Tag: over-the-rhine

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Up To Speed

Taxicab commission recommends sweeping reforms

Taxicab commission recommends sweeping reforms

Cincinnati’s notoriously unregulated taxis may finally become more uniform should recommendations of the Cincinnati Taxicab Advisory Commission become reality. Some of the changes include standardized cab fares throughout the region, more taxi stands, and establishing a “Bill of Rights and Expectations.” More from the Business Courier:

Councilman Wendell Young (D) sponsored a motion last fall to convene the commission, a task force charged with preparing a set of policy recommendations for council to consider and enact. “I want to be sure that the first and the last impression of our city that visitors have, which is often a cab ride, be a first-rate experience. Our taxi industry needs reform, and this event helped spark an urgency and an energy to get the work done.”

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Up To Speed

Japanese restaurant coming to OTR this fall

Japanese restaurant coming to OTR this fall

Just one week after UrbanCincy announced that Hapa, an Asian-inspired restaurant, will open at 1331 Vine Street, it is now being reported that a Japanese restaurant will join it across the street. From the Cincinnati Enquirer:

The concept is an izakaya, or what you might call a Japanese pub. That means lots of food that goes well with drinks, food that comes in small portions and can be ordered in various combinations…The restaurant will be larger than many of its Vine Street neighbors, and will encompass three components: a bar, a dining room, and an outside area, partly covered, partly an open garden.

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Up To Speed

From ghost town to night-on-the-town

From ghost town to night-on-the-town

Nearly one month ago we asked whether Cincinnati is in the midst of a contemporary golden age. With all of the public and private investment taking place throughout the city, the answer seemed to be an easy yes. Now, Cincinnati’s mainstream media is echoing our thoughts. From WCPO:

On virtually any given evening, you can walk around downtown Cincinnati and run into people. In fact, you might find a large crowd either on Fountain Square, at The Banks or up in Over-the-Rhine. Anyone who knows Cincinnati knows this is a relatively new situation for this once ghost town. It used to be that when the work day ended, downtown Cincinnati’s sidewalks rolled up for the night. But now, the city comes alive.

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Business News

After years of work, ambassadors in Over-the-Rhine are finally reality

Last June the Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation (3CDC) expanded the clean and safe ambassador service from the Central Business District to historic Over-the-Rhine (OTR). The move came after neighborhood leaders, businesses and residents called for such expansion to help protect the progress made there over the past half-decade.

3CDC partnered with the Over-the-Rhine Chamber of Commerce, Greater Cincinnati Foundation and The Carol Ann & Ralph V. Haile Jr./U.S. Bank Foundation in order to make the $100,000 endeavor a reality.

“This ambassador service will greatly compliment the ongoing development in Over-the-Rhine,” stated Chad Munitz, Executive Vice President of Development & Operations of 3CDC. “With more residents moving into the area and the extra activity in the community it is a great asset to have an extra pair of eyes on the street helping with safety and additional help with the cleanliness of the neighborhood.”

While the ambassadors appear to be a welcome addition to the neighborhood, their presence comes five years after the idea was originally pursued.


An Over-the-Rhine Ambassador cleans up trash along the sidewalk outside of the busy Taste of Belgium Cafe. Photograph by Randy A. Simes for UrbanCincy.

“The whole idea was about jump starting OTR,” explained Michael Redmond, owner of several neighborhood businesses including Neons Unplugged, and former director of the now defunct Vitality Over-the-Rhine that spearheaded initial conversations years ago. “We had ambassadors in the neighborhood about nine or ten years ago, and we thought it was the easiest thing to bring back. It was a way to make an impact through cleaning up the streets.”

The new service includes two teams of ambassadors that walk the streets of Over-the-Rhine. According to 3CDC officials, the clean team works seven days a week focusing on litter, graffiti removal, weed abatement, and pressure washing. The safety team is meant to compliment those services and patrols the neighborhood Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 3:30pm to midnight. Officials say that the safety team is responsible for panhandling interactions, bike patrols and safety patrols.

Initially the ambassador service was only funded through the end of 2011 with the seed funding. The service has since been extended through the end of 2012 thanks to an additional $113,500 in funding as part of the Over-the-Rhine District Management plan, and neighborhood leaders say they are committed to extending the effort indefinitely.

“It’s extremely important for the area, and we will continue to support this program as we seek new ways to fund it because it’s so crucial to the success of the neighborhood,” explained Anastasia Mileham, Vice President of Communications with 3CDC.

According to Redmond, one of the initial hurdles towards making the ambassador service a reality in 2007 was the determination that the property values in Over-the-Rhine would not support a special improvement district like the one that funds Downtown Cincinnati Inc., which is responsible for the Downtown Ambassadors.

Thanks to the new partnerships, that hurdle has been cleared for the time being, but long-term success may hinge upon a future expansion of the special improvement district used in the Central Business District.

“It is a lot cheaper to have the ambassadors out on the streets, than having a trashy neighborhood,” Redmond concluded. “There are more bars today, but the streets are cleaner than they were when everything was closed down. The ambassadors are a big reason for this, along with the new residents moving into the neighborhood.”

Redmond went on the say that the influx of new businesses also helps the neighborhood, and that many of the new businesses, including his own, would be willing to do and participate more in improving the area.

“I had not put much thought into the ambassadors, but noticed them not too long ago,” noted Taste of Belgium owner Jean-Francois Flechet. “I think that it’s a good idea to help keep the neighborhood clean, and it can also add to the perception of safety…it definitely cannot hurt.”

Note: Randy Simes worked with Vitality Over-the-Rhine from 2006 to 2007 on creating a volunteer ambassador program in the historic neighborhood, and studying the feasibility of a special improvement district there.

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Business Development News

New Asian-inspired restaurant to extend Vine Street’s veritable restaurant scene north

An Asian-inspired restaurant has signed a lease Fourteenth and Vine Street in historic Over-the-Rhine. The restaurant will be named Hapa, and is rumored to be operated by the same owners as Pho Lang Thang.

The five-year, 1,100-square foot restaurant lease is the first major commercial tenant for the Trinity Flats development led by The Model Group, but builds on momentum moving north along Vine Street where residential property has already reached capacity in recently completed developments.


A new restaurant called Hapa will soon join the diverse collection of restaurants along Vine Street in historic Over-the-Rhine. Vine Street photograph by Randy A. Simes for UrbanCincy.

Trinity Flats was a good mix of rehab and new infill construction, and we’ve only got one more condo left to sell as a result,” noted Bobby Maly, Chief Operating Officer at The Model Group. “The OTR condo market is still hot, and I’m particularly proud of the way we built out two vacant corner lots. The block feels strong and even more walkable than ever.”

The development was a bit of a department for the Cincinnati-based developer. The Model Group has historically focused on rehabs and affordable housing developments. Trinity Flats, however, incorporated new infill construction and included condos averaging $175,000. The results, Maly says, have been better than what could have been hoped for.

“The more dense we can make our main thoroughfares, with high pedestrian traffic and retail spaces, the more life we can give our streets and the neighborhood overall,” Maly explained. “It [urban infill] is the right thing for the community and built environment.”

After Hapa opens there will be just two street-level retail spaces left in the Trinity Flats development which was once viewed as a bold investment in a part of Over-the-Rhine that had yet to prove itself.

Construction work is scheduled to begin on the $53.5 million Mercer Commons development later this year, and officials with The Model Group say to watch for an announcement this summer on a new development in partnership with the Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation (3CDC).