Tag: fairview

Categories
Business Development News

PHOTOS: $80M Mixed-Use Development Nears Completion in Clifton Heights

W. McMillan Street

Since 2000, the University of Cincinnati’s surroundings have changed dramatically – many homes and a few landmark buildings were demolished for construction of Stetson Square, McMillan Manor, University Park Apartments, and 65 West. U Square at the Loop, a 161-unit, $80 million midrise situated between McMillan and Calhoun Streets, has been under construction for more than a year and is scheduled for occupancy on August 1.

The development includes over a dozen street-level commercial spaces, an office building that has been rented by the University of Cincinnati, and a site fronting McMillan Street where a hotel is planned. Apartment prices range between $695 for studios to $2,350 for penthouses with balconies.

U Square at The Loop

Reserved parking spaces in the development’s two garages will cost $95/month. Unlike other new apartment complexes in the area, units at U Square at the Loop can be rented by non-students.

In the early 2000s the site where U Square at the Loop is being built was partially cleared for a very different development – a 360-unit condo midrise dubbed McMillan Park that had been in planning since 1999. The two phases of the development were planned above two underground parking garages totaling 900 spaces, and planned units ranged from $160,000 for a one bedroom to $800,000 for a penthouse.

That project was to be financed by the University of Cincinnati, the site assembled by the City of Cincinnati through eminent domain, and the project managed by the Clifton Heights Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation (CHCURC). Demolition of properties began in 2003, but litigation involving the owners of Acropolis Chili, Inn the Wood, and two fast food restaurants was not resolved until 2007, a year after the university withdrew its funding.

In 2008 Towne Properties became the project’s developer, and the long-vacant Hardee’s and Arby’s that had been the subject of eminent domain litigation were demolished that summer.

Renderings depicting a development similar to what is nearing completion in 2013 were published that fall, and the project was dubbed Uptown Commons in 2009. The project’s name changed again to U Square at the Loop in 2010 and construction began in 2012.

Categories
Arts & Entertainment News Politics

Lee Fisher to Discuss the Future of Cities at UC’s School of Planning

The University of Cincinnati’s School of Planning will host Ohio’s former Lieutenant Governor and current CEOs for Cities President, Lee Fisher, next Thursday.

The event will start at 4pm with Fisher explaining what CEOs for Cities does and what they stand for. Organizers also say that those who attend will also hear about civic activists can work with professional architects, planners, designers and artists in a collaborative way to change their communities.

While serving as Lieutenant Governor, Fisher was perhaps most well-known for his economic development work and the implementation of the Ohio Hubs of Innovation & Opportunity to foster urban-based collaborations between businesses, colleges and universities, and research institutions.

Cincinnati was named an Ohio Hub of Innovation & Opportunity for Consumer Marketing in July 2010.

Fisher’s interest in these collaborative approaches to building up cities aligned him perfectly with CEOs for Cities which helps lead these types of discussions and has becoming a prominent voice on these topics over recent years. Specifically though, leadership at CEOs for Cities believe that great cities are not simply places that are born, but are rather made and improved over time.

“A living place is someone’s success,” Paul Grogan, who founded CEOs for Cities in 2001 with Richard M. Daley. “These are matters of choice and skill, not laws of physics.”

This work of enhancing cities has spread throughout North America to more than 60 cities, and CEOs for Cities currently has offices in Chicago, Cleveland and Washington D.C.

Following the speech, organizers say that the audience will get an opportunity to meet and discuss their ideas with Fisher during a reception to be held at 5:10pm.

The main event will kick off at 4pm on Thursday, April 4 inside the Kaplan Auditorium (Room 5401) at UC’s College of Design, Architecture, Art & Planning. The event is free and open to the public, and light refreshments will be served.

The University of Cincinnati is well-served by Metro bus service (plan your trip), but those taking personal automobiles should be able to find cash parking in the nearby Clifton Court Garage.

Categories
Business Development News

Proposed Clifton Heights Development Would Demolish Historic Christy’s & Lenhardt’s

On Tuesday, developers presented an initial concept to the CUF Neighborhood Association (CUFNA) for a proposed development at the southeast corner of W. Clifton Avenue and W. McMillan Avenue.

The development team of Gilbane and Optimus, is proposing a six-story, mixed-use development that would include 210 student apartments, street-level retail, and a 245-space parking structure. A total project cost has yet to be defined.

Clifton Heights Development_Concept Rendering
A concept rendering for what the proposed development would look like at W. Clifton and W. McMillan Avenues. Image provided.

Developers say that the two-story parking structure would be hidden by the larger apartment portion of the development, and mention that there would enough room for two retailers along both Clifton and McMillan Avenues.

“The building has an urban character that reflects and harmonizes with the new retail and residential complex across the street,” developers explained in a project report obtained by UrbanCincy. “A dramatic reduction of building scale happens as you turn the corner onto Lyon Street. The majority of this elevation is only two stories high and contains residentially scaled punched openings that are at the base of the Clifton elevation.”

Representatives from Gilbane and Optimus also say that the development will have “abundant” bicycle parking in addition to the spaces provided for automobiles.

Clifton Heights Development_Section Elevation
The concept section elevation shows how the proposed development would relate to its surroundings in Clifton Heights. Image provided.

Should everything go according to plan, the development team says that construction would start in May 2014 and open in August 2015.

The more than four-acre site currently has several houses on it along Lyon Street, the Clifton Natural Foods building, the historic mansion that is home to Christy’s & Lendhardt’s Fine German Dining, and a surface parking lot.

According to University of Cincinnati engineering student Ryan Lammi, who attended Tuesday’s meeting, the developer implied that the development could not go forward unless both buildings located along W. McMillan Avenue were demolished.

So even while the development presents a large investment in the growing neighborhood, not everyone was pleased with the initial concepts.

“The council was adamant about saving Christy’s and keeping a local retailer like Clifton Natural Foods, citing other projects that have brought national chains,” Lammi explained. “They were also pretty upset about demolishing the building at the corner because its [sic] the gateway to the last of the old building stock.”

Clifton Heights Development_First Floor Plan
The historically significant mansion that once housed Christian Moerlein’s daughter sits on the northeastern portion of the proposed development. Image provided.

Local historians point to the mansion housing Christy’s as a significant piece to the city’s beer brewing heritage. According to Steve Hampton, executive director of the OTR Brewery District, the mansion was built by Christian Moerlein as a wedding gift for his daughter in 1881.

Posing a potentially significant hurdle for the development would be the mansion’s pending historic designation.

“CUF has sent a request to the Urban Conservator requesting a designation hearing along with a formal designation application,” said Hampton, who went on to clarify that a hearing date has not been determined.

The process of attaining such designation, Hampton claims, would protect the property from demolition, under city law, until a final ruling is made.

The development team’s current schedule calls for initial site due diligence and inspection work to be completed by May of this year, followed by an eight-month period for the necessary project approvals.

As the project moves forward, Lammi says that students and neighborhood residents plan to be very involved, and intend to meet on Saturday, February 9 at 2pm to discuss the proposal at Rohs Street Café. He says that the meeting will be open to anyone interested in attending, and will offer a venue for people to voice their concerns and opinions on the development.