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Business Development News

$98M Health Sciences Building to Create Striking Landmark on UC’s East Campus

The University of Cincinnati has begun work on the new 110,000-square-foot Health Sciences Building in Avondale.

Located along Panzeca Way, immediately north of the massive Eden Avenue Parking Garage, the contemporary four-story building will house classrooms, labs and office space for the College of Allied Health Sciences. According to project manager Dale Magoteaux, classrooms will be located throughout the building, while lab and office space will be located in the building’s south and north wings, respectively.

The dean of CAHS, Tina Whalen, says that department heads closely coordinated with building designers to ensure that the needs of students, researchers and faculty were met, while also ushering in a new landmark building for the university’s east campus.

“We are thrilled that Perkins+Will has created a signature building for the college that will highlight our many educational, research and clinical service initiatives,” Whalen said.

The standout design for the $98 million Health Sciences Building will be further accentuated by the fact that it will be fronted by a nearly 1.5-acre green space that will create a natural entryway to the Kettering Lab Complex.

University Architect Beth McGrew says that the green space is part of the university’s larger commitment to creating a healthy and equitable campus environment.

“This is why green space is being created, as well as abundant natural light in the new structures, to provide a more enjoyable work place,” McGrew explained. “Along with this will be new classrooms to make space among the colleges more equitable with more opportunities for sharing.”

The schedule calls for the project to be completed in the fall of 2018, which is the same year the College of Allied Health Sciences will celebrate its 20th anniversary.

The project is part of a much larger program that is upgrading the surrounding collection of buildings through renovation or demolition and rebuild. That program of work is expected to be completed within the next three years.

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News Transportation

Metro Brings Late Night Bus Back This Saturday

Metro and CincyYP are once again teaming up to encourage young people in Cincinnati to try out the city’s bus service beyond typical commuting uses. This is the third year of this successful  program.

Last year’s entertainment bus event saw more than 400 passenger trips taken. Participants will once again have the opportunity to learn tips to plan their trip including how to read a schedule, catch a bus and use Metro’s real-time apps. There will be special promotions at popular establishments along the event route in downtown, OTR, Oakley, Hyde Park, O’Bryonville, Clifton and East Walnut Hills.

“Cincinnati’s YP leaders truly get how important public transit is to our community, and their commitment to encouraging their peers to use Metro is inspiring,”Metro’s Outreach and Sustainability Manager Kim Lahman stated in a prepared release, “The ‘Late Night Test Ride’ provides us with a safe, fun and adventurous way of introducing young professionals to Metro’s service, while allowing them to get to know our community and one another better.”

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Metro Late Night Test Ride Route Map [Provided]
LNTRschedule
Metro Late Night Test Ride Schedule [Provided]
The mobile event will take place this Saturday, April 23 between 8Pm-2AM. Three buses will operate on 30 minute intervals on a route that will take riders around to some 18 bars in seven different neighborhoods.

Many people view transit as a means to get to and from work, but the reality is that nearly three-fourths of all trips made each day have nothing to do with work commutes. As Metro works to grow ridership and expand its customer base, choice riders – those who choose to take transit instead of other alternatives – are becoming an increasingly targeted demographic. Additionally, as the Late Night Test rides are proving, there is a solid demand for late night routes that could be instituted on a more permanent basis.

Unlimited trip passes for the late night shuttle can be purchased online for $8 per person, or $25 for groups of four. The public can also simply purchase single trips at Metro’s normal $1.75 fare anywhere along the route. Those who may not have the cash, or just want to get a bit more involved, are being encouraged to volunteer for two hours and receive a complimentary pass in return.

As Lahman suggests, the hope is to get young people more familiar with using the city’s bus service, and will learn tips about how to plan their trip, read a schedule, catch a bus and use Metro’s real-time arrival services.

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Business Development News

VIDEO: Mary Beth McGrew Overseeing UC’s Continued Bold Campus Plans, Designs

The University of Cincinnati has almost completely transformed itself, both academically and physically, over the past 20 years; and one of the people most responsible for that transformation is Mary Beth McGrew.

Over the past decade, McGrew, as University Architect, has overseen the master planning, design, construction, renovation and beautification of 117 buildings with 13.5 million square feet of space, across seven UC locations. She and her team have also managed the sustainability efforts.

What was once a largely commuter school now has become more of an on-campus university – sparking the construction of thousands of residential units in Uptown‘s neighborhoods. What’s more, UC’s main campus has seen virtually every surface parking lot replaced by new development or green space; and continues to see above-ground structures replaced by other more productive uses.

Through her work, and others that preceded her, the University of Cincinnati now boasts one of the world’s most distinctive and award-winning campuses. Such accolades only continue to grow as the university continues its transformation through major projects such as the $86 million renovation of Nippert Stadium, $87 million renovation of Fifth Third Arena, or the construction of the planned new Colleges of Business and Law.

Learn more about the woman behind the designs and plans in the following three-minute video.

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Business Development News

Mt. Auburn CDC Hosting Public Meeting to Kick-Off Auburn Avenue Development Plan

The Mt. Auburn Community Development Corporation is one of Cincinnati’s newest CDC, and they are actively working on a number of efforts to position the neighborhood for success as investment continues to spread outward from both downtown and uptown.

In order to get to that point, community leaders say that they need a better understanding of where the community stands, what it wants, and how to get there.

“The future of Mt. Auburn is to have successful development that responds to the needs of the neighborhood,” Carol Gibbs, director of the MACDC, explained to UrbanCincy. “It needs to be inclusive.”

Understanding these needs, Gossman Group, DDA and MKSK submitted a strategic development plan proposal to the MACDC in early March. The proposal includes a multi-phase approach to assessing current conditions, identifying potential improvements, conducting a market study, and determining future land uses, massings and the type of development and redevelopment that would be appropriate for the Auburn Avenue Corridor.

“This plan lays out a process that helps it be inclusive,” Gibbs continued. “It has a history to lay out the foundation and it will include all of the stakeholders – those who live, work and play in Mt. Auburn, developers who are here or have plans to be here, and the City departments that have stepped forward to help make it a smooth process.”

News of Uptown Properties bold plans to move their investments into Mt. Auburn, particularly along the Auburn Avenue corridor, sent shock waves through the uptown community last year when the plans became public. The real estate development company, which got its start by redeveloping properties and marketing them to students at the University of Cincinnati, has, in recent years, transformed swaths of Corryville with new apartment complexes that have often replaced smaller and more historic structures.

Dan Schimberg, President and CEO of Uptown Properties, told UrbanCincy that their plans are to, at first, focus on rehabs along Auburn Avenue, along with a new medical office building at the southwest corner of Auburn and McMillan. From there, he says they intend to look elsewhere throughout the neighborhood at redevelopment opportunities.

It is not yet certain how these plans will factor into the strategic development plan that will get started soon, but so far there has been little talk about retail along Auburn Avenue. That may change, however, through this planning process as some neighborhood leaders are interested in establishing a neighborhood business district in Mt. Auburn.

“The CDC hopes that this plan will help us approach businesses and other investors to point out the potential profitable successes in our neighborhood,” said Gibbs. “Our hope is that this will lead to a neighborhood business district in Mt. Auburn.”

Neighborhood leaders will be kicking off the process of thinking about the future of the neighborhood, and the Auburn Avenue corridor in particular, at a public kick-off meeting tonight at 7pm at Taft Elementary School at 270 Southern Avenue. Organizers say the meeting will be structured as an informational session, and will be followed-up by future public meetings for more people looking to get engaged.

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Development News

UC Explains Concept Behind $16 Million Renovation of Historic Sears Building

The $16 million transformation of a 1929 department store into a research and innovation center for the University of Cincinnati is well underway in Avondale.

“The building is designed for space for work between outside companies and the university. There will likely be offices, labs, and open work areas. The interior has opportunities for collaborative areas, and open areas with flexible work space layout,” said University Architect Mary Beth McGrew.

UrbanCincy reported in January 2014 that UC intended to demolish the building, which is located at 2900 Reading Road and was originally built as a Sears, Roebuck and Co. department store. However, the university later decided to preserve the structure, seeing the potential for this renovation to spur new development in the surrounding area.

“It is to be hoped the renovation of the building owned by the university will entice others to develop in the nearby lots. This building might indeed be a catalyst,” added McGrew.

Technically a renovation project, it hardly meets the definition of being one that focuses on historic preservation. In fact, many UrbanCincy readers who have seen the renovation in progress have been curious about the extent to which the original building would be preserved.

While the core of the original 1929 structure is being saved, the 1945 addition has already been demolished. Additionally, much of the brick exterior of the original 1929 building has also been removed. The prominent brick tower on the structure, while being saved, is also being obscured by the addition of a fourth floor.

McGrew explained to UrbanCincy that brick on the tower will be preserved and replaced, where the brick had been damaged, by recovered brick from elsewhere on the structure. Aside from the tower and some accent areas, the rest of the structure will be clad in modern glass treatment.

“The brick was supported in large part by steel angles that were in very bad shape,” McGrew said. “The new façade material will be a brick of similar color and size.”