Tag: Cincinnati

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Arts & Entertainment Business News

Hive13 celebrates first year as Cincinnati’s hackerspace

A self-driving remote control car, a refurbished arcade game cabinet, and a MakerBot 3D printer are just a few of the things you may find at the Hive13 hackerspace.  Hive13 is not just a physical location, it has also become a community where hackers, artists, and other creatives come together to share ideas and work on projects they dream up.

In 2009, a group of 20 people began talking about bringing a hackerspace to Cincinnati.  After two months of planning, they moved into a former Camp Washington warehouse and set up shop.  Today, members of Hive13 have 24-hour access to the workspace and a variety of tools to help them with their projects.

Hive13 is still acquiring new tools — like a laser cutter that can pierce wood, plastic, or metal — and working on new projects — like a weather balloon connected to an Android-powered cell phone for communications.

To celebrate their first year of operation, Hive13 is throwing a party on Saturday, July 24 at their hackerspace, located at 2929 Spring Grove Avenue.  Music, refreshments, and games will start around 7pm.  One of the activities, at the party, will be “laser graffiti,” which allows you to virtually graffiti a building using a laser, webcam, and projector.  A silent auction will also be held to raise money for the group.

Follow @Hive13 on Twitter to stay up-to-date, and learn more about the group from this Soapbox Cincinnati video:

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Arts & Entertainment Development News

Dave Rolfes: A Year at UrbanCincy

It was exactly one year ago today that I published my first UrbanCincy post. It was a riveting piece to be sure, about the Cincy Beer Fest that was being held in <gasp!> Covington, KY. I had long been a resident of the Cincinnati area, always to the north of the river, but a move about two years prior into the Covington portion of our urban core had really helped me start to see our area in a different light. So the fact that my first UrbanCincy post captured what some considered to be a poorly named festival actually made total sense to me. It was a uniquely Cincinnati event that happened to stretch a few blocks south of the Ohio River, just as I had myself.

After spending many years on the sidelines and being a mostly passive member of the community, getting started helping with UrbanCincy gave me a chance to explore the world around me in a new and unique way. Having a part in the story telling of the rebirth of Cincinnati is not only something I take great pride in, it is something that has exponentially increased my passion for the Queen City. In these parts, depending on who you listen to, or who you read, it is easy to get bogged down in a lot of negativity about our fair city. I believe though, that the reality of the situation is quite different, and I am not alone. In fact, there is a growing group of energetic people involved in making Cincinnati a great place to live, work and play and UrbanCincy put me on the path to finding them.

As UrbanCincy has helped rekindle my passion about Cincinnati, it has also helped me become more involved with the community. As you know we are in favor of rail transit as urban development, so I spent time volunteering with Cincinnatians for Progress. We are passionate about activity in the urban core, so I played in the Fountain Square Broomball League. We are of course focused on doing everything we can to make the Cincinnati Streetcar a reality, so I went down to City Council and spoke my piece about the $64M bond issue to help fund it.

The beauty of all this is that I learned that Cincinnati is a place where anyone can make a difference and that is truly the most eye opening part of the past year. Try going to a bigger city, say Chicago, and helping shape the future of the city. That is quite a large city to have your voice heard and impact change, good luck. You could head to a smaller town where it may be easier to make a difference, but you will not find near the amount of activity and development like you see in Cincinnati. To me, and to many, we are at the right time and the right place in Cincinnati to step up and really impact the future.

The urban core of Cincinnati has an incredible amount of momentum right now: Cincinnati Streetcar is on the way; The Banks and Central Riverfront Park are taking shape; 21c Hotel is coming; people are choosing to live, work, and play downtown. However, it is not only the changing environment around us that will attract and retain talent; it is this chance to get involved as well. The chance to make a difference and have an impact is not something that is easily seen or easily measured, but it is what will keep our momentum sustainable for years to come.

While UrbanCincy has helped me find my way and my voice and increase my engagement as it relates to the future of Cincinnati, it is definitely not the only way to get involved. I encourage you to take a look around, and if you aren’t already, start to view this city as a place with a bright future. There are too many good things happening for there not to be a substantial positive change in our city. I ask you to think about what inspires you, and reflect on it. I recommend you go out and find a way to make Cincinnati a better place to live. You will not regret it, I know I haven’t.

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Business Development News

Community Development Corporations honored for their work, impact in Cincinnati

The Community Development Corporations Association of Greater Cincinnati (CDCAGC) celebrated nine individuals, one area project, and one local community development corporation for their achievements and efforts in revitalizing Cincinnati’s communities last month.

The awards come at a time when CDCs are facing difficult circumstances as they attempt to do more with less in a down economy. From 2009 to 2010, the CDCAGC is funding fewer community development corporations, but is remarkably creating more housing units with approximately $100,000 less in funding. In 2009 local CDCs developed 34 housing units, while in 2010 they are developing 89 housing units with an additional 140 units in pre-development stages.

“When the private market doesn’t function it creates a need for community development corporations,” said Patricia Garry, Executive Director, CDCAGC. “Utilizing the process our CDCs use may take a bit longer upfront, but implementation happens in a second since there is already community support for the project.”

This year’s award winners represent a broad collection of organizations and individuals, and the first year someone from Hamilton County has won the ‘Most Outstanding Government Staff’ award. Also included amongst this year’s winners is Kevin Hughes who was recognized as the ‘Most Outstanding Volunteer’ for his efforts to create a renter equity program. The ability to generate equity as a renter is a new concept that was started in Cincinnati. With the help of the City of Cincinnati and the CDCAGC, Cornerstone Corporation for Shared Equity hopes to double the number of units involved in the program while also spreading the renter equity concept around the nation.

“The renter equity concept is a real game changer because poor residents can build wealth and landlords are able to save a lot of money on maintenance, lower resident turnover, and reliable rent payments,” Garry explained. “Kevin traded his 27th floor view of Great American Ball Park for a ground floor office in Over-the-Rhine with bars on the windows, and is now working as a volunteer to build both Cornerstone and the renter equity concept.”

  • Most Outstanding Director: Andy Hutzel, Over-the-Rhine Community Housing
  • Most Outstanding CDC Staff: Judy Mattingly, Cincinnati Housing Partners; Joe Gorman, Camp Washington Community Board
  • Most Outstanding Volunteer: Kevin Hughes, Cornerstone Corporation for Shared Equity
  • Most Outstanding Lender: Kevin Donovan, Fifth Third Bank; Chris Urti, Fifth Third Bank
  • Most Outstanding Consultant: Chip Williamson, Chameleon Architecture
  • Most Outstanding Government Staff: Susan Walsh, Hamilton County; Karen Alder, City of Cincinnati

Garry also recognized Cincinnati-based Fifth Third Bank for their leadership with the ‘Most Outstanding Lender’ award which included recognition for two Fifth Third employees instrumental in making project financing and loans possible for local community development corporations.

The ‘Most Outstanding Project’ award went to the Jimmy Heath House in Over-the-Rhine that is creating 25 housing units with on-site services meant to treat the chronically homeless and provide them with permanent supportive housing. The project is also restoring five buildings, in the historic neighborhood, that have long sat vacant on Odeon Street. The ‘Most Outstanding Collaboration’ award went to Cincinnati Northside Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation for its work with the Northside Business Association, Northside Community Council, NorthSide Bank, and active churches in Northside to help revitalize their community.

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Development News Politics Transportation

Reconstructed Fort Washington Way generating variety of societal advances

Each Wednesday in July, UrbanCincy is highlighting Fort Washington Way (FWW), the I-71/US-50 trench bisecting the Cincinnati riverfront from its downtown.  Part one of the series discussed what the area looked like prior to reconstruction a decade ago, and how that reconstruction made way for the development along Cincinnati’s central riverfront.  Last week’s article discussed some of the unseen assets included in the project that continue to benefit Cincinnatians in a variety of ways today.  This week’s piece will highlight even more of the unique features that the 1.25 mile-long highway boasts.

In addition to the combined sewer overflow fix along Cincinnati’s central riverfront through added containment capacity, engineers also increased the capacity for municipal water under Third Street.  This led to an opportunity for the City of Cincinnati to share its high-quality water supply with communities in Northern Kentucky through a new tunnel built underneath the Ohio River.  Those in Kentucky benefit by receiving clean water, and the City of Cincinnati benefits from an increased revenue stream.

On the southern side of the FWW trench is a wall that supports Second Street and conceals the Riverfront Transit Center, but it also serves as the primary flood protection for downtown Cincinnati.  Cincinnati choice to build its flood protection into its everyday infrastructure maximizes utility while also conserving urban space.  Since this wall was engineered to lift Second Street above the floodplain, it effectively extended the street grid south while also maintaining safety.

The benefits discussed so far were not accomplished in isolation.  In fact, the reconstruction project was helped paid for by entities in the state of Kentucky including the Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky (TANK) who saw better connections with Cincinnati as an economic gain.  The project fixed the entanglement of on- and off-ramps to the bridges over the Ohio River, and has led to a better transfer of people and goods across the state line.

The fact that the Cincinnati area calls so many large and lucrative companies home demonstrates that the city once had the ability to draw major economic players to the region.  The fact that they have stayed demonstrates that the area has done well to keep up with changing business, technological, and infrastructure demands.  One such example of keeping up with changing times can be found buried under Third Street, behind the northern wall of Fort Washington Way, where engineers included the capacity for a bundle of fiber optic cables, approximately three feet in diameter, spanning the length of the roadway.

This dark fiber has the capability to be activated and connected with a larger fiber optic network when needed, ensuring that downtown Cincinnati has the ability to stay at the cutting edge of technology.  Possible uses include connecting large-scale data centers to the Internet backbone, or providing high-speed fiber-to-the-home Internet access for Cincinnatians, such as Cincinnati Bell’s FiOptics or Google’s Fiber for Communities.

Next Wednesday’s article will conclude the series, and look to the future of the area.  What can be done with the space over the FWW trench in terms of the capping?  How will future development be impacted?  And, ultimately, will the reconstruction of Fort Washington Way reestablish the strong ties that once existed between Cincinnati and its riverfront?

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Development News

$14.4M Red Cross headquarters poised for LEED-Gold certification

When the Cincinnati Region of the American Red Cross celebrated the opening of a new $14.4 million Disaster Operations Center in Evanston last month, local leaders and community members were celebrating much more than new and improved facility, they were celebrating a new and improved facility that focuses on sustainability.

Designed by Cincinnati-based emersionDESIGN, the new 45,000 square-foot facility includes a variety of sustainable features like low-flow water fixtures that reduce water consumption by 40 percent, high-efficiency glazing and well-insulated wall cavities, bike racks and showers to promote eco-friendly transportation, sensor lighting and controls to reduce energy use. Outside the structure developer Neyer Properties included bioswale and rain garden systems to decrease impact on the storm water system, use of native landscaping to reduce irrigation, LED parking lot lights, an energy recovery ventilation, and a green roof.

In addition to the building features, the development team used more than 30 percent recycled material on the project, 40 percent regional materials, used woods certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, and recycled over 75 percent of construction debris from the site. The team expects to hear back on their Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) application by the end of 2010, but it is widely expected that the structure will achieve LEED-Gold certification.

“As the design developed, it became apparent to us that we could move up in LEED rankings,” said Charlie Pond, Building Development Director, Neyer Properties. “It was a joint goal between Neyer Properties and the Red Cross to create a sustainable building, and we were emphatic about being environmentally friendly.”

The green roof incorporated into the building’s design covers approximately 25 percent of the total roof area. The sedum plants covering the roof area minimize the need for heating and air conditioning by reducing the amount of heat the building absorbs in summer and conserving building heat in winter.

Officials with the Red Cross believe the structure has approximately a 50-year lifespan for their purposes. The sustainable design features, meanwhile, are expected to have less than a five-year payback period through annual energy savings of 30 to 35 percent, meaning big savings for the non-profit.

“It’s great to work with emersion because of their large number of LEED Accredited Professionals. They are very familiar with green projects and they have similar goals as us,” Pond concluded. “We feel that developing sustainable projects the right thing to do, and we want to get Cincinnati caught up-to-speed on the green building movement.”