Madisonville : Development News

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.
 
By Caitlin Koenig
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The City of Cincinnati has taken out the back-and-forth that can occur when residents try to reach them to report issues in their neighborhoods. At the Neighborhood Summit on Feb. 16, Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls announced that the Cincinnati City Hall mobile app is available to the public.
 
With the app, residents can look up trash, recycling and street sweeping days, and set reminders; locate and report problems by address; bookmark locations for quick reporting; and track the status of reports. City Hall mobile also has GPS, so users can report issues, even without an address. There’s even a searchable map with property owner information, which enables residents to see if a property is occupied or vacant.
 
A few years ago, residents had to use the Yellow Pages to look up the number for city departments to file complaints, says Kevin Wright, executive director of Walnut Hills Redevelopment Foundation. The city then implemented a hotline for all complaints, but residents never knew the status of their reports.
 
“It’s amazing how comprehensive the app is,” Wright says. “If you see a broken window, pothole, graffiti, hanging gutter or anything else that is physically wrong with your neighborhood, street or community, you can report it in an instant. It’s a great tool for neighborhood redevelopment.”
 
The app can also be used as a community-organizing tool, Wright says. For example, if there is a property owner who historically hasn’t taken care of his or her property, social media can help organize a community and target the property to enforce codes until the property is fixed, which is what neighborhood councils and organizations like WHRF do.
 
“We’re really putting power in the hands of the citizens of the neighborhoods,” he says.
 
As with most tech programs, the app has room to grow, too. In the future, it could be linked with Facebook or Twitter, so your friends and followers will know who reported problems and where they are.
 
Cincinnati residents can download the app in the Apple App Store or download it through Google Play.
 
By Caitlin Koenig
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Last Monday, Madisonville was allocated $2.5 million in bond financing to make improvements to the neighborhood’s business district. The bond money will be paid back with funds from the Madisonville tax increment financing, or TIF, district.

A TIF is the difference between what property taxes would be after redevelopment and what the tax would be if no redevelopment occurred. A payment is made to the TIF fund in lieu of taxes and is used to finance other projects. Madisonville will pay back the bond over a period of 20 years.
 
In November, Madisonville revealed its quality of life plan to the public, which focused on economic development, health and wellness, arts and culture, education and youth, built environment and community engagement. The plan will take about 10 years to fully implement, but Madisonville is taking immediate steps to revitalize its business district.
 
There are about two blocks of vacant property at the intersection of Madison and Whetsel, which is at the heart of the business district. With the bond money, Madisonville will be able to begin construction on those buildings and bringing in businesses to start building the citizens’ dreams of a walking neighborhood.
 
The $2.5 million is the first big investment in the physical transformation of Madisonville, says Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls.
 
Madisonville is among four major growth opportunity areas in Cincinnati, including Walnut Hills, Westwood and College Hill. But these neighborhoods aren’t the only ones the City is investing in.
 
“These neighborhoods are target areas because of their participation in developing the new form-based code for the City,” says Qualls.
 
By Caitlin Koenig
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Next Tuesday, Madisonville’s community council will share its Quality of Life Plan with funders, government officials, businesses, nonprofits and surrounding communities. For the past year, Madisonville has been involved in an intensive, community-driven planning process.
 
It’s the first time in Cincinnati that a citizen-driven, community plan of this type has been developed, although it has been used in 109 communities across the country.
 
Not only does Madisonville have a strong history—its future looks bright. The neighborhood on the east side of Cincinnati is more than 200 years old. It was established in 1809 and originally called “Madison” after the newly elected fourth President of the United States, James Madison.
 
Madisonville’s first permanent settler was Joseph Ward and his family. In 1797, they built a log cabin along an Indian trail that is near what are now Whetsel and Monning avenues. About 30 years later, a post office was established and the neighborhood’s name was changed to Madisonville to avoid duplication with Madison, Ohio. It was annexed by the City of Cincinnati in 1911. Today, about 9,000 people live in the neighborhood.
 
But in the 1970s, about 17,000 people lived in Madisonville. Flight from urban areas in the '70s has yet to be reversed, but there are more residents considering city life.
 
“Madisonville would be a great place to live because of its closeness to downtown,” says Sara Sheets, a Madisonville resident of nine years and the project manager for the Quality-of-Life Planning Process on behalf of the Madisonville Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation. Residents can jump on Columbia Parkway or I-71 to get to work and events downtown.
 
Many of Madisonville’s residents moved to the area because they wanted to be part of a racially and economically diverse community. “I wanted to live in a diverse community with a potential for the future,” says Sheets.
 
The residents of Madisonville really care about the neighborhood and want to see it grow. Last year, Madisonville began the intense process of organizing the community in order to develop a vision for the neighborhood. Six working groups were formed to focus on economic development, health and wellness, arts and culture, education and youth, built environment and community engagement. The groups met six times over the summer to form a specific plan. The Quality of Life Plan will likely take about 10 years to implement, but it’s a roadmap for what the community wants to see happen in the neighborhood, Sheets says.
 
The Quality of Life Plan focuses on broader change, particularly on the opportunities and quality of life for children and seniors in Madisonville, according to Bob Igoe, who has lived in Madisonville for 12 years and been the community council president for three.

A large portion of the Plan is focused on education, from kindergarten on up. For example, the Children’s Home of Cincinnati has made a long-term commitment for the kindergarten-ready program in Madisonville. The program focuses on children ages 0-3 and helps prepare them for kindergarten, both educationally and socially.

Not only are there long-term goals for Madisonville, but there are short-term goals, too. One of these is jump-starting the growth of the business district, Igoe says.
 
Currently, there are about two blocks of vacant property at Madison and Whetsel, in the heart of the neighborhood’s business district. Madisonville residents will ultimately get to decide what will fill those vacant spaces.

“We want to develop a mixed-use neighborhood where walking and biking to restaurants, shops and services is easy,” Sheets says. Many residents go outside of the neighborhood to grab a cup of coffee.  
 
Residents also want to add new apartments, condos and houses to the town. Most of the new housing will likely be around the business district to enhance the community's walkability.
 
The meeting is to begin Nov. 27 at 5:30 pm at John P. Parker School, 5051 Anderson Place, Cincinnati.
 
By Caitlin Koenig
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As many areas of Cincinnati are being rejuvenated, including OTR and Washington Park, the City of Cincinnati approved a comprehensive approach to focus on development in the city as a whole, not just targeted neighborhoods. 

Last Friday, the City Planning Commission approved and adopted Plan Cincinnati, which was designed with input from residents. The Plan is an opportunity to strengthen what people love about the city, what works and what needs more attention, says Katherine Keough-Jurs, senior city planner and project manager.
 
The idea is to re-urbanize suburbanized Cincinnati; in a sense, to return to the strengths of the city's beginnings. Cincinnati was established just after the American Revolution in 1788 and grew into an industrial center in the 19^th century. Many of those industries no longer exist in the city, which is part of why Cincinnati has become more suburbanized in the past 50 years. One of the long-term goals of the Plan is to bring new industries to Cincinnati.
 
With a new approach to revitalization, Cincinnati is blazing the trail for other cities. With a focus on building on existing strengths rather than tearing down structures and creating new ones, the Plan aims to capitalize on the city's “good bones” and good infrastructure.
 
Cinicinnatians had a huge role in developing the Plan. The first public meeting for the Plan was held in September 2009, when residents offered their insights into “what makes a great city?" and "what would make Cincinnati a great city?” A steering committee of 40 people representing businesses, nonprofits, community groups, local institutions, residents and City Council helped develop the Plan.

The Plan also got support from a grant from the Partnership for Sustainable Communities, which the City received in 2010. The grant allotted $2.4 million over three years to support the Land Development Code, which combines and simplifies Cincinnati's codes, reviews the development process, implements Form-based Codes and considers more creative uses for land. The grant allowed the city to start implementing some of the ideas voiced in public meetings.
 
Visionaries included youth, too. City staff worked with community centers and Cincinnati Public Schools to develop an art project for children. They were given clay pots and asked to paint their fears for the city on the inside and their dreams for the city on the outside. The children saw the big issue was quality of life, just like the adults did.
 
“It was an interesting way to get the kids involved and thinking about the future,” Keough-Jurs says.
 
The Plan aims to strengthen neighborhood centers—the neighborhoods’ business districts. It maps out areas that people need to get to on a daily basis and found that most are within about a half-mile of the business districts. But in some neighborhoods, residents can’t access their neighborhood centers. 

The accessibility of a neighborhood center is based on walkability—not just for pedestrians, but also about how structures address walking. For exampke, if a pedestrian can walk from one end of the neighborhood center to the other without breaking his or her pattern (the window shopping effect), the area is walkable; if he or she has been stopped by a parking lot or vacancies, it’s not walkable, Keough-Jurs says.
 
The neighborhood centers are classified in one of three ways in the Plan: maintain, evolve or transform. Some neighborhoods have goals to maintain levels of walkability, whereas others need to gradually change or evolve. Still others need to completely transform in order to strengthen their business districts.
 
“Cincinnati is at the heart of the region,” Keough-Jurs says. “If we strengthen Cincinnati, we strengthen a region.”

The next step for the Plan is to go before the Cincinnati City Council, specifically the Livable Communities Committee, which is chaired by Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls.
 
By Caitlin Koenig
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Plan, Build, Live is a program driven by community feedback and discussion, all gathered  via the project's website. The website encourages people to share their ideas about how a city should be designed. This weekend, instead of just online, Cincinnati residents and business leaders will come together to shape our future through a citywide Urban Design Workshop. The Workshop takes place from April 28 to May 2 to help create a "form-based code" that can be used by neighborhoods all over Cincinnati -- and help shape how development happens in Cincinnati in decades to come.  

One local community is coming together to oppose an upcoming transportation project in Cincinnati – and it's not the streetcar.

The Eastern Corridor project, a highway expansion and community rail project led by the Ohio Department of Transportation, has raised the ire of Madisonville residents who object to the expansion of Red Bank Road to what ODOT terms "highway capacity," citing a negative impact on the neighborhood.

"It's really quite dramatic what they are proposing," says Bill Collins, a board member with the Madisonville Community Council. "Essentially the end result will make these neighborhoods unattractive."

Construction for Phase 1 of the project is slated to take place on an approximately 2.5 mile stretch on Red Bank Road from Interstate 71 to US 50. The project calls for the appropriation of large amounts of land along Red Bank Road, Collins says, including chunks of property belonging to the Children's Home of Cincinnati and the clinical research company Medpace.

Collins says the plan is very outdated. "It was a plan that was put together with very little input from the communities around here," he says. "It was put together before a lot of development blossomed (on Red Bank Road). People stop at businesses when the speed limit is 35 miles per hour. How many will stop when the speed limit is 55?"

Collins is also amazed that ODOT didn't contact businesses to consult with them about the land appropriation.

A June meeting about the Eastern Corridor project was the first time that representatives of Medpace and the Children's Home of Cincinnati learned of their property being connected to the project, he says.

"Neither organization had any recollection of being contacted by ODOT," Collins says. "The fact that (Ellen Katz, CEO of the Children's Home of Cincinnati) didn't know about it and was seeing the maps for the first time was shocking. That's an indication to us that the community input in 2006 was limited. ODOT didn't really do their due diligence in reaching out to the public."

Representatives for ODOT, however, said they solicited resident input on the project as early as 2001.

"We've had numerous meetings and discussions with them (between 2001 and 2006)," says Andy Fluegemann, planning engineer for ODOT's District 8, which includes Hamilton County.

A federal court decision upheld the plans for Phase 1 of the project in 2006, but the project stalled due to a lack of development funds, Fluegemann says.

Funding was identified for the project in 2009, however, and a consultant was hired to collect data and update what information may have changed concerning the project, such as the new development along Red Bank Road, he said

In the meantime, neighboring communities have joined Madisonville in its opposition to the project. The Hyde Park Neighborhood Council approved a resolution supporting a Madisonville resolution calling for no expansion to Red Bank Road and requesting more neighborhood input on the project.

"I think they realize if the road (Red Bank) accommodates the quality development, it will possibly raise the demand for housing (in Hyde Park)," Collins says. "It's not just a Madisonville issue, but an east side issue."

Cincinnati City Council has also joined the movement. It passed two resolutions June 21 calling for the Cincinnati Department of Transportation and Engineering to work with Madisonville in developing an alternative plan for Phase 1 and to change the name of the Red Bank Road Expressway to the Dunbar Expressway, paying homage to the historic Dunbar neighborhood.

"We move that DOTE work with the residents and businesses of Madisonville to oppose the current Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) plan to turn Red Bank Expressway into a 55-mile-per-hour highway as part of the Eastern Corridor project," the council resolution reads.

The City Council resolution also called for DOTE to include attractive landscaping and accommodate the needs of cyclists and pedestrians.

Despite opposing the current plan, the Madisonville Community Council is not against the whole Eastern Corridor project, Collins says. The council just wants to see ODOT solicit more community input from Madisonville residents regarding Phase 1.

"If this thing is done right, it has the potential to dramatically improve the east side of town for the next 30 to 40 years," he says. "If the project is going to be done, we want it to be done the right way before the bulldozers start doing their thing."

Flugemann says ODOT planned to reengage the public, including residents of Madisonville, at a series of meetings this fall -- before Cincinnati City Council beat them to the punch by setting a meeting slated for Aug. 3 at the Madisonville Recreation Center at 5320 Stewart Road. The meeting is hosted by Cincinnati City Council's Livable Communities Committee.

ODOT will "gather residents input and get their concerns on the table" through the Aug. 3 meeting, he said.

By James Sprague

Steve Rock spoke to the Madisonville Community Council in mid-June about an update and a request. He and a team of volunteers plan to convert a derelict industrial building on Whetsel Avenue into an urban farm and education center, employing the latest technology to grow fresh meat and produce in the neighborhood.  

But the response of the more than 50 people in attendance showed that innovation is not just about ideas and experiments; it's also about connecting with people and building community support.

"I think education is huge in this project," says Rock, an environmental engineer by trade who has taken on the urban farm project in his spare time, partly to see if some of its more unusual ideas will work. He spent part of the meeting - and much of the time afterward - explaining various aspects of the project: a system of vertical integration would grow both hydroponic vegetables and tilapia in the building (a former laundry) using waste from the fish to fertilize the plants. A classroom and community gardens would help area residents learn about agriculture and grow their own food. And a program to train at-risk youth would help staff the facility while improving the employment prospects for its participants.

But questions also revolved around the building itself. Madisonville Community Council president Bob Igoe explained that the building, which has been vacant for years, is slated for demolition. "We've got to be confident Steve can make this thing work, or we're going to be stuck with [the building] for another year," Igoe says.

Several Madisonville residents asked pointed questions about timelines and the likelihood of the project getting grant funding; Igoe pointed this out as an indication - the project's merits aside - that city residents wanted to see progress in their community.

"You have a room full of people who have had a handful of promises for decades," he says.

At the end of the meeting, the community voted to place a three-month stay on the demolition. This gives Rock time to try to secure grant funding, showing the community the project can raise the $500,000 to $1 million he estimates it will take to launch. Volunteers have launched a website and have drafted handouts to help spread the word about the project, and Rock said he hopes to hear about grant funding prior to the community council's next meeting on the project, planned for September.

By Matt Cunningham

A group of residents from several Cincinnati neighborhoods spoke at the June 7 meeting of Cincinnati City Council's Quality of Life Subcommittee. Their subject? A recently closed railroad spur and a proposal to change it into a 6.5-mile cycling and walking path.

"This could really serve as an important connector for the many [multiuse path] projects Cincinnati has going on," said project advocate Jay Andress.

The proposed project would convert a Norfolk Southern Railroad spur into a path that would connect with the Little Miami bike trail in Newtown and run into the heart of downtown. Advocates at Tuesday's meeting pointed out that the path would only cross seven roads in its entire length, making it a true rarity: a nearly uninterrupted trail running through several neighborhoods in a major urban area.

But beyond the health benefits and transportation options that the path could provide, some residents at the meeting brought up another point: building the path could resolve a growing problem with the semi-abandoned line.

Hyde Park Neighborhood Council President Anne Gerwin said the point where the line crosses Wasson Road has been a maintenance and safety issue for years. "We struggle many times each year to have the city and railroad maintain it," she said. The neighborhood's council passed a resolution supporting the project.

Likewise, Hyde Park resident Lindsay Felder, who said her home is within sight of the track, said there's been a visible deterioration of it - and an uptick in people loitering along the weedy path - since it became inactive in 2009.

"We've always wondered about the tracks," she said, explaining that she began going door to door to drum up local support after meeting Andress and learning about the proposed project.

"We see it as a great upcycling of existing property that is underutilized," she said.

Subcommittee chair Laure Quinlivan said there are a number of details to clarify before the project moves further forward, such as determining if Norfolk Southern has future plans for the line, and if an arrangement can be made that would allow the city to adapt the path into light rail if that becomes a future transit option.

"This is really a great proposal," she said. "The best ideas don't always come out of City Hall. If we could make this happen, it would be such a great asset to so many residents."

Story: Matt Cunningham
Photo: Wasson Way Project

Cincinnati-based clinical research organization Medpace is having a year of notable changes, thanks to the continuation of a long-laid plan, and a recently announced partial acquisition.

In 2010, Medpace began the relocation of its operations to a new facility on Red Bank and Madison roads in Madisonville. The move, supported in part by a 15-year, 75 percent LEED tax abatement on the first of three planned buildings, a 132,000 square-foot office building.

The company has planned from the beginning to construct two additional buildings to house research labs. Construction manager Al Neyer, Inc. recently closed the bidding process for subcontractors for the new buildings, and on May 25 Cincinnati City Council approved a pair of 15-year tax exemptions for the new buildings, which are planned to be built to LEED certified standards.

"Originally, when we built the headquarters, we had two labs in Norwood," said company spokesperson Mary Kuramoto. "The plan has always been to move them to the new location."

But Medpace's latest news has little to do with its brick-and-mortar developments: the company announced May 23 that affiliates of the global private equity firm CCMP Capital Advisors, LLC, are in talks with the company to acquire an 80-percent ownership share. The acquisitions will allow Medpace to expand its global reach and enhance its ability to conduct phase I-IV clinical studies, said Medpace CEO August Troendle in a press release announcing the move.

A spokesperson for CCMP Capital Advisors' New York City office declined to comment on the deal, but noted - as did Medpace via press release - that more news on the deal may be released in June.

Writer: Matt Cunningham
Photography by Matt Cunningham

Brazee Street Studios is a driving force behind efforts to raise awareness of art happenings in Oakley and surrounding neighborhoods. The resource center houses the Brazee Street School of Glass, Gallery One One and more than 20 artist studios. Now it's looking to expand on those efforts and reach out to art businesses beyond Oakley.

Let's start with the most immediate effort: Oakley After Hours, which was rescheduled to avoid conflicts with other art events in the Cincinnati area. Happening 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, April 8, the event highlights businesses in the neighborhood, mainly along Madison Road and Oakley Square. It's organized by the Oakley Community Council and happens the second Friday of each month through August. Brazee and other art houses such as Redtree Art Gallery and Coffee Shop and The Brush Factory will stay open later than usual.

"Brazee has been really excited about the support we've received in Oakley from families and artists," says creative director Leah Busch. "It's a nice eastside vantage point. We're just trying to be a bulls eye for art here."

Collage artist Sara Pearce, a former arts editor at the Enquirer, rents a studio space at Brazee. She had approached Oakley Community Council about moving Oakley After Hours, formerly happening the last Friday of each month, to the second Friday. The move was inspired by Redtree, which had been keeping its doors open then.

The "2nd Friday" concept works, she says, because it doesn't conflict with Final Fridays in Over-the-Rhine or First Fridays in Covington.

"It just seemed like an opportunity to carve a new niche on a different weekend," Pearce says.

Councilmembers Lindsay Hooks and Gina Brenner are planning After Hours. Hooks says places like Brazee, Country Club art gallery and Voltage furniture are developing the neighborhood's identity as an arts district.

"I'm really hoping that (After Hours) brings more awareness to what we have here," she says.

Brazee will open its artist studios from 7 to 9 p.m. April 8. It's previewing a new concept, too. Called "Art Between the Lines," an outdoor market for artists, designers, food vendors, event organizers and non-profits. They can purchase a nine foot by eight foot space outside the studios.

Busch says Brazee is in the "infant stage" of organizing an art walk that weaves through Oakley, Hyde Park, Madisonville, O'Bryonville, or "pinpoints eastside art destinations on (and around) Madison Road."

The visionaries behind this effort include Busch, Pearce, and Lisa Merida-Paytes and Tom Funke of Funke Fired Arts, based on Wasson Road.

"It seems like there is a lot of going on in eastside art, but there's no unifying thread," Busch says. "There's no web site you can go to; there's no postcard that says 'Here are the hotspots where you can see.' We want to make it a 'You can make a night out of it' idea."

Writer: Rich Shivener
Photography by Scott Beseler.

Madisonville takes another positive step towards redevelopment with the new Madisonville Coffee House.  Started by former Community Council president, Bob Mendlein, the Coffeehouse takes advantage of a vacant historic building along the neighborhood's main drag. Mendlein decided it was time to make a change in his neighborhood.

"I live in an area with little redevelopment in the old business district," Mendlein said. "I want to make something happen and show people that there is potential like back in the 1950's when it was a phenomenal town."

Originally a payday lender was going to take the place of the vacant building, but Mendlein took the initiative to make sure that did not occur. He felt a coffee house would be more conducive to the redevelopment efforts occurring throughout the neighborhood.

"It will be a start to change the character of the neighborhood. The character is shaped by what you see as you drive through," Mendlein said. "If we have something that is more welcoming to the neighborhood, then residents can take pride in this development and enjoy it."

Currently the coffee house is open 6-9pm, Fridays and Saturdays, with plans to open on Sundays in the near future. Plans are also in place to use the space for entertainment and meetings.

Connecting the neighborhood back to it's history, Mendlein is using the first archeological object found in the area, the Effigy Face pot, as its logo. 

The community has recently been the focus of design plans crafted by the Niehoff Urban Studio at the University of Cincinnati. 

Writer: Lisa Ensminger
Photography by Scott Beseler.