Category: Development

Categories
Business Development News

Cincinnati casino breaks ground, will it deliver on urban design promise?

Developers, city officials and community leaders gathered on Broadway Commons this past Friday to celebrate the groundbreaking of Cincinnati’s first casino and what will be Ohio’s largest with more than 100,000 square feet of non-stop gaming. Once complete, Horseshoe Casino Cincinnati is expected to attract roughly six million visitors annually.

Rock Gaming has long pledged to build a truly urban casino and design it in such a way that does not turn its back on the neighborhood surrounding it as casinos so often do. To help facilitate the process a local group called Bridging Broadway formed and has been working with city officials and developers.

In addition to announcing the name, operator and manager of the casino, developers also revealed updating renderings of what the Cincinnati casino will look like once complete in late 2012.

Inside, the casino will feature 72 table games, a World Series of Poker room with 31 poker tables, approximately 2,300 slot machines, a 400-seat international buffet, three additional restaurants and a food court, and more than 33,000 square feet of banquet/event/convention/meeting facilities.

What do you think? Are the developers delivering on their promise to design an urban casino that does not turn its back on the surrounding neighborhood?

Categories
Development News Politics Transportation

Time to fight for light rail and streetcars in Cincinnati – AGAIN

It appears as if the special interest group that led the effort to require a vote on all passenger rail transportation in Cincinnati is now leading an effort to outright ban all passenger rail transportation in Cincinnati.

The anti-spending group COAST evidently did not get the message from Cincinnatians who voted nearly 2:1 in November 2009 when they voted in support of passenger rail. So, after asking if city residents wanted to vote on every passenger rail investment, and getting a resounding no, they are doing what they want and asking city residents to vote on passenger rail investments. Specifically at hand would be any investments in streetcars or light rail for the next decade.

The vote that will decide whether or not to ban passenger rail in Cincinnati for the next decade, whether it is fully funded by whatever funding source, will more than likely occur this May in a special election that will cost taxpayers $400,000.

So for those that have yet to see a modern streetcar, you can check out this video on the modern streetcar design that may be used for Cincinnati’s fully funded streetcar system that is about to begin construction and be operational by 2013. If you need more information on Cincinnati’s streetcar project, check out the CincyStreetcar Blog for regular updates and information or CincinnatiStreetcar.com for official project details, studies and reports.

Categories
Development News Politics

NKAPC study reveals strong passion for area hillsides

Cincinnati’s urban form has long been defined by its two most significant natural landscape features – the Ohio River and its many hills. Early in the city’s history, the hills served as a boundary to further expansion. Then, as technology improved, people began to move up the hillsides and build there as well.

Over time some hillsides were developed and remain developed, while others were never developed to begin with or have been returned to nature over time. This scenario has created a situation where Cincinnatians debate the best use for the city’s hillsides. To develop or not develop, that is the question.

In Northern Kentucky this issue has been particularly relevant over recent years as hillsides have been built upon for residences that boast city views. To determine where in fact the residents of the area stand, the Northern Kentucky Area Planning Commission (NKAPC) conducted a Hillside Survey.

The results of the 273 respondents are striking. While one-third of the respondents indicated that they would prefer full preservation of the hillsides, nearly 64 percent said that they would like to see a mixture of developed and preserved hillsides in Kenton County.

The common thread throughout the survey was that Kenton County residents view the area’s hillsides as a defining characteristic and one that should be carefully considered in future and ongoing policy decisions.

In June 2010 UrbanCincy discussed this same topic. What should be done with the region’s unique urban hillsides? I contended that a unique development opportunity was being left on the table that has been capitalized on in other cities in Greece and the United States. So what do you think? Should the region’s hillsides be built upon, left undeveloped, or be comprised on some mixture of both?

Mt. Adams photograph by Randy Simes; ‘The Views’ photograph by Kevin LeMaster.

Categories
Business Development News

Belgian immigrant finds business success in Cincinnati

[This story was originally published in the Cincinnati Business Courier print edition on January 21, 2011. Visit the original story for more comments, thoughts and opinions on Taste of Belgium’s business growth – Randy.]

 Nearly four years ago, Belgian immigrant Jean-Francois Flechet baked and sold his first waffles at Cincinnati’s historic Findlay Market. Since then Flechet has seen his waffle business grow in sales, staff, locations, cities, offerings and exposure. Now that Taste of Belgium has opened its second Cincinnati location at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center (NURFC), Flechet has his eyes on yet even more growth.

“The food is creative and fresh,” Stephanie A. Creech, external relations manager with the NURFC exclaimed. “Additionally, we’re all looking forward to their upcoming early morning opening so that those who arrive early to the Freedom Center or who park in The Banks can enjoy a fresh cup of coffee or a latte and a waffle before starting their work day.”

The first day Taste of Belgium was at Findlay Market Flechet says he sold 50 waffles. Now, he states, they serve hundreds of people on an average Saturday and baked over 1,000 waffles this past Labor Day at the historic market.

The passionate Flechet, who can often be found offering up free samples of his popular waffles at Findlay Market, says that the early help of Jean-Robert de Cavel, Jean-Philippe Solnom, Bryan Madison and Johan Kars is what has allowed him to reach the level of success Taste of Belgium currently enjoys in Cincinnati, Dayton and Columbus.

“At first I was doing absolutely everything myself. I was making the dough at one of Jean-Robert’s restaurants and I would bring it to Findlay early in the morning and would start baking at the back of Madison’s produce store.”

Three-and-a-half years later Flechet now has close to 30 employees, one of the most prominent spaces inside Findlay Market, Taste of Belgium at the NorthStar Café inside the NURFC, locations in Columbus’ North Market and Wexner Center, and is about to sign an agreement that will give the Taste of Belgium business its first stand alone store that will offer “much more than waffles.”

Flechet says that he has signed a letter of intent for a store located inside the Gateway Quarter of Over-the-Rhine. Once open, he says that Taste of Belgium will centralize all of their production activities for the Cincinnati region there, include a bar, and affordable food offerings. But Flechet is not content with simply appeasing the masses flocking to the Gateway Quarter.

“I made vegan waffles this past National Vegan Day so that my friend Dan Korman at Park+Vine could finally have a waffle. We are also making French macaroons with the new pastry chef we have on board.”

Following his expansion in Cincinnati, the plan is to start franchising the business elsewhere in the United States.

“Cincinnati is a great place to run a test [business]; if the concept works in Cincinnati it can work anywhere,” explained Flechet. “We are also working on a new website to improve shipping, and we hope to start producing our waffle irons in the U.S. soon, but right now I’m just having a lot of fun.”

Taste of Belgium photography by UrbanCincy contributer Thadd Fiala.

Categories
Development News Transportation

Five Day Design Challenge hopes to spur visionary public transit ideas

Michael Schuster Associates (MSA) is looking for a work week’s worth of revolutionary thinking. The Cincinnati-based architecture firm is sponsoring the 2011 Five Day Design Challenge, a competition calling on local and international thinkers from any discipline to generate ideas for solving real challenges facing Cincinnati and other mid-sized U.S. cities.

Dave Schuster, Visual Media Director at MSA, felt that the time was right for a deeper look at transit in Cincinnati. “We decided to focus the FIVE Competition on transportation this year because it’s very pertinent to the current social climate of the city,” Schuster explained.

“2010 saw an incredible amount of debate regarding the 3C line, the widening of I-75, the streetcar project, and more. With new development happening in The Banks, the casino and numerous projects in between, strengthening connectivity to and within the city will be essential to the long term growth of Cincinnati. Not only that, but with issues in pollution and global warming and the heavy costs associated with commuting, creating a more robust transportation network will be a great asset to the city now and in the future.”

On Feburary 3, 2011, MSA will release the full details of the project brief and all applicants will then have exactly five days to solve the problem given to them. Context information relevant to the specific challenge will be released before, but releasing details too early would spoil the fun.

This year’s design theme revolves around public transportation and infrastructure. There is sufficient evidence concluding that designing roadways to add more cars and lanes only encourages traffic congestion, which in turn encourages more sprawl, increased obesity, stress, commute times, isolationism and dependence on foreign oil.

Multi-disciplinary teams of designers are encouraged to sign up for the competition. Registration fees are only $40 and is ongoing through February 4. The jury committee consists of Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls, Cincinnati Art Museum Director Aaron Betsky, local architect Michael Schuster, transit guru John Schneider, and Michael Moore, Director of the City of Cincinnati Transportation and Engineering Office. Together this panel will choose the top five winning designs, who will receive a total of $5,555 in prize money.

“We hope that the competition will raise an awareness and excitement about transportation problems within Cincinnati,” said Schuster. “By asking the question, ‘Can better design help public transportation?’ we will begin to see an emergence of ideas that have the problem solving potential to shape and define Cincinnati in a positive and creative way.”