4th and Race Site is cleared and ready for 15-story mixed residential tower.
With well over $2 billion in new construction projects underway in Cincinnati’s urban core it is not hard to miss with construction fencing, cranes and lifts working at full tilt all over downtown and Over the Rhine. Many new construction and building renovations are underway throughout downtown and Over-the-Rhine. This gallery features photos of 16 projects taken this month. If added up the projects in the photos below are just a fraction of overall development with just over $400 million in construction activity.
4th and Race Site is cleared and ready for 15-story mixed residential tower.
Encore Apartments across from massive Joseph Auto Parking Lot in downtown [Photo by Eric Anspach]
15th and Vine site will feature a four story office infill by 3CDC.
15th St. Townhomes
580 Building conversion to apartments should finish by June 2017.
Elm Street Rowhouses by Towne Developement.
The newly constructed Holiday Inn recently opened last month.
AC Hotel Under Construction
Messer Headquarters under construction in the West End.
Race Street at the Banks – up to 600 residential units planned above garage.
Race Street infill designed by Jose Garcia.
Republic Street Townhouses
The Otto M. Budig Theater, being built by the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, at 12th and Elm Streets.
The Allison – 3CDC project at 15th and Race
Construction is nearing completion on The Allison , with 17 condominiums and street level retail.
The Kruckemeyer at 15th and Vine was completed last year with 8 condos and street level retail.
A former automotive repair shop called Queen City Radio is being re-purposed as a bar with a large outdoor beer garden in Over-the-Rhine.
Chris and Louisa Reckman, along with her brother, Gabriel Deutsch, recently bought the 7,665-square-foot property at 222 W. Twelfth Street due to its terrific location that is within close proximity to the Cincinnati Streetcar, Washington Park, Music Hall, and the Central Parkway protected bike lane.
Queen City Radio Construction [Natalya Daoud]
First constructed in the 1940s as an auto repair shop that focused on car radio installation, the new owners say that they wanted to keep the historic name in order to create a warm new atmosphere for the community.
“We had the idea because every time we drove past it, we saw this ugly parking lot and we need more green space in Over the Rhine,” said Louisa.
To that end, Louisa says that QCR will be dog friendly in order to welcome the many dog owners in the neighborhood – including those visiting the dog park at Washington Park. Additionally, for the dog’s owners, there will be 14 beers on tap, including both local and national brews.
“We just want it to be easy-going – a place where anyone can come,” Louisa told UrbanCincy. “We just want it to be a place where everyone feels comfortable.”
Louisa and her brother have background in the restaurant and bar industry, while her husband works for Urban Expansion – a development organization that has helped renovate spaces that include establishments like Happy Belly and Goodfellas.
Local places like those, and others, are what they say motivated them to pursue such an endeavor.
“We love Neon’s and places like that, but there aren’t that many of them down here,” Louisa explained. “So we said, ‘let’s bring some more greenery…let’s beautify the place.’”
As of now, the team says that they are aiming for a July 4 opening.
Such timing would place them amongst the first of several other planned developments nearby, including an 88,000-square-foot office renovation, the new Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, and a new 20-room boutique hotel.
Cincinnati's Music Hall will close in May 2016 to undergo a $129 million renovation.
As the winter comes to an end, work has begun or will soon begin on a number of new developments around Over-the-Rhine. Today, we’re sharing 16 panoramas, taken over the past month, that show how the neighborhood is evolving. You can click on each of the images to view them full-screen and read the full description about each project.
3CDC will soon start work on the 15th and Vine development. The historic buildings will be saved and the parking lots will be filled with new construction.
This parking lot will be replaced by a new office building as part of Mercer Commons Phase IV.
The 15th & Race site is being developed by 3CDC. The first phase includes a new 3-story building featuring 17 condos and 2-3 commercial storefronts.
The 15th & Race site is being developed by 3CDC. The first phase includes a new 3-story building featuring 17 condos and 2-3 commercial storefronts.
This old firehouse will be rehabbed as part of the Elm Street Townhomes project.
The Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati will soon start a renovation of its buildings on the 1100 block of Vine Street, which will include the construction of a new building in the gap near the center of this photo.
Developers have proposed a nine-story building for this site on Central Parkway, replacing this now-vacant two-story office building once occupied by the Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority. The new building would include 40,000 square feet of retail space (potentially a grocery store), 70,000 square feet of office space, and 235 parking spaces.
The former Drop Inn Center homeless shelter has now been demolished and will be replaced with a new theater for the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. To the left is the Central Parkway YMCA, which is undergoing renovation. To the right is The Transept, a recently-opened bar and event space in a former church.
The corner of 12th and Elm was previously home to the Drop Inn Center. The non-historic building was demolished and will be replaced by a new theatre for the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company.
The former Ophthalmic Hospital and Free Dispensary will soon be developed into a boutique hotel featuring 20 guest rooms and a bar and restaurant on the first floor.
Cincinnati’s Music Hall will close in May 2016 to undergo a $129 million renovation.
The skywalk linking Music Hall to the Town Center Garage is expected to be demolished during the renovation of Music Hall.
The former Queen City Radio building (left) is being redeveloped by Urban Expansion, and Grandin Properties plans to convert the historic Strietmann Biscuit Company building (center) to an 88,000 square foot office building.
It looks like some preliminary interior demolition work is going on inside the historic Wielert’s building, although no plans have officially been announced.
This corner could look very different in a few years if the proposed Liberty Street Road Diet and LibertyElm project (left) move forward.
Editor’s note: These photos were taken by Travis Estell for UrbanCincy between February 11 and March 8, 2016.
