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The UrbanCincy Podcast

Episode #63: Summer Update

0On the 63rd episode of The UrbanCincy Podcast, TravisRandy, and John discuss some recent news stories affecting Cincinnati’s urban core.

We talk about the potential demolition of Cincinnati Gardens, as how younger Cincinnatians have stepped up to fight to save historic buildings like The Dennison Hotel and the Davis Furniture building. We discuss the proposed LibertyElm development and whether the originally-proposed six story design was appropriate for Over-the-Rhine. We give a preview of some of the changes coming soon to Main Street and the eastern half of OTR. And finally, we discuss the changes to this year’s MidPoint Music Festival, which has had a long history of being integrated into the urban core but will take a much different format this year.

Photo: The original proposal for the LibertyElm development.

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Business Development News

Revised Plan, Drawings Submitted for $27M Mixed-Use Development at Liberty and Elm

After announcing plans for a $27 million mixed-use development at Liberty and Elm Streets, Source 3 Development, the developers of record for the project, have been met with both cheers and push back on their proposal.

Located directly on the streetcar line, the project would be the first major new construction project to occur north of Liberty Street in Over-the-Rhine in many years. As scores of historic buildings are now being renovated around Findlay Market, many see this site as a critical piece of the Northern Liberties puzzle.

While preliminary designs were not released in January when the project was announced, the developer did discuss building massings and programming. Those plans called for the creation of 15,000 square-feet of street-level retail, 165 parking spaces in a three-level garage, and 118 apartments in new buildings, and within four existing historic structures that would be renovated as part of the effort.

In response to those details, the Over-the-Rhine Foundation issued a list of 12 concerns they had about the project. One of the primary issues was related to the appropriateness of a 85-foot-tall structure in a historic district made up of buildings that are generally shorter than that.

“The proposed height of the structure dwarfs all buildings in the surrounding area especially considering the smaller scale of Elm Street and the topographic elevation change from Liberty Street northbound on Elm,” a joint committee made up various neighborhood groups wrote to City Hall March 24.

“This will not only change the historic character of Elm Street and the Over-the-Rhine Historic District, but eliminate the views of downtown Cincinnati’s skyline enjoyed by residents on Elm and Logan.”

Source 3 responded to the comments from Over-the-Rhine Foundation by varying the heights of the two buildings to be construction, and reducing their heights from 85 feet to approximately 76 feet and 54 feet. These adjustments, Source 3 says, will increase the cost of the building and also forced the development team to reduce the number of apartment units in the development by eight.

The developer has also made a variety of other changes to respond to those 12 concerns from the community, including the elimination of two parking spaces in the garage and adjustments along the Liberty Street facade to minimize garage exposure and add retail frontage.

These will be presented to Cincinnati’s Planning Commission, due to a request to rezone the properties from Commercial Community Auto (CC-A) and Residential Mutli-Family 1.2 (RM-1.2) to Planned Development, on Friday, April 15 at 9am.

Categories
Development News

PHOTOS: 16 Panorama Showing Over-the-Rhine’s Evolution

As the winter comes to an end, work has begun or will soon begin on a number of new developments around Over-the-Rhine. Today, we’re sharing 16 panoramas, taken over the past month, that show how the neighborhood is evolving. You can click on each of the images to view them full-screen and read the full description about each project.

Editor’s note: These photos were taken by Travis Estell for UrbanCincy between February 11 and March 8, 2016.

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The UrbanCincy Podcast

Episode #62: Urban Parking Challenges

The parking garage that will support Phase 3 of The Banks is now under construction.

On the 62nd episode of The UrbanCincy Podcast, TravisRandy, and John discuss some of the challenges related to parking that developers face when building in the urban core.

We discuss how parking requirements have impacted a variety of recent proposals including the Strietmann Biscuit Company building, Fifteenth & Vine, and LibertyElm, and we look back at suggestions UrbanCincy made in 2012 about how to deal with parking problems in Cincinnati.

Finally, we give a few updates on a few projects moving forward in the urban core, including the Ziegler Park/Cutter Playground renovation and Eighth and Sycamore.

Photo: The parking garage that will serve as the foundation for The Banks Phase 3 is under construction. Taken on February 22, 2016 by Travis Estell.