Category: Development

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Development News Politics Transportation

What is a boondoggle?

I’m sure you’ve heard this term thrown out there before. It seems as though any time a project is proposed, that a certain constituency doesn’t like, they simply throw out the descriptive word “boondoggle” of said project and poof – it must be true.

After all, the stadiums were boondoggles. So was the convention center expansion, the 2002 Metro Moves plan, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, the Fountain Square renovation and now of course so is the proposed Cincinnati Streetcar.

Fountain Square in 2008 (post renovation)

Technically speaking a boondoggle is “an unnecessary or wasteful project or activity.” More informally speaking, Wikipedia cites that the term first made its appearance in the 1930’s during the projects of the New Deal. A New York Times report, at the time, reported that over $3 million was spent on teaching the jobless how to make boon doggles.

What I wonder is whether the term has lost its value? Can we apply this term and rallying cry to projects preemptively? If so, how does it differ from someone else’s opinion that the project may be a roaring success?

While in some instances the proclamation of a particular project being a boondoggle may have been valid, there are just as many opposite examples. One of the most recent examples is the renovation of Fountain Square*.

Many of the opponents, to the project, saw it as being destined to failure. That the new design would be worse than the previous one, that the new management would be damaging to activity on the Square and that the private investments wouldn’t occur around the Square. These opponents have been wrong on all accounts, but are still claiming every new idea to be a boondoggle without any real accountability.

In the case of the Cincinnati Streetcar, opponents use boondoggle in combination with “trolley” and/or “choo choo train” in virtually everything they write on the topic. Words are a powerful thing and language is often manipulated to advance one’s interests on an issue. This is fine, but the distinction should be made…and the problem is that these techniques/strategies come at the expense of the center city, Cincinnati politicians, local government and the mentalities of all Cincinnatians.

Just because someone somewhere cites that a project is one of those dreaded boondoggles does not make it so. Do some research and learn about the topic on your own free of bias, then make up your own opinion. The Cincinnati Streetcar has had several studies done on it…and the results are in. Economics, the environment, transportation and livability issues are all on the project’s side. Don’t take my word for it though…read for yourself and make up your own mind.

Economic Analysis
UC Economic Study (confirming previous study’s findings)
Feasibility Study
Climate Protection Action Plan
Growth & Opportunities (GO) Report for Cincinnati

All of these studies find the streetcar project to be a positive project for the city/region in regards to their specific interests. The studies are all specific to the Cincinnati region. All documents are in PDF form.

*NOTE: Fountain Square has seen the recent activity of the following businesses that have cited the renovation of Fountain Square as being instrumental to their operations…Chipotle, Potbelly, McCormick & Schmick’s, Boi Na Braza, Via Vite, Tazza Mia, Ingredients, Joseph A. Bank, Graeter’s, Morton’s the Steakhouse, 5/3 Banking Center, Jones the Florist, Cadillac Ranch, Oceanaire, Bootsy’s and Nada…just to name a few.

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Development News

Dog Parks Can Improve Livability of Cincinnati’s Urban Neighborhoods

The Trust for Public Land recently ranked the nation’s largest cities based on the number of dog parks available to their residents. Cincinnati fared well, coming in at #15 with 1.2 dog parks per 100,000 residents (73kb PDF) out of the 75 total cities examined.

Dog parks provide dog owners living in the city a spot where they can bring their canine friend to do their business. A secondary, and equally important, role to dog parks is the social component. Dogs and their owners alike often use their trips to the dog park as a way to socialize and interact with other dogs and owners.

This social component provides that always desired community feel as people become bonded to their neighbors through shared experiences. In the city, it also puts more “eyes on the street,” and creates a sense of vibrancy that might not be there if the owners kept themselves and their dogs cooped up inside their urban dwelling unit.

A rather large example of a good urban dog park in NYC – Source

So while Cincinnati fares well with the overall dog parks per 100,000 residents analysis, it fails in the very neighborhoods that dog parks would provide this dual benefit. Aside from the Pet Athletic Club, there is no dedicated spot for residents of Downtown, Over-the-Rhine or the West End to take their dogs. These neighborhoods are the most lacking in private yard space and need these kinds of parks to make urban living possible for the slews of dog owners out there.

There is hope though as a dog park is planned for the northern portion of Washington Park as part of its ensuing renovation/expansion. This will be a great asset for the residents of Over-the-Rhine and even those living in the northern parts of Downtown, but how about the many people living in the “Soapbox District” or over near Lytle Park?

Well there was a movement that surfaced about as quickly as it went away for a Downtown dog park. City Manager Milton Dohoney got a group of stakeholders together to study the issue with pledged support from the Downtown Residents Council. The effort, however, has been stalled indefinitely as the associated construction and maintenance costs appeared to be too cumbersome.

Please share any thoughts or ideas you may have about how to go about implementing a small dog park in Downtown Cincinnati. A donated piece of land, volunteer service and ideas about how to set up some sort of dog park endowment would be especially helpful in developing a dog park.
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Business Development News

Does casino fit for prominent Broadway Commons site?

It was announced last week that there is yet another movement to legalize casino gaming in Ohio. The difference with this proposal is its scope. Instead of a single casino for the entire state, casinos would instead be placed in each of the state’s largest cities (Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus and Toledo).

The intent is to reach a larger market and have broader voter appeal come November. In Cincinnati the proposal has already picked up some high-profile support in Mayor Mark Mallory, City Councilman Jeff Berding and former Mayor Charlie Luken.

The site for the proposed casino is the pipe-dream location that is Broadway Commons (GoogleMap). The site is located in the Pendleton sub-neighborhood of historic Over-the-Rhine. Its close proximity to Downtown, the convention center, several museums, gobs of hotel rooms and major tourism draws like the Reds and Bengals have long made the site a prime spot for redevelopment speculation (streetcar connectivity).

The question is what is right for such a prime location? Seems like a pretty subjective question, and it is. In the 90’s many people (including myself) thought the site would have been a perfect location for the new Reds ballpark. Other ideas have ranged from urban big-box stores, a mega park, rail transit hub and of course the mixed use urban infill that we would all love to see.

Plans for the once proposed ballpark at Broadway Commons

The problem of course has been market reality. With a slew of new condos and apartments constantly coming on the market in Downtown, Over-the-Rhine, Newport, Covington and the Westend – can we really absorb more residential units, hotels, office and retail space, if so at what cost? Does it jeopardize the future success in OTR, Downtown and The Banks? Will Cincinnati ever push the rail transit agenda and make light rail, streetcars and high-speed rail reality here, if so can we afford to wait that long to redevelop this major site sitting unproductive?

The owners (Chavez Properties), of Broadway Commons, seem to be ready and willing to sell and they are on board with this casino plan. A casino would turn the giant surface lot into a tax productive use, create hundreds of permanent jobs, significantly boost tax revenues for Cincinnati and Hamilton County and potentially create some spinoff investment in the surrounding community.

At the same time the casino would seemingly prey on those with less, create a handful of social problems for a city that already has its fair share, possibly create an island development that encourages its patrons not to leave the confines and potentially insert an out-of-place building and design into one of the nation’s largest and most important historical districts.

Mixed Use redevelopment plan for Broadway Commons that competed with the ballpark proposal – Source

My preference would be for a rail transit hub with mixed use development. Another ideal scenario would be to develop the site as a high-tech business hub that would capitalize off of the proximity to both Downtown and Uptown with its hospitals and universities. At the same time I do realize the need to develop this site into something productive. So I’m decidedly undecided on the issue. Can anyone sway me one way or another?

If you’re in favor of this proposal feel free to sign the online petition.
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Development News Politics Transportation

Lessons from Charlotte – Rail Transit

Rail transit is in its infancy stages in Charlotte, but it is coming on strong. A starter light rail line with dual functioning streetcar service is leading the charge for a northern light rail extension and a new east/west streetcar line that will connect their two largest employment centers (sound familiar).

In the previous Charlotte discussion I covered their attempts at ‘new urbanism’ and how those efforts are impacting the form of suburban Charlotte. Rail transit is having an even more profound effect on how urban Charlotte is built and how it functions. How can Cincinnati learn from these practices, and what can we take out of Charlotte’s efforts to make our own better?

South End:

Completed in 2007, the nearly 10-mile light rail LYNX Blue Line has had a major impact on Uptown and South End Charlotte. All along the line you see new infill projects making Uptown a more vibrant and functional place. In the South End, a densely built residential neighborhood is forming in a complimentary way to the historic roots of the neighborhood.

The South End was built around the service of the Charlotte Trolley which operate from 1891 to 1938. A heritage trolley service is once again running today on the same tracks as the heavier-grade light rail. It is amazing to see the corridor of investment along the new LYNX Blue Line through the neighborhood.


TOD Along Blue Line, new 11-story apartment building, Blue Line looking Uptown from South End
(Click thumbnails for larger version)

Three to eleven story buildings are popping up all over the South End. There are lots of restaurants, clubs, bars, and shopping. Some (including me and my tour guide) go bar hopping along the light rail line. This was not only very fun, but safe and responsible as well.

It’s not just the scope and amount of development that’s impressive, but it is the quality. An urban Lowe’s has opened along the line with several other more typically suburban stores now taking to a more urban footprint. The residential buildings have street-level retail and are built to the street in a way that is transforming the neighborhood into a walkable, vibrant urban space.

Uptown:

Charlotte’s city center known as Uptown is a financial juggernaut with institutions like Wachovia, and Bank of America calling it their home. While the recent financial meltdown has hurt Charlotte, Uptown is still moving along at breakneck speeds.

The former convention center has been turned into a mixed use commercial entertainment complex (EpiCentre) that draws hoards of crowds on weekend nights. The arena is conveniently located along the light rail line that connects its patrons with Charlotte’s hotels and other attractions.

EpiCentre, Nix Burger & Brew, Harris Teeter grocery in 4th Ward Sub-Neighborhood
(Click thumbnails for larger version)

Uptown boasts two full-service grocery stores, a couple residential sub-neighborhoods, Charlotte’s largest employment center, and is the hub of the future Charlotte rail transit network. And like the South End, you can see the clustering of new investment along the light rail line. The existing success of Uptown is being leveraged by this new rail investment and you can see the spread outward from the core.

Streetcars:

The reach of the existing light rail line isn’t that great. As a result the functionality often mimics that of a streetcar through the center city area. The travel speeds are low and stations are frequent. This should be resolved with the opening of the new streetcar line that is being constructed as long-term light rail success depends upon car-competitive travel times and costs for its riders.

This will allow the circulator behaviors to occur on the streetcar, and free up the light rail line for faster more commuter-style transport. The eventual scope, of this streetcar line, is to connect the University Park area of west Charlotte with Eastland Mall in east Charlotte via Uptown. This won’t be completed for some time, but the initial phase will connect Uptown Charlotte with the medical district east of center city.

The current streetcar construction is being combined with an overall streetscape project that is completely redoing the street, its sidewalks and implementing the new tracks. Normal streetcar construction is much less intrusive as it only requires an 12-14 inch cut where the tracks are laid.

Ridership:

During both of my trips to Charlotte I have experienced high ridership levels on the Blue Line. Both trips did occur on weekends and were often filled with families and tourists, although daily travelers were present and made up about half of the total riders.

7th Street Station, Train approaching South End station, 7th Street Station with Reid’s Fine Foods

(Click thumbnails for larger version)

Some families were riding just to ride. Others were taking the light rail to events going on in Uptown and riding back south to their neighborhood. The trains were crowded and were standing room only which had me thinking they could probably add another car onto the train for increased capacity.

As of September 2008, the Blue Line was averaging 16,936 weekday trips. The number has the possibility of reaching an average of 18,000+ weekday trips for 2009. If this ridership average is met, the Blue Line will have reached its projected 2025 ridership levels an astounding 16 years ahead of schedule.

Conclusions:

Overall the impacts of rail transit in this Queen City were profound. The light rail line was not only generating a new wave of investment, but it was remaking Charlotte in a way many Midwestern cities could only dream.

The investments are bold and long-term. They are dense and are injecting tons of street life into a city and its neighborhoods once devastated by the same policies and programs that blasted through virtually every city.

I wonder how a city like Cincinnati plans to compete without also investing in rail transit? In this new age of social capital and human innovation, we must compete for the best talent and create a dynamic city environment that keeps them coming back. Cincinnati’s peer cities like Pittsburgh and St. Louis already have rail transit. Smaller, more rapidly growing cities, like Indianapolis and Charlotte are building rail transit. So where do we stand, where will we stand, or will we decide to accept the status quo and bet on the current economic trends reverting to the olden days when Cincinnati boomed?

Categories
Development News Politics

Lessons from Charlotte – New Urbanism

A couple weekends ago I traveled to Charlotte, NC to visit a friend and learn a little more about a relatively young southern city that also considers itself to be the Queen. I took lots of photos and had a great time. Of my experiences, they can be roughly broken down into two main categories for discussion – New Urbanism and Rail Transit.

These two topics are of interest to me because they are areas in which I think Cincinnati can greatly improve. Aside from being a smaller city that hasn’t really experienced much growth to speak of until the past two decades, Charlotte has done a good job at implementing the components that are defining America’s newest and best cities.

In this article I will discuss a development known as Baxter Village. The neighborhood embodies the ‘New Urbanist‘ ideals that make for a traditional neighborhood design. Now we could debate how “new” these principles are, and just how these development rank in terms of being “urban.” My point is simple. If we’re going to build suburban communities, this kind of development is better than the standard we have grown accustomed to – especially in the Midwest.

Design influences behaviors:
The homes, in Baxter Village, are built on small lots with small setbacks. Instead of large backyards, the community boasts large common areas for children to play and families to enjoy. What this does is promote a greater sense of community and interaction that was quite evident during the time I spent there.


Click images for larger version

Children played soccer in the street, neighbors chatted with one another from sidewalk to porch, and strangers to the area were even engaged in conversation about the daily joys of dog ownership.

All of this was complimented by the readily available sidewalks that have become more of a rarity than a typical neighborhood feature in our present-day communities. The tree-lined streets provide a comfortable buffer between pedestrians and the slowly moving vehicular traffic, and the large front porches with direct connection to the front sidewalk encourage residents to come out into the open, rather than retreat into the depths of their home or backyard.

Execution:
With these types of developments two things often happen. 1) They become unreasonably priced for any middle-class homeowners. 2) They give off a Disney feeling of cleanliness and predictability.

Baxter Village was able, in my opinion, to avoid falling into the pit of homogeneity, but the prices still weren’t at the levels for most people to consider it affordable. This is unlikely to change until these high-quality developments become more wide-spread thus meeting the demand for such a product and reducing its cost.

Click images for larger version

The first problem was avoided through careful mixtures of architectural styles, a long-build out time, variety in home builders, and gradual maturation. If developed right, these neighborhoods can and will mature beautifully as they have all the staples of a fantastic neighborhood.

Conclusion:
In Cincinnati we have been building our communities in a “business friendly” fashion in fear of pushing away any potential investment in our admittedly slow-growth Midwestern city. What this has done is lowered the standard of development and forced Cincinnatians to settle for what works best for the developers bottom line, instead of what works best of our communities and our people.

Maybe higher growth rates will dictate higher demand and a better end product. Maybe our regional population doesn’t deserve such qualities? What I think is that our politicians, and our governing bodies should have the backbone to require such a product that is evident in our older neighborhoods that are thriving to this day. Forty years from now are we going to look back at the neighborhoods we’re building in the exurbs with the same pride and joy as the inner-city neighborhoods we are working so hard to preserve? Unfortunately, I would say no.

View all of my Baxter Village photos here