Category: Development

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Business Development News

Central Riverfront Park update from Dave Prather

Central Riverfront Park (CRP) project manager Dave Prather gives an update on the progress being made on phase 1 of the new 45-acre park that will become Cincinnati’s new front yard.

According to park officials, phase 1 of the CRP will include the new Moerlein Lager House restaurant and brewery as well as a plaza of water jets with cascades of water that drop to pools along Mehring Way. There will be a grand stairway with landings at water-filled basins, a glass-floored walkway above a lower level loggia, a shade trellis, informational and interpretive displays, and public restrooms. Also part of the design is an event lawn and stage, a promenade, and within a tree grove, a monument to the Black Brigade, a floral garden and a labyrinth. The park will also feature a bike center and welcome center, and a section of the Ohio River Bike Trail. Phase 1 is targeted to open by the end of April, 2011.

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Development News Politics Transportation

Cincinnati installs dedicated bike lanes along Dana Avenue

In an aggressive attempt to improve upon the “C” grade received on its first-ever annual Bicycle Report Card, City leaders are looking at ways to incorporate bicycle facilities into the city’s larger transportation network. The most recent example can be seen along Dana Avenue in between Madison Road and Grigg Avenue (map) where the City incorporated dedicated bike lanes along a nearly one-mile stretch of roadway.

The stretch of Dana Avenue had at one point been bloated with unnecessary amount of vehicle lanes. As a result, the City took the opportunity to put Dana Avenue on a “road diet” when they began work repaving the road as a part of the City’s Street Rehabilitation Program.

New dedicated bike lanes along Dana Avenue – photos by Melissa McVay.

The road diet included the removal of two vehicle lanes and the addition of two striped, five-foot wide dedicated bicycle lanes. In instances like the Dana Avenue road project, City leaders saw it as a cost-effective way to quickly implement bicycle facilities without any disruption.

Cincinnati now boasts more than 8 miles of dedicated bike lanes throughout the city, with another 2.58 miles of sharrows along city streets. Another 340 miles of roadway is being studied as part of the Bike Plan process. Additional Street Rehabilitation and Transportation Design projects will also be evaluated during the design phase to see how bikes or pedestrians can be best included as well.

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Business Development News

Findlay Market awarded $219k for local foods project

Cincinnati’s historic Findlay Market was awarded $218,890 last week through the “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” initiative that was launched by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in September to increase access to healthy, affordable local foods.

“We know that access to fresh, healthy food is good for our families and our communities,” said U.S. Representative Steve Driehaus about the “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” funding. “For years, people from across greater Cincinnati have found nutritious, local food at Findlay Market, and this smart investment will help ensure that the market continues to be a great resource for our area.”

The announcement comes on the heels of Findlay Market’s new Cultivating Healthy Environments for Farmers (CHEF) project that was launched in July 2009. CHEF is seen as an opportunity to recruit and train new urban growers, and compliment the City’s successful Urban Gardening Program.

Findlay Market was one of 16 organizations nationwide to receive funding through the “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” initiative. This funding will help fund food policy council training, urban agriculture, help promote native food sovereignty, food production projects, and community food assessments according to the USDA.

Findlay Market (map) is open year-round Tuesday through Friday from 9am to 6pm, Saturday 8am to 6pm, and Sunday 10am to 4pm. Free off-street automobile and bicycle parking is available and the market is well-serviced by Metro’s #21, 46, 64, and 78 bus routes. To see which route is most convenient for you, and to play your trip now, use Metro’s Trip Planner.

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Business Development News

Maximizing Cincinnati’s after-hours street vending community

In an earlier writing I generally discussed street vendors in Cincinnati – the role they play in the social life of urban spaces, how Cincinnati’s street vendor scene compares with other cities around the country, and how the city might work to increase the number and diversity of street vendors.

Since that time the very exciting announcement has been made that two new taco trucks will be joining Cincinnati’s street vendor scene, and Taste of Belgium owner Jean-Francois Flechet has indicated an interest in creating a waffle cart to be used around town.

Kogi Korean BBQ Truck (by Kineda) & a Koreatown Taco Truck (by Gourmet Magazine) – both in Los Angeles

At the same time I noticed the revolving door of late-night food establishments has continued on its 360 degree angle as Balboa’s near 7th & Vine streets has closed down. It would seem that these late night establishments would thrive with the lower overhead costs of street vending operations whether they be trucks, carts or stands along side the road.

No longer would these businesses have to shoulder the burden of a 24 hour lease for a three to four hour operation. The new business model would also allow the vendors to travel about following the fickle nightlife crowd across the city. Heck, the reduced overhead may even enable the entrepreneurs to open up secondary operations in other popular night life destinations across the city.

From the city’s end it would seem to ease the tension of businesses opening and closing as frequently as they struggle to make ends meet in a low-margin operation, while at the same time providing the same services and social life that comes along with these businesses.

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Business Development News Politics

What happened to the locavore movement?

The news is out that the Atlanta-based Carter/Dawson development team has selected Birmingham-based Brasfield & Gorrie, LLC as the general contractor for the private development portions of The Banks. The Carter/Dawson team stated in a press release that Brasfield & Gorrie is “one of the largest privately-held contracting firms in the nation, and brings their extensive successful experience in building complex, mixed-use, vertically integrated developments in dense urban areas.”

This may be all well and good but the issue I have is that they’re based out of Birmingham. It’s not that there is anything wrong with Birmingham, or Atlanta for that matter, but there are huge sums of public money going into The Banks development. These tax dollars should be spent in the taxpayer’s best interest, and with unemployment hovering around 10 percent, we should be demanding that these contracts be awarded to local companies who will be employing Cincinnatians.

The Banks development plan – rendering provided.

It’s much like the rationale behind shopping local. When you award contracts to local companies they’ll hire people in the region, those people will take that money and upkeep their homes, go shopping, eat out, and support the local economy. When we give these contracts away to someone else there goes much of that money.

I can’t say for sure whether Brasfield & Gorrie is the best firm for the job, because they very well might be, but I do know that there are qualified companies here locally that would have loved the opportunity to not only get this contract, but also make a lasting impact on the city they call home. The one bright spot is that Brasfield & Gorrie has committed to achieving the development team’s goal of at least 30 percent SBE participation, and committed to utilizing a “significant amount of local talent to get the job done efficiently and effectively.”

Phase 1A of The Banks development – rendering provided.

Brasfield & Gorrie is expected to start assembling their team on site almost immediately and will begin construction on the overbuild of Phase 1A in December with a set completion date of Spring 2011. Once complete, The Banks will represent a total private investment around $600 million. Paul Brown Stadium, Great American Ball Park, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, Riverfront Transit Center are all complete and part of Cincinnati’s Riverfront Master Plan developed by Urban Design Associates. The Central Riverfront Park is under construction now and will compliment the entire development.