The UrbanCincy team would like to wish everyone a merry Christmas and happy holiday season. Thanks for reading and supporting Cincinnati’s urban core.
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Author: Randy A. Simes
Randy is an award-winning urban planner who founded UrbanCincy in May 2007. He grew up on Cincinnati’s west side in Covedale, and graduated from the University of Cincinnati’s nationally acclaimed School of Planning in June 2009. In addition to maintaining ownership and serving as the managing editor for UrbanCincy, Randy has worked professionally as a planning consultant throughout the United States, Korea and the Middle East. After brief stints in Atlanta and Chicago, he currently lives in the Daechi neighborhood of Seoul’s Gangnam district.
Downtown Cincinnati has experienced tremendous progress over the past 10 to 15 years. The Aronoff Center for the Arts was built along Walnut Street which sparked the investment seen in the nearby area now called the Backstage District, two new professional sports venues were built along the riverfront along with the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, the convention center was expanded, the Contemporary Arts Center was prominently rebuilt, the renovation of Fountain Square sparked millions of dollars worth of spin off investment nearby, and hundreds of new housing units have been developed.
Over this same time crime rates have gone down, population has increased, commercial occupancy rates have held steady, retail spaces have filled up, and the hotels boast the highest occupancy rates in the metropolitan region. But as in any situation, one solution often creates another problem.
Case in point, the Metropole Apartments on Walnut Street are now slated to become a trendy 12c Museum Hotel which will relocate the low-income residents that currently call the building home. This will not only create a difficult situation for the large number of people living there, but it will also take away a large number of full-time residents from the downtown population.
The same situation is shaping up at the Phelps apartment building that fronts onto the picturesque Lytle Park. The 137 apartments there will more than likely be lost to an extended stay hotel that will take advantage of the downtown commercial success, but once again, another large block of full-time residents will be lost in the process.
The interest in the downtown commercial market is very encouraging, but downtown must be able to be thriving both commercially and residentially in order for it to become that 24-hour downtown we all hope it will become. The apartment conversion of the historic Enquirer Building will help offset the aforementioned residential loses, but an apartment conversion of the historic Bartlett Building would also do wonders for the residential component of downtown.
The Banks is slated to add hundreds of new residents to the urban core, but there are also great opportunities for residential density at 5th & Race, 7th & Vine, Court & Walnut, and Court & Elm/Race. A residential strategy should be employed to best maximize the use of these areas – high rises at 5th & Race and 7th & Vine, midrise at Court & Walnut, and a mixture of townhouses/rowhouses at the Court & Elm/Race area would seem to be a good strategy off-hand that would create different price points and unit options that would appeal to a wide variety of people.
To become a truly vibrant downtown beyond the hours of 7am to 8pm, Cincinnati must develop a downtown residential plan that will massively grow the downtown population base and infuse the area with a mixture of young people, families, and retired individuals. If this can be achieved, then the retail and nightlife mixture we all hope for will follow.
Phelps Apartmens photo by Mark Bowen of the Cincinnati Business Courier.
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Best of Scott Beseler 2009
Soapbox’s Managing Photographer Scott Beseler is an award-winning photographer who resides on the rivers’ edge just south of the Roebling Bridge in Covington, Ky, in what he describes is his New York style dream loft, minus New York. Each week his photography illustrates the stories published in Soapbox Cincinnati, and as the year comes to a close, Scott takes a look back at his featured Soapbox mastheads from 2009. Check out more of his award-winning photography at TakeTheDay.com.
Ohio Governor Ted Strickland recently announced the first round of Advanced Energy Centers of Excellence, and on that list was the University of Cincinnati’s Sustaining the Urban Environment (SUE) along with eight other centers across the state. The announcement comes after the SUE Center of Excellence won the National Science Foundation 2009-2010 Award for its “Economic Development through Green Entrepreneurship (EDGE)” initiative.
According to the University of Cincinnati, the prestigious honor will place the Sustaining the Urban Environment Center of Excellence in a leadership position for improving the health and wealth of Ohio’s urban residents through the development of technologies that promote the evolution of economically and environmentally sustainable urban regions.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 80 percent of the U.S. population lives within urban environments. These megacities and urban regions consume large amounts of natural resources to satisfy energy demands, and as a result, the SUE Center of Excellence (blog) has a goal to design for life and work in a manner that sustains the environment and resources for the benefit of present and future generations.
To accomplish this, the SUE Center of Excellence has developed partnerships with Cincinnati-area businesses to help identify potential sustainability solutions. The SUE Center of Excellence will also continue to study how urban infrastructure and environmental policies affect the long-term health and wealth of cities; and will continue examine scientific metrics, policies and technologies that, “promote the evolution of economically and environmentally sustainable urban regions.”
If you’re still trying to find the perfect gift for a friend or family member, look no further than the new Gateway Quarter Gift Card that is good at 24 shopping, dining, and entertainment destinations in one of Cincinnati’s trendiest business districts.
The new gift cards are a perfect addition to the thriving Gateway Quarter district in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood. On Black Friday I took advantage of the second annual ‘Holidays in the Bag’ shopping event and was able to purchase nearly all of my holiday gifts just in the Gateway Quarter. So, if you still searching for gift ideas, buy a couple Gateway Quarter Gift Cards and give your friend of family member the gift of shopping local and experiencing the unique items available throughout the Gateway Quarter.
The gift card can be purchased at five locations: Park+Vine, Mica 12/v, Joseph Williams Home, Below Zero Lounge, and the Gateway Quarter Sales Office at 12th & Vine streets. Find a full list of participating businesses here.