Coworking space for women of color OK’D
$500K approved to build center for Zora’s House
The Columbus City Council approved $500,000 for Zora’s House to help build a $4.5 million coworking center in Weinland Park for women of color to help them start businesses.
“Women of color are the fastestgrowing population in Franklin County,”
LC Johnson, founder and CEO of Zora’s House, said before City Council approved the funding Monday. The space will also serve as a leadership incubator for them, Johnson said.
The 10,000-square-foot building will be built on the site of a former carryout at North 4th Street and East 8th Avenue in the Weinland Park neighborhood near the Short North and Ohio State University. Zora’s House has been in a 2,000square-foot building on Summit Street.
The building is to include coworking space on the first floor, bedrooms for a residency program on the second floor and subsidized office space on the third floor. Zora’s House will also connect women with mental health services, said Council President Pro Tem Elizabeth Brown.
The nonprofit group has served 3,000 women since its founding in 2018.
The Columbus Foundation and the Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing have each contributed $250,000 to the project. Johnson said other funders include JP Morgan Chase, Victoria’s Secret and Alliance Data Systems, now Bread Financial.
Johnson said construction should begin in October and be finished by fall 2023. The original cost was to have been $3 million, but rising construction prices forced the price tag higher.
In other business Monday, the City Council also approved more than $9 million for programs for local shelter services for the city’s homeless population, including $5.4 million for the Community Shelter Board.
The package is part of $19 million that city officials said will go to shelter services and other human services
107-year history of business advocacy in Licking County.
The community connections section will lead a fly-in delegation to an existing Intel facility during the first half of 2022. Future efforts will focus on connecting vendors with Intel and connecting newcomers with relocation options.
“The collaborative environment of Licking County has driven our economic success,” Grow Licking County Executive Director Alexis Fitzsimmons said. “We look forward to Intel being a part of our growing success story, and look to leverage the impact of this opportunity to improve the quality of life for all our residents. This starts with community preparedness and a grassroots Welcome Intel Task Force approach.”
Grow Licking County is the lead economic development organization for Licking County.
The Intel development, scheduled to
break ground later this year and begin production in 2025, is expected to create 3,000 jobs. The project is also expected to create 7,000 construction jobs and 10,000 indirect jobs in the area. kmallett@newarkadvocate.com 740-973-4539
Twitter: @kmallett1958