is closed for a $200 million renovation.
"We have been very grateful for how busy we have been," Downton said.
Sharonville originally projected the convention center’s newly expanded exhibit hall would double its economic impact within five years.
Today, Downton said he believes they’ve nearly hit the mark in year two. (They will commission a follow-up study next year.)
"We all of a sudden had that footprint that they needed to host their event. So it worked really well," Downton said. “Last year, we only had three weekends available.”
The Sharonville Convention Center said they are looking to ensure their annual events are happy so they continue to come back every year.
“We’re trying to go out and get incremental events,” Downton said, noting many state associations will rotate between Columbus, Cincinnati and Cleveland.
Many first-time visitors to Sharonville’s convention center comment about the ease of parking.
The center offers 1,000 complimentary parking spots, a significant advantage over downtown venues.
Some events that relocated from downtown during the Duke Energy Convention Center's renovation may consider making Sharonville their permanent home, Downton said.
"We have several that are going to be returning, that we have signed some agreements for into the future," Downton said.
However, the comparison between the two is more like apples to oranges. (Both convention centers are promoted by Visit Cincy and are supported by tax revenue from hotels.)
“We are a complement to the core Duke Energy Convention Center,” Downton said. “They have over 300,000 square feet of space. We have about 100,000 square feet of space. So we each have our own niche.”
This story was reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
