Tag: Cincinnati

Categories
Business News Transportation

Ridership down on Metro

It is with unfortunate news that Cincinnati’s Metro has reported a 4.3% drop in ridership from January-September 2007 versus the same time frame in 2008, despite higher gasoline prices. This is in sharp contrast to the The American Public Transportation Association’s figures that present a large gain for the vast majority of the mass transit networks nationwide.

Of course, what the Cincinnati Enquirer article fails to mention, is that long-distance commuting is up 18% in October compared with last year. A sizable increase was also reported in August, but both did not make the Enquirer’s radar.

What’s also missing is the University of Cincinnati’s partnership with Metro that has been overwhelmingly successful. Aimed at easing notoriously painful traffic congestion in the Uptown locale, and reduce the need for parking, nearly 2,000 University of Cincinnati students and faculty members take advantage of the free rides that is funded by the university’s Student Government. Nine routes are currently enrolled in the program, and all that is required is a student identification card.

It should be noted that the Cincinnati Enquirer should not be used as a point-of-reference for these local developments. When an article is a cut-and-paste job with a clear bias, and a lack of moderation in their user comments section, one has to wonder what the Enquirer’s real priorities are. Let’s hope that they report on the uptick in ridership by Metro when the figures are released for December 2008.

Categories
Business Development News

Uptown Commons details emerge

Towne Properties recently announced some details regarding their development plan for the empty site right now in between McMillan and Calhoun (GoogleMap) streets in Clifton Heights. The $100 million project is proposed to include roughly 150 apartments, 77,000 square feet of retail space, 2 hotels and about 100,000 square feet of office space.

A public plaza near the western most terminus of the University Park Apartments (UPA) building across the street would also be an important feature of the development that would be privately managed and operated. The development would consist of mid-rise buildings that would sit atop parking garages serving not only the development but the surrounding uses as well.

Uptown Commons – Public Plaza Perspective

The Clifton Heights neighborhood business district (NBD) is already a great node for the community. A quality development here, with the right mix of uses could potentially create one of the biggest and best NBDs in Cincinnati (and that’s saying something given the competition).

Rents for the apartments will exceed the $1 per square-foot range which is comparable to the rents charged at UPA. Those apartments actually have a waiting list while also boasting some of the highest prices per square-foot of any rental units in the city. The hotels and office space will add some much needed year-round traffic in an area currently dominated by seasonal students.

Towne Properties cited that work could begin as soon as next Fall if financing is in place. Financing that they feel confident will be there even amidst the financial crisis and lending freezes being seen across the nation. Towne also noted that the development has been drawn up with the streetcar in mind as they are expecting the streetcar system to loop their development.

You can download the detailed site plans courtesy of by Cole + Russell at the following links:

Uptown Commons – Site Plan
Uptown Commons – Upper Floors Plan
Categories
News

Lytle Park plan taking root

Lytle Park is rich with history and is poised for a face lift. The park sits on the site of the Lytle family homestead that was built back in 1809. The homestead site then became known as Lytle Square and was then owned by the City of Cincinnati in 1905.

Lytle Square was then marked to be demolished to make way for the connection of I-71 to Ft. Washington Way. Public protests saved the parkspace and led the creation of what is known to be one of the first uses of air-rights over an expressway in the nation. Lytle Tunnel nows runs underneath this small yet important park in the south-eastern portion of Downtown.

The park also boasts an 11-foot statue of Abraham Lincoln that was a gift to the City from the Taft family. The Taft family connections don’t end there though as the Taft Museum of Art is located on the eastern edge of the park.

The park is now in the process of a master plan that will give the park a new look with new features. A couple new water features are planned, a new stair connection to Lytle Street (GoogleMap), new garden space, new streetscape along 4th, and more open lawn spaces for creative use are some of the key features of the plan.

At a November 20th public meeting the plan was “well-received” and no major changes were suggested. No specific timetable, budget or financing has been set for the changes, but the next step is to finalize a master plan with more specifics that will be taken to the Cincinnati Park Board for approval.

Preliminary Lytle Park Master Plan (259kb)

Categories
Arts & Entertainment Business News

Day After Thanksgiving Fun Downtown

The day after Thanksgiving is often the day where people line up outside the most generic big box store they can find and wait in long lines to spend their hard-earned money at places that won’t recycle that money locally like locally owned/operated businesses.

In an effort to encourage local shopping, and continue upon the success built at Cincinnati Unchained, Gateway Quarter businesses have organized the inaugural Holidays in the Bag event from 9am to 9pm the day after Thanksgiving. Shoppers are encouraged to buy a special shopping bag ($3 – money goes to Tender Mercies) at the Gateway Quarter Information Center that will get you 20% off at participating retailers.

After your stuffed full of Thanksgiving goodies and partake in the “Black Friday” craziness be sure to leave some energy for the annual Light Up The Square festivities on Friday, November 28th.

Light Up The Square is the annual event on Fountain Square where Cincinnati celebrates the start of the holiday season with the ceremonious tree lighting festivities. This year’s tree is the biggest ever standing 60 feet tall, with roughly 20,000 lights and five-foot tall red star.

The fun officially starts at 6:30pm with a performance by “Team Cincinnati” (from Clash of the Choirs) which will then be followed by the tree lighting at 7pm by Mayor Mark Mallory. There will then be a fireworks show following the tree lighting. Santa Claus is expected to be there and the Fountain Square skating rink will be open to the public.

Traffic Notes: 5th Street (between Race & Walnut) & Vine Street (between 4th & 6th) will be closed from 6pm to 9:30pm.
The Fountain Square parking garage will be open but only accessible via the Walnut Street entrance.
Metro bus routes will be detoured around these streets during the closure.
Categories
News

Be a part of the 2009 YPKC

In 2006 Mayor Mark Mallory launched the Mayor’s Young Professional Kitchen Cabinet (YPKC) – the first of its kind anywhere. The goal was to tap into the minds of those young people that so many cities are trying to both retain and attract.

Each year one hundred young professionals are tapped from all over the tri-state to volunteer their efforts to help make the Cincinnati region a more welcoming place for young people. The young professionals work on a variety of committees with different focuses. They work within their various committees and then push forth their ideas. If those ideas gain approval from the YPKC as a whole, then they are then directed to the Mayor’s office.

The YPKC is a great opportunity to get involved especially if you’re one of those many people who have had that brilliant idea come to you in the middle of the night and think, “boy it would be nice if I had the opportunity to talk to the Mayor about this.” Well you can.

You can apply now to be a member of the 2009 YPKC. I was fortunate enough to be a part of the 2008 YPKC as a member of the Transportation Committee. Due to travel plans, a spring graduation and other time constraints I will not be able to once again apply. I do strongly encourage everyone else who is interested to do before the December 3rd deadline (sorry for the late notice).