Category: Development

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Examining parking policy from an urban perspective

The City of Cincinnati requires one parking space per residential dwelling unit throughout all four sub-districts of the Downtown Development District. For office uses there is one parking space required for every 750 to 1,200 square feet of office space.

These parking facilities could range from initially cheap surface lots to costly structured parking garages. Both facilities have the potential to severely damage the urban fabric in spite of design guidelines in place to improve their appearance. In addition to this damaging effect, the cost of parking is extraordinarily high in urban locations as parking spaces can cost between $20,000 and $30,000 per space in a structured parking garage. While surface lots are cheaper to construct, they squander valuable land and thus shoulder the cost of wasted revenues for local government and private land owners.

Thousands of parking spaces are being constructed underneath The Banks development with tens of millions of dollars in taxpayer money.

The high costs of parking are immediately passed on to the customer (tenant) which results in one of two things. 1) The price points go so high that many are priced out of the market; or 2) The costs become too much for the developer to be able to recoup based on market demands which stymie investment absent substantial public subsidies.

Neither scenario is ideal, but both are seen in Cincinnati’s urban core today. Within the Central Business District the demands are there for increased development, but the prices are higher than the market will bear. As a result affordable living spaces are often not built, and new office development is rare.

In Over-the-Rhine, demand historically was too low to warrant the high parking costs, one factor in under-investment in the neighborhood, did not exist. The demands now exist in several portions of Over-the-Rhine, but in order for the price points of units to be kept artificially low, and keep inventory moving, parking has come in the form of surface lots.

The purple building seen here will be demolished to make way for an above-ground parking garage to supply parking requirements for nearby developments.

These surface lots throughout Over-the-Rhine have lower initial capital costs, but cause negative externalities for the neighborhood – one of America’s largest and most significant historic districts – and put additional historic structures at risk of demolition for these parking requirements.

Cincinnati Beer Company owner, Bryon Martin, currently owns the former Christian Moerlein residence and office on Elm Street in the Brewery District. His plans are for a brewpub restaurant that would play on the history of the two buildings. Martin would also love to have a large outdoor biergarten area on the vacant adjacent lot, but says that parking may have to be the use for that space at least initially.

There are potential solutions out there to balance out this equation without extreme demands that drive price points of investment in the neighborhood to unaffordable levels, or massive public subsidies. Over the next several weeks UrbanCincy will be looking into these potential policy solutions and how they might impact investment in our urban neighborhoods, preservation of the city’s historic building stock, and help change the way in which we design our communities.

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Business Development News Politics

3CDC makes transformative impact over last decade

The first decade of the 21st Century has been an interesting one to say the least for Cincinnati. Two new professional sports stadiums rose from the riverfront, mega projects throughout Downtown have transformed the center city, civil unrest shook the city to its core, and a neighborhood on the brink of total failure has seen one of the most dramatic turnarounds in recent time. Billions and billions of dollars have invested into our city’s urban core, and our region is better off as a result.

If you had to pick one story line that defined Cincinnati over the past decade it would have to be the story of Over-the-Rhine. The long troubled neighborhood was brought to its knees following the civil unrest in 2001 just as the neighborhood was starting to pick itself back up in the form of a rejuvenated Main Street Entertainment District that included residences, businesses, and lots of nightlife.

Crime rates rose, abandonment became more problematic, and investors became wary. But in 2003 the Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation (3CDC) was formed by then mayor Charlie Luken. Made up of some of Cincinnati’s most influential power brokers, 3CDC was tasked with turning around Cincinnati’s center city by making key investments that would make “tangible” improvements quickly.

A pedestrian walks north along Vine Street in the Gateway Quarter district of Over-the-Rhine [LEFT] as people gather outside the popular Lavomatic Cafe across the street [RIGHT].

Since its inception seven years ago, 3CDC has renovated Fountain Square and turned it into the region’s premier gathering spot which has sparked millions of dollars of investment in the surrounding area. Early on, 3CDC helped pushed the agenda on the $1 billion riverfront development known as The Banks until they stepped aside and moved their interests towards the historic Over-the-Rhine neighborhood where they have arguably made the most profound impact that any one development corporation could have made anywhere.

It was just earlier in this same decade that Over-the-Rhine was quite possibly hit the lowest of lows, but now, the neighborhood is in the midst of an exciting revival that has grabbed national attention. Millions of dollars have been invests, hundreds of new residents and dozens of new businesses now occupy formerly vacant structures, one of the most dangerous intersections (12th & Vine) has been turned into one of the safest as crime has dropped significantly throughout the neighborhood, and perceptions are changing rapidly about the once downtrodden neighborhood.

Work nears completion on Model Group’s Trinity Flats infill and restoration project near 14th & Vine streets [TOP]. Senate, a new gastropub, is scheduled to open soon near 13th & Vine streets [LEFT], while work begins in earnest on the latest phase of the Gateway Quarter which will include new apartments and businesses [RIGHT].

3CDC has had a profound impact on our center city for the good over the past seven years, and they plan an even bigger future over the next decade. In 2010 alone the development corporation plans to expand and renovate Washington Park, continue their renovation work throughout Over-the-Rhine, begin renovation of the Metropole Apartment building on Walnut Street to turn it into a swanky new 21c Museum Hotel, further invest in the burgeoning Backstage Entertainment District with even more restaurants, bars/clubs, and new residences.

It may be easy to point to a singular event or item that has had the greatest impact on Cincinnati over the past decade, but when you look at what has been the most transformative there is no doubt that the arrow points to 3CDC. Cincinnati is a better place because of the work that 3CDC has done, and it will prove to be Charlie Luken’s greatest legacy.

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Business Development News

Busken Bakery opens new downtown location

Earlier this month Cincinnati-based Busken Bakery opened their newest location on 7th Street in downtown Cincinnati. The street-level space is the fifth downtown Cincinnati location Busken has had in its 82-year history.

“We’ve had a retail presence in downtown Cincinnati for nearly 40 years,” said Page Busken, Chairman of Busken Bakery. “We’ve experienced the entire business spectrum of great success and miserable failure in the downtown market over the years. This will be the 5th time we’ve opened a new store in downtown Cincinnati and believe me, we’ve seen it all!”

Busken’s sons Dan and Brian encouraged their father to maintain a downtown location even when times were bad, and now that Cincinnati’s center city is experiencing a dramatic revitalization, the sons believe it would be foolish to leave.

“There is too much positive momentum and our city center is slowly but surely becoming a destination,” said Brian Busken.

The new store will look to grow their breakfast and lunch catering business which had previously been operated out of their store at 9th and Central near City Hall which has now been closed and replaced by the new store. The new store will also give Busken a presence in the heart of the bustling Backstage Entertainment District and within the close reach of thousands of downtown office workers and residents.

“Breakfast catering is something we are very good at, and to my knowledge I don’t know of any other bakeries that will deliver Hall of Fame Donuts, Danish Muffins, and gallons of premium coffee to any downtown business meeting or event, 5 days a week,” said Busken.

The new Busken Bakery at 7th & Walnut streets (map) is open Monday through Friday from 6:30am to 3pm, Saturday from 7:30am to 1pm, and is closed on Sundays. Bicycle and automobile parking are available, and the new bakery is located along several prominent bus routes and is located just two short blocks from Metro’s Government Square bus hub (plan your trip now).

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Development News Politics

2009 a year of progress for Cincinnati preservationists

2009 was a year full of progress for preservation advocates in Cincinnati. Several important structures were saved from the wrecking ball, new public policy is being implemented to help prevent additional demolitions, and Cincinnati’s historic neighborhoods reaped the many benefits of restoration investment.

This year the Cincinnati Preservation Association (CPA) has recognized six different individuals, organizations, and projects that represent “outstanding accomplishment in local preservation.” The awards included a new award for Special Recognition that went to the Meiner Flats building in Over-the-Rhine.

Meiner Flats was built in 1875 by a family of German-American stonemasons and is one of the tallest buildings in historic Over-the-Rhine. After sitting vacant for roughly two decades the building was ordered to be demolished by the City. The Special Recognition award was presented to Danny Klingler, among others, who helped bring attention to the building and save it from the wrecking ball thanks to generous donations from Cincinnatians, 3CDC, and the City of Cincinnati.

[Above] 13th & Republic in OTR’s Gateway Quarter. [Below] Rader Gallery building at Liberty and Main streets in OTR. Photos provided by Mike Stehlin.

Rookwood Pottery took home the Craftsmanship Award for restoring the proud Rookwood tradition which includes the first female-led manufacturing firm in the country, the best-known art pottery in the U.S., and one of Cincinnati’s most famous companies that was started back in 1880. In 2006 new ownership acquired all of the remaining assets of the original Rookwood Pottery and has moved into a massive 100,000 square-foot structure in Over-the-Rhine near Findlay Market.

Other awards handed out by CPA include the following:

  • Education Award: Elizabeth Meyer for her instrumental work in preserving original documents, drawings, photographs, and other resources pertaining to Cincinnati Modernist buildings.
  • Rehabilitation Awards: Luedeking House in East Walnut Hills has been meticulously restored over the past five years and has restored the home’s previous grandour. 2312 Park Avenue in Walnut Hills also received this award following an adaptive renovation that now houses the offices of Vivian Llambi & Associates.
  • Sustainability Award: Veraestau Historic Site in Aurora, Indiana took home the Sustainability Award for its incorporation of progressive conservation practices in addition to its preservation efforts that included a new geothermal heating and cooling system.
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Development News Politics

Downtown Cincinnati needs more residents

Downtown Cincinnati has experienced tremendous progress over the past 10 to 15 years. The Aronoff Center for the Arts was built along Walnut Street which sparked the investment seen in the nearby area now called the Backstage District, two new professional sports venues were built along the riverfront along with the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, the convention center was expanded, the Contemporary Arts Center was prominently rebuilt, the renovation of Fountain Square sparked millions of dollars worth of spin off investment nearby, and hundreds of new housing units have been developed.

Over this same time crime rates have gone down, population has increased, commercial occupancy rates have held steady, retail spaces have filled up, and the hotels boast the highest occupancy rates in the metropolitan region. But as in any situation, one solution often creates another problem.

Case in point, the Metropole Apartments on Walnut Street are now slated to become a trendy 12c Museum Hotel which will relocate the low-income residents that currently call the building home. This will not only create a difficult situation for the large number of people living there, but it will also take away a large number of full-time residents from the downtown population.

The same situation is shaping up at the Phelps apartment building that fronts onto the picturesque Lytle Park. The 137 apartments there will more than likely be lost to an extended stay hotel that will take advantage of the downtown commercial success, but once again, another large block of full-time residents will be lost in the process.

The interest in the downtown commercial market is very encouraging, but downtown must be able to be thriving both commercially and residentially in order for it to become that 24-hour downtown we all hope it will become. The apartment conversion of the historic Enquirer Building will help offset the aforementioned residential loses, but an apartment conversion of the historic Bartlett Building would also do wonders for the residential component of downtown.

The Banks is slated to add hundreds of new residents to the urban core, but there are also great opportunities for residential density at 5th & Race, 7th & Vine, Court & Walnut, and Court & Elm/Race. A residential strategy should be employed to best maximize the use of these areas – high rises at 5th & Race and 7th & Vine, midrise at Court & Walnut, and a mixture of townhouses/rowhouses at the Court & Elm/Race area would seem to be a good strategy off-hand that would create different price points and unit options that would appeal to a wide variety of people.

To become a truly vibrant downtown beyond the hours of 7am to 8pm, Cincinnati must develop a downtown residential plan that will massively grow the downtown population base and infuse the area with a mixture of young people, families, and retired individuals. If this can be achieved, then the retail and nightlife mixture we all hope for will follow.

Phelps Apartmens photo by Mark Bowen of the Cincinnati Business Courier.