Category: Development

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Business Development News

Historic Schiel School to make way for $20M development in Corryville

Demolition work has begun on the 100-year-old Schiel School in Corryville. The school has long served as a landmark for the Short Vine business district, but was closed by Cincinnati Public Schools in 2010.

To preservationists the demolition of the school marks yet another dramatic loss to the historic fabric of Uptown, but to many urbanists the $20 million development to take its place marks a turning point for the long-troubled business district on the east side of the University of Cincinnati’s main campus.

“Greater residential density will support the existing and incoming merchants and add the kind of vitality that helps to enrich and secure a neighborhood,” says Kathleen Norris who is the vice president of Brandt Retail Group’s Urban Focus division. “Housing of this quality is likely to attract not only undergraduates but also grad students and even area professionals from the educational and medical communities.”


The historic Schiel School is prepared for demolition in Corryville.

Project officials say that the five-story, mixed-use development will include 102 apartments geared towards students, and several street-level retail spaces. Fifth Third Bank has already signed on as one of the retail tenants, and will serve as the retail anchor for the project.

The development is part of a larger wave of multi-story residential development sweeping through historic uptown neighborhoods like Clifton Heights, Corryville, Clifton, University Heights, Avondale and Mt. Auburn. The developer of this project, Uptown Rentals, now has three developments within the immediate vicinity of Short Vine that are bringing hundreds of new housing units to Corryville.


A new $20M mixed-use development will rise where one of Short Vine’s most prominent historic structures once stood.

Visitors to the area will also notice other residential developments nearby including one such project sits almost immediately across the street from the Schiel School site on Short Vine. There, older structures have already been cleared, and the new development is now rising from the ground.

Community leaders in Corryville do expect the redevelopment of the Schiel School site (map) to transform the Short Vine business district, and it also seems certain that the addition of hundreds of new residents to the neighborhood will change the area’s demographics and urban form.

“Business at Dive Bar is great and has been steadily growing,” said Joe Pedro, owner of the recently opened establishment. “We see the new residential units being constructed in the neighborhood as an excellent driver for the business district, and ultimately we are excited to see new tenants coming to the street and feel it will positively impact all of the businesses in the area.”

Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story included an incorrect rendering for the $20 million redevelopment of the historic Schiel School site in Corryville.

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Business Development News

Architectural Foundation of Cincinnati kicks off 2012 DIY Urbanism Competition

The Architectural Foundation of Cincinnati (AFC) and the University of Cincinnati Niehoff Urban Studio have launched the DIY Urbanism Competition 2012 for the city of Cincinnati. Organizers say that the competition is looking for entrants to identify the most creative visions for temporary installations that could enhance the use, perception, and enjoyment of public space in urban areas throughout Cincinnati.

Entries for the DIY Urbanism Competition 2012 are open to individuals or groups associated with architecture, planning, art, or design disciplines that reside or operate within the Cincinnati region. Students must be currently enrolled.

Organizers state that proposals may vary in content from architectural, fine art, or programming concepts, but must be illustrated for a site specific context. A $10 entry fee paid upon delivery, and competition work must be submitted to the AFC by January 18.

The Exhibit Opening Reception and announcement of winners will take place on Tuesday, February 7. Winners for ‘Best in Show’ and ‘Best Student Work’ will be awarded $500 and $200 respectively from the AFC.

More information about registration, design submissions and the competition is available through the University of Cincinnati Community Design Center website. Questions may be addressed by email only to design.center@uc.edu. All questions and answers will then be compiled and posted on the competition web site.

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Business Development News Politics Transportation

City, county leaders celebrate latest milestone in Cincinnati’s central riverfront transformation

The sixth major portion of Cincinnati’s central riverfront transformation is now finished as city and county leaders celebrate the completion of the new street grid and a 729-space parking garage. The garage will lift the next phase of private development out of the Ohio River’s 100-year flood plain, and the completion of Freedom Way will connect both ends of the massive development.

The new parking garage is part of the larger Central Riverfront Garage system that spans five city blocks and makes the area buildable for private development. To date, Carter and Dawson Company has teamed to build an $80 million development that houses 300 apartments and 90,000 square feet of retail space.

“My wife and I walk, bike or drive past The Banks construction on a daily basis,” explained downtown condo owner Bob Schwartz. “As big a project as it is daily progress is visible if you see it regularly and I’ve thought it’s had a reasonably good pace considering its scope.”


Developers hope to break ground next summer on $75 million worth of mixed-use development atop the recently completed portion of the Central Riverfront Garage.

Officials have stated that negotiations are ongoing to bring a hotel to the site, as well as office tenants that would finance a new tower. Aside from the obvious construction progress there are also several other notable features that are now coming online at The Banks.

The new Central Riverfront Garage system includes valet parking and accepts credit cards through an electronic payment system. The new garage system has also includes a theme-based navigation setup. For example, sports fans can can see whether they are parked in the Baseball Block (red) or Football Block (orange).

All of the exposed garages will eventually be topped with private investment in a manner the development is intimately familiar. By lifting the development out of an undesirable area by garages, the public sector is able to essentially construct building pads for which future development will occur. This approach is very similar to what Carter has used when building out Atlantic Station in Atlanta.


The Central Riverfront Garage includes a theme-based navigation system organized by colors and symbols to help visitors navigate the massive parking structure.

The development team expects to start work on the next $75 million phase of development next summer. That portion, which lies immediately west of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, is anticipated to include an additional 300 apartments and even more retail space. Prior to that developers may get started on two anchor restaurants to be built in front of the Freedom Center.

“Many students are excited for the completion of the development,” said Heights Community Council member and University of Cincinnati student Tim Oliver. “While construction timelines may be adhered to, the public wants what The Banks promises now.”

The vast 2,400-space garage system is controlled by Hamilton County and is intended to serve the Cincinnati Reds and Bengals professional sports franchises, while also creating additional parking for future office towers along 3rd Street. The latest phase of public investment was made largely possible by a $23 million grant from the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act.

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Business Development News Opinion Transportation

Lagging air service at CVG may mean more trouble than just Chiquita’s departure

In 1987, the same year that Chiquita announced its move to Cincinnati from New York City, Delta Airlines began its first non-stop flights to Europe from what was then called the Greater Cincinnati Airport. 18 years later, the airport’s “Hub Era”, as the period is described on the airport’s own website, drew to a close just as a third north-south runway was completed. Since that $250 million runway opened in 2005, total annual passengers at CVG have fallen from 22.8 million to 7.9 million.

In 1998, at the height of the Delta hub’s growth, the Cincinnati Metropolitan Growth Alliance hired Michael Gallis, a Charlotte-based planning consultant, to deliver a report on the state of Cincinnati [Download the Gallis Report] and how it must position itself for the 21st century. Given this week’s news regarding Chiquita, this passage from the report is especially prophetic:

“The Airport cannot be taken for granted. There is strong competition for airline activity and hub status among metro regions. Therefore, it is essential to continue involvement with the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport to assure its continuing status as a major global hub.”

Unlike in Europe, where government-owned airlines don’t shift their hub operations, American cities are at the mercy of the finances of those airlines that serve them. Chiquita is moving to Charlotte primarily because of the relative health of US Airways versus Delta — the City of Cincinnati has no say in the affairs of Delta Airlines or even the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport.


Charlotte will add Chiquita to its corporate roster in late 2012.

So is Cincinnati finished as a viable location for international business because of Delta’s 2006 bankruptcy? Since second-tier cities like Cincinnati and Charlotte are at the mercy of their airport’s hub operator, won’t Chiquita find itself in a similar situation when US Airways inevitably suffers similar financial problems?

The great frustration is that all of this could have been avoided if at the cusp of the jet age a major airport had been built in Butler County so as to draw from the combined 3-plus million population of Cincinnati and Dayton. Such an airport could have attracted all of the development that now occupies Boone County, Kentucky, and the larger combined population would have ensured multiple major carriers.

Is a continued reliance on CVG a strategy that dooms Cincinnati’s potential? There is a temptation, given the billions invested in that facility over the past 60 years, to dismiss any notion of constructing a new airport in Ohio. But with no futuristic transportation mode on the horizon, it appears that jet travel will continue in a form similar to what exists now for decades to come.

A new airport in Butler County, served by I-75 and a new rail transit line linking downtown Cincinnati and downtown Dayton, is the sort of investment that area business leaders and the State of Ohio should be pushing to ensure southwest Ohio’s competitiveness.

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Business Development News

Aquaponics project hopes to bring fresh, locally produced fish to Cincinnati

Local, organic fish are difficult to come by in Cincinnati, and experts do not recommend consuming fish caught from the Ohio River very often. A company called Self-Sustaining Enterprises (SSE) is looking to fill that void with an innovative practice that will bring locally grown, organic fish to the Cincinnati region.

Based in Mason, Ohio, SSE started an aquaponic tank in Jos, Nigeria and is now bringing the prototype to Cincinnati. The aquaponics system works by combining fish farming techniques with hydroponics to create a faux river ecosystem.

Fish fingerlings (perch, catfish, and tilapia in this case) are then grown in the tank. The waste from the fish – ammonia and nitrates -provides food for the plants that are on the surface of the tank where they purify the water by soaking up the nitrates and ammonia.

“Aquaponics is perfect for an urban community,” said Self-Sustaining Enterprises CEO Chuck Proudfit. “We can raise fresh fish and vegetables in a high-density fashion, harvest and deliver them the same day.”

Proudfit says that the goal of the project is to provide fresh fish and produce to local restaurants, food co-ops, and other sources. The locally sourced fish would then leave a smaller carbon footprint behind than fish shipped in from other parts of the world. Another benefit of the system, experts say, is the elimination of the risk of harmful runoff common amongst fish farms.

“With an aquaponic tank the problem [of harmful runoff] is eliminated due to merging aquaculture and hydroponics into a closed-loop system,” explained Pete West, an engineer with Procter & Gamble who donated funds to the endeavor. As West explains, water then only has to be replaced due to evaporation or the removal of solid waste at the bottom of the tank.

Aquaponics is not a complete slam dunk however. Unlike a natural habitat for a fish there is a risk of overcrowding since the fish have only a few hundred feet to swim. This overcrowding makes it necessary for the nitrate, ammonia and pH levels to be checked daily. The more fish that are added to the confined habitat increases the likelihood of high nitrate and ammonia levels – which could cause illness among people consuming the fish.

SSE’s 700-gallon aquaponics project in Cincinnati is operational now, and has the ability to produce 1,000 pounds of fish and fresh produce. Company leaders say that both the fish and produce are growing well and should be available within six to twelve months.

This story was researched and written by UrbanCincy contributor Hailey Mahan. If you are interested in becomming an UrbanCincy contributor please email your resume and field of interest to UrbanCincy@gmail.com.