By Travis Gettys
Enquirer contributor
NEWPORT - City commissioners unanimously approved the appointment Monday of Ryan Wyrick as business development officer, a position that replaces the economic development director post held by two predecessors who helped turn the city into a top shopping and entertainment draw.
Pat Wingo, who stepped down as economic development director in February, succeeded Laura Long, who took the post when it was established in 1983 to help bring new businesses to Newport.
Wingo is now city coordinator in Florence, and Long left in 1998 to become executive director of the Cincinnati Business Committee. The two are credited with spurring developments such as the Newport Aquarium and Newport on the Levee, which helped remake the city's image, and City Manager Phil Ciafardini said the revamped position reflects the growing economic interest in Newport.
Wyrick, who will begin work Oct. 4, will be expected to help promote and expand existing businesses, Ciafardini said, rather than promoting the city itself.
"Newport is now a hot property," Ciafardini said.
Wyrick has served as economic development director of Oxford, Ohio, since 2002, and he previously served as business assistance coordinator of Hamilton.
Wyrick encouraged business owners to renovate vacant properties in both of those cities, Ciafardini said, and that will be a major focus for future business development in Newport.
Wyrick said he plans to meet with business owners to find out what their needs are and how the city can help them help themselves.
"We may not be the only entity that needs to make changes," Wyrick said.
Wyrick points to a facade improvement program he helped implement in Oxford, which he said triggered commercial development in the central business district.
Wyrick will also help oversee new developments, like the shopping center planned in the Cote Brilliant neighborhood near Interstate 471.
City commissioners voted in August to pursue an agreement with Bear Creek Capital, which expects to complete a study of the 56-acre site sometime next month.
Attorneys for the Montgomery-based developer and the city are working out details of a $92 million industrial revenue bond to finance the project, which will likely be a mix of retail and residential.
"We're poised and ready for some new developments to come on line here in the next year or so," Ciafardini said.
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E-mail travisgettys@fuse.net
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