Categories
Development News

New renderings, details released on $46M Washington Park renovation

A $46.2 million renovation and expansion of Washington Park is shaping up as one of those transformational projects that help push a neighborhood on the rebound even further. Throughout the first decade of the 21st Century, Cincinnati has seen just this happen with the renovation of Fountain Square downtown. Now as Over-the-Rhine continues to open new residences and businesses, projects like the Cincinnati Streetcar and the renovation and expansion of Washington Park may finally push the long-troubled neighborhood into wide-reaching prosperity.

The Washington Park project will include a $21.6 million, two-level underground parking garage that will lie beneath a 2-acre expansion of the park to 14th Street. The completed 500-space underground parking garage will mirror designs often found in dense European cities and that found at Fountain Square in downtown Cincinnati where an underground garage is integrated underneath the public space.

One of the major sticking points with the overall project has circled around the financing to make it happen. At the Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation’s (3CDC) OTR Work Group meeting last week, officials secured nearly $21 million of the total $46.2 million needed to complete the project, with the remaining $25.2 million identified and pending approval.


Music Hall Plaza sits in front of the new Civic Green at the expanded Washington Park [TOP]. The new interactive water feature integrates a new element to the historic park in place of the pool that once sat next to the elementary school [BOTTOM]. Images provided.

The renovation of Washington Park will also create a central gathering space directly across the street from Music Hall’s main entrance on Elm Street called the Music Hall Plaza. Music Hall Plaza will then flow directly east into a newly created civic lawn space that will cover roughly the size of a football field. On the south side of the Civic Lawn a new water feature will be created that will lead all the way to the park’s historic bandstand.

The historic bandstand centrally located in Washington Park will be restored and “modernized for contemporary use” according to officials at 3CDC. Those enhancements will include audio/visual upgrades and the addition of a dramatic new lighting canopy encompassing the area surrounding the bandstand.

The historic bandstand will be upgraded and include a dramatic new lighting scheme [LEFT]. The $46M project will transform and expand one of Cincinnati’s oldest parks [RIGHT]. Images provided.

One of the more anticipated features of the newly renovated Washington Park is a roughly 1/4-acre dog park to be located immediately west of the historic bandstand along Elm Street. The dog park will add a second dog park to Cincinnati’s under-served urban core that has been experiencing tremendous population growth over recent years in both people and dogs.

Officials are finalizing the financing components and designs now and hope to begin construction work by summer 2010. Should construction begin at that point, a fall 2011 completion date is targeted.

Categories
Development News

Historic structures threatened by wrecking ball in OTR

Early yesterday morning several buildings in the 1400 block of Vine Street were badly damaged by fire. The collection of buildings included the long-standing Smitty’s clothing store and several apartments above where the residents lost just about everything.

The risk now is losing additional historic structures in one of the most at-risk and important historic districts in the nation. One building was already demolished yesterday following the fire clean up, and others are scheduled to be demolished today – including the building that houses Smitty’s.

The Over-the-Rhine Foundation is asking residents to call Amit Ghosh (513-352-3433) from the City of Cincinnati immediately and ask that these buildings not be torn down, and instead be examined to see if they could be saved.

Danny Klinger, known for helping save the historic Meiner Flats building down the street recently, states that the City is required by ordinance to first attempt to preserve these buildings rather than demolishing them.

In historic districts, the administration will encourage the use of demolition funds to repair buildings rather than demolish them. At the very least, repair of a building will be funded for the same amount that it would cost to demolish the building.

“The City is ignoring its own laws by going straight for the demolition option rather than at least considering using the demo money to preserve these structures,” Klinger implored. “Mr. Ghosh and his department must understand that those of us who care about preservation and about OTR are not ok with this. We expect that preservation be given full consideration.”

UPDATE: Danny Klingler has just confirmed that the City has backed off of demolishing the remaining two structures for now, but he encourages everyone to continue to call to inform the City on their stance on preserving Over-the-Rhine’s historic building stock, and to thank them for saving these structures for now.

Categories
Development News

Covington examining dog park for MainStrasse Village

Residents of Covington’s historic MainStrasse Village are yearning for a dog park that will provide another amenity in their neighborhood. Dog parks have become highly sought after by urban dwellers as city living becomes increasingly more attractive.

In Cincinnati, early efforts were stalled for a dog park downtown due to the lack of capital money to build the park. The efforts to create a downtown dog park yielded fruit earlier this year when Procter & Gamble’s Pet Care division announced that it would contribute $50,000 towards the construction of a dog park on a half-acre piece of land on the eastern edge of downtown Cincinnati. Planners have also included a dog park in Washington Park’s redesign that is to be reconstructed over the next year in historic Over-the-Rhine.

Dog park supporters in Covington will meet on Thursday, April 29 at 5:30pm on the second floor of Chez Nora (map). Those in attendance will hear from Tom Biedenhorn who was instrumental in making the Pioneer Paw Park reality. Biedenhorn will be joined by Covington Commissioner Sherry Carran who did the site design for the Pioneer Paw Park, and will share information from that project with the audience.

Urban Dog Park image courtesy of Ask Dog Lady.

Categories
Development News

The Banks development team releases new website, renderings for $600M development

The progress being made at The Banks development along the Ohio River in downtown Cincinnati is palpable. Underground parking garages have been built to lift the development out of the 100-year flood plain and provide parking spaces for those living, working and visiting Cincinnati’s central riverfront. With that complete, the buildings that will house 300 apartments, retail and office space are now rising on the eastern portion of the site near Great American Ball Park.

The development team responsible for the $600 million private investment has now released a new website, updated renderings for Phase 1 of the project and has begun a branding and marketing campaign intended to “define and illustrate” what it will be like to live, work and play at The Banks. The new campaign focuses around a slogan of “It’s happening on the river” and includes a new logo in addition to the new website and marketing effort.

“I think after all these years, it’s hard for people to believe that things are finally happening at The Banks,” said Malloy Peterson, vice president of marketing at Carter. “This campaign, along with the ongoing construction now visible at the site, will help change that perception and start to build interest among the community that The Banks is really taking shape.”

The updated renderings illustrate the large sidewalks that will accommodate the many visitors and residents of the mixed-use development. The mid- and high-rise structures will include street-level retail that has apartments with balconies or office space on the upper floors.

Residential development above street-level retail spaces looking east along Freedom Way towards Great American Ball Park [TOP]. Corner retail development at 2nd & Main streets [BOTTOM]. All images provided by Carter and The Dawson Company.

“Throughout all aspects of this project, we’ve been steadfast in delivering a development that creates excitement and interest throughout Greater Cincinnati,” said Harold A. Dawson, Jr., president and chief executive officer for The Dawson Company. “With a grand opening a year away, this new campaign brings to life our team’s vision of The Banks.”

Those interested in living at one of the 300 apartments in Phase 1 of The Banks can now contact Kristi Fickert from Village Green Management at (888) 371-7241 or by email at liveatthebanks@villagegreen.com.

Both the private and public portions of the overall development are currently on-schedule, and will see the underground parking garage to the east of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center open this June 2010, with a grand opening of the private development portion scheduled for spring 2011. Once fully built-out, The Banks development will house more than 3,000 new residents and will be Cincinnati’s largest single, mixed-use development composed of residential, office, hotel and retail components.

Categories
Development News

Cincinnati to debut form-based code implementation strategy

The City of Cincinnati will present its recommended strategy for implementing form-based codes at a special Planning Commission meeting on Friday, April 30 at 9am.

Form-based codes are two years in the making in Cincinnati where officials have met with communities around the country that have successfully implemented form-based codes of their own. Locally, the City of Bellevue, KY has finished the public involvement portion of their form-based code development process and is now moving towards adoption of the non-conventional zoning practice.

Cincinnati’s implementation strategy will detail how form-based codes can be incorporated into the existing Cincinnati zoning code while also developing a process for creating and applying them throughout city neighborhoods.

This strategy has been developed through a collaborative effort between the City, Opitcos Design and Lisa Wise Consulting over the past four months. In 2008, Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls and Councilmember Laketa Cole introduced a motion directing the administration to develop such a plan. Stakeholders have been meeting month since that time and are now getting closer to implementing a form-based code in one of the largest cities nationwide to date.

The special Planning Commission meeting being held on Friday, April 30 will be held from 9am to 11am at Two Centennial Plaza (J. Martin Griesel Room, 7th Floor) in downtown Cincinnati (map). Free bicycle parking is available nearby and the site is served by Metro (plan your trip). Cash parking garages and on-street parking is available nearby for automobiles.