Tag: Flaherty & Collins

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Business Development News

Paragon Salon & Day Spa’s Relocation Paves Way For Pogue’s Garage Demolition

Former Design Concept [Provided]

Paragon Salon & Day Spa celebrated the opening of their new location along Fifth Street in the Carew Tower yesterday. While smaller in size than their previous location, the move serves as a potentially monumental moment for the center city since it paves the way for the demolition of the decaying Pogue’s Garage.

While the location of Pogue’s Garage is one of downtown’s most prominent, it is also one of the ugliest and most inhospitable blocks in the city. In 2013 a plan was crafted to fix that by tearing down the decrepit garage and replacing it with a new parking structure, street-level grocery store and 300-unit residential high-rise. Due to politics, finances and other logistics, that plan stalled and was eventually amended in December 2014.

Under that revised plan, Indianapolis-based developers Flaherty & Collins agreed to build an eight-story residential structure, with 208 units, while 3CDC would build a 925-space parking structure that would serve as the tower’s platform. The project would also include 25,000 square feet of street-level retail space.

In addition to serving the project’s needs and providing a platform for the tower to rise, the new parking structure would also provide parking capacity for the many historic high-rises along Fourth Street that currently lack any parking options at all. City officials point to public garages such as this as an opportunity to better utilize those other properties.

But before any of that can happen, the massive Pogue’s Garage must be demolished. That, in and of itself, would serve as a major benefit for downtown as it would remove one of its biggest eyesores and improve safety for people walking and biking along Fourth, Race and Elm Streets.

That demolition effort is not expected to be easy. Due to its immediate surroundings, the structure will not be able to be imploded, and will thus need to be deconstructed using traditional methods over a much longer period of time. Further complicating the matter was Paragon’s ongoing presence in the structure, which was obviously relieved yesterday.

There is no word yet on when demolition work will begin, but it now appears likely that work will finally advance on one of the center city’s highest profile projects. The coming weeks should reveal what its revised design will look like and when residents will be moving in.

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Development News

Revised Agreement for Redevelopment of Pogue’s Garage Poised to Advance This Week

More than a year after an initial deal was proposed to redevelop the aging Pogue’s Garage site into a sleek residential tower, a new deal may actually move forward that will allow for construction to finally move forward.

In November 2013, the City of Cincinnati had entered into a Development Agreement with Flaherty & Collins to build a 15,000-square-foot grocery store, 950-space parking garage and a soaring 30-story residential tower with 300 units costing $94 million. As part of this deal, the City had committed to providing a $12 million forgivable loan to the project. This came after an initial deal to fund the project through the proceeds generated by the then proposed Parking Modernization & Lease program.

The Parking Modernization & Lease program, however, was almost immediately cancelled upon the arrival of Mayor John Cranley (D); who then subsequently stated that the $12 million forgivable loan for the project was “too rich”, and that the entire project should be rethought.

This led to the engagement of the Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation (3CDC), and the new deal that will go before City Council’s Neighborhoods Committee, chaired by Vice Mayor David Mann (D), at 2pm today.

According to a leaked memo from City Manager Harry Black’s office, the new deal is substantially different from the previous Development Agreement. Instead it calls for a $5.5 million grant to Flaherty & Collins to construct an eight-floor residential tower including 208 units, and a $4 million loan to 3CDC to construct a 925-space parking garage and 25,000 square feet of street-level retail space.

The Cranley Administration is touting the deal as a savings for taxpayers, while also not sacrificing too much.

“We inherited an overly rich deal,” Jay Kincaid, Mayor Cranley’s Chief of Staff, told UrbanCincy. “This new deal saves taxpayers $6.5 million, and gives the City control over the garage.”

Much of the savings is realized through the changes to the parking agreement. The previous deal provided the developer a grant to build and operate the parking structure, while the new deal utilizes a $4 million performing loan to be repaid later by 3CDC. Once the loan is paid off, the revenue stream from the parking structure would be shared by the three parties.

The emergency ordinance that will be put before the Neighborhoods Committee today, and then most likely be voted on by the full City Council on Wednesday, also includes a 30-year property tax abatement for the apartment component.

As of now, property tax abatements in Downtown and Over-the-Rhine filter 25% to Cincinnati Public Schools, with the remaining 75% being the actual realized abatement. Starting on January 1, 2015, however, that latter number would be reduced to 67.5% with the 7.5% difference being put into a fund to help cover the costs of operating and maintaining the Cincinnati Streetcar.

With the development losing approximately two-thirds of its height, but only one-third of its number of residential units, it signals that the new development will look quite different than the initial renderings released to the public. The final result may mean smaller residential unit sizes or a wider tower that utilizes more of the site’s footprint.

Yet unanswered is what will happen with Paragon Salon, which has remained in operation at the site despite being served eviction notices from the City. Since the original Development Agreement was signed more than a year ago, the owners of Paragon have claimed the City is violating their lease agreement, and has requested assistance in finding a new location. The City, meanwhile, has rebuffed Paragon and said they will not submit to paying for the costs of its relocation.

One item previously holding up construction on this still unnamed project was the redevelopment of Tower Place Mall into Mabley Place. Now that the parking garage is complete and open for business, City leaders say they feel more confident in closing down Pogue’s Garage to allow for construction to commence.

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Business Development News

Will Saks Fifth Avenue Remain in Downtown Cincinnati Following Collapse of its Kenwood Move?

Kenwood Collection [Provided]

News spread quickly yesterday that the deal for Saks Fifth Avenue to relocate from downtown Cincinnati to Sycamore Township at the new $200 million Kenwood Collection had fallen through.

The announcement drew immediate speculation about what happened and where the high-end department store might locate instead, if anywhere at all. Since representatives at Saks Fifth Avenue have been mum during the whole process, little information is known about what will happen in 2016 when they had been expected to relocate to Kenwood.

Here’s what we do know.

The current Saks Fifth Avenue store downtown opened in 1983 and was renovated in 1996 and again in 2003 thanks to $8.7 million in city funds. The 2003 renovation also included a stipulation that Saks extend the lease for their downtown Cincinnati store for 15 years (2018), and not open another store within 30 miles for at least seven years (2010). For what it’s worth, Kenwood Collection is located approximately 11 miles from Fountain Square.

The terms of that 2003 agreement, however, are a bit murky. According to the Business Courier,

Part of the agreement with the city says Saks can be released if “Saks sells the Saks store on the property to an entity which acquires the majority of the Saks stores then located in the states of Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, and Pennsylvania.” Toronto’s Hudson’s Bay Co. acquired Saks in a deal that closed at the beginning of November.

The clause basically appears to give Saks an out on their lease agreement that would otherwise keep them at 101 W. Fifth Street until 2018. While the existing store is 72,640 square feet, Saks had reportedly signed a letter of intent with Kenwood Collection for a slightly larger 80,000 square-foot space.

The rumors following yesterday’s announcement largely discussed one of three potential scenarios: 1) Saks closes its only store in the Cincinnati region as it has done in other mid-sized markets; 2) Saks relocates into the retail space at the $140 million dunnhumby Centre, which, interestingly enough, was to become the home of a Maison Blanche in 1998 and then eyed for a Nordstrom in 2000; or 3) Saks relocates into the retail space at a restructured unnamed development at Fourth/Race.

The first scenario is something that would be very difficult to predict, but the second and third scenarios present interesting opportunities and challenges.

The biggest challenge with Saks moving across the street into the dunnhumby Centre is that it only has 30,000 square feet of retail space. Since the building is already far along in construction, it seems unlikely that the development team would be able to modify it in a manner to provide an additional 50,000 square feet of space for Saks.

The unnamed development at Fourth/Race had a grocery store lined up to occupy its even smaller 20,000 square feet of retail space, but that development agreement has since been substantially restructured and is currently being reworked. This leaves open the possibility that Flaherty & Collins and the Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation (3CDC) could adjust the design as to accommodate Saks.

In both of these cases it would allow for the redevelopment of Saks’ existing structure at the southwest corner of Fifth and Race Streets. This would prove to be important in order to clear the way for developers to build a new residential high-rise in its place. Both of these options would also keep Saks within a block of Macy’s 180,000 square-foot downtown store, and along the stretch of Race Street that city officials hope to turn into a shopping corridor.

The combined demolitions of the aging Pogue’s Garage and existing Saks Fifth Avenue store would also allow for the removal of two to three skywalks/bridges over Race Street.

Of course, there is one more option. Saks could simply stay where they are and live out their lease through 2018, or even renew it beyond that.

CORRECTION: In the original story it was incorrectly stated that the existing Saks Fifth Avenue store in downtown Cincinnati is 185,000 square feet. The store is actually 72,640 square feet.

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Development News

PHOTOS: Construction Progressing on Thousands of New Downtown Residences

Mercer Commons Phase Two

Six months ago, we reported on 11 residential developments moving forward in the Central Business District, Over-the-Rhine, and Pendleton. At the time, these were expected to add about 1,500 new units of housing to the urban core. Although one of these projects has been downsized and another postponed, one new residential project was announced as well.

Most notably, the proposed tower at Fourth and Race was downsized from 300 to 200 units, and the grocery store that would have been located on the ground floor of the building has been dropped from the plan.

The Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation (3CDC) is also shelving its plans for a new mixed-use project at 15th and Race, which would have added 57 residential units. However, 3CDC is also shelving its plan to build 53,000 square feet of office space as part of the third phase of Mercer Commons, and is considering building more residential at that location. The first two phases of Mercer Commons contain 126 apartments and 28 condos in addition to retail space.

Finally, the proposal to bring an AC Hotel to the former School for the Creative & Performing Arts (SCPA) in Pendleton has been scrapped. Developers are now moving forward with an alternate plan, which will convert the building into 155 market-rate apartments.

The other projects still moving forward include:

  • Phase two of The Banks broke ground in April 2014. It will contain 305 new apartments and 21,000 square feet of retail space, in addition to a new office tower for General Electric.
  • AT580, formerly known as the 580 Building, is being converted from office space into 179 apartments. The existing retail spaces on the first and second floors will remain.
  • The Seven at Broadway project will feature 110 high-end apartments, built above an existing parking garage. The target demographic for these units will be empty-nesters and older professionals looking for downtown living, according to Rick Kimbler, partner at the NorthPointe Group.
  • Broadway Square, a $26 million development, is now under construction in Pendleton. Its first phase will feature 39 apartments and 40,000 square feet of retail space, and developer Model Group will add at least another 39 apartments in the second phase of the project.
  • The Schwartz Building, formerly vacant office space, is being converted into 20 apartments. Developer Levine Properties cited the building’s location along the Cincinnati Streetcar route as a driving factor for the renovation.
  • The Ingalls Building will be redeveloped into 40 to 50 condos and ground-floor retail space by the Claremont Group.
  • Peak Property Group plans to purchase and renovate three buildings on Seventh Street into 75 apartments and 15,000 square feet of retail space.
  • Developers of the Fountain Place retail building want to add 180 to 225 residential units above the existing Macy’s department store.

EDITORIAL NOTE: All 12 photos were taken by Travis Estell for UrbanCincy between July 3 and July 8, 2014.

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Business Development News

PHOTOS: Thousands of New Residential Units to Transform Downtown

Three buildings on 7th Street will be redeveloped by Peak Property Group.

Downtown Cincinnati is experiencing a new wave of development, with new office space at the Dunnhumby Centre, two new hotels in the historic Enquirer Building, the new Mabley Place in the former Tower Place Mall, and several other projects. But at UrbanCincy, we are most excited about the large number of new residences.

With more residents, the urban core will be able to support more essential neighborhood businesses—such as grocery stores, dry cleaners, and affordable restaurants—that are necessary for the long-term stability of the Central Business District and Over-the-Rhine neighborhoods.

Editor’s Note: Check out our updated photos of these construction projects, taken in July 2014.

If all of the announced projects go according to plan, around 1,500 new units of housing will be added over the next two to three years, and each individual project will offer something unique. There will be a mix of apartments and condos; one-bedroom and two-bedroom units; affordable and luxury price points; historic renovations and new construction.

Most recently, the Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation (3CDC) announced a new development at 15th and Race that will include 57 new residential units and retail space; the exact mix of condos and apartments has not yet been announced. 3CDC is also proceeding with the three-phase Mercer Commons development, which will include a grand total of 126 apartments and 28 condos.

Other projects moving forward include:

  • The new tower at Fourth and Race will contain 300 luxury apartments and a 15,000 square foot grocery store. Developer Flaherty & Collins will begin demolition of the site’s existing parking garage, often called Pogue’s Garage, in the first half of 2014.
  • Phase two of The Banks is expected to finally break ground in 2013 2014, adding 305 new apartments and 21,000 square feet of retail space.
  • Developers of the Fountain Place retail building want to add 180 to 225 residential units above the existing Macy’s department store.
  • AT580, formerly known as the 580 Building, is being converted from office space into 179 apartments. The existing retail spaces on the first and second floors will remain.
  • A new tower above the Seventh and Broadway Garage will feature 110 high-end apartments. The target demographic for these units will be empty-nesters and older professionals looking for downtown living, according to Rick Kimbler, partner at the NorthPointe Group.
  • Three buildings on Seventh Street, which have been purchased by Peak Property Group, will be converted into 75 apartments and 15,000 square feet of retail space.
  • Broadway Square, a $26 million development in Pendleton, will feature 39 apartments and 40,000 square feet of retail space in first phase. Developer Model Group will add at least another 39 apartments in the second phase of the project.
  • The Ingalls Building will be redeveloped into 40 to 50 condos and ground-floor retail space by the Claremont Group.
  • The Schwartz Building, formerly vacant office space, will be converted into 20 apartments. Developer Levine Properties cited the building’s location along the Cincinnati Streetcar route as a driving factor for the renovation.

All photographs by Jake Mecklenborg for UrbanCincy.