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Business Development News Opinion

Downtown Cincinnati poised for surge of residential conversions

Developers are in the process of transforming the 85-year-old Federal Reserve Tower at Fourth and Race into 88 apartments after serving as an office structure for its entire life. The process is one being undertaken in old cities all across the United States – transforming old office buildings into unique residences.

In addition to the Federal Reserve Tower, the 86-year-old Enquirer Building on Vine Street has also had an apartment conversion planned. In the wake of the opening of the Great American Tower at Queen City Square, there appears to be many more candidates ripe for such conversion.


The Federal Reserve Tower [LEFT] is currently being transformed into 88 apartments, while the Enquirer Building [RIGHT] awaits new financing. Photographs by Thadd Fiala for UrbanCincy.

“Residential is a great use for older buildings as opposed to office uses,” said David Ginsburg, President and CEO of Downtown Cincinnati Inc. (DCI). “Older buildings provide a sense of place, history and elegance, and they lend themselves to mixed uses with retail on the first floor.”

In addition to the romantic appeal, Ginsburg also says that the economics make a lot of sense with apartment occupancy rates consistently above 90 percent, and some cases of waiting lists throughout the Central Business District, Over-the-Rhine and at The Banks.

Additional housing downtown, community leaders say, is important because those residents are customers for the restaurants and retail stores outside of normal office hours. Ginsburg adds that those city dwellers also provide a level of density that helps promote the perception and reality of a safe urban core.

According to DCI officials, developers have expressed interest in converting additional historic office towers into residences, but declined to comment as to which structures or which developers are expressing interest.


The historic Tri-State Building [LEFT] and Bartlett Building [RIGHT] sit underutilized and offer large amounts of potential residential space in the heart of the CBD. Photographs by Thadd Fiala for UrbanCincy.

In October 2010, UrbanCincy identified two historic office towers, in addition to the Enquirer Building and Federal Reserve Tower, which appear to be perfect candidates to be transformed into residential apartments.

1. Tri-State Building (Fifth & Walnut); 109 years old
2. Bartlett Building (Fourth & Walnut); 111 years old

Ginsburg concluded by stating that living downtown is the sustainable choice for the more than 12,000 current residents, and any future people considering the area for their next home.

“Given the high cost of gasoline, the density of downtown is helpful,” Ginsburg concluded. “Trips are shorter and walking and bicycling become more prevalent. As public transportation evolves, there will be less need for cars, especially multi-car households, which will help the economy and the ecology.”

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Business Development News

Smale Riverfront Park to feature 1,000-foot boat dock

Smale Riverfront Park project manager Dave Prather has delivered yet another video update in what has become a fairly popular video series. This update goes inside the Moerlein Lager House which has now been opened for roughly two weeks, and highlights the progress of work on the water’s edge.

Prather says that the grand opening for the Smale Riverfront Park will take place on May 18, 2012, and at that time will have virtually all construction work on the massive project’s first phase complete. He says that solar panels on the Schmidlapp Event Lawn’s stage will be installed next week, and that the first event will be held there on St. Patrick’s Day weekend.

The 11:43 video also showed where historical markers and the location of home plate existed at Riverfront Stadium will be installed in the coming months.

Visual progress is evident on the park’s second geothermal well which will produce 400 gallons of 57-degree water per minute. Progress is also noticeable on the foundation for the labyrinth and Black Brigade Monument.

Prather also said that the most complicated piece of construction left is the work on the Main Street Fountain, and that there are approximately 30 to 40 construction workers on site each day taking advantage of the favorable weather conditions lately.

Perhaps the two most exiting pieces of information from the video came at the end when Prather described the 1,000-foot boat dock that will eventually be in place and the approximately 300 trees that will be planted within the next month-and-a-half.

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Arts & Entertainment Business Development News

Silver Ladle offers fresh fast casual with local twist

Silver Ladle exterior

Sixth Street’s Restaurant Row will soon have another eatery open to hungry downtowners. On March 17 the Silver Ladle will open its doors to the public, offering a variety of healthy, fast-casual food with friendly service and a fair price.

The Ladle serves up burgers, sandwiches, chili, soups and salads oriented for a variety of palates. Gluten-free, heart-healthy and veggie options are detailed on the menu.

The space itself, located next to Mr. Sushi in the 580 Building, is clean and bright without feeling sanitized or fluorescent. Modern light fixtures and blond laminate tabletops make for a pleasant experience. The kitchen is open-air and it is easy to see the crew prepping meals.


Exterior of Silver Ladle photograph by Jenny Kessler for UrbanCincy.

UrbanCincy took the opportunity to sample two offerings on the menu: Italian Wedding Soup and the Stuffed Mushroom Burger. The soup was full of mini meatballs and noodles, satisfyingly salty and pretty delicious. For those who might be trying to relive Stuffed on Vine’s glorious filled burgers, steel yourselves for a letdown. The burger is good, but not the same.

The burger is a step up from fast food restaurants but still prepared in a similar manner. The ‘stuffing’ is a welcome layer of bacon and chive cheese spread between two patties, which adds a much appreciated flavor and fat to the sandwich. The honey Kaiser roll the burger is served on is positively fantastic- buttered and griddled, it contains the fillings nicely. There are a variety of burgers to choose from if mushrooms aren’t your thing, and there are other sandwiches including a delicious looking muffuletta. Be aware, it costs extra to add sides to your meal, but the fries are worth it.


Silver Ladle Burger photograph by Jenny Kessler for UrbanCincy.

The most interesting portion of the menu is the chili – no surprise, coming from the Lambrindes lineage of Cincinnati chili parlors. Pick between several bases – burrito, fries, greens, spaghetti and coney- pick your chili – beef or chicken, both spiced Cincinnati style. Top it off with cheddar cheese, onions, jalapeños, black bean soup or sour cream. Vegetarians could forgo the meat and top with black beans instead. We’ll let the experts review the coneys, but others eating said the taste was very similar to Skyline.

One of the owners, Tim Lambrindes, is ecstatic to have his first restaurant open in downtown Cincinnati. “I’m from the Bridgetown area originally, and when we wanted to open this restaurant, we looked in West Chester and other suburban areas,” he explained.

“I worked with CJ Judge when trying to decide on a location, and he said, you gotta check out the downtown market. Being from Western Hills, I didn’t know a lot about downtown. All of my thoughts were completely false – as soon as I came down and started studying the people coming in during the day – and even at night, in this area – I loved it.”

The biggest draw for Lambrindes with the downtown location was the built-in clientele. “My customers don’t have to commute by car to my restaurant,” he said. “So many people live and work down here, that even at night, they can just walk up and here we are.”

If you are looking for a meal downtown that won’t bust your wallet or your waistline, check this out. The Silver Ladle is open from 10am to 9:30 pm every day, and will open to the public on March 17.

Silver Ladle (Opening in March) on Urbanspoon

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Business News Politics Transportation

Cincinnati plans to rid city vehicles of fossil fuels by 2025

Like any major city, Cincinnati owns and operates a lot of vehicles, and those vehicles produce a significant amount of carbon emissions that pollute the region’s environmental systems. As city leaders are working on implementing a 100 percent renewable energy plan, they are also developing a plan that would end the city’s dependence on gasoline or diesel motor fuels by 2025.

“There are a lot of things Cincinnati is doing to position itself as a leader in sustainability and going green – both in the public and private sector,” said Larry Falkin, director of Cincinnati’s Office of Environmental Quality (OEQ). “This is part of a total package, and a significant piece, in terms of branding Cincinnati as a progressive city.”

Action on the new Green Fleet Plan was made possible, Falkin says, when City Council approved phase one of the City Fleet Plan in November 2011. The Green Fleet Plan is being developed for the City’s 3,654 vehicles and is expected to be finished by mid-2012.


A Zipcar sits on display at the University of Cincinnati’s main campus uptown. Photograph by 5chw4r7z.

According to a 2011 report, the City’s existing vehicle fleet has an average age of seven years and has a median fuel efficiency of 12.15 miles per gallon. Over the course of a year those vehicles consume more than two million gallons of fuel with more than 95 percent coming from gasoline and diesel. City officials expect their current annual fuel cost of $5.1 million to continue to rise s gasoline prices are expected to escalate in the near future and maintain high prices over the long-term.

Another partial solution presented itself in September 2011 when Zipcar entered the Cincinnati market. Prior to the carsharing company entering the Cincinnati market, discussions about whether the City could leverage such a service were taking place.

The idea would be that the City could contract with Zipcar to provide a certain number of vehicles in the city and the city would then utilize the service for quick runs when employees need to be on-site for inspections or other service calls. The service would not completely eliminate the need for city-owned vehicles, but it is envisioned as lessening the need for the city to own as many automobiles.

“The City is interested in starting a city carsharing service within the city, and we are currently in negotiations with Zipcar,” Falkin told UrbanCincy.

Falkin says that original negotiations came to a halt when the City realized there were purchasing requirements to which it had to adhere. As a result, Falkin says, the City will be moving forward with these discussions but will be looking at a competitive bidding process that will engage more than just Zipcar.

Currently more than half of all of the City’s vehicles are past their current life cycles. Based on original equipment values, it is estimated that to replace the entire fleet would cost approximately $50 million. $5.2 million was budgeted for vehicle replacement in 2012.

Categories
Arts & Entertainment News

Cincinnati’s central riverfront captured in new timelapse video

A Cincinnati-based marketing firm based out of Mt. Lookout has produced a new timelapse video of the central riverfront. The abbreviated video only lasts a total of 47 seconds, but highlights several different vantage points of Cincinnati’s urban core.

The most interesting component of the video is the unique angles in which Stimulus Worldwide captures the center city. The boutique marketing firm set up shop along the Newport waterfront high atop Mt. Adams to produce the video. Be sure to enjoy the way the city lights playfully dance upon the Ohio River.