Posts by Guest Contributor

City’s latest CED designation supplies Northside with creative new growth tools

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This post originally ran on CincyVoices, and was written by guest contributor James Heller-Jackson.

With its eclectic mix of locally-owned businesses, the Northside neighborhood is already known as a prime Cincinnati food, retail and arts destination in the region. Empty storefronts that would also make great restaurants have remained largely empty because of the lack of liquor license availablity- until now. On February 29, the Cincinnati City Council voted to give Northside “Community Entertainment District” status after a unanimous vote the day before by City Council’s Livability Committee. The neighborhood joins Price Hill and Pleasant Ridge with CEDs. Once the designation is in place it allows new restaurants to open with a liquor license, thus reducing startup costs by an estimated $30,000.

This is a huge win for Northside. For the last couple of years, Northside’s business district, while hanging in there in the midst of the biggest economic downturn since the Great Depression, has had to turn away small businesses wanting to open in the neighborhood, merely because of the lack of liquor licenses available and the premium $30,000-plus cost of the very few licenses that were available on the open market.

The new designation changes that game. The Northside Community Entertainment District designation gives creative tools to the Northside neighborhood to enable new growth. Rather than a business having to reach out to a broker to maybe, just maybe, find a license at a relatively huge cost, a process that often takes years, they can now call the State of Ohio directly. In Northside’s new Community Entertainment District, up to 15 additional liquor licenses are immediately available to food establishments, all at a dramatically reduced cost of $1,500, and all directly available from the State with no outside brokers involved. These licenses are not transferable. If the business with the new license were to move out of the Northside district, they would forfeit that license. These licenses are not available to a business that only wants to open a bar; these are licenses that are available only to food establishments. This is helpful for Northside and small businesses.

The original 2005 Community Entertainment District legislation was not initially geared towards anything but for-profit developers to obtain. Last year, the not-for-profit Pleasant Ridge Development Corporation could not the CED’s original application fee of $15,000. Many thanks go to Cincinnati City Councilmember Laure Quinlivan, who worked hard to change the Cincinnati municipal code to make the fee downwardly flexible, thus opening the possibility of designation to not-for-profits. This change to the fee structure allowed Pleasant Ridge to apply for the status without outside funding, making Pleasant Ridge the first Cincinnati neighborhood to apply for and win the designation.

Already, Pleasant Ridge has new businesses that wouldn’t be there if not for that designation. As well, the neighborhood of Price Hill recently won CED status, and several new businesses have either already opened or they are about to open. So far, the two neighborhoods that have won the designations have benefited immensely. Over-the-Rhine, Madisonville and Westwood have also applied for Community Entertainment District status but have not yet received it.

Northside Entertainment District Map

Northside’s new Community Entertainment District covers not just the traditional business district, it also targets a wide area south of Blue Rock Street.

The Northside Business Association (NBA) first started working with Laure Quinlivan’s city council office early last year after hearing of the possibility of Northside applying for and winning this important designation; the designation would not have been possible without Laure and her staff’s efforts. Also, Berding Surveying needs to be thanked, as they donated their services to the effort to produce the required survey and map. Once Northside’s required application package was completed, as a matter of transparency, the plan was presented at open Northside Community Council and Northside Business Association public meetings for comment. Community support was widespread, and the package was sent along to the city council’s Livability Committee for consideration.

NBA president Isaac Heintz has this to say about the designation: “The Northside Business Association pursued the entertainment district designation to provide Northside with another tool to help retain existing businesses and to attract new ones. The designation of the entertainment district can only help to continue the positive trajectory of the neighborhood and the growth of the Northside community.”


Northside’s “South Block”, along Spring Grove Avenue, is ripe for redevelopment. The Landman Building, right, was recently stabilized and environmentally remediated and is ready for build-out. The building just to the left is now a LEED Silver building with several newly-occupied residential and business condos.

The new district covers much of the existing Northside business district along Hamilton Avenue from the Ludlow Viaduct in the south to just below the Northside Library in the north. In the southern end of the district, Blue Rock Street and Spring Grove Avenue are both included, roughly from Colerain Avenue on the west side, to Crawford Avenue on the east.

There are currently a lot of existing empty storefronts and industrial spaces in the new entertainment district’s map. Residents and small business owners in the area would love to see that change. Imagine once-forlorn Northside blocks now teeming with urban life. By enabling these new licenses, the hope is to see more development in the district. This new development will include not only the new food establishments benefiting from the designation, but additional retail, arts, office and residential spaces, all serving to increase the vibrancy, diversity and uniqueness of all that is Northside.

James Heller-Jackson is a Northside resident and a member of the board for both the Northside Business Association and Northside Community Council. Pictures provided by the Northside Business Association.

The Triumph of Downtown Cincinnati

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The following editorial was published in the Cincinnati Business Courier on January 6, 2011. UrbanCincy shared this story with its followers, and received a slew of requests to share the story in its entirety.

Typically, premium content in the Cincinnati Business Courier is only available to paid subscribers, but thanks to our exclusive partnership with the weekly publication, UrbanCincy readers can read the story in its entirety below. Readers who would like to view all premium content from the Business Courier are encouraged to take advantage of a new subscription discount being offered to UrbanCincy readers.

Who would have figured, 10 or 20 years ago, that downtown Cincinnati would ever be described as “interesting” or “appealing”? A more oft-repeated characterization was that “they roll up the sidewalks at 6,” once the workday crowd headed off.

But local hotel and tourism officials are much more cheerful these days, according to our Insight focus on travel and hospitality this week. Senior Reporter Dan Monk writes that hotel occupancy in the central business district has jumped more than 20 percent since its low point in 2001, and convention business is booming.

And that’s because downtown Cincinnati isn’t what it used to be, in a good sort of way.

“There’s just more going on here,” says Wayne Bodington, general manager of the Westin Hotel, in Monk’s column.


Thousands crowd onto Fountain Square on December 31, 2011. Photograph by Thadd Fiala for UrbanCincy.

But while tourists seem to think that downtown Cincinnati is pretty lively, quite a few residents of Greater Cincinnati still cling to the notion that downtown is a dark and forbidding place, with empty streets, boarded-up buildings and flying bullets.

While the “empty streets” part once was true, at least in the evenings, downtown never was the desolate place some suburbanites envision; the number of Fortune 500 headquarters has always kept things humming, at least during the day.

And the business about high crime is illusionary – downtown has had exactly zero homicides in the past year, according to Cincinnati Police statistics. More likely people confuse downtown with the more crime-ridden neighborhoods of Over-the-Rhine and the West End, but even there, crime is decreasing.

In fact, according to the police department’s District One statistics, which include all three neighborhoods, violent crime is down 15 percent over the past two years, and property crimes have fallen 9 percent.

Cincinnati’s government is an ongoing magnet for insults, but the city deserves credit for what it’s done for downtown in the past 20 years. It kicked off the downtown living trend in the early 1990s, when it subsidized Towne Properties’ apartment projects on Garfield Place. And the formation of the public/private Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation (3CDC) speeded up the downtown living process, turned Fountain Square into an entertainment and restaurant venue, and began gentrifying large chunks of Over-the-Rhine.

Now, in the evenings, you can see people walking their dogs, crowding into bars and dancing to music on Fountain Square. That is, if you dare to come downtown.

It is the fate of Greater Cincinnati, and every sprawling American urban area, that some people live so far out in the suburbs that the city is nothing more to them than a mailing address.

And grumbling is part of Cincinnati’s culture, but why trash the city you call home, especially if you haven’t seen the center of it since the fountain was in the middle of Fifth Street and your mother took you Christmas shopping at Mabley & Carew and Pogue’s department stores?

Cincinnati will be hosting the World Choir Games this summer, bringing thousands of people into downtown and its environs. That would be a perfect time for entrenched suburbanites to make the day trip and see what Mr. Bodington is talking about, as well as participating in the festivities.

Or come down now, while you can ice skate on Fountain Square, and see what a difference a couple of decades can make.

The Business Courier offers a weekly print publication to its premium subscribers, and UrbanCincy readers have been offered an exclusive subscription discount. Those who do not wish to receive the weekly print edition can elect to become a premium digital member for just $49 through this exclusive offer being extended to UrbanCincy readers.

Aquaponics project hopes to bring fresh, locally produced fish to Cincinnati

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Local, organic fish are difficult to come by in Cincinnati, and experts do not recommend consuming fish caught from the Ohio River very often. A company called Self-Sustaining Enterprises (SSE) is looking to fill that void with an innovative practice that will bring locally grown, organic fish to the Cincinnati region.

Based in Mason, Ohio, SSE started an aquaponic tank in Jos, Nigeria and is now bringing the prototype to Cincinnati. The aquaponics system works by combining fish farming techniques with hydroponics to create a faux river ecosystem.

Fish fingerlings (perch, catfish, and tilapia in this case) are then grown in the tank. The waste from the fish – ammonia and nitrates -provides food for the plants that are on the surface of the tank where they purify the water by soaking up the nitrates and ammonia.

“Aquaponics is perfect for an urban community,” said Self-Sustaining Enterprises CEO Chuck Proudfit. “We can raise fresh fish and vegetables in a high-density fashion, harvest and deliver them the same day.”

Proudfit says that the goal of the project is to provide fresh fish and produce to local restaurants, food co-ops, and other sources. The locally sourced fish would then leave a smaller carbon footprint behind than fish shipped in from other parts of the world. Another benefit of the system, experts say, is the elimination of the risk of harmful runoff common amongst fish farms.

“With an aquaponic tank the problem [of harmful runoff] is eliminated due to merging aquaculture and hydroponics into a closed-loop system,” explained Pete West, an engineer with Procter & Gamble who donated funds to the endeavor. As West explains, water then only has to be replaced due to evaporation or the removal of solid waste at the bottom of the tank.

Aquaponics is not a complete slam dunk however. Unlike a natural habitat for a fish there is a risk of overcrowding since the fish have only a few hundred feet to swim. This overcrowding makes it necessary for the nitrate, ammonia and pH levels to be checked daily. The more fish that are added to the confined habitat increases the likelihood of high nitrate and ammonia levels – which could cause illness among people consuming the fish.

SSE’s 700-gallon aquaponics project in Cincinnati is operational now, and has the ability to produce 1,000 pounds of fish and fresh produce. Company leaders say that both the fish and produce are growing well and should be available within six to twelve months.

This story was researched and written by UrbanCincy contributor Hailey Mahan. If you are interested in becomming an UrbanCincy contributor please email your resume and field of interest to UrbanCincy@gmail.com.

Mercer Commons: A history of 1314 Vine

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Seth Schott writes and runs OTR Matters, a blog centered on the historic Over-the-Rhine neighborhood in Cincinnati. For more OTR-centric musings, check out the Over-the-Rhine blog, as well as OTR Matters on Facebook and Twitter.

Yesterday, OTR-resident and blogger CityKin wrote a post about 1314 Vine Street titled “Does this building stay or go“. The thoughts and its comments are an informative read and a good introduction to the subject of this post.

1314 Vine Street; photo credit: CityKin

The current Mercer Commons plan

The time is now to discuss the fate of 1314 Vine Street and the current design of the planned Mercer Commons development by the public-private Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation (3CDC) in the Gateway Quarter.

Mercer Commons is a planned development of new construction urban infill and historic restorations in the area surrounding Mercer Street in Over-the-Rhine. The development is bounded by Vine Street to the west, Walnut Street to the east, 14th Street to the north and the northern half of the 1300 blocks of Vine and Walnut Streets. It is an exciting opportunity to turn another corner (excuse the cliché) in OTR’s revitalization.

Footprint of Mercer Commons showing position of 1314 Vine Street in yellow box

In the footprint rendering above, one can see the position of 1314 Vine Street highlighted by the yellow square. If you look closely, you can see the driveway entrance to the parking garage (gray boxes in the middle of that block) lines up directly with 1314 Vine Street.

Other renderings (perhaps older or newer?) shows the following:

Mercer Commons looking east with Vine Street in foreground. Fate of 1314 Vine Street unknown.

It appears that 3CDC is not planning to save 1314 Vine Street, despite that the building has a historic facade and unique and beautiful stone cornice.

The History of 1314 Vine Street

According to the Hamilton County Auditor’s website, 1314 Vine St. was built in 1880 though the date is probably a best guess. The property was transferred from Cincinnati Public Schools to OTR Holdings Inc, a subsidiary of 3CDC, on August 11, 2008. It is a two story structure with what appears to be a cast iron storefront and a beautiful cornice. The original brick exterior has been covered in Dryvit or stucco and painted an odious shade of mauve, which apparently manifested itself during the structures days as a dance club in the recent past. The current configuration of front windows is not original as will be explained later with an examination of the 1904 Sanborn insurance maps.

The peaked roof is topped by raised glass skylights that run the length of the building, see image from Bing Maps below.

Bird

The Sanborn Map Company’s insurance maps of Cincinnati from 1904 show this building. They reveal some interesting facts:

Overview of the east side of the 1300 block of Vine and the west side of the 1300 block of Walnut

A closer view

1314 Vine Street according to 1904 Sanborn Insurance Map with illustration of raised glass roof

In the last Sanborn Map image, you can see the bay windows on the front of the building facing Vine Street. The inclusion of the “CITY MISSION” label is puzzling, but may point some ardent historian toward another chapter of this building’s history.

In 1919, volume 31 of The Machinists’ Monthly Journal, Official Organ of the International Association of Machinists shows 1314 Vine Street as the “District Lodge of the Grand Lodge of the International Association of Machinists”.

The issues

There are two issues at play in the fate of 1314 Vine Street. The first is the fate of the building itself at 1314 Vine Street. The second issue is larger and concerns the role historic preservation plays in the redevelopment of Over-the-Rhine. How important is each stitch in OTR’s historic fabric? It’d be enlightening to hear the opinions on these issues from 3CDC, the Over-the-Rhine Foundation, the Cincinnati Preservation Association, individual citizens, and others.

3CDC is to be lauded for its successes, and Mercer Commons could be a true triumph for OTR. However, if 3CDC chooses to demolish 1314 Vine Street by way of a “special exemption“, it will become in no small measure, but a part of the problem it purportedly seeks to remedy. Determining the fate of 1314 Vine Street would be better addressed sooner rather than later.

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Editor’s note: The Enquirer posted an article delving into more detail about the project, which is an interesting read. There seem to be two sides to the argument: one – every historic building is worth saving, and as much as possible should be done to preserve the fabric, no matter the cost. two – sometimes sacrifices need to be made.

The National Historic Registry has been contacted – I’m interested in finding out exactly what it means for OTR’s historic registry status with continued property demolitions and whether or not more demolitions truly threaten the status. Will update with more information as it is received.

So, Mercer Commons: an unacceptable demolition or a necessary evil for the greater good of the neighborhood? We welcome your thoughts.

Recognizing cultural diversity key to Cincinnati’s future

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[This week Zachary Schunn submitted the following guest editorial to UrbanCincy. If you would like to share your thoughts or opinions on a given topic, please send them to UrbanCincy@gmail.com - Randy.]

“Where did you go to high school?”

Undoubtedly, if you have spent any length of time in Cincinnati someone has asked you this question. And if you grew up in the area, you have likely asked it of someone else.

Some people may ask this question as a way to reminisce about simpler times. But more often than not, the question is a means of categorizing someone. Is this person from the more industrial west side, or the more developed east side? Is this person accustomed to urban or suburban living? Is he/she from a religious family? A wealthy family?

This means of categorization seems innocent enough. Using a simple question to help learn more about a person is a valuable tool. Additional questions can be asked to glean greater insights into how that person’s native neighborhood helped shape his/her personality and upbringing. However, this categorization by neighborhoods often results from and further perpetuates the stereotypes that exist with certain area neighborhoods. And, perhaps worst of all, it makes an outsider new to the area feel even more like an outsider when the follow-up to the above question is, “Oh, you’re not from Cincinnati, are you?”

Of course, in a larger sense there is nothing wrong with identifying area neighborhoods by the noticeable differences between physical layout, architecture, culture, and/or demographics. The problem that seems to occur all too often in Cincinnati, though, is that these identification techniques are used to spread negative stereotypes about places and their inhabitants. While residents of a neighborhood may feel a certain pride towards that location, commonly this pride brings them to the belief that they are better than anyone else from an “inferior” neighborhood.

Am I exaggerating? Think of some of the stereotypes you may have heard. West Chester residents are spoiled. Those from Mason, or Anderson Township, or some other suburb do not really value Cincinnati’s urban core. Hyde Park residents are rich snobs. Northsiders are either all homosexuals or all yuppies and drug addicts. Over-the-Rhine is only full of poor blacks and newly-borne “hipsters” ignorant of the area’s history. And I’m not even going to touch on what I’ve heard people say about Northern Kentuckians.

Let’s stop right there. I’ll admit: I did not grow up in Cincinnati, so I am somewhat less in-tune to the stereotypes. Even so, I have caught on quickly that residents like to pit themselves against one another.

This is not a rare phenomenon. But, let’s compare this occurrence to another city for a minute: New York City, most specifically the borough of Manhattan. Anyone who visits this city for a brief time will quickly make a very interesting observation. Though New York City is one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse cities in the world, its neighborhoods are still highly segregated. A visitor knows when he/she is in Harlem, Little Italy, El Barrio, Chinatown, or Greenwich Village. However, this segregation is used to celebrate the individual cultures that make up the city. Unique foods and shops align the streets of such neighborhoods. Festivals highlight the positives of each neighborhood, while negative stereotypes do not comprise everyday conversations to the extent that they do in Cincinnati.

Of course, Cincinnati can never compare in size or diversity to New York City. However, the concept of celebrating individual neighborhoods is still a valid concept that should be more aggressively pursued in order to erase the negative stereotypes that dominate conversations and create positive ones for the city.

The easiest way to change attitudes is to better recognize and honor the cultural history and diversity of the city. This can be achieved through “marketing” campaigns (tourist pamphlets, road signs, etc.), cultural centers, and/or special events and festivals. Such is already done extensively to celebrate the city’s strong German heritage. One cannot claim that the city has failed in this respect.

However, what about the other cultural and ethnic segments? The strong Irish-American heritage seems largely ignored, save for a pub here or there. There are large Greek and Jewish populations in the city that get little recognition. Though there is a small Italian festival in Cheviot every year, otherwise most other European immigrant classes and their importance to the city’s history are shunned. Further, what about the growing classes of Asian and Latino residents? Uptown boasts large segments of both eastern Asian (Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, etc.) and Indian residents. Surely, the mixture of Asian and Indian restaurants in the Clifton and CUF areas helps to represent these groups of people. But would it not be a terrific goal to begin some cultural event that further honors these newcomers and welcomes them as Cincinnati residents rather than regarding them as outsiders?

Ethnicity is just one demographic variable that defines citizens and shapes differences between people in an area. Cultural values can also shape neighborhoods. For example, the underground art and music scenes in Cincinnati are phenomenal, and are well represented by downtown, Over-the-Rhine, Northside, and—to a lesser extent—Mt. Adams. These and other neighborhoods should continue to capitalize on this strength, and develop “niches” for different art and music scenes in different neighborhoods.

On another note, the city’s complex history is part of what makes it great. But why is the most historical focus placed upon downtown and Over-the-Rhine? What about the great history of residences in Corryville, Mt. Auburn, or Walnut Hills? What about the unfortunate demolition that occurred due to interstate construction in the West End and Mt. Adams? Could this not be better emphasized as a way to both celebrate the neighborhoods’ history and call for a more optimistic and respectful future?

Other cultural differences exist between neighborhoods that could be further highlighted and/or expanded. On a positive note, the LGBT community has managed to highlight Northside (as well as Clifton, to a lesser extent) as an open and accepting community. Is there any reason why this openness, not just to the LGBT community but to diverse groups of people in general, could not occur in other neighborhoods? Further, what about the strong sense of ecology that is shown in some neighborhoods that could positively spread to others? For example, why isn’t there more of an interest in or draw to Price Hill’s Ecovillage? Cincinnati’s great park system has been written about extensively, but why do certain neighborhoods not do more to utilize these parks? For instance, some neighborhood parks at the peaks of “hills” offer some astounding views of Cincinnati. Also, more specifically, some parks such as Burnet Woods in Uptown seem underutilized, and it is unfathomable why Cincinnati does not better vocalize Mt. Airy Forest’s great hiking trails.

I have already listed a plethora of examples of missed opportunities to more positively portray the citizens, places, and events within area neighborhoods. Surely, there are many more. But the larger point is this: if the cultural diversity, great history, and interesting landmarks already exist in neighborhoods, it does not take massive development or great political upheavals to make people love the city; it only takes a change in attitude. So, instead of bickering over which area high schools are best, or why east-siders are better than west-siders, or why the young/old/liberal/conservative/rich/poor/white/black/[name your stereotype] people of the city are “ruining” everything, let’s focus instead of what makes any city great: its variety and diversity.

For in reality, as much as many of us (myself included) wish for this or that development, change, etc., we all know deep down that despite its “flaws” (whatever each of us individually considers such flaws to be), Cincinnati is a great city with a lot to offer. Thus, by better recognizing and marketing what is great about the different neighborhoods in our city, we can begin to change what is often an overall negative attitude into a positive one. A positive attitude should draw new residents into the city, and help them feel accepted and wanted, thus helping our city grow and prosper like any great city should.

Consciously and sub-consciously, shouldn’t this be what we are all striving towards?

At least until football season starts again. Then everyone can go back to arguing about which area high school is best.

Zachary Schunn is a recent graduate of the Bachelor of Science in Architecture program at the University of Cincinnati, and is currently completing the Master of Business Administraion program at UC, with a concentration in Real Estate Development. He has a growing interest and expertise in sustainable urban architecture and development, and is committed to seeing its growth in Cincinnati.