The Uptown Consortium, Inc. (UPCO) is a not-for-profit community development corporation targeting the highly economically distressed areas of Uptown Cincinnati. These seven neighborhoods account for nearly half of the city’s Empowerment Zone area and include 16 percent of the city’s population. UPCO will utilize its allocation to offer financial incentives and flexible credit standards to recruit the retail business mix that will sustain and invigorate the neighborhood business district. UPCO will also partner with the University of Cincinnati’s Small Business Development Center, and with a local CDFI, to assist with financial counseling.