Burnet Avenue upgrade

Uptown Consortium transforming area

By Lisa Bernard-Kuhn • [email protected] • July 12, 2008

 

 

AVONDALE - Construction is scheduled to begin this fall on about 32 town homes that are part of a $100 million plan to bring a six-story parking garage and 150,000 square feet of commercial space to this uptown Cincinnati neighborhood.

 

Click link for article.

http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080712/BIZ01/807120372/1076/BIZ

This could potentially be a very key project for that area.

Here are some renderings from a 126,000 sf, 6-story medical office building. It also includes a 1,450 space parking garage on a .7 acre site.

 

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5. Here is how the medical office buildings fit into the overall Burnet Avenue revitalization plan:

wow.  there is an incredible amount of building going on up there.  some pretty interesting stuff.

Yea, that healthcare system is booming! :strong: :    Nice pics as always!

I'm working on one of those . . .

The addition to the Medical School Building is one of my favorite pieces of architecture in OH, recently

Here are the updates on the projects seen in images 1-4 above...

 

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2.

 

3. Looking north

 

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5.

 

6. I was excited to see how the wood looking exterior finish product was coming along.  You can see it here...

great...I hope that all these projects can help bring some stability to Avondale.

 

 

Ps does the fact that youre posting pics mean theres an upcoming uptown photo thread???

Ps does the fact that youre posting pics mean theres an upcoming uptown photo thread???

 

Not at this point, but I've got a couple photo thread ideas in the pipeline.  The day when I went out and took these I only had an hour or so.  So I only got around to building projects that I wanted to update on here.

Burnet Avenue revitalization moving forward

http://www.uptownconsortium.org/uptown_rebirth

 

Have you driven down Burnet Avenue lately?  The community’s commitment to “Take Back Burnet Avenue!” is well underway with the first phase of more than $85 million in new development under construction at Burnet and Northern Avenue.

 

Construction has started for nearly 200,000 square feet of new office space, including the Cincinnati Herald building, an office building for Cincinnati Children’s, and a parking garage.  Development needs and construction timing dictated that the commercial phase of the project be tackled first. Site preparation – including infrastructure work like sewers and utilities – is complete, and now the new buildings are taking shape.

 

The housing component is moving forward as well.  In an area bounded by Harvey and Erckenbrecker Avenues, a residential development will feature more than 30 new units.  The housing component – currently known as Harvey Commons – is moving forward.  The houses will be contemporary in design while conforming to the principles of the Burnet Avenue Revitalization Plan and fitting within the overall feel of the neighborhood.

 

The residential development has been boosted by a $13 million award in Low Income Housing Tax Credits and a $100,000 grant by Fannie Mae to the Uptown Consortium to expand affordable housing in Uptown.  The grant was used to determine housing needs in Uptown and communicate housing options to neighborhood residents.

 

“The Uptown Consortium is committed to making sure the neighborhood benefits from the projects in the development pipeline,” said Brown. “Ensuring that residents can afford the new housing is key to that mission. The Fannie Mae grant will help us, and the developer, find the best ways to do that.”

 

The Model Group has been retained to manage the housing phase of the Burnet Avenue project. They will produce a site plan, construction schedule and streetscape strategy.  “The current conditions in the housing market are requiring us to take a more cautious approach,” commented Brown.

Here are a few photos from today...

 

1. The new Cincinnati Herald headquarters building looking northeast from Burnet Avenue.

 

2. The new Cincinnati Herald headquarters building looking southeast from Burnet Avenue (love the wood paneling).

 

3. Here you can see the new Cincinnati Children's Hospital medical office building in the background.

 

4. The new Cincinnati Herald headquarters building detail.  The Cincinnati Herald will occupy the top two floors with street-level retail and possibly a restaurant in these space below.

 

5. The new hideous-looking 1,450 space parking garage behind the two structures.

 

6. Detail of worker doing something with those hideous bracket things on the new parking garage.

wow that garage is funky.  I know you don't like it but I am on the fence.  thanks for the updates randy. 

^Fortunately the back side of the garage will be hidden from Harvey Avenue and the surrounding homes by new 3-4 story townhouses that will be built in a later phase.

The metal screens aren't my cup of tea personally, but at least it's better than looking at just another dumb parking garage. God knows there's already enough of those around the city. Maybe they'll be backlit with some interesting lighting when complete.

I think the "weaving" of the metal screens make it looks tacky.  I like the concept they're going for, though; it could look modern and interesting, especially if they add some lighting as LiG said.

Maybe if they covered them with ivy or flowers?

i doubt they will be lit.  it seems that the forms are a little too complex for any sort of legitimate lighting scheme.  i dont hate it though.

Transfer of federal HOME funding could bring senior infill to Avondale

http://www.building-cincinnati.com/2009/07/transfer-of-federal-home-funding-could.html

 

A Cincinnati City Council approval on August 5 could provide $775,000 for affordable senior housing in Avondale.

 

Model Management is seeking the federal HOME funding to construct Forest Square, a new 21-unit, LEED-certified infill building at 430-436 Rockdale Avenue and 3511 Harvey Avenue.

 

The funding would be drawn from three existing HOME project accounts: $586,000 from Deferred Rehab Loans & Lead Grants '07, $162,000 from Deferred Rehab Loans & Lead Grants '08, and $27,000 from American Dream Downpayment Initiative '08.*

 

Model Management is seeking LEED certification for the project.

 

Created in 1990 and administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, HOME is the largest federal block grant to state and local governments designed exclusively to create affordable housing for low-income households, allocating approximately $2 billion annually.

 

Figures rounded to the nearest thousand.

Avondale, Uptown, CPD win $15K national revitalization award

http://www.building-cincinnati.com/2009/08/avondale-uptown-cpd-win-15k-national.html

 

At a ceremony Friday at the Avondale Pride Center, the Avondale Community Council, Uptown Consortium, the Cincinnati Police Department and other neighborhood partners were honored with the MetLife Foundation Community-Police Partnership Award in recognition of their work to reduce crime and spur housing and economic development.

 

The $15,000 Neighborhood Revitalization Award, sponsored by the MetLife Foundation and administered by the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), was one of only 11 presented to the more than 650 applicants from low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, putting the awardees in the top 2 percent of community-police partnerships nationwide.

 

"The good news is that, around the country, community groups and police agencies are teaming up and sharing ideas and resources to address this challenge," said MetLife agency sales director Eric Gilliam. "We can all be proud that, here in Cincinnati, partnerships between community groups and police are thriving and building positive results. Equally important, they are building community, opportunity, and hope at a time when they are needed most."

 

LISC's Community Safety Initiative supports strategic alliances between police and community developers to reduce crime, disorder and fear in troubled neighborhoods. LISC has administered the MetLife Foundation program since 2002.

 

"We can't do that in places that are unsafe, or even perceived as being unsafe," said LISC president and CEO Michael Rubinger. "And that's why this program – the Community Safety Initiative – has risen to such an important position among the programs that we offer across the country. It really is the foundation of what we do."

 

Cincinnati city manager Milton Dohoney Jr. said that the partnership, which has grown to include the Avondale Youth Council, Cincinnati Initiative to Reduce Violence, the Department of Community Development, the Community Police Partnering Center, CeaseFire Cincinnati and LISC, was born in 2007 during the City's Neighborhood Enhancement Program.

 

"It has to be a situation where we work in concert, in a coordinated fashion, with multiple stakeholders," he said. "The City doing things on its own, without a partnership with the community stakeholders, is a model whose days are gone by."

 

Crime goes down

Through the identification, mapping, and analysis of neighborhood crime "hot spots" – in addition to the placement of surveillance cameras and stepped-up police patrols – the partnership has helped decrease overall crime by 13 percent.

 

Quality of life crimes in the City's fourth-largest neighborhood have decreased by 17 percent, and serious crimes involving firearms have decreased by 41 percent.

 

MetLife's recognition is the fourth community-police partnership award for the City in the past four years.

 

"It's unusual for a City to get two, and this is our fourth," said Cincinnati Police Department chief Tom Streicher. "And the reason for that is because people like all of you that are here today and fully committed understand that there's not a light switch, formula or easy way to get where we want to go. And that is, as a progressive City, a progressive neighborhood and a progressive community, it's success that's celebrated in small steps. Those small steps continue to build on each other and, all of a sudden, we're where we want to be."

 

Streicher credited the Uptown Consortium with helping to raise $90,000 for City surveillance cameras, and, as a result, Avondale will be the first to receive additional cameras.

 

Award money will also help fund additional patrols in the neighborhood, Streicher said.

 

"Lots of people spend a lot of time studying problems, talking about problems, and considering solutions," Hanover said. "But things don't happen unless people act. We will continue to take action where action is needed in order to improve the quality of life in the community."

 

Senator shows commitment

State Senator Eric Kearney (D-9th), owner of Cincinnati Herald publisher Sesh Communications, refused to let the drug boys run him out of the neighborhood.

 

Instead, he remains committed to the neighborhood where his wife grew up and where he was baptized.

 

That commitment can be seen in a brand new office building for the Herald, under construction on Burnet Avenue.

 

"All of these people coming together, lending their expertise and support and resources and finances, have really changed Avondale," Kearney said. "It wasn't so long ago that, when we moved our newspaper on Burnet, that literally I would walk out the door and run into a drug transaction. But what's happening now is that there's new businesses coming, the area is much safer, and hopefully we'll see new jobs and new families. I'm excited to see how the next few years will turn out."

 

According to plan

Avondale Community Council president Patricia Milton said that the neighborhood's efforts are all part of the Avondale Vision Plan.

 

"Safety is at the core of all of the efforts to improve the quality of life for Avondale's residents," she said. "This helps us to implement the vision – to make Avondale a better place to work, live, play, and worship. Avondale is in the midst of a vital revitalization."

 

Uptown Consortium president and CEO Tony Brown agreed.

 

"If we fail to address safety, all of the positive things happening in Avondale – the new buildings, the new housing, the new businesses – then all of these wonderful partnerships will fail," he said. "Our efforts in 'bricks and sticks' must be supported and integrated with our efforts to reach Avondale's hearts and souls to make Avondale safer and more welcoming. Those who call Avondale home should expect nothing less."

 

'A new tomorrow'

"A new tomorrow is no longer just a dream, but a reality, complete with new brick and mortar, revived hope among youth, a regeneration of community purpose," said Ozie Davis, who once headed LISC's Community Safety Initiative and now works with the Avondale Youth Council. "Let's keep at it."

 

Dohoney pledged the City's help in continuing the positive momentum.

 

"The neighborhood is on track to bring in new jobs, new investment, new economic development," he said. "And I'm pleased to say that the City will continue to be a partner with the neighborhood, with all of the stakeholders, in order to move things forward."

 

And, of course, every neighborhood requires a little cheerleading and salesmanship as it tries to turn the corner.

 

"If you're looking for a community to call your own, check out Avondale!" Milton said. "It's a friendly community with lots of amenities, and the housing stock here you'll find nowhere else in Cincinnati."

When did Avondale become the 4th largest?  I thought it was #2 after Westwood.

Westwood

East Price Hill

West Price Hill

Avondale

College Hill

Cincinnati Herald moves to Burnet Avenue building

Business Courier of Cincinnati, December 17, 2009

 

The Cincinnati Herald on Thursday dedicated its new offices in Avondale, part of the $100 million Burnet Avenue revitalization project’s first phase.

 

The Herald, Cincinnati’s 54-year-old African-American newspaper, will occupy the 46,000-square-foot Herald Building on Burnet Avenue.

USGBC Cincinnati to host tours of Herald Building, DeSales Flats

By Kevin LeMaster, Building Cincinnati | January 4, 2010

http://www.building-cincinnati.com/2010/01/usgbc-cincinnati-to-host-tours-of.html

 

The U.S. Green Building Council Cincinnati Regional Chapter will hold a free tour of the LEED Gold Cincinnati Herald Building this Thursday from 5:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m.

 

The three-story, 46,000-square-foot building at 3440 Burnet Avenue in Avondale was designed by DNK Architects, Inc. and serves as the headquarters of the Cincinnati Herald. The building also houses offices for Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and street-level retail space.

 

In addition to earning LEED Gold certification last year, the structure was selected as a Green Building of America Award-winning project and was featured in the Real Estate & Construction Review Midwest "Green Success Stories" edition.

 

Designer Raffi Tomassian of DNK Architects, Thomas Stinger of developer Al. Neyer, Inc., and Franz Stansbury of the Uptown Consortium and Burnet Avenue Association will be on hand to answer questions.

 

RSVP to [email protected] or (513) 260-9025 to have a copy of the LEED checklist reserved for the tour. Registration is appreciated, but not required.

 

On January 14, a tour will be held at DeSales Flats, Woodburn Avenue and Chapel Street in East Walnut Hills. Materials also can be reserved for that tour.

 

 

Cincinnati's famous Stag's Barbershop reopens in Avondale

By Randy A. Simes, Soapbox Cincinnati | February 9, 2010

http://soapboxmedia.com/devnews/0209stagsbarbershop.aspx

 

De'Angelo Boynton remembers growing up with his grandfather Lester Hankerson and Otis Miller in Stag's Barbershop in Avondale.  The barbershop has been a neighborhood icon since it was started in the 1950's, and has been a point of pride for residents and an attraction for others.

 

"I grew up in the barbershop watching them cut hair of people like Muhammad Ali and James Brown," said Boynton who now owns and operates Stag's.

 

Some things have changed though according to Boynton.  For one, the barbershop has relocated from its original location nearby into a 1,400 square-foot location newly renovated by Cincinnati-based Model Group.

 

"The times have changed since Stag's first started, and there was a lot of criminal activity around Burnet Avenue," said Boynton.  "I'm very glad to see Children's Hospital, the Uptown Consortium and the Model Group doing what they're doing to change the neighborhood."

 

The change has been dramatic with a slew of new midrise buildings popping up along Burnet Avenue to serve the growing medical needs of Cincinnati Children's Hospital among others.  But the transition period has been difficult on Avondale according to Boynton who says that only one other neighborhood business still remains in the district other than his own, so he was very grateful when Model Group approached him about locating in the newly renovated space with upper-floor apartments last year.

 

The new Stag's Barbershop now includes a full beauty saloon run by Verna "Mickey" White who takes care of hair, nails and feet treatments.  The barbershop portion of the Stag's remains strong with Boynton and Charles Hemphill running that portion.  Stag's relationship with the Avondale community has remained with the move into the new space as well.

 

"I do a lot of work in the community, and I often cut hair for free for students at Rockdale Academy and others in the neighborhood who often can't afford to pay," explained Boynton.

 

After a tremendous first week of business in the new space Boynton is encouraged about the shop's future.  Open Monday through Friday from 8am to 6pm, and Saturday from 8am to 4pm customers can visit the shop at 3501 Burnet Avenue (map).  Men's haircuts are $15 and $20 for hair and face while children's cuts cost only $10.  For additional information about beauty saloon pricing please call (513) 751-7824.