Neighborhood Development: Plans for 2006

Within the confines of campus, the University of Cincinnati’s Master Plan – a multi-year effort by the university to redesign and redefine itself – has earned applause in books, magazine and newspapers – most recently in The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times, Architecture magazine and Metropolis magazine.

Just outside of campus, improvements to transportation, housing, retail and green space are similarly taking shape thanks to ongoing partnerships between employers and neighborhood groups working with private developers. These community projects encompass Avondale, Clifton, Clifton Heights, Corryville, Mt. Auburn and University Heights.

The local focus is on renewing an urbanscape long characterized by a drive-through mentality in neighborhoods that serve as home to many of the city's great institutions and parks. Thus, the neighborhood groups are seeking to create vibrant, integrated shopping and housing that invites community involvement and interaction while taking advantage of their proximity to the university and its amenities – in other words, a distinctive sense of place.

Uptown's five largest employers, called the Uptown Consortium, have teamed with community groups to support the ongoing revitalization. Consortium members are

• The University of Cincinnati
• Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
• The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden
• The Health Alliance (composed of area hospitals and health-care providers)
• TriHealth, Inc. 

The neighborhood groups formed among local residents to integrate and improve area housing, retail, restaurants, professional services and entertainment venues are

• Bellevue Gardens Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation
• Clifton Heights Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation
• Corryville Community Development Corporation
• Findlay Market District Development Group
• University Heights Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation 
• Uptown Crossings Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation 
• Vine Street Urban Redevelopment Corporation

Among these groups' main focus is housing for all income levels, including more than 400 owner-occupied units; about 500 market-rate rental units; and 200 rehabilitated owner-occupied, single-family housing. Much of the private, market-rate housing will be specifically geared to meet the needs of students who prefer to live off campus. Commercial space will include new retail space, rehabilitated space and small business as well as business-incubator space.

While UC is not the prime agent of these neighborhood-led projects, the

university – as a community member – wants to see improved local neighborhoods. Both the neighborhood groups and the university share a common goal: Bettering the community. Thus, UC is one member of the community-based partnerships involved in forming development plans.

That’s why UC is assisting the local groups with a portion of their development costs, primarily in the form of low-interest loans for gap financing. All told these neighborhood projects have or will produce over $325 million worth of construction. To help meet costs, the UC Board of Trustees has approved a line of credit up to $75 million in loans for the community groups. The remaining funding comes from development corporation bonds, conventional financing as well as private and institutional investments.

Information on these projects as supplied by the neighborhood groups involved includes

Clifton Heights: Calhoun Street Marketplace Project
Phase 1 project on the north side of Calhoun completed in August 2005
Phase 2 project on the south side of Calhoun set to begin summer 2006
Phase 2 project completion set for late summer 2008

A corridor of new housing, shops and restaurants will rise opposite the university along Calhoun Street. Primarily located along the south side of Calhoun Street, which borders the university’s south side, the new district will contain 75,000 square feet of commercial and retail space, including restaurants as well as fashion and specialty shops, international food retail, salons, and retail for books, sporting goods, furniture and home accessories as well as cafes and bistros.

New housing options will include 350 upscale condominiums atop ground-level retail shops and a 600-car underground parking garage. These condos will also feature panoramic views, all the way across campus in one direction and to the Ohio River in the other. In addition, 18 three-story townhouses are planned. The centerpiece for the entire project is a one-story marketplace building with small shops akin to Findlay Market in Over-the-Rhine. The marketplace will be flanked by two new, brick-paved streets connecting Calhoun Street with McMillan Ave.

Led and owned by the Clifton Heights Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation (CHCURC), the redevelopment plan was approved by Cincinnati City Council in June 2001. The aim is to move from a drive-through, fast-food strip to a pedestrian-friendly, ethnically mixed hub of housing, international dining, shopping, entertainment and green spaces. Developer for the project is Higgins Development Partners out of Chicago working in partnership with CHCURC. All told, this project will cost about $125 million, partly funded by a $40 million loan from UC and $3 million in contributions for infrastructure improvements from the City of Cincinnati.

Already accomplished as part of this development is

• University Park
  CHCURC leased the air rights above the garage for 291 one- and two-bedroom apartment-style housing units. Known as University Park, the $54-million housing project (funded by CHCURC via a tax-exempt bond issue), opened in early September 2005 and is filled to capacity.

• McMillan Park Retail
  Calhoun Street retail on the north side of the boulevard was also developed (and owned) by CHCURC with an $11-million loan from the university.

Corryville: The Village at Stetson Square
Construction began November 2004
Completion in phases from mid-December 2005 to December 2006

The Corryville Community Development Corporation and the Bellevue Gardens Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation (primary owners) and their developer, Great Traditions Land & Development Company, along with Cole + Russell Architects, Inc. are completing 82 owner-occupied townhouses and about 200 luxury apartments in the block bordered by University Ave., Eden Ave., Highland Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, adjacent to University Hospital. The $70-million project, The Village at Stetson Place, calls for condos and apartments to be centered around a village square and community park, promoting a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood. UC provided financial assistance for land acquisition and pre-development preparations.

Phase I of the project – a four-story building located at the corner of Stetson Place and Eden Ave. – was completed in December 2005. It contains 40 apartments, underground parking and amenities including a pool, sun patio, coffee bar, clubroom, fitness center, library, private movie theater and cyber café.

Additional phases are

• Sixty thousand square feet of office space and 13,000 square feet of retail space, set for completion in September 2006 at the corner of Highland and Martin Luther King Jr. avenues.

• More than 170 luxury apartments and associated underground parking located at Martin Luther King Jr. and Eden avenues, also set for completion in September 2006.

• Fifty-two owner-occupied rowhouses located on Stetson Place, set for completion in early 2007.

Corryville: Uptown Crossings Development Plan
Construction began summer 2005
Led by the Uptown Crossings Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation, various improviements are planned for the parcels fronting Bishop Street in Clifton, bordered by Ruther Ave., Burnet Woods Park, Martin Luther King Ave., Vine Street and the Cincinnati Zoo. These improvements include lofts and townhouses, a daycare facility, realignment of Ruther Ave. and creation of Ruther Park, a pedestrian pathway linking Nixon Ave. to UC, and a pedestrian bridge over Vine Street. The UCCURC neighborhood group completed its development plan this summer and is working with a consultant team led by Goody, Clancy and Associates of Boston in association with the local firms of Kinzelman Kline Grossman and GlaserWorks. The Cincinnati Zoo has provided $50,000 while UC provides another $50,000 to help fund their planning process.

Findlay Market District Development
Signing of “preferred development agreement” by spring 2006
The community’s Corporation for Findlay Market, the Cincinnati Center City Development Corp. (3CDC), the Uptown Consortium and the University of Cincinnati all comprise the Findlay Market District Development Group. The near-term goal of the group is to redevelop 22 vacant, city-owned buildings near the historic public market for commercial or mixed-income housing use. Thus, the coalition is signing a preferred development agreement with the city that will grant the community-oriented development group the right of first refusal on the now-vacant properties. Within a year, the Findlay Market District Development Group plans to submit recommendations to the city regarding the development of the structures. The long-term vision involves connecting the city’s two major job centers – downtown and uptown – with vibrant pockets of housing, retail and entertainment.

A glance back to achievements already accomplished:

Corryville: Charlton Place
Construction began fall 2004
Townhouses completed February 2006

The Short Vine Development Company (also known as the Vine Street Urban Redevelopment Corporation), in association with the University Village Business Association, sponsored the development of 12 townhouses designed by Cole + Russell Architects, Inc., at the intersection of Charlton and Jefferson avenues, four of which have already sold. In addition to the $3.5 million development of Charlton Place, the neighborhood group is also exploring possibilities for a new arts and entertainment district for Short Vine Street in the area where Short Vine intersects with Daniels Street. Ideas include transforming old structures into spaces for live theater as part of an “off-Broadway” area. Turner Hall, an 1880s structure, is currently being retrofitted to provide art-studio spaces, residence for visiting artists, a theater, costume shop, rehearsal hall and dressing-room space. That renovation will be complete by late 2006.

University Heights: Stratford Heights Project
Completed in September 2005
The University Heights Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation (UHCURC), a non-profit development company, composed of the Heights Community Council, Greek Affairs Council and UC, created a ten-acre student housing project called Stratford Heights. The builder/developer team was the Heights Development Company which includes Towne Properties, Miller-Valentine Group, and Cole + Russell Architects, Inc., all of Cincinnati, and Mackey Mitchell Associates of St. Louis. Bordered by Clifton Ave. on the east and extending west of Stratford Ave., the $67-million project encompasses space between Stratford and Clifton and then to the west of Stratford. UC loaned $4.5 million to UHCURC for land acquisition and pre-development activities.

This housing consists of 14 residential buildings (houses, duplexes and suite-style apartments), designed to fit with the existing fabric of the neighborhood. The project also includes a community building as well as a multi-level garage built partially underground, dispersed surface parking and recreational spaces, including space for basketball and volleyball.

In all, the site houses close to 700 people, including student groups, fraternities and sororities. While not a UC project, student groups renting in the new development include University Honors Scholars, College of Law/College of Business MBA students, the American Baptist Campus Ministries group and both French and Spanish majors in a  French/Spanish immersion house in which residents of one floor may speak only French while those on another floor speak only Spanish.