Cincinnatians have experienced first-hand what good public policy and investments can do to improve quality of life and economic value. New parks, improved infrastructure and expanded mobility options are sweeping through Cincinnati and it has been noticed nation-wide. Cincy’s not the only place taking this approach..Charlotte has also been investing in light rail lines, a streetcar, improved infrastructure and other public facilities like parks. More from the Charlotte Observer (including a video):
As soon as he was hired to lead Mecklenburg County’s parks seven years ago, Jim Garges heard the same criticism people had been saying about uptown Charlotte for decades. It had no life after 6 p.m. – it was nothing but a grand office park. Now on Labor Day weekend, Garges wants everyone to look at uptown again and explore its latest addition – the 5.2-acre, $11 million park to honor renowned artist and Charlotte native Romare Bearden.
“It’s a game changer,” said Garges, director of Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation. “People aren’t laughing anymore about uptown. It’s become the place to be.” It’ll take three days to grandly open the park that – with BB&T Ballpark next door and Bank of American Stadium blocks away – is sure to transform a piece of Third Ward that was once remnants of industrial buildings and gravel parking lots.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg not only brought his huge stack of cash with him when he took control of the nation’s largest city in 2002, he also brought a high-powered administration with him. One of the most successful and popular of those has been Bloomberg’s transportation chief Janette Sadik-Khan and planning head Amanda Burden. Both are rumored to be looking for new gigs. More from Crain’s Business:
The city’s transportation chief, Janette Sadik-Khan, and planning czar, Amanda Burden, are close friends who share a passion for creating vibrant, sustainable cities. They have been travel companions—to India, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Copenhagen—and even sat next to each other at a recent benefit gala honoring Ms. Sadik-Khan.
And when the Bloomberg administration draws to a close this year, the powerful pair could go into business together, spreading their brand of urban planning across the globe. Several former Bloomberg administration sources confirmed that the two have been in discussions about forming their own urban-planning policy institute, either as an offshoot of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s foundation or as a stand-alone entity. Another source said they were angling to open a global consulting firm.
Mercer Commons has long been considered a critically important site in Over-the-Rhine due to its size and central location.
In 2005, Cincinnati Public Schools purchased the land and existing buildings on the 2.2-acre site with the plan to rebuild the shuttered Washington Park Elementary School there.
As plans changed over the years, the school district decided to abandon the school plans for the site and instead sell it to the Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation (3CDC) to pursue a $63 million mixed-use development.
Historic Renovation Work
Historic Renovation Work
Historic Renovation Work
Historic Renovation Work
View from the Mercer Garage
Alley Restoration
Condo Construction
Condo Construction
Construction Site
Mercer Garage
Historic Renovation Work
Historic Renovation Work
Historic Renovation Work
Historic Renovation Work
Historic Renovation Work
Mercer Garage
Historic Renovation Work
Mercer Commons Alley
Mercer Garage
Historic Renovation Work
Construction Site
Construction Site
Condo Construction
Condo Construction
Townhouse Construction
Townhouse Construction
Historic Renovation Work
Historic Renovation Work
View from the Mercer Garage
Consisting of a new 340-space parking garage, 28 condos and 96 market-rate apartments, 17,600 square feet of commercial space, and 30 affordable apartments, Mercer Commons is not only adding new structures along Vine Street and Fourteenth Street, but is also renovating 19 historic structures as part of the overall development.
With work on phase one nearing completion, and ground recently being broken on phase two, Mercer Commons is now transforming a large central portion of Cincinnati’s largest historic district.
UrbanCincy staff writer and photographer Jake Mecklenborg visited the site last week to document its progress. What he found is that the finished development will have the appearance of having been renovated and constructed at various times, instead of all at once as it actually is.
“They are building modern-looking row homes on Mercer right next to all the renovations, and I noticed that it looks like they’ve paid some attention to the back alleys, since this is how residents will reach the parking garage,” Mecklenborg explained.
He went on to say that the development team appears to be reusing bricks in the alley serving the site, and that this will end up being the primary access point for residents living at Mercer Commons.
There is enough literature available now to know that the way we shape and build our communities has a strong impact on our individual and collective happiness. Why some communities continue to ignore these core human principles is beyond me, but if we can build places based on the fundamental knowledge we already have, then we can build better places for human interaction and happiness. More from Better! Cities & Towns:
The way we design our communities plays a huge role in how we experience our lives. Neighborhoods built without sidewalks, for instance, mean that people walk less and therefore enjoy fewer spontaneous encounters, which is what instills a spirit of community to a place…You don’t have to be a therapist to realize that this creates lasting psychological effects. It thwarts the connections between people that encourage us to congregate, cooperate, and work for the common good. We retreat into ever more privatized existences.
Groupings of four to twelve households make an ideal community “where meaningful ‘neighborly’ relationships are fostered.” But even here, design shapes our destiny. Chapin explains that strong connections between neighbors develop most fully and organically when everyone shares some “common ground.” That can be a semi-public space, as in the pocket neighborhoods Chapin designs in the Seattle area.
The Hummel Building as seen from Washington Park. Photograph by Paige Malott for UrbanCincy.
Ninety years after the founding of the City of Cincinnati, in a day when Over-the-Rhine was home to over 40 breweries and Barney Kroger was still writing his business plan; three men sat in a saloon along Vine Street finalizing the design for Music Hall and a property adjacent: 1401 Elm Street.
The triage of architect Samuel Hannaford, Cincinnati political boss George Cox, and construction contractor George Hummel built 1401 as mixed-use development. In addition to multi-family homes, the property included the Hummel Family Market and the ever-popular Hummel Saloon.
The Hummel Building as seen from Washington Park. Photograph by Paige Malott for UrbanCincy.
Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls addresses the crowd. Photograph by Paige Malott for UrbanCincy.
City Manager Milton Dohoney and Councilwoman Laure Quinlivan look on at the ceremony. Photograph by Paige Malott for UrbanCincy.
City and neighborhood leaders cut the ribbon on the $1.6M project. Photograph by Paige Malott for UrbanCincy.
The restored building now includes balconies for the four condominium units inside. Photograph by Paige Malott for UrbanCincy.
The $1.6 million project was celebrated with a ribbon cutting ceremony attended by Chad Munitz, Executive Vice President of 3CDC, Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls (C), Cincinnati City Manager Milton Dohoney, Councilmember Laure Quinlivan (D), and Peg Wyant of Grandin Properties.
The Hummel Building, which is now home to a 1,900 square-foot restaurant space and four condominiums priced from $270,000 to $375,000, is also the first Over-the-Rhine project for Grandin Properties.
A company best known for their work in upscale suburban neighborhoods such as Hyde Park, Grandin invested in 1401 Elm for both its historic significance and recent resurgence of the urban lifestyle.
“Cincinnati is reinventing itself as a hub of influence and innovation,” stated Grandin CEO, Peg Wyant at the ribbon cutting ceremony last week. “Grandin Properties is very pleased to be a part of it.”
Just around the corner from the Hummel Building, crews continued roadwork in preparation for the Cincinnati Streetcar.
“It is exciting to see this property link up with the streetcar,” noted City Manager Milton Dohoney. “Great things happen as we continue to invest in the city with the help of 3CDC.”
The Hummel Building is the second of seven projects to be completed during the fifth phase of 3DCDC’s redevelopment work in Over-the-Rhine. Other properties include Republic Street Lofts, Tea Company Townhomes, Westfalen II, B-Side Lofts, Mercer Commons, and Nicolay, as well as the Bakery Lofts which opened earlier this year. Hummel’s first floor restaurant is slated for a public debut on November 26, 2013.
The City of Cincinnati and 3CDC have financed more than $315 million in redeveloping Over-the-Rhine since 2009. The 110-square block neighborhood is home to the largest concentration of historic structures in the United States: 943 buildings. To date, 103 of those buildings have been restored or stabilized through the work of 3CDC.
