We were joined by Chuck Marohn, founder of Strong Towns, on The UrbanCincy Podcast on June 21, 2013. On that podcast we discussed the financial realities of place, and debate how to get our communities back on the path toward financial sustainability.
Naturally, we discussed the great suburban experiment and how it has turned out to be a total failure. The concept can be difficult to grasp as we often see huge economic gains for places that build new strip malls or sprawling subdivisions, but the long-term reality is much different.
Chuck likes to refer to this as a type of a Ponzi scheme. It’s a controversial phrase to throw around, and it naturally garners a lot of attention when it is used, but there is a lot to what he has to say about the topic.
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.
View from the Mercer Garage
Construction Site
Condo Construction
Historic Renovation Work
View from the Mercer Garage
Mercer Garage
Mercer Commons Alley
Condo Construction
Condo Construction
Historic Renovation Work
Historic Renovation Work
Historic Renovation Work
Mercer Garage
Townhouse Construction
Historic Renovation Work
Historic Renovation Work
Construction Site
Townhouse Construction
Historic Renovation Work
Historic Renovation Work
Condo Construction
Alley Restoration
Mercer Garage
Historic Renovation Work
Construction Site
Historic Renovation Work
Historic Renovation Work
Historic Renovation Work
Historic Renovation Work
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.
In welcoming Louis Langrée, the new music director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Over-the-Rhine hosted LumenoCity, a community-wide celebration which encompassed all five of Music Hall’s fine arts groups as well as the building itself. Performances included the Cincinnati Pops, Ballet, Opera, May Festival Chorus, and of course, the Symphony.
The ensemble was complimented by a light show that used the façade of Music Hall as a canvas. Projections synchronized with 40 minutes of live music, with song selections ranging from Tchaikovsky and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 to Broadway hits including selections from Les Miserables and Hairspray.
An estimated 15,000 spectators gathered at Washington Park Saturday night, and another 18,000 on Sunday, to witness this first-ever light and orchestra music spectacular.
“Five years ago, something like this never would have happened in Washington Park,” mentioned Edith Fairgrove, who was visiting from West Chester Township. “The area [Over-the-Rhine] has changed so much in such little time.”
A few seats away, Devon Marshall had traveled from Price Hill with his family to see the show both Saturday and Sunday. Each day, they parked at Union Terminal then took the free shuttle to Washington Park. Despite there being long lines for the shuttle after the show, Marshall appreciated the service.
“If Cincinnati keeps having events like this, we’re going to need that streetcar to help get people around,” he grinned.
With over 30,000 people in attendance this weekend, LumenoCity became the largest gathering in Washington Park, dwarfing the sizeable turnout for last year’s World Choir Games performances. As Over-the-Rhine’s revival continues to succeed, Cincinnatians look on with wonder as to how the historic neighborhood will impress them next.
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.
The ride documents the state of bike paths, or stretches of roadway, between the two cities. The approximate 125-mile journey relies heavily on the Little Miami Scenic Trail. But as Jake experienced, the usage of the trail drops off significantly once you get out of the city.
Another issue experienced during the ride was the lack of trail or dedicated bike facilities heading into Columbus.
One of the other trails that Jake partially uses on the trip is the Ohio River Trail, which is still under development. Officials with the City of Cincinnati continue to make progress on new segments of that trail, but it is still a ways off from its completion of connecting the Little Miami Scenic Trail with Smale Riverfront Park in downtown Cincinnati. Future extensions of the trail would bring it even further west along Cincinnati’s waterfront.
