Tag: developments

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Up To Speed

Cincinnati comes back to its Ohio River shoreline

Cincinnati comes back to its Ohio River shoreline.

Cincinnatians can finally feel the results of decades worth of work to reclaim the city’s riverfront. More than a billion dollars worth of investment has brought new stadiums, museums, a riverfront park, and an entire new neighborhood still rising from the ground. More from The New York Times:

Cincinnati is experiencing a strong revival in urban core business and residential growth, much of it prompted by development along a scenic river that state and federal water quality data show is cleaner and more ecologically vital.

On a bright blue afternoon, just the sort of day that prompted Alexis de Tocqueville in 1831 to describe this part of the Ohio River as “one of the most magnificent valleys in which man has made his stay, ” the full sweep of Cincinnati’s new development, clearly designed as the city’s gateway, comes into full view.

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Arts & Entertainment Development News

Cincinnati’s new riverfront park immediately exceeding expectations

If you have yet to visit the first phase of the Smale Riverfront Park, then you need to do yourself a favor and go visit the beautiful new park. From a personal perspective, out of all of the new developments along the central riverfront, the new park is by far the best product and is a true civic asset for Cincinnati.

In the latest video update from project manager Dave Prather, he takes viewers on a tour of the now completed features of the Smale Riverfront Park that are open to the public. Prather also gives some insight into the elements that are soon to come including the continuation of the tree grove, Women’s Committee Garden, Adventure Playground, construction of the river’s edge and the transient boat dock.

“We’re proceeding with design and grant application for the transient boat dock, which will be aligned with the Main Street Fountain,” Prather explained in the project video. “That grant application is due the end of July, and award will be announced around early March next year. So we’re planning on next May to present the completed portion of the tree grove and break ground on the boat dock.”

In addition to the boat dock, Prather says that plans call for construction to begin on the Vine Street Steps next May as well, and would complete the framing of the Roebling Suspension Bridge.

One of the attractions of the first phase of the park is the new Cincinnati Bike Center which is now open to bicycle commuters 24 hours a day, and boasts a retail shop that includes merchandise and allows for people to rent various types of bicycles and Segways.

Reports from various media outlets and first-hand accounts highlight the immediate popularity of the park. One problem, according to Prather, has been that visitors want to play in the dramatic water curtain along Mehring Way which was not designed for interaction.

The early summer project update is nearly 13 minutes in length, and is the first video of the series to highlight a finished product.

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Up To Speed

Portland moves forward with $400M plan to cap Interstate 5

Portland moves forward with $400M plan to cap Interstate 5.

The City of Portland and Oregon Department of Transportation are moving forward with a $400 million plan to cap Interstate 5 through several urban districts. Cincinnati leaders rebuilt Fort Washington Way so that it could be capped in the future, but nothing has come of those investments first made in 1999. More from The Oregonian:

“I-5 has been a huge divide in this community for too long,” said committee member Justin Zeulner of Portland Arena Management.  Zeulner said the freeway lid and new bike and pedestrian bridge would help connect Lloyd District with the Rose Quarter and the riverfront. “This is critical for the future of our community.”
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Business Development News Politics

The Triumph of Cincinnati’s Center City Plan

Cincinnati was a different place ten years ago. It was a city still reeling from the destruction left behind by the civil unrest in 2001, and had a downtown in decline with retailers closing up shop and office vacancies soaring. The Banks project was regarded as a pipe dream, a field of mud between the elevated islands of sports stadiums and a lonely museum overlooking construction on the opposite side of the Ohio River.

Over-the-Rhine was a different place ten years ago as well. The corner of Twelfth and Vine Street consistently rated as the most dangerous in the city. Block after block of boarded buildings stood silently as echoes of an era time forgot. This was Cincinnati’s center city, a dried up husk of its former glory where redevelopment projects stalled and floundered and everyone returned home before dusk.

My, how far things have come.

In ten years time, the city center has experienced a resurrection from what appeared to be a near death experience. Fountain Square now attracts concerts and events, The Banks has become reality, Over-the-Rhine is being revitalized before our eyes, and it seems like every day there is a new project, a new store, a new cultural amenity, or a new festival choosing the downtown area.


Phase one of The Banks has been built [LEFT], and a major revitalization of Over-the-Rhine is underway [RIGHT]. Photographs by Randy A. Simes for UrbanCincy.

There is a saying that it takes a village, but in this case, it took a plan to change the area’s trajectory.

The Center City Plan as conceived in 2002 by consultants as a report to the city’s Economic Development Task Force. What the plan did is lay out a vision and way forward for the city to begin restoring the vitality of its largest economic center.

“The Economic Development Taskforce was a public-private partnership that looked at how the city could thrive,” City Spokesperson, Meg Olberding, explained. “The task force laid out a structure whereby the public and private sectors each have their role, but must work together.”

The task force made 23 recommendations, in total, including the creation of a one-stop permit shop, establishment of the Port Authority as an economic development agency, and the formation of the Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation (3CDC).

City officials and 3CDC were tasked with making the goals laid out in the Center City Plan a reality. In particular, the plan detailed four initiatives aimed at restoring vitality.

  1. Redevelop Fountain Square: The plan recommended that the city, “transform Fountain Square into the city’s retail, cultural and civic heart”. Consolidation of retail at street level and creation of an attractive public space went into the redesign of the square. The removal of pedestrian skywalks also seen as a way to focus pedestrian activity on the street.
  2. Revitalize Over-the-Rhine: With regards to Over-the-Rhine the plan said, “Without intensive focus on Over-the-Rhine, efforts in the center city will be wasted.” Starting with a focus on the Vine Street corridor as the primary retail corridor, the plan envisioned a catalytic development agency spurring redevelopment along Vine Street in the historic neighborhood. The plan was to start at Central Parkway and work north towards Liberty Street.
  3. Build the Banks: The plan initially tasked the agency that would become 3CDC with the mission of building The Banks project. Years later the project moved forward under a steering committee to overcome conflicts that arose from the various parties involved in the riverfront redevelopment.
  4. Restore Washington Park: It was recommended that the city, “Implement a comprehensive development strategy to make Washington Park a civic treasurer.”

Of the many recommendations that stem from the Center City Plan, nearly all of them have been implemented or are in the process of being implemented today. The success of the plan, and those implementing it, can be seen every time a new project breaks ground, a new business opens shop, or a new cultural attraction takes root.

Other less visible accomplishments can be credited to the implementation of the other recommendations of the Economic Development Task Force such as the evolving direction of the Port Authority, the Plan Build Live initiative, and the city’s revised marketing approach.

Olberding concluded that, “This has proven to be a winning strategy for the City and one that will be more and more important as we take Cincinnati to the next level of growth and opportunity.”

Categories
Business Development News

Thousands of new residents now calling downtown Cincinnati home

Downtown Cincinnati Inc. (DCI) has released its eighth annual State of Downtown Report. The findings show continued improvements throughout the Central Business District, Over-the-Rhine and Pendleton neighborhoods.

“New, world-class office development, active retail leasing and expanded entertainment options demonstrate that downtown is thriving,” Gina Gartner, DCI’s Director of Stakeholder Services, stated in a prepared release. “In addition, the growing residential community, from The Banks to Over-the-Rhine, is actively engaged in making downtown a great place to live.”

Customers enjoy the newly opened 1215 Wine Bar & Coffee Lab in historic Over-the-Rhine. Photograph by Randy A. Simes for UrbanCincy.

The 36-page report touts the continued population growth in the urban core, and points to more than $1.3 billion worth of development either currently under construction, or in planning stages. This, DCI officials claim, is evidence of a resurgent downtown area.

“Downtown continues to enjoy major growth and development within its neighborhoods, old and new, from Fountain Square to the East Eighth District and The Banks to Over-the-Rhine,” explained DCI President David Ginsburg. “With this growth, it becomes even more important to connect visitors, residents, employees, developers, and others to the wealth of options downtown has to offer once they are here.”

One way in which boosters envision connecting the growing number of people with the growing number of destinations downtown is through critical transportation investments like the $99.5 million first phase of the Cincinnati Streetcar and future enhanced bus service.

Downtown Cincinnati population growth chart provided by Downtown Cincinnati Inc.

The report also highlighted 12 percent residential growth credited, in part, to the addition of 300 new apartments at The Banks which are 100 percent leased. The surge of new residents comes at the tail end of a period where the downtown area has added more than 5,000 new residents.

The residential growth at The Banks was complimented by ongoing population growth in historic Over-the-Rhine and throughout the Central Business District. And while the second phase of The Banks may not get underway for another six months, officials are excited about 88 additional apartments that will soon come online at The Reserve at 4th & Race.

“A 12% increase is significant and adds greatly to the vibrant city we work toward every day,” Ginsburg noted. “And, though it was not a surprise to DCI or its partners, the more than 25% drop in crime over the past ten years can be credited to the continued commitment of the Cincinnati Police, the City of Cincinnati’s Public Services Department, the Cincinnati Parks, Downtown Cincinnati Inc., and others.”

Perhaps tying the positive trends in residential growth and crime decreases with one another, are the brightly colored Downtown Ambassadors seen out on the streets every day, which have also recently begun servicing parts of Over-the-Rhine.

The report also found that 28 retail establishments opened in the downtown area in 2011, and that hotel occupancy rates surpassed the national and local average at 63 percent.