Category: Development

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National Dark Sky Week 2009

Tonight, take a look into the sky. Your view will be very different than that of someone a century ago. You will likely see a lot more light, and a lot fewer stars, than our ancestors would have seen.

An unfortunate side effect of our modern industrial society is light pollution. Unlike the contamination of our air or water, light pollution is one type of contamination people may not think about or take very seriously. But over-illumination causes a variety of issues, such as an annoying nighttime glow, unnecessary energy usage, problems for astronomers, and even human health problems like reduced visual acuity and increased fatigue. Like our air and water, our dark night sky is a natural resource that we must work together to preserve.

Today marks the beginning of National Dark-Sky Week (April 20-26, 2009). This annual event encourages Americans to audit their outdoor light fixtures and reduce their contribution to this problem. To help, you can turn off any unnecessary lights and make sure the rest are aimed toward the ground and are only as bright as necessary. Maybe even consider purchasing a directional shade to prevent your fixtures from spilling light upward.

One emerging technology that may help reduce light pollution is LED lighting. Although LED bulbs last longer and use less energy than incandescent or even CFL bulbs, their highly-directional light is typically seen as a drawback. In the case of outdoor lighting, directionality could be a benefit, as less light leaks up to the sky.

Although it may seem minor in comparison to other pressing issues, it’s easy to make a small step toward reducing light pollution and improving public quality of life. This National Dark-Sky Week, take a moment to think about the simple things you can do to reduce your impact.

Photo courtesy of NASA.

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Arts & Entertainment Business Development News

All-Star showing for Cincy in 2013?

The Cincinnati Enquirer’s John Fay is reporting that the Reds are “actively pursuing” for an All-Star Game to come to Cincinnati in 2013.

It seems like a relatively long time away, but in All-Star Game terms it’s not. St. Louis will host the game this year, Los Angeles (Anaheim) has 2010 and Arizona will have 2011. Boston is rumored to be the favorite for 2012, but Kansas City is also in the mix for 2012 or 2014.

The game alternates between AL and NL locations, so that leaves 2013, 2015 and 2017 as the next options for Cincinnati to get its fifth All-Star Game and first at Great American Ballpark that opened for the 2003 season.

First generation rendering of Great American Ballpark and its then future surroundings – from Hamilton County

The timeline works fine with me as the first phase of The Banks and the Central Riverfront Park will be complete. The Great American Tower (Queen City Square) will also be finished; and if we’re really lucky, so will the first phase of the proposed streetcar system. Talk about making a good impression.

At the same time work will be underway for future phases of The Banks, Central Riverfront Park and (once again if we’re lucky) the proposed streetcar system. I’m glad we didn’t get an All-Star Game immediately after the opening of Great American Ballpark. I’d much rather have the out-of-towners come in and experience the revitalized Cincinnati and see that we have a lot more to offer than the nostalgia of WKRP.

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Development News Politics Transportation

What is a boondoggle?

I’m sure you’ve heard this term thrown out there before. It seems as though any time a project is proposed, that a certain constituency doesn’t like, they simply throw out the descriptive word “boondoggle” of said project and poof – it must be true.

After all, the stadiums were boondoggles. So was the convention center expansion, the 2002 Metro Moves plan, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, the Fountain Square renovation and now of course so is the proposed Cincinnati Streetcar.

Fountain Square in 2008 (post renovation)

Technically speaking a boondoggle is “an unnecessary or wasteful project or activity.” More informally speaking, Wikipedia cites that the term first made its appearance in the 1930’s during the projects of the New Deal. A New York Times report, at the time, reported that over $3 million was spent on teaching the jobless how to make boon doggles.

What I wonder is whether the term has lost its value? Can we apply this term and rallying cry to projects preemptively? If so, how does it differ from someone else’s opinion that the project may be a roaring success?

While in some instances the proclamation of a particular project being a boondoggle may have been valid, there are just as many opposite examples. One of the most recent examples is the renovation of Fountain Square*.

Many of the opponents, to the project, saw it as being destined to failure. That the new design would be worse than the previous one, that the new management would be damaging to activity on the Square and that the private investments wouldn’t occur around the Square. These opponents have been wrong on all accounts, but are still claiming every new idea to be a boondoggle without any real accountability.

In the case of the Cincinnati Streetcar, opponents use boondoggle in combination with “trolley” and/or “choo choo train” in virtually everything they write on the topic. Words are a powerful thing and language is often manipulated to advance one’s interests on an issue. This is fine, but the distinction should be made…and the problem is that these techniques/strategies come at the expense of the center city, Cincinnati politicians, local government and the mentalities of all Cincinnatians.

Just because someone somewhere cites that a project is one of those dreaded boondoggles does not make it so. Do some research and learn about the topic on your own free of bias, then make up your own opinion. The Cincinnati Streetcar has had several studies done on it…and the results are in. Economics, the environment, transportation and livability issues are all on the project’s side. Don’t take my word for it though…read for yourself and make up your own mind.

Economic Analysis
UC Economic Study (confirming previous study’s findings)
Feasibility Study
Climate Protection Action Plan
Growth & Opportunities (GO) Report for Cincinnati

All of these studies find the streetcar project to be a positive project for the city/region in regards to their specific interests. The studies are all specific to the Cincinnati region. All documents are in PDF form.

*NOTE: Fountain Square has seen the recent activity of the following businesses that have cited the renovation of Fountain Square as being instrumental to their operations…Chipotle, Potbelly, McCormick & Schmick’s, Boi Na Braza, Via Vite, Tazza Mia, Ingredients, Joseph A. Bank, Graeter’s, Morton’s the Steakhouse, 5/3 Banking Center, Jones the Florist, Cadillac Ranch, Oceanaire, Bootsy’s and Nada…just to name a few.

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Development News

Dog Parks Can Improve Livability of Cincinnati’s Urban Neighborhoods

The Trust for Public Land recently ranked the nation’s largest cities based on the number of dog parks available to their residents. Cincinnati fared well, coming in at #15 with 1.2 dog parks per 100,000 residents (73kb PDF) out of the 75 total cities examined.

Dog parks provide dog owners living in the city a spot where they can bring their canine friend to do their business. A secondary, and equally important, role to dog parks is the social component. Dogs and their owners alike often use their trips to the dog park as a way to socialize and interact with other dogs and owners.

This social component provides that always desired community feel as people become bonded to their neighbors through shared experiences. In the city, it also puts more “eyes on the street,” and creates a sense of vibrancy that might not be there if the owners kept themselves and their dogs cooped up inside their urban dwelling unit.

A rather large example of a good urban dog park in NYC – Source

So while Cincinnati fares well with the overall dog parks per 100,000 residents analysis, it fails in the very neighborhoods that dog parks would provide this dual benefit. Aside from the Pet Athletic Club, there is no dedicated spot for residents of Downtown, Over-the-Rhine or the West End to take their dogs. These neighborhoods are the most lacking in private yard space and need these kinds of parks to make urban living possible for the slews of dog owners out there.

There is hope though as a dog park is planned for the northern portion of Washington Park as part of its ensuing renovation/expansion. This will be a great asset for the residents of Over-the-Rhine and even those living in the northern parts of Downtown, but how about the many people living in the “Soapbox District” or over near Lytle Park?

Well there was a movement that surfaced about as quickly as it went away for a Downtown dog park. City Manager Milton Dohoney got a group of stakeholders together to study the issue with pledged support from the Downtown Residents Council. The effort, however, has been stalled indefinitely as the associated construction and maintenance costs appeared to be too cumbersome.

Please share any thoughts or ideas you may have about how to go about implementing a small dog park in Downtown Cincinnati. A donated piece of land, volunteer service and ideas about how to set up some sort of dog park endowment would be especially helpful in developing a dog park.
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Business Development News

Does casino fit for prominent Broadway Commons site?

It was announced last week that there is yet another movement to legalize casino gaming in Ohio. The difference with this proposal is its scope. Instead of a single casino for the entire state, casinos would instead be placed in each of the state’s largest cities (Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus and Toledo).

The intent is to reach a larger market and have broader voter appeal come November. In Cincinnati the proposal has already picked up some high-profile support in Mayor Mark Mallory, City Councilman Jeff Berding and former Mayor Charlie Luken.

The site for the proposed casino is the pipe-dream location that is Broadway Commons (GoogleMap). The site is located in the Pendleton sub-neighborhood of historic Over-the-Rhine. Its close proximity to Downtown, the convention center, several museums, gobs of hotel rooms and major tourism draws like the Reds and Bengals have long made the site a prime spot for redevelopment speculation (streetcar connectivity).

The question is what is right for such a prime location? Seems like a pretty subjective question, and it is. In the 90’s many people (including myself) thought the site would have been a perfect location for the new Reds ballpark. Other ideas have ranged from urban big-box stores, a mega park, rail transit hub and of course the mixed use urban infill that we would all love to see.

Plans for the once proposed ballpark at Broadway Commons

The problem of course has been market reality. With a slew of new condos and apartments constantly coming on the market in Downtown, Over-the-Rhine, Newport, Covington and the Westend – can we really absorb more residential units, hotels, office and retail space, if so at what cost? Does it jeopardize the future success in OTR, Downtown and The Banks? Will Cincinnati ever push the rail transit agenda and make light rail, streetcars and high-speed rail reality here, if so can we afford to wait that long to redevelop this major site sitting unproductive?

The owners (Chavez Properties), of Broadway Commons, seem to be ready and willing to sell and they are on board with this casino plan. A casino would turn the giant surface lot into a tax productive use, create hundreds of permanent jobs, significantly boost tax revenues for Cincinnati and Hamilton County and potentially create some spinoff investment in the surrounding community.

At the same time the casino would seemingly prey on those with less, create a handful of social problems for a city that already has its fair share, possibly create an island development that encourages its patrons not to leave the confines and potentially insert an out-of-place building and design into one of the nation’s largest and most important historical districts.

Mixed Use redevelopment plan for Broadway Commons that competed with the ballpark proposal – Source

My preference would be for a rail transit hub with mixed use development. Another ideal scenario would be to develop the site as a high-tech business hub that would capitalize off of the proximity to both Downtown and Uptown with its hospitals and universities. At the same time I do realize the need to develop this site into something productive. So I’m decidedly undecided on the issue. Can anyone sway me one way or another?

If you’re in favor of this proposal feel free to sign the online petition.