Development News

Looking for a place to let loose and dance? Then The Shakti Factory is for you.
 
The Shakti Factory is a movement studio, gathering place and dynamic learning community that is focused on creativity, freedom, embodied spirituality and evolutionary human potential. Owners Meredith Hogan and Lisa Stegman wanted a place for themselves to dance and gather, but they couldn’t find anywhere that fit their needs in Cincinnati. They opened their business in December near Xavier University.
 
“We want to continue to build a tribe of dancers and help set our bodies into a healing, natural rhythm,” says Hogan.
 
“Shakti” is defined as the divine, feminine power that animates and brings life to everything that is.
 
But The Shakti Factory isn’t just a place for performance artists. The studio is currently displaying a print show by Hans Waller; he also painted a mural on one of the walls. In the future, Hogan and Stegman want to host art shows regularly.
 
“It’s about pushing boundaries, and offering things that aren’t found elsewhere in town,” says Stegman. There are plans for salons that will create conversation about subjects like sexual health.
 
The Shakti Factory currently offers three dance classes each week. In July, Hogan will be adding a yoga class to the studio’s offerings. There will also be one-time workshops, such as the Warrior 101 yoga class in August that will be taught by a friend.
 
“Our vision of the space is a flexible concept that is always evolving,” says Stegman. “It might not be the same next year because it will always be changing.”
 
By Caitlin Koenig
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Rash, LLC, a design and fabricating studio in Bellevue in Northern Kentucky, offers a 360-degree cycle of design-related services to local artisans. Rash helps with everything from consultation to concept to construction.
 
Rash was founded in 2012 by Timothy Rives Rash II. He received a BA in architecture form the Architecture School of Design at the University of Virginia and a masters in architecture from Southern California Institute of Architecture. For the past 10 years, Rives has worked on similar projects with other companies and partners. He’s also currently teaching at the University of Kentucky’s College of Design.
 
Mostly, Rash completes the projects for clients, including drawings and any necessary extra design, says Myra Rash, Rash’s media manager. “But there have been a few times where the client is crafty and will help out to learn, or to just get dirty.”
 
The majority of Rash’s projects have been out-of-state, but they did complete the large red oak cross for Belleview Baptist Church’s façade. Rives also collaborated with students from UK’s College of Design and St. Elizabeth Hospice Center in designing and fabricating a concrete base for an I-beam from the World Trade Center to commemorate the 10^th anniversary of 9/11.
 
“We hope to bring eye candy to the area, plus some good designs of our own and, most importantly, great collaborations with local firms, contractors, artists and designers,” Myra says.
 
Rash is currently working on the Speechbuster for the Storefront for Art and Architecture in New York City. It’s a 54-foot long table that is put together like a giant jigsaw puzzle and upholstered with neoprene with a rainbow gradient for indexing the 36 parts that make up the table.
 
By Caitlin Koenig
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Cincinnati is home to a number of breweries, but this summer, beer lovers will be able to experience these breweries in a new way. Starting in July, Tonic Tours, a new alcohol-based tour company, will start offering public tours of microbreweries every second and fourth Saturday of the month.
 
“I want to show off Cincinnati’s beer scene to both locals and tourists,” says Rachel Dean, aka Ginny Tonic, the mastermind behind Tonic Tours. She originally thought about hosting a local alcohol convention, but figured tours would be more fun.
 
Tonic Tours is about more than just the brewing process, Dean says. She plans to introduce her clients to the beer-tasting process, including what flavors to look for and how to identify flavors in different beers.
 
“I plan to infuse art and science into the tours,” she says. “I don’t want people to get bogged down on the brewing process, but I want them to see the art in it. Flavor is a very underappreciated sense, but it’s just as engaging as visuals.”
 
Each tour is $90, and includes transportation to a handful of breweries, plus drinks, water, a snack and a commemorative glass. For the first few tours, the itinerary will remain much the same, but Dean wants to mix things up a bit so people see different breweries and get to try different beers. Tonic Tours will also be available for private tours and tastings.
 
Dean will also be teaching a class at the Bird Haus on June 20 on how to make four local summer cocktails.
 
“A lot of people don’t realize how many great beers are based in Cincinnati,” Dean says. “When you go to a tap room, you might see beers but not know they’re from here—there might not be anything that says ‘Cincinnati proud.’ I want people in Cincinnati to appreciate the great beer makers who are revitalizing Cincinnati’s beer history.”
 
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Starting this summer, those with sweet tooths will be able to get Holtman’s Donuts in Over-the-Rhine. Holtman’s announced last week that they’ll be opening a location on Vine Street on the ground floor of the Trinity Flats building.
 
Charles Holtman started his donut business in 1960—he opened a location in Loveland in 1964, and his daughter and son-in-law, Toni and Chuck Plazarin, opened another in Williamsburg in Oct. 2009. The Plazarin’s son, Danny, and his fiancé, Katie Willing, will operate the OTR location.
 
“Danny and I started coming to OTR on dates and saw the energy and excitement of the neighborhood,” says Willing. “We searched for the right space for about two years, and we knew OTR was the right place for us.”
 
Holtman’s has always been a family-run, mom-and-pop shop that bakes from scratch. The OTR location will continue that trend, and will make donuts on-site daily.
 
“We want to continue the uniqueness of OTR,” says Willing. “We’re really excited to be part of such a great community that is constantly growing and thriving, and we hope to be the neighborhood’s bakery.”
 
Holtman’s wants to be the place in OTR where families can create their own memories over donuts, she says.
 
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West Chester is now home to Elements Therapeutic Massage, a massage studio that customizes services to clients’ needs. Owner Pam Garrett opened her Elements franchise April 13.
 
“West Chester shows great opportunities for growth,” says Garrett. “There are connections to healthcare, and up-and-coming neighborhoods. We want to help people with their own wellness program, and help them to live more comfortable lives.”
 
Garrett has spent more than 25 years working in retail, but she most recently worked for a company that combined retail and healthcare. After working with a franchise broker, she was matched with Elements.
 
“I want to contribute to the community in a way that makes it easier for people to thrive,” she says. “I hope to offer partnerships with other businesses that have the same goals and vision as Elements, and help grow employment.”
 
The goal of Elements is to make therapeutic massage more affordable and available to time-starved customers who recognize massages connection to overall health and wellness. Elements focuses on the healing aspect of massage and pain relief—from deep tissue to stress relief massages.
 
Elements was founded in 2006 by a licensed massage therapist in Highlands Ranch, Colo. It is one of the fastest growing providers of therapeutic massage in the United States, and has more than 100 locations in 26 states.
 
The West Chester location is open seven days a week. Walk-ins are welcome, and there’s a membership program that allows clients to receive discounted massages on a monthly basis. Elements’ 14 masseuses are licensed massage therapists.
 
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The Textile Building is now home to Dress for Success Cincinnati and 4^th Street Boutique. The two businesses moved just 100 feet from their old downtown home of 10 years.
 
DFS opened its new doors yesterday, only 13 days after taking possession of its new space. The layout of the old space wasn’t ideal, says Julie Smith-Morrow, CEO of DFS Cincinnati. But in the new building, 4^th Street Boutique is on the ground floor, and the DFS programs are all on the ninth floor.
 
“We hope that our clients will feel inspired by the new space when they come in,” says Smith-Morrow. “As always, we’ll be very welcoming, and will meet them where they are.”
 
DFS Cincinnati is one of 127 affiliates in 15 countries that promotes the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support and career development tools to help them thrive in work and life. It was founded in the Queen City in 1999, and has served more than 11,000 women in the area. 4^th Street Boutique sells women’s new and gently-used clothing, and its net proceeds support DFS.
 
“We’re really excited about the move—it’s something we’ve wanted to do for years,” says Smith-Morrow. “We’ve had lots of help from the community, which has helped us succeed. We hope to be able to help women get to work, keep their jobs, develop careers and be successful in life.”
 
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For five years, Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls has been working with the City of Cincinnati to develop form-based code for the city. Last Wednesday, City Council officially approved the Cincinnati Form-Based Code.
 
“Cincinnati now joins hundreds of cities that are using form-based code to build and reinforce walkable places that create value and preserve character,” Qualls says.
 
Cincinnati’s neighborhoods originally developed so residents could easily walk to restaurants, shops and grocery stores in and around business districts. Form-based code will allow neighborhoods to return to that original ideal and reinforce or create places where residents can live, work and play, Qualls says.
 
Current zoning code makes creating mixed-use neighborhoods difficult—the new code will help streamline the development process. To start, form-based code will be applied to business districts and adjacent residential areas in four pilot neighborhoods that volunteered for the chance—College Hill, Madisonville, Walnut Hills and Westwood.
 
The code is a result of six Neighborhood Summit training sessions; five years of neighborhood working group meetings, neighborhood walks and training sessions; five delegations to learn about Nashville’s form-based code; a five-day citywide urban design workshop; a four-day neighborhood urban design workshop; and more than 600 public comments on the draft from residents, stakeholders, neighborhood groups and city departments.
 
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On Friday, members of the Uptown community gathered for the Uptown Business Celebration, presented by Uptown Consortium and Uptown Rentals/North American Properties. Five Uptown organizations walked away with awards for business excellence and commitment to the community.
 
In order to be eligible for an award, businesses demonstrated strong commitment to the Uptown community, success in meeting the organization’s mission and sustainable businesses practices. They also encouraged others to follow their lead. Awards were given in five categories: Small Nonprofit of the Year (25 of fewer employees), Large Nonprofit of the Year (more than 25 employees), Community Champion, Small Business of the Year (50 or fewer employees) and Large Business of the Year (50 or more employees).
 
The Small Nonprofit award went to the Clifton Heights Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation and Large Nonprofit to Cincinnati Children’s Medical Center. Avondale resident and avid volunteer Patricia Milton won the Community Champion award; the Small Business award went to UC's DuBois Bookstore; and the Large Business award to Uptown Rental Properties.
 
Keynote speaker Benjamin Carson, Sr., M.D., overcame poverty and a rough childhood, and is currently a full professor of neurosurgery, oncology, plastic surgery and pediatrics at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He has directed the pediatric neurosurgery program at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center for more than 25 years. Carson's many awards include 60 honorary doctorate degrees and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which is the highest civilian honor.
 
Carson encouraged those at the awards ceremony to “elevate themselves” to make things better. He also shared his philosophy of success, which is “THINK BIG—talent, honesty, insight, nice, knowledge, book, in-depth learning and God.”
 
Uptown neighborhoods are Avondale, Clifton, Corryville, Clifton Heights, Fairview, University Heights and Mt. Auburn.
 
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Three weeks ago, K9 Social Club opened its doors in Western Hills. The doggie daycare offers grooming and boarding, and plans to add training to its repertoire soon.
 
Owner Jamie Stenz used to take her border collie to the daycare when it was under different ownership. When it closed, she decided to lease the space and start her own doggie daycare.
 
“As far as I know, it’s the only daycare for dogs in the largest neighborhood in Cincinnati,” Stenz says.
 
While at K9 Social Club, dogs get their own lockers and interact with other dogs and staff members. They also receive a daily, complimentary organic treat and can watch Animal Planet on TV. The Club also has kennel-free boarding, which includes free daycare during the day and a staff member on-site at all times.
 
And all dogs who stay at K9 Social Club get their photo on the wall in the lobby, like club members.
 
Stenz plans to have a webcam service up and running in the next few days so owners can check in on their dogs while they’re away.
 
“We want to bring a sense of community to Western Hills and be a service that pet owners can rely on,” Stenz says. “We want K9 Social Club to be a fun, safe place to bring your pup. A social pup is a happy pup, and that makes for an even happier pet owner. That’s our goal—happy pups and pet owners!”
 
Daycare starts at $22 per day, and boarding at $38 per day. Before being allowed to be in daycare or board at K9 Social Club, dogs go through behavior evaluations. They also must be up-to-date on all vaccinations.
 
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Beef, lamb, turkey, chicken and duck are all graze happily at the Mohr family livestock farm in Urbana, Ohio—Mohr Animal Acres. Now, not only does the farm provide retail cuts of meat to farmers' markets in Cincinnati, owner Trudy Mohr recently launched a food truck business.
 
This past winter, Mohr decided her family needed to start a food truck—Bistro de Mohr—to better serve their customers.
 
“I saw food trucks on TV, and it made sense with what we were doing,” Mohr says. “We’ve been selling cuts for a while, and we do a lot of specialty sausages, and we cook those sausages, so it seemed like a natural progression for us.”
 
So far, Bistro de Mohr has only set up one time, but Mohr recently joined the Cincinnati Food Truck Association and will be at an event in Washington Park on May 17.
 
Along with her two sons and daughter, Mohr serves up grass-fed beef, pastured lamb, turkey, chicken and duck on the food truck. Their meats contain no MSG, and their homemade sausages are all hand-mixed.
 
“We try to be as environmentally friendly as we can,” says Mohr. “We want to educate people and cook new and different things.”
 
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The historic preservation offices of Covington and Bellevue are searching for historic homes and commercial buildings or owners and tenants who are interested in talking about their experience with their historic homes or buildings for an educational film.
 
The film will focus on historic preservation in Northern Kentucky and will begin filming in June. Chosen submissions will be filmed and included in the final video, which will be shared online and will be used to educate people throughout the region, says Beth Johnson, preservation and planning specialist for the City of Covington.
 
“This project will make people look at the buildings and appreciate them in a different way,” Johnson says. “When you live in a historic district, you see these buildings every day and take them for granted.”
 
Johnson has already received numerous submissions. “People are in love with their historic buildings and take pride in their community,” she says.
 
This is the second video that the Covington and Bellevue historic preservation offices have collaborated on. The first video, “Historic Preservation: Saving Place,” was produced in 2011 and narrated by Nick Clooney. It won the 2012 Ida Lee Willis Memorial Foundation Preservation Award and the 2012 National Alliance for Preservation Commission Excellence in Public Outreach/Advocacy.
 
The second video is a continuation of the first, but it includes more education. The first was a basic introduction to historic preservation, Johnson says.
 
Both films were funded by the Certifiable Local Governments grant.
 
All historic homes and commercial buildings in Covington, Newport and Bellevue are eligible to be included in the video.The focus of the video is on the architecture of Northern Kentucky, including Greek revival, Italianate, Queen Anne, second empire, colonial revival, four square and craftsman/bungalow style.
 
To submit your home or building, send interior and exterior photos of it to bjohnson@covingtonky.gov by 4:30 p.m. May 13.
 
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Just in time for the new school year, Carpe Diem Learning Systems will open its first Ohio school at Aiken High School Aug. 21 in College Hill. Carpe Diem is Cincinnati’s first tuition-free public charter school for the general district population, and is sponsored by Cincinnati Public Schools.
 
Carpe Diem-Aiken will offer a blended learning model of digital curriculum with blended learning experiences, says Rick Ogston, founder of CDLS.
 
Twelve years ago, Ogston’s wife, Sharon, encouraged him to go back to school and get a Masters' degree in education. After that, he started to learn about charter schools and the difference they can make in communities. From there, Carpe Diem was born.
 
“Carpe Diem is about personalizing education to the nth degree,” Ogston says. “It brings the uncommon combination of personalized education and high academics with a career focus on achievement to the table. We prepare students academically for the 21^st century, but we also allow students to progress at a pace more comfortable to them.”
 
The curriculum at Carpe Diem is tailored to meet the needs of a spectrum of students, from those who are lost in large schools or traditional classrooms, to gifted students who want to work at an accelerated pace.
 
Tyree Gaines is the new principal of Carpe Diem-Aiken, and she hopes to contribute instructional leadership that opens the door for students and teachers to maximize their potential.
 
“I want Carpe Diem-Aiken to empower students to be learners, thinkers, doers, believers and achievers,” she says.
 
Carpe Diem-Aiken will bring an innovative new educational model to the area, but it will also be debuting Aiken New Tech, which infuses technology into curriculum while incorporating project-based learning and real-world experiences, says Janet Walsh, director of public affairs for CPS.
 
“We love that the Carpe Diem model incorporates ‘blended learning’—a combination of technology-driven and teacher-led instruction, which is very much a wave of the future,” Walsh says.
 
CDLS is North Central Association-accredited and includes Edgenuity’s instructional content, uBoost’s online recognition and reward system, and a secure online portal to provide parents with real-time student data. Carpe Diem also offers opportunities for career concentrations in Information Technology, Science and Engineering, Business Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Digital Arts and Entertainment, and Health Sciences.
 
Carpe Diem-Aiken joins CDLS’s first school, Carpe Diem Collegiate High School in Yuma, Ariz., and Carpe Diem Meridian, which opened in August in Indianapolis. Carpe Diem Summit in Fort Wayne is scheduled to open this August as well.
 
 Parents and students who are interested in meeting with Gaines and learning more about Carpe Diem-Aiken can email her at TGaines@CarpeDiemAiken.com or call her at 513-612-0153.
 
If you’re a Cincinnati student who is interested in attending Carpe Diem-Aiken and is 12-16 years old, you can enroll in Carpe Diem here.
 
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About a year ago, Cincinnati native Mic Foster started thinking about opening a craft beer and cocktail bar in town. In the end, he decided to open a Brass Tap franchise at U-Square at the Loop.
 
“Cincinnati is having a craft beer renaissance, and I felt Brass Tap was a good match, and this was a good place to start developing the bars,” says Foster.
 
Jeff Martin founded Brass Tap in Tampa, Fl., and traditionally, most of the bars are in Florida. But soon, a few of the beer and wine bars will start cropping up in the Midwest, Foster says.
 
Cincinnati’s Brass Tap doesn’t have an official opening date yet, but Foster hopes to have it up and running by the time University of Cincinnati students return for classes in August.
 
Brass Tap will focus solely on craft beer—there will be 80 craft beer taps, with 20 of them designated for local brews. The bar will also offer 300 bottles of craft beer. While the menu doesn't include liquor, there will be a wine list for non-beer-drinking patrons.
 
The beer-centered bar will also have a limited food menu that includes pretzels and mini pizzas on pretzel crusts. Patrons can also catch live music at Brass Tap Thursday through Saturday.
 
“Brass Tap is a bar bar where people can go for happy hour,” says Foster. And if you want to catch a game, Brass Tap will have 25 hi-def TVs and a projector, he says.  
 
Foster also wants to bring more beer education to Cincinnati. “There are lots of educated beer drinkers in town, but craft beer can be an intimidating situation for someone who doesn’t know what they’re looking for,” he says.
 
Foster is spending a lot of time educating his staff and hiring knowledgeable people who can help patrons learn more about craft beer in a relaxed environment.
 
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On April 3, former Montgomery knitting store Fibergé moved to 1407 Vine Street in Over-the-Rhine. It will be hosting its grand opening event May 17.
 
In September of 2010, the year Fibergé owner Norma Lawrence Knecht moved to Cincinnati, she left her corporate job and opened the Montgomery location. She decided to move her store to OTR because she wants to contribute to the revitalization efforts in the neighborhood, says Margaux Ayers of MCA Marketing.
 
“Norma wants to contribute to the arts community in OTR,” Ayers says. “She likes OTR because of the established arts community. People already have an appreciation for the arts here.”
 
Lawrence Knecht started to knit a few years ago and found she was good at it. The artsy craft also helped her better control her anxiety and quit smoking, Ayers says.
 
Ayers says Lawrence Knecht is excited to bring beginning knitters into Fibergé and help people understand the art of knitting. Beginning knitting kits start at $20.
 
Fibergé sells Spud & Chloe, Blue Sky Alpacas and Rowan yarns, and offers hundreds of patters for one-of-a-kind garments and accessories. Lawrence Knecht also offers knitting classes, private lessons and daily project assistance—no appointment needed.
 
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Two weeks ago, Covington’s Department of Public Infrastructure hosted a tour and shared its best practice models. Many of DPI’s current projects focus on capital improvements related to problems such as street reconstructions and landslide concerns.
 
Covington’s infrastructure developments keep things running, says City Manager Larry Klein.

“When people see a fire truck, ambulance, police car or someone cutting grass, they’re all results of the city’s public works division,” he says. “Citizens see services such as snow removal or street repair, but they don’t see what goes on behind the scenes.”
 
For example, the city’s fleet division does auto repairs in-house, rather than outsourcing those repairs. In 2009, the city contracted with KOI Auto Parts as its in-house auto parts vendor. The city used to spend $600,000-700,000 on parts, but by bringing KOI in-house, the cost is now about $350,000-400,000, says Tom Logan, director of public improvements.
 
“The fleet division keeps everything running smoothly and gets the vehicles back out on the street,” Klein says. “We’re not only saving money but time as well.”
 
DPI also recently replaced single-purpose trucks with dual-purpose models. Snow removal trucks, for example, were only used three or four months of the year. The dual-purpose trucks come with swap-loaders, which allows DPI to interchange the dump beds for other equipment. These trucks saved the city about $100,000, Logan says.
 
DPI is currently also involved in storm water improvements, renovations to Devou Park, riverfront development and the replacement of the Brent Spence Bridge.
 
“It’s guided by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and the Ohio Department of Transportation, but Covington has a strong stance and the ability to provide input in the decision-making process,” Logan says of the bridge planning. “It’s a very important project for the whole region because of the traffic that travels along I-71 and I-75. For Covington, we have to ensure that the connections to the bridge are maintained.”
 
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