Development News

The Cincinnati Development Fund (CDF) was awarded a $750,000 grant from the U.S. Treasury Department's Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) grant program. Officials with CDF say that the organization applied for $2 million, but received the maximum amount awarded to any one organization that received funding.

The money comes at an important time for the organization as it works to provide loan capital for real estate development projects that are currently under-served by traditional lenders.  To make projects more appealing, CDF injects loan capital to help diversify the investment, thus reducing a traditional lender's risk.

"This will provide much needed loan capital for our projects in an environment that has not been good," said Joseph Huber, Chief Operating Officer, Cincinnati Development Fund.  "This helps tremendously at providing the loan capital we need to support our loan funds."

Cincinnati Development Fund officials say that the money will not go to support operating costs for the non-profit, but instead will go completely into the organization's loan fund.

Presently, CDF is trying to build the next loan fund to $15 million with the help of grants, tax credits, and other partners.  So far CDF has raised close to $5 million of that total, but officials expect that gap to close quickly once commitments are reached with financial institutions.  The next three year loan pool will begin September 2010, and is expected to include a number of new financial institutions including Cheviot Savings Bank.

Huber notes that the money has not been earmarked for any particular project, but could go to support any number of projects occurring within the Cincinnati Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) which includes parts of southwest Ohio, northern Kentucky, and southeast Indiana.

"CDF has a great history, and there is a real challenge when it comes to quality affordable housing," said U.S. Representative Steve Driehaus (D-OH).  "There tends to be housing available, but it has often been neglected.  Organizations like CDF help to provide the needed quality affordable housing, and the gap financing they provide is really key to the process."

Recent projects benefited by the Cincinnati Development Fund include City West in the West End, Schoolhouse Lofts in Walnut Hills, and the Dandridge Studio Townhomes in Pendleton.

Writer: Randy A. Simes
Photography by Scott Beseler
Stay connected by following Randy on Twitter @UrbanCincy

The proposed 5.2 mile Licking River Greenway and Trails initiative could create up to 272 jobs and have an economic impact of $33.9 million, according to a study released by the Center for Economic Analysis and Development (CEAD) at Northern Kentucky University. The study was commissioned to evaluate the economic impact of the proposed $18.1 million investment in improving the Licking River Corridor.

The greenway and trails will extend from the Licking River's confluence with the Ohio to the I-275 interchange, traveling through Covington, Newport, Wilder and Taylor Mill along the way.

The estimated $33.9 million impact includes both the direct and indirect benefits of the project, as well as the impact of the wages that construction workers would earn. The study concluded that the direct effects would be creation of 164 jobs and $18.1 million in industry output, and the indirect impact would create an additional 108 jobs and $15.8 million in output. The report also makes a strong case for the likelihood of property value increases in neighborhoods nearby. These figures do not include potential tourism dollars generated by the project. All figures are in 2010 dollars.

Please visit the website to read the full pdf version of the report.

A vision to create an urban greenway from the mouth of the Licking River to the I-275 loop in Northern Kentucky took a large step forward earlier this month when officials learned they had won an $80,000 Recreational Trails Program Grant from the Kentucky Department for Local Government.

Thanks to the grant, construction is expected to begin on the $267,000 first phase of the project, which includes paved trails atop the river's levee walls, in late 2011.  The grant was awarded to the City of Covington which was the first of the member cities to officially adopt the Licking River Greenway Master Plan in 2008.

"With the current Licking River Greenway progress, Covington is ecstatic to hear the news about the Recreational Trails Program Grant," said Natalie Gardner, Covington Recreation Director.  "This phase one portion of the trail will begin at Clayton-Meyer Park on Thomas Street and travel south to Levassor Avenue.  First steps will be to properly engineer the trails, as well as gain the proper permits needed for a levee top trail."

Developed through Vision 2015, the master plan calls for a continuous green corridor through communities like Newport, Covington, Wilder, and Taylor Mill.  Once fully developed, the plan will stabilize riverbanks, remove invasive species and restore native wildlife, and create a new multi-level system of nature, paved, and water trails.

Officials supporting the five-mile corridor plan say that it will improve public safety, increase property values, and connect neighborhoods and businesses along the corridor.

The $80,000 matching grant adds to the $20,000 grant that the Greater Cincinnati Foundation awarded in spring 2010 to develop a Habitat Restoration Work Plan that will help with the removal of invasive species and make room for new native plants this fall.

Writer: Randy A. Simes
Photography by Scott Beseler
Stay connected by following Randy on Twitter @UrbanCincy

Regency Cafe & Coffee has opened in the heart of downtown Covington in the Wedding Mall.  The new establishment fills the space at 630 Madison Avenue formerly occupied by Proverbs Cafe.

Directly located along Madison Avenue, the Regency boasts views of passing street life through large floor-to-ceiling windows complemented by the space's open layout.

Co-owners Earl Hughes and John Sinica say that the new cafe & coffeehop is public-oriented where customers can expect to come in and meet new people daily.  They also say that the daily menu offers a little something for everyone including breakfast items like English muffins, bagels and pastries that compliment the cafe's assortment of coffees, teas, and hot chocolate.  For lunch customers are treated to soups, salads, sandwiches and daily lunch specials that cost between $3 to $7. Coffees cost $1 for a small house blend to $1.75 for a large specialty roast.

Regency Cafe & Coffee (map) is open Monday through Friday from 7am to 5pm, and Saturday from 9am to 4pm.  Delivery and catering options are available to those in the local area, and space can be reserved within the cafe for private meetings by contacting regencycafecoffee@yahoo.com.

Writer: Randy A. Simes
Photography by Tiffani Fisher
Stay connected by following Randy on Twitter @UrbanCincy

U.S. Congressman Steve Driehaus (D-OH) and James L. Oberstar (D-MN) were in Cincinnati on Monday, August 2 to discuss the Brent Spence Bridge replacement and rehabilitation project.  The congressmen met with local officials on the 25th floor of the Enquirer Building in downtown Cincinnati overlooking the river span.

Driehaus and Oberstar were joined by Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory, City Manager Milton Dohoney, Ohio Department of Transportation director Jolene Molitoris, and Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls who also serves as chair of the Livable Communities Committee and Major Transportation & Infrastructure Projects Sub-Committee.  They gathered to discuss the project's economic and transportation impacts on the region.

Completed in 1964, the Brent Spence Bridge is currently exceeding its designed capacity and presents a variety of safety concerns that range from the bridge's lack of emergency break down lanes for motorists, to poor signage partially obstructed by the bridge's support structure.

In March 2010, Brian Cunningham from OKI Regional Council of Governments told Soapbox that the Brent Spence Bridge project is the metropolitan planning organization's number one priority because of the safety concerns and the major transportation choke point it presently causes.

"OKI has estimated that there is a crash along this 8-mile stretch once every three days, and when a crash occurs on that bridge it basically shuts down two interstates," Cunningham detailed.

The Ohio River crossing also represents a major economic linchpin for the region, and nation.  It is presently estimated that $400 billion worth of commodities travel across the bridge every year; a number expected to more than double by 2030 to $815 billion.

Cunningham states that local officials have been very supportive of the project thus far, but that significant amounts of money are still needed to make the $2-3 billion project a reality.  Local officials are hoping that a large portion of that money can come from the federal government with the help of representatives like Congressman Oberstar who serves as chairman of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee.

According to Oberstar, the present federal transportation bill calls for significant increases for both Ohio and Kentucky's transportation projects.  Due to a plan to jointly fund the project, Ohio and Kentucky's resource boost would mean a tangible boost for the project itself.

The Brent Spence Bridge replacement designs have also been narrowed to three final design options, and officials hope that if the necessary funding is secured that construction can begin on the new span by 2015.

Writer: Randy A. Simes
Photo by Scott Beseler
Rendering Provided
Stay connected by following Randy on Twitter @UrbanCincy

A recent analysis of Newport, Kentucky's use of the federal government's HOPE VI program shows that the historic river city may be one of the best success stories in America.  The use of the program in combination with a strategic economic development effort has caused what a report by the University of Louisville's Center for Sustainable Urban Neighborhoods describes as a transition from "vice to nice, and from hips to hip."

In past decades Newport struggled with a large criminal element that include gangster and mob activity, prostitution, and gambling.  But now thousands of visitors to Newport on the Levee each year might never know it if not for the large walking groups led by tour guides dressed playfully as the gangsters..

The report details that much of the improvement has come from the deconcentration of poor residents who were once housed in urban renewal housing developed during the post-war period in and around downtown Newport.  The concentrated low-income housing has been replaced by mixed-income developments through the HOPE VI program which encourages social mobility and provides self-sufficiency services to residents of the community through both local government and non-profit agencies.

The most recent, and prominent example of this deconcentration is seen on the western edge of downtown Newport where the Licking River and the Ohio River meet.  Once a large low-income housing project, the site is now slated to become an $800 million mixed-use development that will create more residences, offices, retail, entertainment and lodging in Newport's downtown.

What the Center for Sustainable Urban Neighborhoods recognized as most significant was the success Neighborhood Foundations was able to achieve for its size.  The housing authority is the smallest housing authority in the nation to win a HOPE VI grant, and it was recognized as the best housing authority in Kentucky by the Department of Housing & Urban Development in 2009.

The organization is now turning its focus to smaller pockets of Newport like Hamlet Street.  Just south of Newport's East Row Historic District, Hamlet Street represents what was once one of the worst blocks in Newport.  The completed program on the 900 block of Hamlet Street (map) will renovate three properties and construct five new homes in a development called Hamlet Row.

Writer: Randy A. Simes
Photography by Scott Beseler
Stay connected by following Randy on Twitter @UrbanCincy

Soon after crews finish painting the Roebling Suspension Bridge this fall, "trolleys" will start motoring a route from Covington through Downtown Cincinnati to Newport and back.

The vehicles will look like trolleys, and will have fun trolley bells. But they won't run on rails like the real trolleys Cincinnati hopes to have in service sometime in 2013. Instead, these trolley buses will roll down streets on ordinary rubber bus tires.

The Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky decided to switch its U-shaped Southbank Shuttle route to trolley buses for a more practical reason than their appearance. They were chosen because TANK needed a bus light enough that it wouldn't violate weight bans on the suspension bridge.

Because of that ban, Southbank Shuttles were detoured onto the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge, adding somewhere between 10 and 20 minutes to routes, and making trips for most riders about twice as long.

Read the entire article here.

A group of local young people on Friday proudly showed off the two-story, red-brick house in Covington they helped renovate for the past year and a half.

Those who toured the home expressed admiration at the renovation of the home at 1230 Wheeler St. in Covington that many said was nearly torn down two years ago.

About 30 young men and women with YouthBuild of Northern Kentucky learned the carpentry trade to renovate the home.

YouthBuild allows young men and women ages 16-24 a chance to earn their General Educational Development certification while learning onsite construction job skills. The Northern Kentucky Community Action Commission oversees YouthBuild.

The Wheeler Street home was the first one renovated from a partnership with YouthBuild of Northern Kentucky and Housing Opportunities of Northern Kentucky (HONK), which is a non-profit property development firm based in Covington.

Read the entire article here.

As the Roebling Suspension Bridge gets a makeover, residents, business leaders and city officials this year have looked at how to improve the business district known as Roebling Point at the foot of the bridge.

The cross-section of community members in the Roebling Point Planning Committee has nearly completed six months of work to create a development plan for the area.

The plan will likely be presented to the public Aug. 2, said Larisa Sims, assistant city manager. The City Commission will then vote on the plan.

"I think it will help to provide a clearer vision from residents and business owners on what kind of redevelopment and rehab they would like to see," Sims said.

Read the entire article here.

U.S. Worldwide Logistics, a global logistics supplier, has begun a 50 percent expansion of its warehouse-distribution center at 2750 Earhart Court in the Airpark International Business Park. The 42,400 square-foot addition to company's existing 82,000 square-foot facility is being constructed by Paul Hemmer Cos. The addition, to be completed by Nov. 1, was designed by John Bennett of KZF Design. Family-owned U.S. Worldwide Logistics offers customs brokerage, domestic and international freight forwarding and other logistics services.

Read the entire article here.

Through the work of Southbank Partners and others, the Northern Kentucky Port Authority has secured $350,000 from the Commonwealth of Kentucky in dollar-for-dollar matching funds for the Ohio River Bank Stabilization Project, a key component of the Riverfront Commons plan.

This is the first time in recent memory, if ever, Northern Kentucky has received funding from the Highway Construction Contingency Account, which is included in the Transportation Cabinet budget for FY 2011-12.

The funds are targeted towards a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers feasibility study on the overall Riverfront Commons project that includes actual work of stabilizing the riverfront.

The Riverfront Commons project will address serious riverbank erosion along the south shore of the Ohio River and create a multi-use pedestrian pathway connecting the river cities of Northern Kentucky by linking residential and commercial locations, recreation opportunities, tourist attractions and art and cultural sites while providing a walking and hiking trail along the river.

Read the entire article here.

The Kenton County School District received a $2 million boost from the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act that will help take a new school's energy needs off the grid.  The money will go towards the the purchase and installation of solar panels that will help offset the school's energy needs.

The new $30 million school is slated to open this August in time for the 2010-2011 school year, and is located near the existing Turkey Foot Middle School in Edgewood. Once complete, the new Turkey Foot Middle School will house more than 600 students and become a part of the district's campus that includes Caywood Elementary School and the J.D. Patton Area Technology Center.

In addition to the solar panels, the new school will also boast a variety of other green features that will help reduce its energy demand and overall carbon footprint.  These features include a vegetative roof, gray water collection systems, special lighting systems and geothermal heating and cooling systems.

School district officials hope the green building measures pay off by eventually making it one of the first "Net Zero Energy" schools in all of Kentucky.

Writer: Randy A. Simes
Photography by Tiffani Fisher
Stay connected by following Randy on Twitter @UrbanCincy

It's not often that you hear about a firm looking to find the most challenging projects possible, but that is exactly what Cincinnati-based THP Limited does.  The architecture and engineering firm not only prefers those types of projects, but they thrive on them earning industry awards for major projects like The Ascent at Roebling's Bridge in Covington.

"The Ascent was a very unique and complex building, and one of the things we worked on from the beginning is whether or not the building would lean," explained Shayne Manning, Project Manager & Principal-in-Charge on The Ascent project.  "What we did was lean the columns to follow the skin of the building which has resulted in every floor being different within."

The leaning columns found within The Ascent differ from another prominent Cincinnati project THP was involved with on the University of Cincinnati's campus.  At the Vontz Center for Molecular Studies, the columns are vertical and the walls bend - leaving a gap in between the columns and the building's skin - something not seen as being desirable for a high-end residential condo building.

The shape of The Ascent also challenged THP as they worked with the winds found within the Ohio River Valley.  The firm had to conduct wind tunnel studies on the free-form building design to ensure its stability during unpredictable weather events.

The result of the free-form building design is a dramatic roof that slopes from the 11th Floor of the building to its pinnacle.  The 34-degree slope ascends vertically 160 feet and allows for nine penthouse terraces that bisect the roof.

The work was not only challenging for THP, but rewarding as well.  The firm picked up the Grand Award for Engineering Excellence from the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) in 2009, and another award in the category of Residential Buildings from the Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute (CSRI) in March 2010.

"The inherently flexible properties of reinforced concrete enables professionals to express their unique vision in building and bridge projects," stated Bob Risser, CRSI President.  "The CRSI Design Awards program recognizes designers for their creativity in using this great material."

THP has recently been tapped for the $100 million Music Hall renovation project in historic Over-the-Rhine and plans to begin its initial survey work in July 2010, with an expectation of approximately two years worth of work before completion.  THP will be working with Cincinnati-based GBBN Architects and New York-based Polsheck Partnership Architects which worked on the renovation of New York City's Carnegie Hall.

"These awards and these projects are very much a source of pride because we like to be involved with complex structures," Manning concluded.

Writer: Randy A. Simes
Photography by Scott Beseler
Stay connected by following Randy on Twitter @UrbanCincy

When the City of Covington updated its Comprehensive Plan in 2006 it became clear that a specific vision was needed for the 12th Street corridor. Poised for a widening project that is now underway and facing the addition of the new St. Elizabeth medical facility, the importance of updating such a plan became even more evident.

"In 2007 we started to study the larger area and developed some recommendations along the 12th Street corridor," explained Andy Videkovich, Project Manager and Principal Planner with the Northern Kentucky Area Planning Commission (NKAPC).

Covington's City Commission appointed a Steering Committee in the summer of 2009 to work with NKAPC to explore and implement the new land use recommendations developed in the Linden Gateway Small Area Study.  The result was the creation of a new zoning district called the Linden Gateway District (LGD).

The hope is to maintain a pedestrian friendly, mixed-use corridor that is compatible with adjacent residential neighborhoods - one that compliments the area's design guidelines and is consistent with the land use and transportation goals and objectives set out for the Linden Gateway District.

"The 12th Street project has been in the works for some time and people have been excited about the possibilities for the area as a result of the project," Videkovich said.  "But people were also concerned how new development and investment would work with the surrounding historic neighborhood."

To address this, the NKAPC and Steering Committee worked with neighborhood stakeholders to  develop the LGD regulations that, when complete, will function similarly to form-based codes being developed elsewhere throughout the region.

The regulating plan will be the first of its kind in Kenton County and will include the overall LGD zoning district made up of 5 sub-districts.  According to Videkovich, this approach will ensure that any new development or investment maintains compatibility with the surrounding neighborhood.

Officials say that the new guidelines are currently working their way through the approval process.  After going to the City Commission, then to the Kenton County Planning Commission, the guidelines will return to the Covington City Commission for formal adoption sometime this fall.  Those interested in giving feedback on the proposed regulations can do so by contacting Andy Videkovich at avidekovich@nkapc.org or by calling (859) 331-8980.

Writer: Randy A. Simes
Photography by Tiffani Fisher
Rendering Provided
Stay connected by following Randy on Twitter @UrbanCincy

The biggest real estate development to hit Northern Kentucky – the $1 billion Ovation project in Newport – could break ground in a year, its developer says.

"To break ground in a year, that’s realistic," said Covington-born developer William Butler, chairman of Corporex Cos. Inc., speaking May 4 to United Way of Greater Cincinnati’s biggest givers.

"The only thing we need is the economy and a lot of emotional energy," Butler said.

The last time anyone talked about groundbreaking for Ovation was late 2008. To jog your memory, the 14-acre Ovation site is at the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers where public housing used to be located. The development is expected to include 1,000 residential units and more than 1.1 million square feet of retail space. Plans also call for a signature, 25-story office tower with 538,000 square feet; two 10-story office buildings for another 365,000 square feet; and two, one-story office buildings on the edge of the development. The one-story structures will total 203,000 square feet and will target back-office and data center users.