Month: May 2011

Categories
Arts & Entertainment News

Go OTR 5k and Summer Celebration take place this Saturday

This Saturday the Over-the-Rhine Chamber of Commerce is hosting its annual GO OTR 5k and Summer Celebration. This year marks the first year for the Cincinnati Triple Crown, which encourages cross promotion between three urban races, and includes the Hyde Park Blast, Downtown Dash 5k and GO OTR 5k.

Race registration can be done online for the GO OTR 5K, and is $20  in advance and $25 the day of the race. All participants receive an official race t-shirt, designed by Nati Evolvement, and top finishers will receive specially designed Rookwood Pottery awards. This year’s race will feature chip-timing to more quickly and accurately publish race results.


2010 GO OTR 5k race photograph by 5chw4r7z for UrbanCincy.

The race begins at 10am (with sign-in starting at 8:30am). Awards will be given to the top five male and female finishers, first-place runner with dog, first-place runner with stroller, first-place walker, and the first-place boy and girl finishers.

Following the race, the OTR Summer Celebration will be held at the corner of 12th and Vine streets in the Gateway Quarter of Over-the-Rhine. Organizers say that the all-day celebration will highlight the artistic character of the historic neighborhood.

Over 30 local artists and craftspeople will display and sell their one-of-a-kind work alongside the independent shop owners in the Gateway Quarter. Local bands including The Hiders, Cincy Brass, Faux Frenchmen, Comet Bluegrass Allstars, and The Cliftones will perform live music all day.

Over-the-Rhine restaurants Lavomatic, Senate, and the new A Tavola Trattoria, as well as a variety of mobile food vendors, will be open for lunch. This year there will be a kids activity tent where children can participate in simple craft projects. You can also follow Saturday’s events on Twitter and Facebook.

Categories
Business Development News

CDFC $2 million closer to investing in Northern Kentucky’s urban neighborhoods

Thanks to an equity investment from PNC Bank, the Catalytic Development Funding Corporation (CDFC) of Northern Kentucky is $2 million closer to its $10 million capitalization goal. With the recent investment, the Catalytic Fund is up to $6.5 million.

Once the $10 million goal is met, CDFC will begin making targeted investments in catalytic development and redevelopment projects in northern Kentucky’s urban neighborhoods in order to spur additional investment and revitalization in the area. The Catalytic Fund investments will provide patient capital for projects that could not occur due to private capital market constraints.

Patient capital does not always take the same form, but generally it is more flexible and willing to accept more risk than conventional funding. The purpose is to fill in gaps in a financing package to make a project more attractive to primary lenders. Patient capital tends to be the first money into a project and typically is repaid after the primary loan payment is made each payment period. This is a similar model that 3CDC uses when deploying Cincinnati Equity Fund capital.

In addition to providing patient capital for development projects that meet the Catalytic Fund’s investment criteria, CDFC will also facilitate development by acquiring land for future projects, providing technical assistance to developers, and recruiting developers to participate in northern Kentucky’s urban renaissance.

The CDFC and the Catalytic Fund will be in very capable hands. Jeanne Schroer, the executive director of CDFC, has over 25 years of experience as a real estate professional specializing in project financing.

The CDFC and the Catalytic Fund were created in 2008 based on a recommendation by the Urban Renaissance Action Team of northern Kentucky’s Vision 2015 planning initiative. Since the fund’s inception, Jeanne Schroer has been working tirelessly to raise $10 million during tough economic times. This is a list of all the contributors to the fund so far:

Photo courtesy of Jeanne Schroer

Categories
Business News Transportation

Certified bike friendly destinations awarded

For the first time Queen City Bike has worked to help identify and recognize bike friendly destinations this year and recently published the list during the annual bike month celebration. The list of local businesses were recognized for both their infrastructure and encouragement for bicycle use in their company culture. The process was completed through an initial survey which the company completed and then verified by Queen City Bike last month.

Categories were identified and weighted under each of the primary focuses of infrastructure and encouragement. The main parts of infrastructure included ensuring that there is adequate parking for bicycles near or inside the establishment, providing facilities for bicyclists to freshen up, and even providing a fleet of bicycles for employee use. Many more fell under encouragement including measuring commuting, offering classes, and even giving discounts to those that arrive on their bicycle. Points were awarded for each category an establishment had available, and three levels of recognition were given based on how many points were earned.

In all, forty places of business were recognized for their dedication to cycling with fifteen being designated with gold certification for earning a high level of points during the survey. Twenty three earned a silver designation, one bronze, and one honorable mention. Melissa McVay of QCB said, “I was very impressed with the size of the list in our inaugural year.”

The complete list has been published on the Queen City Bike website, with many showing why they earned the designation they did. The list of certified “gold” designations range from retail shops like Park + Vine, to Metro and TANK offices, to the Mercantile Library. As bicycle awareness and acceptance grows around the Greater Cincinnati area, this list will continue to grow and evolve in the coming years.

Slow and Steady ride outside Park and Vine bike corral picture via OTR Matters

Categories
News Transportation

Cincinnati-area transit agencies to offer free rides on Bike to Work Day

**Correction** This THURSDAY, May 19 is Bike to Work Day!

Thursday, May 19 is Bike to Work Day, and to celebrate Metro, the Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky (TANK) and Clermont Transportation Connection (CTC) are offering free transit rides to bicycle commuters.

All three bus service providers have buses equipped with bike racks on the front of each bus, and transit officials say that the racks can be used at all bus stops including Government Square downtown. Bicycles are currently not permitted inside the buses due to safety and capacity issues, but each bike rack is capable of accommodating two bicycles.


Bicycle commuter using Metro’s on-bus bike rack. Image provided.

“TANK’s bike racks have been very popular,” said Andrew Aiello, TANK’s General Manager. “It’s a win-win for people who want to commute part of the way on bike and finish the trip on transit.”

Metro officials say that the Bike to Work Day special is not just to get bicyclists out on the national event, but also encourage more bike riders to utilize bus service to maximize their mobility.

“We hope that Bike to Work Day encourages even more bike riders to use public transportation while still enjoying the benefits of cycling,” Metro CEO Terry Garcia Crews said in a prepared release.

Both Metro and TANK will be on Fountain Square to celebrate Bike to Work Day on Thursday, May 19 from 11:30am to 1pm. Organizers say that the festivities will include a commuter center that will demonstrate the ease of biking and riding buses.

Furthermore, all week long bicycle commuters will be treated to commuter stations that will include free coffee, mechanical checks and other treats as appreciation for biking to work. Cincinnati-area commuter stations will be located at 12 sites throughout the city.

Categories
Arts & Entertainment News

WiliOne performs live, hundreds come out for UrbanCincy’s 4th anniversary

This past Saturday, UrbanCincy celebrated its four-year anniversary at Below Zero Lounge. This was the second year for such an anniversary party, and it certainly will not be the last. For those who were able to make it to the party during a weekend chuck full of events, thank you. To those unable to attend, the UrbanCincy team hopes to see you soon at one of our upcoming events.

The party was a great success. Hundreds of people came through the doors to celebrate Cincinnati’s urban core. DJ Casey Coston provided music for almost two hours while guests enjoyed drinks from Below Zero’s robust bar, and food from Café de Wheels outside on the street.


The crowd enjoys the party at Below Zero [LEFT]. WiliOne performs live at UrbanCincy’s four-year anniversary party [RIGHT]. Photographs by Thadd Fiala.

After that, WiliOne gave Cincinnati its third-ever live mashup performance. WiliOne performed for just over an hour and entertained the crowd with a brand new performance that will lay the foundation for his second album which he anticipates to drop later this summer.

UrbanCincy loves to throw parties and come up with fun, urban events. Bryon Martin and Dave Rolfes will be leading the second annual Bikes+Brews ride tomorrow, and then Jenny Kessler be leading a tour of the new Ohio River Trail on Sunday, May 22. The OTR Urban Kickball League will also be returning soon. If you have any other great event ideas you think we should pursue, let us know by contacting us at UrbanCincy@gmail.com.

Thanks again for supporting this little project to support Cincinnati’s urban core for four strong years. The whole UrbanCincy team is looking forward to what will come next. Cheers.