Tag: Cincinnati

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$5M Gift to Fund Construction of Iconic Carousel at Smale Riverfront Park

The Cincinnati Park Board received a $5 million donation from the Carol Ann & Ralph V. Haile, Jr./U.S. Bank Foundation today to construct the carousel at Smale Riverfront Park.

The money will not only fully fund the project, but it will allow it to be operational in time for the 2015 All-Star Game to be hosted at the nearby Great American Ball Park.

The project had been positioned to receive $4 million from the City of Cincinnati’s parking modernization and lease plan, but ongoing litigation and a forthcoming ballot referendum have left those funds in limbo.

Vine Street Plaza_1 Vine Street Plaza_2 Vine Street Plaza_3

Carol Ann Carousel_1 Carol Ann Carousel_2 Carol Ann Carousel_3

According to park officials, the new carousel will be built at the foot of Vine Street on a tree-lined plaza filled with water features similar to those found near Walnut Street in phase one of Smale Riverfront Park.

The plaza will include a lower-level with a banquet center and park offices, and the upper-level will become the home of the glass-enclosed carousel.

“This carousel is a gift to the Cincinnati Parks Foundation honoring the life and philanthropy of Carol Ann Haile,” Tim Maloney, President/CEO of the Haile Foundation, stated in a prepared release. “The sparkle, whimsy and pure fun this carousel will provide is a direct reflection of Carol’s sparkling personality.”

In honor of Carol Ann Haile, the facility will be named the Carol Ann Carousel, and become an iconic feature of what will eventually be a 45-acre riverfront park.

While a carousel has been part of the Smale Riverfront Park plans for years, it comes on the heels of an announcement in Atlanta where a 180-foot ferris wheel will be built at Centennial Olympic Park.

Cincinnati’s 44-seat carousel, with folding glass door walls, will be open year-round starting in May 2015. Riders will be required to pay a small cost to ride, but the cost has not yet been determined.

So far park officials have completed a significant amount of work on the first two phases of Smale Riverfront Park, and will begin future phases as funding is made available.

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Up To Speed

Cleveland considers adding more skywalks!

Cleveland considers adding more skywalks!

Over the past decade Cincinnati has actively been working to dismantle the once extensive elevated skywalk system in its downtown. Other cities throughout the country such as Baltimore have followed Cincinnati’s lead however a recent report coming out of Cleveland spotlights the recent debate over two projects that would add more skywalks in their downtown. Read more at the Atlantic Cities:

For the most part, it didn’t work, and now cities such as Baltimore and Cincinnati are tearing down the skywalks they once built with such fanfare, in an effort to return pedestrian life and vitality to the street. Meanwhile, in Cleveland, the owners of the year-old Horseshoe Casino downtown are planning to build a brand-new skywalk, and the county government is looking to refurbish another one just a few blocks away. For many of the young people moving to Cleveland in search of a 21st-century urban experience – pedestrian-friendly, with lots of people out and about – it seems like a step backward in time.

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Business Development News

3CDC to Break Ground on Second Phase of Mercer Commons May 31

It’s hard to ignore the ongoing transformation of Over-the-Rhine these days. It seems almost every day a new restaurant, business or development project is announced to open in the once struggling neighborhood. Of course, the key player leading the neighborhoods redevelopment efforts is the Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation, better known as 3CDC.

3cDC’s latest phase includes tackling one of its largest redevelopment projects in the neighborhood, Mercer Commons, which includes almost two blocks worth of buildings between Vine Street and Walnut Street.

The $60 million project is divided into three phases. Phase one, which is currently underway, includes the construction of a new four-story condo building along Vine Street, five town houses, the redevelopment of  a couple historic buildings and a 340-space parking garage that opened to the public last week.

Mercer Commons Phasing

According to 3CDC spokesperson Anastasia Mileham, preparations for phase two are already underway and construction is officially slated to kick off at the end of the month.

“The groundbreaking event for Mercer Phase 2 is scheduled for 1pm on May 31, but we haven’t closed on Phase 2 yet ,” Mileham explained, “We are starting construction already to try to keep up with demand and stay on schedule.”

The second phase of the project will include rehabilitation of 15 historic buildings into mixed income apartments. The development team says that 30 out of the 67 apartments will for people who make 50-60% of the average median income.

To help provide the affordable housing units, 3CDC relied on a $4.6 million Low Income Housing Tax Credit from the federal government, and marks the non-profits first foray into mixed income housing.

Mileham told UrbanCincy that receiving the tax credit was the most rewarding aspect of the project to date, ” There is a need for this type of mixed income development.”

Since the newly opened Mercer Commons Garage is large enough to serve the entire development, and then some, the developers were able to preserve space in the development plan behind newly built structures in phases two and three. This space, 3CDC says, will be preserved for interior courtyards similar to the one found at Parvis Lofts across the street.

Once fully built out, Mercer Commons will add 156 residential units, in both apartments and condos, and 17,600 square feet of street-level commercial space.

While no tenants have been signed, Mileham says that there has been “substantial” interest in the 3,900 square feet of retail space in phase one.

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Up To Speed

Chicago aiming to cap Kennedy Expressway trench with 10-15 acre park

Chicago aiming to cap Kennedy Expressway trench with 10-15 acre park

Part of Cincinnati’s Central Riverfront Master Plan is the eventual capping of Fort Washington Way. In Chicago, architects are working to develop a similar cap system that will bridge over the highway connecting the West Loop neighborhood to downtown. More from the Architect’s Newspaper:

In cooperation with developer Fifield Companies, Sarver and his firm have fleshed out a masterplan that calls for 10 million square feet of new office space in the West Loop in 10 years. The plan also calls for a 10-to-15-acre park covering the trench of the Kennedy Expressway, which forms a barrier between the West Loop and downtown. Alan Schachtman, executive vice president of Fifield, called this hypothetical green a Millennium Park for the West Loop.

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Business News Politics

Cincinnati Expands, Streamlines Mobile Food Vending Zone Program

Last month Cincinnati City Council approved changes to the city’s Mobile Food Vending Program, which oversees food truck operators choosing to take advantage of mobile food vending zones throughout the city.

According to city officials, two new mobile food vending zones will be added in Over-the-Rhine. The changes were approved 8-1 by city council, with Councilmember Christopher Smitherman (I) casting the lone opposition vote.

The first is at Washington Park and will accommodate up to three food trucks at any given time. This location, officials say, will be open to mobile food vendors from 6am to 3pm, and will be open during evening hours based on agreements between the Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation (3CDC) and those vendors who are in the program.

Cincinnati Food Truck at Court Street

The second Over-the-Rhine location will be at Twelfth and Clay Streets, and is the result of much negotiation with nearby restaurants that had been wary of a mobile food vending zone near their establishments. This location will accommodate up to two food trucks at a time, and unlike the Washington Park zone, will allow vendors to operate between 6pm and 3:30am.

The new Over-the-Rhine mobile food vending zones add to the other six locations in place throughout the city. According to Councilmember Laure Quinlivan (D), who first proposed legislation to create the mobile food vending program in 2010, those who would like to see mobile food vending zones established elsewhere throughout the city can contact her office at laure.quinlivan@cincinnati-oh.gov.

City officials say that all of the following official mobile food vending zones are open seven days a week, and are available to operators with mobile food vending licenses on a first come, first serve basis.

  • 12th/Clay Streets (6pm to 3:30am)
  • Court Street Market (6am -3pm)
  • Fountain Square/North Vine Street (6pm-3:30am)
  • Fountain Square/North Fifth Street (6am to 3:30am)
  • Fountain Square/South Fifth Street (6am to 3:30am)
  • Purple People Bridge (6am to 3:30am)
  • University Hospital (6am to 3:30am)
  • Washington Park zone (6am to 3pm)

“If you have additional mobile food vending zones you’d like to see created, please contact me to learn how to get it done,” Quinlivan stated. “The bottom line is that you need to get support for the new zone from nearby property owners.”

Cincinnati Food Truck Zones

Food truck operators interested in getting a mobile food vending license will not see their annual fees change from the current $600 for a six-month license or $1,000 for a full year. But, according to city officials, they will now apply through the Cincinnati Health Department in an effort to streamline the application and licensing process since the health department also must issue a health license for the food trucks.

Other approved changes include the elimination of the non-refundable $25 application fee, and structural changes for the mobile food vendor zone at the foot of the Purple People Bridge to allow for more consistent space availability for food truck operators.

Due to the court-issued restraining order on the City of Cincinnati, the changes could not take effect immediately, and will finally go into effect this Friday, May 17 following the required 30-day waiting period.

To celebrate, the Cincinnati Food Truck Association, Quinlivan and community leaders will gather at Washington Park this Friday at 11:30am to celebrate the new food truck zones.

“I’m excited our program has created jobs and livened up city streets,” Quinlivan stated. “I’m told we now have 28 mobile food trucks in Cincinnati and we hope all of them participate in our program.”