Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center officials also announced that they plan to locate their $118 million proton therapy and cancer center 19 miles south on Interstate 75 at the hospital's Liberty Township campus in Butler County.
“We expect to start construction on the pediatric proton facility in the last quarter of this calendar year. It will take three years to complete construction,” Cincinnati Children’s spokesman Terry Loftus said in an email.
Cincinnati Children’s officials declined to comment on how the Optivus project would effect their plan.
Miami Township Trustee Deborah Preston referred further questions to Optivus CEO Jon Slater, who could not be reached. An Optivus spokesperson did not respond to questions.
“We’re hiring an underwriter to work specifically on that project,” Preston said after the meeting. “We’re getting our ducks in a row. That’s all I can say.”
Miami Township’s action was the latest in a series of recent steps to keep the project moving forward, despite issues related to the development.
In July, trustees voted to extend by one year the development agreement with Optivus on the project and to retain the Roetzel & Andress law firm as bond counsel.
The project was first introduced in 2009 when Optivus and Miami Twp. first announced a $170 million plan to develop what has been called the Clivus project — expected to employ 78 workers at an average wage of $35 an hour — on more than 30 acres in the southwest quadrant of the new I-75 interchange.
Also in 2009, Preston returned a $5,000 campaign contribution from Slater after questions were raised about her accepting the money while working on the Optivus project. Preston is not seeking re-election in November.
In 2010, Dayton-based Premier Health Partners was in talks with Optivus on collaborating on the project.
And although Optivus developed plans including a headquarters and research and production operations, as well as the proton center in Miami Twp., the project stalled until the latest hirings by the trustees.
In 2010, the Kettering Health Network also announced plans to open a center offering the new therapy, but those plans have not gone forward either.
In 2011, Miami Twp. Trustee Mike Nolan said the Optivus-Clivus project had been scaled back to $100 million from $125 million.
The development agreement with Miami Township that was extended in July gives Optivus an option on the land, part of 40 acres the township owns at the corner. The agreement also calls for Optivus to secure $10 million in financing.
The project had qualified for $8.6 million in state and local incentives, including about $6.7 million in state loans, a $587,000 state job creation tax credit, a $1 million state roadwork development grant and a $300,000 county Economic Development/Government Equity grant.
Last year, the Ohio Department of Development indicated the company had put the project on hold.
Clivus is still listed as owner of a home purchased four years ago in northern Warren County. The home in the Soraya Farms planned development in Clearcreek Twp. was purchased for $359,900 from the developer in June 2009, according to Warren County property records.
According to the agreement approved Tuesday, Ross Sinclair will be paid $40,000 - $5,000 a month during the next eight months for work on the Clivus-Optivus project, as well as other development projects in the township.
Proton beam therapy is a radiation treatment delivering a larger, more precise dosage than traditional treatments. It is believed to minimize damage to surrounding issue and is used to treat cancers of the brain, head, neck, eyes, prostate and lungs. It also is used on early breast cancer and pediatric cancers.
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