Tag: economic

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Business Development News

$22M American Can Factory redevelopment to welcome first residents this September

On Monday the public was invited to tour the long-delayed American Can Lofts as part of Northside’s Fourth of July festivities. The $22 million redevelopment of the 180,000 square-foot 1920s-era American Can Factory resumed in 2010 with the help of a $1.6 million federal grant. The prominent Northside structure (map) is now poised to welcome its first residents in September.

Monday’s visitors toured six units on the building’s second floor, all of which featured high ceilings, loft designs, and the factory’s huge windows. The odd layout of the building required creative adaptations and so units of all shapes and sizes will be available to the project’s first renters.

Most of the factory’s features that survived its 30-year vacancy were retained, including pillars, original staircase railings, and a spectacular covered assembly area that will be used for indoor parking.

Organizers promise that the grand opening of the American Can Lofts in September will be marked by another public event, and future tours of the building are not to be missed. What has long stood as one of Cincinnati’s most notorious eyesores has been remade into one of its greatest assets, and portends the future redevelopment of the region’s other abandoned industrial properties.

The Cincinnati-based developers of this project are familiar with working with large warehouse structures. In 2003, Bloomfield/Schon + Partners completed the transformation of the former Ford Model T Factory in Walnut Hills into 115,000 square feet of office space.

Once complete, American Can Lofts will include 110 apartments ranging from $600 to $1,300 per month, 75 parking spaces, and 12,000 square feet of office and retail space. Developers state that future retailers may include a brew pub, restaurant and health center. Other amenities will include a bocce ball court, conference rooms, music rehearsal room, artist space and an exercise room.

The project was also assisted financially by an $8.7 million loan from the Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD), and additional grants from local and state sources. Those interested in leasing information can email Info@AmericanCanLofts.com or call (513) 827-5638.

Photographs by Emily Schneider for UrbanCincy.

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Business News

Farmers markets growing in popularity throughout Cincinnati region

Over the past decade, America has seen the gradual blossoming of a broad natural food movement. This movement is due, in part, to books from writers like Michael Pollen and documentary films such as Super Size Me. These works have shown the unhealthiness of processed foods, which (driven by booming urban populations and the decline of traditional rural life) had grown in popularity since the end of World War II.

Americans today, particularly in cities, have demonstrated an interest in getting back to their roots – literally. The surge of attention to what we eat has led to an unprecedented interest in cooking and eating locally-produced food. Many people have left corporate jobs to become farmers or chefs. Beyond the ever-widening availability of organic foods, we have seen “farm-to-table” dining and a rise in gardening, even in urban areas like Over-the-Rhine.

Luckily, all the demand for natural food means an increase in the availability of healthy, freshly-prepared meals, even when we may be too stressed or time constrained to cook them ourselves. Another benefit, from a larger societal standpoint, is a recent flattening of the adult obesity rate in the United States.

Locally, one of the best aspects of this movement is a wider array of seasonal farmer’s markets. Now it’s easy to get fresh, local food throughout the Queen City with dozens of seasonal and year-round farmers markets.

Findlay Market is the crown jewel of Cincinnati’s historic Over-the-Rhine neighborhood. Operating since 1855, it offers Cincinnatians everything they could want in a market and more, year-round. It houses restaurants, numerous delis and produce shops, fishmongers, spice sellers, florists, bakers, textile vendors, Asian grocers and even a biergarten.

New shops include a bakery-café, pet supply store and a Vietnamese restaurant. Recent efforts to “Green the Market” have included the installation of solar panels on the market roof, plus waste reduction and new energy-efficient lighting. And as efforts stir to expand Findlay Market and improve its surroundings, it appears that Ohio’s oldest market is poised for a bright future.

We have put together a comprehensive listing of Cincinnati-area farmers markets. We have certainly missed a few, so please feel free to provide some added content to us by commenting on this story. Share the map with your friends and family so that they may take advantage of a farmers market near them. And if there isn’t one, check to see how to get one started in your neighborhood.

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Business Development News Opinion

Oakley gets development fit for the suburbs with new Millworks plan

The abandoned Millworks site in Oakley has inspired urban enthusiasts for almost a decade. The thoughts of injecting new life into an former industrial space in the heart of some of the city’s most vibrant neighborhoods was truly something to get excited about.

The vision first laid out in the early part of the new millenium included hundreds of residential units, a movie theater, hotel, offices and what was to become the second location Jungle Jim’s. The best part about all of it is that the Millworks redevelopment would have done so while also maintaining the gritty industrial past of the site. As details finally emerge today of a new Millworks redevelopment, the reality is looking much different.

Today the plan calls for a $120 million development (less than half of the originally proposed $300 million plan in 2005) that will include 350,000 square feet of retail, 250,000 square feet of offices, 300 apartments and a 55,000 square-foot movie theater. While much of the development’s original components are still there, the plan has taken a decidedly suburban turn not unlike what happened at the Center of Cincinnati just around the corner.


Proposed Millworks redevelopment in 2005 [LEFT] compared to current Oakley Station site plan [RIGHT].

Gone is the idea of preserving the site’s industrial aesthetic. Gone is the idea of creating a unique urban infill project. Gone is Jungle Jim’s. And most importantly, gone is the true long-lasting investment in Oakley.

With the signing of Cinemark NextGen, the development seems to now be more real than ever. Work has already begun on removing asbestos from buildings on the 74-acre site so that demolition can follow for more than one million square feet of former industrial buildings that used to house Cincinnati Milacron, Ceco Environmental, Factory Power Company and Unova Industrial Automation. Worse yet, the city of Cincinnati is working to get project developers $3 million in Clean Ohio Revitalization funds and an additional $9.9 million in tax increment financing to pay for infrastructure work surrounding the project.

The controversial Center of Cincinnati development turned on a dime from an exciting urban infill project meant to inject new office, retail and residential space into the area just north of the Millworks site, into a cookie-cutter suburban big-box development.

At the time Vandercar, the same developers behind the Millworks redevelopment, said that market forces would no longer allow them to do such a project and charged Mayor Luken’s administration to rid the city of its Planning Department that had made an issue of the development’s dramatic, last-minute change. Vandercar won that battle and then city manager Valerie Lemmie decided to move forward and infamously shutter Cincinnati’s Planning Department.

The victory was only short-lived for Vandercar, however. The developer was part of a team that was promptly eliminated from contention to build The Banks, and Mayor Mark Mallory and City Manager Milton Dohoney have since restored Cincinnati’s planning dignity. So while much has changed, it appears as though the outcome may be the same for Oakley.

Oakley is the geographic population center for the 2.1 million person Cincinnati region, and is located along I-71, near the Norwood Lateral, and potential future light rail corridors. Each metropolitan region tends to have several dense commercial centers. Cincinnati currently has Downtown, Uptown and Kenwood, and the greater Oakely area should be the fourth.

Instead of championing “pro-growth” policies at all costs, Cincinnati’s leaders should act with long-term interests in mind and get the best end product for its people. Unfortunately, the status quo appears to be more in line with appeasing developers, like Vandercar, that go after low-hanging fruit, rather than demanding that investments in Cincinnati get the best return.

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News Transportation

Ridership continues to grow on Metro’s express commuter routes

Newly released data shows an uptick in commuter bus ridership in Cincinnati. The figures from Metro show a 10.9 percent ridership increase for May when compared to last year, and is the fifth straight month of such ridership increases. Officials believe that the increase is a result of increasing gas prices.

“It’s exciting to see the growth in our commuter market,” Metro CEO Terry Garcia Crews said in a prepared statement. “This increase demonstrates that viable option for our residents.”

Such gains may prove difficult to maintain though as economic conditions continue to stagnate and gas prices begin to level off. According to recent reports, unemployment climbed in May and is the highest it has been in 2011. Additionally, employers were reported as adding the fewest workers in eight months.


Metro bus at Government Square in downtown Cincinnati.

Gas prices have also declined from the highest levels since July 2008. These two factors may be tricky for transit officials as they attempt to project ridership patterns for the rest of year. Previously, Metro has been very susceptible to such economic activity, with ridership often declining with the economy.

Even with that said, Metro officials believe that long-term rises in gas prices signal positive ridership trends for the transit agency as commuters look to their wallets.

“If you drive 20 or 25 miles one-way to work, you’re probably using two gallons of gas a day,” Crews explained. “Metro offers a convenient alternative to paying higher gas prices.”

According to Metro officials, these savings can add up. The regional transit agency estimates that local commuters can save $4,500 or more each year by riding transit.

Further complicating the matter is a reduction of state funding support for express commuter bus service. In February, newly elected Governor Kasich (R) cut $70 million which was to support such bus service throughout Ohio. The cuts hit Cincinnati by eliminating funding for express routes from Cincinnati’s western and northern suburbs into Uptown.

Whether commuters will continue to turn to express commuter bus service or not is yet to be seen, but it appears that Metro is banking on such future activity with the recent announcement to expand express bus service to Cincinnati’s northern and western suburbs by cutting service elsewhere.

Categories
News Transportation

Diverse transport network positioning Minneapolis as economic leader

Minneapolis is not a coastal city, nor does it boast a favorable climate, but the city does count a growing population of young people and 21st century jobs on its score sheet. What is also unique about this German Midwestern city is that it has become the envy of other cities due to its impressive bicycling culture, expanding transit system and diverse economy.

The Twin Cities boast two unique transport items. The first is the bicycle highway connecting bicycle commuters with downtown Minneapolis and other job centers. The second is a growing light rail system that taps into regional commuter rail. The Minneapolis light rail system is still young, but this has benefitted its operations.


Hiawatha Light Rail at Franklin Avenue Station (January 2011). Photograph by Randy A. Simes.

Unlike St. Louis and Denver, Minneapolis’ light rail system has low-floor vehicles that do not have awkward steps right when you enter the train. The more modern rolling stock used in Minneapolis is also more visually attractive and at least seemed to be quieter.

Presently the light rail system extends from the famous Mall of America, through the region’s international airport eastern suburbs, and into downtown Minneapolis eventually terminating at the recently completed Target Field (home of the Minnesota Twins).

The good thing about the line is that it is there and that it has been able to improve on earlier designs incorporated elsewhere throughout the United States. The problem is that the route runs through a very suburban-designed part of the region and offers very little in terms of walkability immediately surrounding the stations. Transit-oriented development will certainly help this situation, but significant time and money will be needed to right the ship.

Much like Atlanta, Minneapolis seemed to sacrifice urban connectivity so that their early system connected major nodes like their airport, stadiums and mega mall. As a result much of the large population nodes are left off the map, and thus out of reach of this young light rail system.


Articulated bus in the Warehouse District [LEFT], and Hiawatha Light Rail running through downtown Minneapolis. Photographs taken by Randy A. Simes in January 2011.

What will help this issue immensely will be the system’s growth. Fortunately, the region’s rail transit system is about to grow and expand into St. Paul. Under construction now is the $957 million, 11-mile Central Corridor light rail project. This will tap into the existing Hiawatha light rail line at its Metrodome Station in downtown Minneapolis.

The 16-station Central Corridor light rail line will connect downtown St. Paul and the University of Minnesota with the rest of the overachieving transit system. Current projections call for the first passengers to start riding in 2014.

While Minneapolis and St. Paul are not there yet when it comes to transit, they have been investing in a system for years that is beginning to become regional and comprehensive. These moves already seem to be paying nice dividends for the Twin Cities, and have placed it among one of the few good economic performers in the Midwest. Where would Cincinnati be today had it began investing in regional rail transit in 2002 when MetroMoves put regional light rail before voters?