News & Media

Queen City Square Committed to Diversity and Inclusion

Developer Engages Inclusion and Workforce Consultant
CINCINNATI — June 10, 2008 — Eagle Realty Group, developer of the Great American Building at Queen City Square, has established as one of its key objectives for the project the involvement of a diverse array of companies and individuals in the development. To help achieve this objective, Eagle announced today that it has engaged Ellington Management Services to enhance the participation of small businesses and minority-owned and women-owned businesses in the project. Achieving greater diversity in the construction workforce has also been identified as a primary goal for Ellington.

Ellington will work directly with Eagle and the project’s construction manager, Turner Construction (which has a long track record of successfully implementing economic inclusion efforts on construction projects), to identify and augment opportunities for minority-owned businesses, women-owned businesses and small businesses to construct portions of the project and to provide materials and services in connection with the project. Ellington will then develop and implement programs to communicate those opportunities to qualified businesses and assist them in submitting bids for the work.

“Our partnership with Eagle Realty Group on such a significant project in Greater Cincinnati will be a substantial platform to further the growth and prosperity of minority- and women-owned businesses, large and small, as well as local small businesses” said Eugene Ellington, president of Ellington Management Services. “Our collective efforts will serve as a catalyst for further community and economic development.”

In addition to increasing opportunities for subcontractors, suppliers, and service providers, Ellington will focus a significant part of its efforts on increasing the number of qualified local minority and women workers in the construction trades generally, and in the Queen City Square project workforce in particular. These efforts will be led by Patricia Bready, one of the region’s leading authorities on workforce development, and will include collaborations with several workforce training organizations, including the Southwest Ohio Regional Workforce Investment Board and Allied Construction Industries. The goal of Bready’s work is not only to increase diversity in the Queen City Square construction workforce, but also to create long-term benefits for the community through the growth of trained and qualified construction workers.

“We understand this type of workforce development and participation program is rather unique for a privately sponsored real estate project,” said Mario San Marco, president of Eagle. “It reflects Eagle’s commitment to increasing diversity in the construction workforce and helping our local community grow and prosper.”

Ellington brings more than 25 years of experience in the construction industry to the initiative. The Lockland, Ohio-based firm is one of the area’s preeminent management-consulting companies in the field of economic inclusion. Recently, Ellington’s work was praised for inclusion efforts with Duke Energy Center, where minority and small firms provided 32 percent of services to the downtown convention center, exceeding the project’s goal.

According to San Marco, the decision to partner with Ellington Management Services was a natural extension of the project’s world-class character. “Queen City Square is poised to be an example of leadership in every facet of its execution – design creativity, quality of construction, tenant spaces, environmental sensitivity and aesthetics. We want it to be an example of diversity and inclusion as well.”

About the Great American Building at Queen City Square
This latest phase of the master-planned Queen City Square complex will be a landmark tower known as the Great American Building at Queen City Square. Named after its lead tenant, Great American Insurance Company, the building will rise 41-stories above Third Street, and contain 800,000 square foot of office space over a 1,700-car parking garage. The spectacular design and dramatic tiara, at 660 feet above street level, will significantly enhance the city skyline.

Designed by Mr. Gyo Obata, founding partner of Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum (HOK), one of the world’s largest architectural firms, the building features an inviting entry plaza and grand rotunda at Fourth and Sycamore, and a spacious promenade extending to the office tower lobby located on the southerly portion of the site. The siting of the office tower, and its predominantly glass exterior, are intended to maximize the views from the office floors, which are unobstructed in all directions.

Interior amenities include floor-to-ceiling windows and 9’6” ceilings, which provide abundant natural light in office areas. State-of-the art heating and cooling systems save energy and promote a healthy environment with generous amounts of fresh outdoor air. Column-free floors of up to 26,000 square feet allow for efficient space planning and flexibility for future office reconfigurations. Advanced technological infrastructure offers users the opportunity to take advantage of the latest in communications and high-speed data transmission.

The Great American Building at Queen City Square will be developed by Eagle in partnership with the Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority, with assistance from the City of Cincinnati. Construction is scheduled to begin in July, with completion in early 2011.

About Ellington Management Services, Inc.
Ellington Management Services, Inc. was founded by Eugene Ellington, President/CEO. The company began its operations in 2002 and is located at One North Commerce Park Drive, Lockland, Ohio. Ellington Management Services provides numerous consulting services in the areas of Economic Inclusion and Small Business Enterprise Development. With over 25 years of experience in the construction industry, Mr. Ellington is widely recognized as one of the region’s leaders in economic inclusion.

About Turner Construction Company
Turner Construction Company is the world’s leading construction services firm, with a staff of more than 5,700 and projects totaling over $8 billion annually. Turner’s remarkable project portfolio features more than 50 high-rise office towers, including 11 of the world’s 100 tallest commercial structures. Prominent structures that have been built by Turner and help shape Cincinnati’s skyline include Fifth Third Center, U.S. Bank Building/Westin Hotel, Center at 600 Vine, 580 Building and the Duke Energy Center. Nationwide, key projects have included the AT&T Building, Hearst Tower and the new Yankee Stadium in New York City, One South Dearborn and ABN AMRO Plaza in Chicago, and Key Bank Tower in Cleveland.

Turner has particular expertise in utilizing environmentally sustainable practices, having completed or constructing over 180 LEED certified projects. Turner also has a long-standing focus on economic inclusion and awards contracts in excess of $1 billion annually to minority and women’s business enterprises.

About Eagle Realty Group
Eagle Realty Group is the real estate investment and property management subsidiary of Western & Southern Financial Group. Eagle Realty Group offers a comprehensive range of services covering three core real estate areas. Investment Management offers asset management and investment advisory services. The company’s expertise in real estate development and management are documented by an array of successful ventures ranging from hotels to shopping centers to low-income housing to senior housing and office buildings. In addition, Eagle Realty Group’s Multi-Family Property Management Division serves apartment communities and Eagle’s Commercial Property Management Division provides property management services. The organization oversees investment portfolios consisting of over 32 million square feet of all types of real estate located across the United States and valued in excess of $2.7 billion.

About Western & Southern Financial Group
Western & Southern Financial Group (Western & Southern) is a Cincinnati-based diversified family of financial services companies with assets owned, managed and under our care in excess of $47 billion. A Fortune 500 company, Western & Southern has received A.M. Best’s highest rating of A++ Superior for financial strength, Standard & Poor’s AA+ rating (one of the 10 highest rated life insurance groups in the world) and is consistently recognized by Moody’s and Fitch for financial strength and sound management. With a heritage dating to 1888, the group’s affiliates include The Western and Southern Life Insurance Company, Western-Southern Life Assurance Company, Capital Analysts Incorporated,1, 2 Columbus Life Insurance Company, Eagle Realty Group, LLC, Fort Washington Investment Advisors, Inc.,1 Fort Washington Savings Company,3 IFS Financial Services, Inc., Integrity Life Insurance Company, The Lafayette Life Insurance Company, National Integrity Life Insurance Company, Todd Investment Advisors, Inc.,1 Touchstone Advisors, Inc.,1 and Touchstone Securities, Inc.2 For more information, visit www.westernsouthern.com. Western & Southern is the title sponsor of the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters and Women’s Open tennis tournaments.

1 A registered investment advisor.
2 A registered broker-dealer and member FINRA/SIPC.
3 Member FDIC. Ratings refer to the financial strength of the insurance company and not to the safety, stability or performance of any investment product.