Tag: public policy

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Business Development News Opinion

Land swap could provide Port Authority immediate economic development opportunity

Hamilton County Commissioner Chris Monzel (R) has repeatedly stated that the county should not be in the parking business. In doing so, Monzel has suggested that Hamilton County sell off its parking assets at The Banks and elsewhere in downtown Cincinnati.

An exclusive UrbanCincy analysis shows that Hamilton County currently has approximately $38.7 million worth of parking assets at The Banks sitting on land valued by the Hamilton County Auditor at $10.4 million.

At the same time, Hamilton County and leaders from the City of Cincinnati keep working to find ways to work together. One of those strategies has led to the increased investment, by both the city and county, in the Cincinnati Port Authority. The idea, officials say, is that the Port Authority could become a Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation (3CDC) equivalent at the county level.

As leaders work with the Port Authority’s new CEO, Laura Brunner, they should explore selling or trading these parking assets to parking management companies that control potentially developable land elsewhere. Five unique locations come to mind throughout downtown Cincinnati.

4th & Plum:
This lot has long sat vacant, and had been speculated for a mid-rise condominium tower within the past decade. Nothing has happened, but UrbanCincy has previously opined that this collection of two parcels would be ideal for a small dog park and residential mid-rise, or even a small park designed to accommodate public debate. The 1.71-acre piece of land is valued at $6.1 million.


View Hamilton County Land Bank Proposal in a larger map.

7th & Vine:
Two small parking lots occupy this eastern portion of Vine Street at the edge of Piatt Park, and just north of Fountain Square. The property sits within a stretch of several blocks that include restaurants, nightclubs, bars and local shops.

A residential high-rise with street-level retail would seem to be an ideal candidate for this .6-acre plot of land in the heart of the city center. Previously, UrbanCincy has suggested that this street-level space might be a perfect, and centrally located, spot for a small urban grocery store. In total, the land and its improvements are valued at approximately $2.8 million.

Central & Walnut:
This particular site is chopped up into eight different parcels with various owners, but it is also located adjacent to the Hamilton County Administrative Offices, Hamilton County Courthouse, and sits immediately on the phase one route of the Cincinnati Streetcar.

In total, the .8-acre piece of land is valued at $2.3 million and would make an ideal site for an 8-10 story structure housing either offices or residences.

Court & Walnut:
Located immediately south of the previous site, this .9-acre location is valued at $2.3 million and will also be a prime location along the new modern streetcar line connecting the central riverfront with the northern reaches of historic Over-the-Rhine.

Similar to the 9th & Walnut site, this location includes seven different parcels owned by more than one entity, and would be well-suited for the same type of development.

9th & Main:
This .28-acre site is the smallest of all those identified, but has a total value of $904,000. While the site is relatively small, it also sits right on phase one of the Cincinnati Streetcar route, and would serve as an attractive residential infill site.

In total all of the sites would account for just over one-third of the total appraised value of Hamilton County’s parking assets at The Banks. UrbanCincy proposes that the county either sell off those assets at The Banks, and use the proceeds to purchase these non-county-owned sites, or trade those assets to parking management companies for their property downtown.

This endeavor would rid the county of the parking facilities it does not wish to maintain, while also seeding the Cincinnati Port Authority with new capital and resources to use for economic development activities. The end result would also create more tax generating properties on the region’s most valuable real estate.

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Development News Opinion Politics Transportation

Cincinnati wants cyclists to grade city on its bicycle infrastructure and policies

The City of Cincinnati is looking for bicyclists to share their thoughts about how the city is progressing with its bicycling infrastructure and policies. From now until December 31 bicyclists can give their feedback to the Department of Transportation & Engineering (DOTE) about what would make them feel safer and use their bicycle more often.

In 2010 bicyclists gave the city an overall grade of “C” for its progress, just as they did in 2009, and city officials are hoping the feedback can help guide policy decisions to improve the atmosphere for bicycling in Cincinnati.


An on-street bicycle corral was installed on Main Street in Over-the-Rhine earlier this year.

“We’re working to create a bicycle friendly city, so that Cincinnatians of all ages and abilities can use bicycles for everyday trips,” stated DOTE director Michael Moore. “The report card survey is a great tool for publicly measuring our progress.”

This is the third year in which the city has solicited such feedback to help guide its bicycle program. Over that time the city has also worked to implement new bicycle parking and lane infrastructure, along with new policies intended to improve bicycling culture in Cincinnati.

Over the course of the past year, city officials tout the creation of a pocket-sized guide to Cincinnati’s bike laws, new sharrows on Madison Road, bike lanes on Martin Luther King Drive and Beechmont Avenue, the installation of an on-street bicycle corral on Main Street in Over-the-Rhine, and the completion of a segment of the Mill Creek Trail.

The 2011 Report Card on Bicycling survey asks respondents to grade the city on its overall facilities and policies, while also asking what directions the city should take to improve its grade. Those interested can take the survey online now. It takes approximately five minutes to complete.

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Business Development News Transportation

New commuter bus hub opens in place of long-planned west side transit center

The brief tenure of Ohio Governor John Kasich (R) has been marked by repeated attacks on public transportation. Shortly after his inauguration, he returned a $400 million federal grant to begin passenger rail service between Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland. In April he corrupted ODOT’s Transit Review Advisory Committee, redirecting over $50 million allocated for the Cincinnati Streetcar to road projects in northern Ohio.

Lost amid these higher profile events was his rescinding of $150 million promised to the state’s transit agencies by former governor Ted Strickland (D). With its share, Queen City Metro planned to begin two new express services to Uptown. A direct service from West Chester fell victim to Kasich’s cuts, but with the help of a direct federal grant that Kasich could not block, Metro launched route 38X on December 5.

Each morning six buses now travel between Western Hills and all of Uptown’s major destinations including the University of Cincinnati, Good Samaritan Hospital, University Hospital, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Veteran’s Hospital and Christ Hospital. The only major employment centers not directly served are the various Children’s hospital offices housed in the old Bethesda Hospital and Vernon Manor Hotel.


Cincinnati officials celebrate the opening of the new Glenway Crossing Transit Center on December 9, 2011.

The 38X buses begin and end each day at the Glenway Crossing Transit Center, a new bus transfer station in the Glenway Crossing Shopping Center that also serves the #39, #64 and #77X Delhi Express. It features shelters, several dozen park & ride parking spots for commuters, and restrooms for bus drivers.

In concept the transit center resembles the dozen ‘transit hubs’ that were planned as part of the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority’s (SORTA) 2002 Metro Moves plan. Although that plan was best known for its five light rail lines, a half-cent sales tax would have also funded a dramatic expansion of bus service throughout Hamilton County.

Glenway Crossing was built in the late 1980s in place of the Chesapeake & Ohio’s (C&O) disused Cheviot Yard. In 1981, shortly before the railroad’s abandonment, the yard and the line it served were the subject of the Westside Transit Study, produced by the Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana Regional Council of Governments (OKI), which examined construction of a light rail line from downtown Cincinnati, via the unused subway beneath Central Parkway, to an ambitious transit oriented development (TOD) in Western Hills.

The line would have emerged from the old subway just north of Brighton, crossed I-75 and the Queensgate railroad yard on a new viaduct parallel to the Western Hills Viaduct, then climbed to Glenway Avenue on the C&O tracks. Midrise office buildings were to have been the focus of the Cheviot Yard TOD. The unused subway under Central Parkway was to have been extended south under Walnut Street or Vine Street to a station at Fountain Square.

SORTA planned to fund construction of this line, as well as a network of other light rail lines, with a countywide transit sales tax that failed at the polls in 1979 and 1980. Without funds available to purchase the C&O railroad when it was abandoned, SORTA was helpless to stop the railroad from being sold to dozens of different buyers. The expense necessary to purchase the right-of-way by power of eminent domain precluded this line from being part of SORTA’s failed 2002 Metro Moves network.

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Business Development News Politics Transportation

City, county leaders celebrate latest milestone in Cincinnati’s central riverfront transformation

The sixth major portion of Cincinnati’s central riverfront transformation is now finished as city and county leaders celebrate the completion of the new street grid and a 729-space parking garage. The garage will lift the next phase of private development out of the Ohio River’s 100-year flood plain, and the completion of Freedom Way will connect both ends of the massive development.

The new parking garage is part of the larger Central Riverfront Garage system that spans five city blocks and makes the area buildable for private development. To date, Carter and Dawson Company has teamed to build an $80 million development that houses 300 apartments and 90,000 square feet of retail space.

“My wife and I walk, bike or drive past The Banks construction on a daily basis,” explained downtown condo owner Bob Schwartz. “As big a project as it is daily progress is visible if you see it regularly and I’ve thought it’s had a reasonably good pace considering its scope.”


Developers hope to break ground next summer on $75 million worth of mixed-use development atop the recently completed portion of the Central Riverfront Garage.

Officials have stated that negotiations are ongoing to bring a hotel to the site, as well as office tenants that would finance a new tower. Aside from the obvious construction progress there are also several other notable features that are now coming online at The Banks.

The new Central Riverfront Garage system includes valet parking and accepts credit cards through an electronic payment system. The new garage system has also includes a theme-based navigation setup. For example, sports fans can can see whether they are parked in the Baseball Block (red) or Football Block (orange).

All of the exposed garages will eventually be topped with private investment in a manner the development is intimately familiar. By lifting the development out of an undesirable area by garages, the public sector is able to essentially construct building pads for which future development will occur. This approach is very similar to what Carter has used when building out Atlantic Station in Atlanta.


The Central Riverfront Garage includes a theme-based navigation system organized by colors and symbols to help visitors navigate the massive parking structure.

The development team expects to start work on the next $75 million phase of development next summer. That portion, which lies immediately west of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, is anticipated to include an additional 300 apartments and even more retail space. Prior to that developers may get started on two anchor restaurants to be built in front of the Freedom Center.

“Many students are excited for the completion of the development,” said Heights Community Council member and University of Cincinnati student Tim Oliver. “While construction timelines may be adhered to, the public wants what The Banks promises now.”

The vast 2,400-space garage system is controlled by Hamilton County and is intended to serve the Cincinnati Reds and Bengals professional sports franchises, while also creating additional parking for future office towers along 3rd Street. The latest phase of public investment was made largely possible by a $23 million grant from the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act.

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Business Development News Politics Transportation

Cincinnati submits $56.8M TIGER III application to fund modern streetcar extension

Local governments across the United States are in the process of competing for $527 million worth of Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) III funds. The deadline for applications was October 31, and the City of Cincinnati once again has applied for funds.

Cincinnati’s TIGER III application requests $56.8 million for phase one of the Cincinnati Streetcar. City officials say that the money will go to immediately restore the project’s segments that were eliminated following Governor Kasish’s (R) controversial reallocation of $52 million in early 2011.

“These funds would be used to restore the critical Riverfront Loop and Uptown Connector components that were removed from the original phase one,” said Department of Transportation & Engineering (DOTE) planner Melissa McVay.


Rendering of a modern streetcar heading north along Main Street towards Uptown [LEFT]. Rendering of a modern streetcar in front of Great American Ball Park along the riverfront [RIGHT].

The two segments city officials hope to restore are estimated to cost $56.8 million – exactly matching the City’s TIGER III request. Planners say that the dollar amounts include construction, utilities, two trains, project administration, contingency, and the remaining design elements.

The prospects for winning the TIGER III funding appear much brighter following the defeat of Issue 48. The Charter amendment would have banned the City from making any investments in rail transportation for the next decade, and many feared would have been the proverbial nail in the coffin for the Cincinnati Streetcar. Instead, Issue 48 was defeated and a super-majority of streetcar supporters was elected to City Council.

“Should the city win this federal grant, the Cincinnati Streetcar will not only benefit the thousands of residents, and tens of thousands of workers on its current route, but also connect the approximately 40,000 students at UC with the growing number of entertainment destinations along the riverfront,” explained Brad Thomas, Founder, CincyStreetcar Blog.

The City of Cincinnati was unsuccessful with two previous TIGER applications in 2009 and 2010. TIGER III grant winners are expected to be announced by the end of 2011.