Over-the-Rhine : Development News

The Cincinnati Streetcar could soon become one of the first projects in the country to be funded by the Federal government's Urban Circulator grant program. The city of Cincnnati announced June 10 that the project received a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a final step needed before the project could access the Urban Circulator funds it won in June 2010.

According to Streetcar Project Manager Chris Eilerman, a key to passing that government-mandated standard has been a commitment to protecting not only the physical environment, but the cultural one as well.

"Because this project extends into Over-the-Rhine, which is pretty heavily regulated, we were really sensitive when looking at the impact," he said. "We want to make sure we don't produce a negative impact on the historic properties."

Over-the-Rhine's historic collection of Italianate architecture is as much a part of the environment as air and water quality - at least in terms of what the EPA's environmental assessment evaluates. Eilerman said as part of the assessment, the city has promised to work closely with the Ohio Historic Preservation Office. The office will review designs for platforms, transmission wire poles and other streetcar facilities, to ensure they complement the historic neighborhood's overall look and feel.

"This is a neighborhood that grew up around streetcar transit," Eilerman said. "We view the resurgence in this type of transit as something that could make the neighborhood better, and we want to make sure we do that."

He explained that, now that the FONSI is on the records, the project will work to complete initial design work and right-of-way negotiations. Throughout the process - especially in the design department - the Ohio Historic Preservation Office will provide review and oversight, to make sure Cincinnati's streetcar fits in with the past as it moves the city into the future.

Writer:  Matt Cunningham

Cincinnati's Over-the-Rhine neighborhood has become a surprise contender in the National Trust for Historic Preservation's This Place Matters Community Challenge, a competition that could win the Over-the-Rhine Foundation $25,000 to aid in sustainable preservation efforts.

Voting for the online competition ends June 30. As of June 24, OTR was ranked second out of the 100 buildings and communities selected for the competition. OTR is the only finalist from Cincinnati, and one of four selected in the state of Ohio.

Margaret O'Neal, manager of marketing programs for the National Trust, said the community challenge is designed to do more than reward the contender with the biggest voter drive.

"We're giving out grant money, but we also want to give communities a platform to get people involved in preservation around the country," she said, noting that the competition has motivated a number of preservation groups to step out of their PR comfort zones. "Last year, a lot of smaller organizations tried Facebook campaigns for the first time. This was a reason for them to try something new, to push their boards a little bit."

OTR Foundation trustee and board member W. Kevin Pape said a range of groups, from Findlay Market to the band Over the Rhine, have stepped up to help promote the voter drive.

"A lot of people are associated with Greater Cincinnati, and even people outside the city are voting and getting their friends to vote," he said. "I think there's a very large and diverse population that values Over-the-Rhine."

Pape said that while the OTR Foundation isn't counting its winnings before they're won, it could possibly use the $25,000 prize to help expand the Life Cycle Assessment Study, an initiative underway in Over-the-Rhine that hopes to provide standards and resources to reconcile LEED-certified green building practices with historic preservation. The project, if successful, could eventually incentivize rehabilitation and provide a guide for homeowners to reduce environmental impact at the same time they're preserving historic structures.

But win or lose, Pape said there are other positives that have already come out of the neighborhood's strong run in the competition.

"One of the things the National Trust tries to do is get the community excited about place, and I think that's working," he said. "There's a lot of buzz about it."

Voting is quick, easy and only requires an email to register.  If you'd like to vote for the Foundation's nomination of Over-the-Rhine, you can go here. To see the current results, go here.

Writer: Matt Cunningham

The US Green Building Council's conference this week, "Greening the Heartland: Breaking New Ground," held in Cincinnati, could have adopted the theme "Breaking the Mold" for its innovativeLegacy Project. Scheduled to be presented to the green building community on Wednesday, June 22, this life cycle assessment study, possibly the first of its kind in the nation, will compare the eco-profile of renovating existing historic homes to that of newly constructed homes and evaluate the environmental benefit of reusing existing vacant buildings in historic neighborhoods.

Based on an actual case-study of renovating two existing homes in the historic neighborhood of Over-The-Rhine, the study will measure the benefits of rehabilitation through four life-cycle assessment impact categories: primary energy consumption, cost, weighed raw resource use, and global warming potential. 

"Historic buildings can be hard to make energy efficient," said Sanyog Rathod of Sol Developments, one of the study's presenters.

But quantifying the embodied energy of an existing building takes into account the reuse of an old building's original materials, which have already been harvested, milled and refined. Likewise, the study also quantifies the green value of location. Factors that favor walkability and urban chemistry can often give an old building in an urban landscape an immediate head start in LEED certification, Rathod added.

Based on these and other impact categories, the study creates an eco-profile for the renovation project. It evaluates a systematic life-cycle inventory of all existing and new materials used, labor to restore historic elements of the project, and cost. This eco-profile can then be compared to an equivalent-size standard new construction home in a suburban setting.

Co-developers Cincinnati Habitat for Humanity and Over-the-Rhine Community Housing have joined forces with sustainable and historic preservation professionals from Over-The-Rhine Foundation to develop the Legacy Project. The result is a true community study of urban neighborhood sustainability. With this new measurement tool to evaluate historic renovations on similar footing as new construction, Rathod said that historic renovation and green building - typically seen as conflicting goals, could come together and, "can become a sustainable choice."

Writer: Becky Johnson

Just in time for rising temperatures, a new business at Findlay Market is bringing natural ingredients to an old summer standard: shaved ice. Cincinnati local, Alia Ali, started Chill Shaved Ice to share her passion for natural ingredients and healthy eating through a tasty summer desert. Stationed at Findlay Market on the weekends, and at other local mobile destinations during the week, Ali has already received positive feedback for her idea.

Ali, a fitness instructor, always wanted to increase community awareness about the importance of what you eat.

"I feel passionate about eating healthy and showing people that there are other alternatives and how it is not as hard as one may think," Ali explained.

So two months ago she began experimenting with different fruits, flavors herbs and natural cane sugar to make her natural syrups. She recently made watermelon mint syrup by cooking and mixing cane sugar. Ali said she adds other herbs to weaken and strengthen the flavor of the syrup. Her first taste-test weekend at Findlay Market was a success as many people were pleasantly surprised with the new twist on an old favorite.

"People were a bit hesitant at first, asking questions because it wasn't something they were used to like your standard chemically processed syrups. But customers were pleasantly surprised, asking questions about the process and other services I may provide," Ali said.

She plans to stay at Findlay Market for the whole summer on the weekends and travel around to different local destinations during the week.

"Findlay Market is a neat place. I love the people and the energy at the market. I feel like there are a lot of progressive people involved at the Market, which makes it a nice environment for me as a beginning business owner," Ali said.

Ali said future plans include selling bottles of her syrups, selling her product to local bars to provide a new alternative for mixed drinks, and maybe even opening up her own store.

Writer: Lisa Ensminger

Cincinnati City Council and more than 100 local residents gathered in Council chambers Wednesday for a special session on one of the city's hottest political footballs: The proposed Cincinnati Streetcar.

On May 3, Mayor Mark Mallory and city manager Milton Dohoney released details on a revised streetcar plan, which adapts the original $128 million dollar plan to account for the loss of state funding earlier this year. The new plan breaks the Banks-to Uptown streetcar line into phases, and proposes a $99 million first phase that would run from Fountain Square to Findlay Market. As additional funds become available, the line would be extended to reach the Banks and Uptown via Vine Street and a to-be-planned circulator loop.

The announcement prompted streetcar opponents on Council, Republicans Charlie Winburn, Amy Murray, Leslie Ghiz and Wayne Lippert, to call for Wednesday's special session. In a press release, Winburn called the meeting a chance to hold streetcar supporters accountable for the money spent on - and planned to be used for - the project.

At the meeting's start, City Manager Dohoney presented details of the revised streetcar plan, including notes about case studies, peer reviews conducted and funding sources that would support the streetcar without touching the city's general fund. He mentioned multiple times that the original streetcar plan and route remain essentially unaltered, but have been broken into phases to adapt to the new funding situation. But funding, scope and city authority became focal points of several questions after Dohoney finished.

Councilmember Murray started with questions about appropriation of Banks Tax increment Financing District funds for the project.

"The argument put forward to justify stealing from the Banks to fund the streetcar was that the streetcar would benefit the Banks," she said. "Now that it's not going to the Banks, how do you justify this?"

Dohoney reiterated that the Banks-to-Uptown plan remains intact, but would now be built in phases. "The vision for where the streetcar's going has not changed at all," he said, adding that the initial route still comes within three blocks of the Banks, a distance research suggests would still wrap it in the streetcar's economic boost radius.

Winburn raised an array of questions, ranging from details about funding to the administration's authority to pursue the project and its associated funds. While Dohoney referred financial questions to the city's finance office, he responded, again, that 12 council ordinances and one resolution had already uthorized the work to begin.

"These authorized the administration to plan, design and construct the streetcar," Dohoney said. "The direction we were given says to avoid the general fund, and we've managed to do that. The administration has authorized us to advance the project."

Councilmember Lippert asked if council had considered 'worst-case scenarios' for a streetcar, noting Detroit's expensive and little-used People Mover system. Dohoney prompted some laughter with his response:

"I'd admit Detroit is a worst-case scenario for a lot of things," he said, adding "I can't tell you every city that does a streetcar doesn't have downsides. But we're plugged into the streetcar community, and we have not found a city that says, 'this was not worth it; there were downsides.'"

Council then opened the floor to more than two hours' worth of public comments. The vast majority of the 45 speakers expressed support for the streetcar, with many telling how they'd bought or launched businesses along the route in hopes of leveraging its projected economic boost to Over-the-Rhine.

Jean-François Flechet, owner of Taste of Belgium waffle bakery and cafes, said that his decision to open a café at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, and his plans for a third location in the city are based on the streetcar route.

"I love the idea of being able to take the streetcar to my businesses, and not have to drive," he said.

Flechet also noted that the lack of parking at Findlay Market - a planned stop along the first-phase route - is a problem that could be directly solved by the streetcar.

"You see people come in, who are frustrated because they've been waiting, they don't stay as long as they might," he said.

Other streetcar proponents fired back at the Republican council members. "I'm amazed by the criticisms I hear," said resident Edward Osborne. "It's penny-wise and pound-foolish."

Only about five speakers raised opposition to the project. Rev. Doc Foster called on council to use the funds for streets, police and fire services.  "We need to put that money where it will support real jobs," he said. "We can't afford the streetcar, Mayor."  Realtor Kathleen Norris suggested the City needs to consider the bigger, national picture where other cities are currently evaluating streetcar projects.

"If we're not as future-oriented and aggressive as the 80 other cities, we will watch our status erode," said Norris.

At the end, Mallory thanked the attendees. "Every single speaker who commented here did so because they care about Cincinnati," he said. "In any public forum, that's the most you could ask for."

Winburn said he'd likely retract his call for an additional special session after this meeting, and appeared to make comments to clarify his purpose for calling the meeting. "This was really about fiscal accountability," he said. "I just want to make sure we don't bankrupt the city."

Writer: Matt Cunningham

Cincinnati has a well-established design district. Major design and branding firms such as Marsh Inc, KZF Design and Reztark Design Studio all sport stylish offices along 8th Street northwest of downtown.

But a few minutes' walk north of this district lies another stretch that appears to be on its way to becoming a design district of a different type. The storefronts along Main Street in Over-the-Rhine are rapidly filling up with ventures spearheaded by young design professionals, and the neighborhood appears to be welcoming them with open arms.

"It's a nice new energy on the street," said Julie Fay, owner of Urban Eden contemporary crafts and fine art, partner in Iris Book Café and one of the founding trustees of Merchants of Main Street. She estimated that most of the non-restaurant businesses that have opened on Main Street in the past year have been design or design-related businesses, many owned and founded by industrial and fashion design graduates from UC's College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning (DAAP).

DAAP graduate and Losantiville Design Cooperative co-founder John Dixon said a combination of factors are drawing design-, art- and craft-oriented professionals to Main Street. For one thing, the rent's pretty cheap.

"Our whole purpose was to have a transparent studio," he said, nodding to the studio's tall storefront windows. "You can rent a warehouse for cheaper than this, but you're a little cloistered. "The affordability and knowing things are going on down here makes it really cool."

Those 'things going on' include Final Fridays, monthly events where the art studios along Main Street open their doors into the night for an arts-focused block party. Dixon said Losantiville sees a lot of foot traffic from Final Friday gallery visitors who stop in to investigate the collective's furniture, lighting and sculptural work.

"It's cool to see people who are generally into this kind of stuff coming in here," he said. Now, the design-friendly makeup of Main Street appears to be maturing. Rather than purely client-facing design businesses or studios, the district is starting to attract businesses aimed at serving the designers themselves.

Alisha Budkie plans to open Smartfish Studio and Sustainable Supply on Main Street later this summer. While the DAAP graduate does plan to include studio space in her business - she designs and fabricates a line of women's footwear - she also intends to provide fellow designers with access to sustainable, high-quality material for their work.

"I've seen how hard it is to source materials," she said, noting that as a design student, she spent a good deal of time finding the right materials for her work.

And based on Budkie's experience as she prepares to open her business, the other tenants of Cincinnati's new design district will welcome their new neighbor. "I've just found that whenever I've asked for help I've received it," she said. "Whether it's advice or support, I've received it."

Writer: Matt Cunningham

Attendees at a city council subcommittee meeting Tuesday got a comprehensive view of recommendations that could tie the under-construction Horseshoe Casino into the city neighborhoods that line its borders. But along with the proposals, the meeting offered a glimpse of the concerns some stakeholders have regarding the recommendations.

The non-profit study group Bridging Broadway presented its Broadway Commons District Study at Cincinnati City Council's Major Transportation and Infrastructure Projects Subcommittee Meeting this past Tuesday. The $7 million package of proposed improvements ranged from art and recreation to utility and infrastructure projects spidering off from the casino location into downtown, Over-the-Rhine and Pendleton. The goal, explained Bridging Broadway founder Stephen Samuels, is to present recommendations that balance the desires of community stakeholders - business owners, residents and property owners near the casino - with the city's infrastructure budget and the casino developer's plans.

Bridging Broadway showed council members an extensive series of data collected in partnership with the University of Cincinnati: occupancy and best-use maps of the Pendleton neighborhood, crime and building condition statistics, and both current and proposed pedestrian traffic flow patterns around the casino district that highlight areas ripe for targeted enhancement. Those proposed enhancements included recommendations for street and streetscape improvements, as well as for which parts of the city would be ripe for redevelopment into connectors between the casino, Pendleton and Main Street districts.

But as the presentation wound its way through recommendations for Pendleton's pocket parks, council members began asking questions - not about lighting fixtures, roundabouts or storefront redesigns, but about another key topic: stakeholder collaboration.

Bridging Broadway has held a series of charettes and stakeholder roundtable meetings to collect public input on the casino. Council member Laure Quinlivan noted Tuesday that she had been contacted by Pendleton residents who felt that the non-profit was not paying adequate heed to their concerns. Likewise, council member Roxanne Qualls raised a salient point: the proposed storefront development Bridging Broadway's study recommends involves property owners, not just civic plans.

"Do you anticipate developers actually doing something with their properties," she asked, referring to a number of parking lots along the stretch of Reading Road/Central Parkway that ties the casino to the Main Street district. "You can put in street trees and lamp posts, but they're still parking lots in the end; it doesn't help the flow of people."

"This is the 800-pound gorilla no one's addressed yet," Samuels acknowledged. He explained that, although Bridging Broadway has identified the primary property owners in Pendleton and facilitated discussions with the city, Verdin Bell Company, and Model Group, it has not had substantial discussions with Joseph and Arnold Levine who own several properties along the route from the casino to Main Street. Samuels indicated after this presentation that he hopes to meet with Arnold Levine soon to hear his thoughts on the recommendations.

Samuels did indicate that Bridging Broadway has worked with casino developer Rock Gaming in an effort to mesh the casino's design and development plans with those of its neighbors. Rock Gaming spokesperson Jennifer Kulczycki confirmed that the developer has been in communication with the non-profit since the project's announcement.

"We've been supportive of their mission from the get-go, and endorse making the surrounding area mesh with this $400 million investment and structure," she said.

Rock Gaming, however, is but one of many developers who have stakes in the area surrounding the casino. And the developers, in turn, are a small but powerful part of a bigger group of stakeholders - tenants, businesses and individual homeowners - who will all be affected by the casino when it opens.

You can view the District Study recommendations here.

Writer: Matt Cunningham

Despite the state removing $51.8 million intended for it, the Cincinnati Streetcar project is driving forward, thanks to anenvironmental assessment prepared by Parsons Brinckerhoff (PB) and HDR. Backed by the City of Cincinnati and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), the downtown and Blue Ash firms, respectively, presented their study at public hearings held at Cincinnati City Hall last week. They're gathering public comments through April 21 in order to comply with federal laws, offering copies of the study via the city's website and public libraries and community centers.

Councilman Cecil Thomas spoke at the 5:30 p.m. public hearing last Wednesday. He was one of two audience speakers, both of whom supported the study.

"I truly believe that we should continue to march forward with the project," he said. "Unfortunately, the state has chosen to do what they did, but that shouldn't be disappointing … we need to continue on."

After filing those comments, PB and HDR will submit the study to the FTA. Discussions of funding come later, says PB's streetcar project manager Fred Craig. "This is simply to quantify the environmental impact of the project so that the feds can actually put money into the project."

The study began soon after the FTA awarded the city approximately $25 million through an Urban Circulator Grant. It reports that the streetcar system, encompassing the riverfront, Over-the-Rhine and the University of Cincinnati area ("Uptown"), would present minimal or no impacts to the air quality, water resources, noise and visuals of the aforementioned areas. The community impact, it reports, would be limited to the displacement of Volunteers of America's halfway house, located at 115. W. McMicken Ave, one proposed site for a streetcar maintenance and storage facility.

"This is a critical turning point," Craig says, "because what it says is that the environmental impacts of the project are positive and that it shouldn't have an adverse impact on the community." 

The Cincinnati Streetcar Project timeline includes construction of a maintenance and storage facility and streetcar tracks beginning this Fall, 2011, with an opening in 2013.

Writer: Rich Shivener

Main Street in Over-the-Rhine will get a new contemporary women's apparel store at the end of April. Couture Couture Boutique will offer women's clothing and accessories from unique brands that most stores around the area do not offer. Owner Lynn Cotton said she has been researching the area for years and had a desire to open her store in an urban location.

"I really like downtown and I knew I wanted my store to be here as I've watched the revitalization going so well," Cotton said. "I felt a difference in the neighborhoods because a lot of people walk or bike, which makes the businesses more visible to the public."

Cotton believes her store will cater to women of all ages and hopefully bring people downtown who don't normally shop in the area. Although Cotton has done most of her research and work on her own, she has received plenty of support from neighboring OTR women owned businesses like Atomic Number 10 and Urban Eden, as well as one of the street's most recent arrivals, Park + Vine.

Atomic Number 10 owner Katie Garber said there is a need in the neighborhood for a women's apparel store. Many customers ask for other retail outlets in the area when visiting her vintage clothing store, and she is excited to send customers to another store on her street. She said that adding another unique business only strengthens Main Street's growing arts and business district.

"I think it's really important to get more businesses that are open on a daily basis because it will give people more of a chance to explore the area. The retail places in the area will always support one another because it's more of an artsy district looking for small design and fashion outlets to fill the area," Garber said.

Cotton agrees. "We all have something different to offer and none of us will be taking business from one another."

Writer: Lisa Ensminger

A weekend at a bed and breakfast conjures images of peace and quiet. It's a place where you can get away from the outside world, enjoy nature and be with your thoughts.

That's unless that bed and breakfast is in the city.

Not all Bed and Breakfasts cater to the "peace and quiet only" crowd. Greater Cincinnati's urban B&B's attract locals and those in nearby cities that crave excitement, not silence. These travelers prefer a night out on the town instead of a cozy night in. They'd rather catch a symphony than stroll grounds.

A number of such B&B's dot Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. They're located in Over-the-Rhine, downtown, and points outward, stretching across the river to Newport, Covington and Bellevue. These B&Bs have the expected creature comforts: big breakfasts, plush quilted beds, and antique furnishings, but they also offer the bonus of the city, just minutes away from art museums, concert venues and playhouses and professional sports teams.

"People get to feel like they're far away, but they're really close enough to their homes and families," said Weller Haus Bed & Breakfast owner Leanne Saylor. "I think people want to be able to get out to dinner for evening or shop. People say they want to get away from it all, but we're so wired today that we really want access to things we're used to."

About 70 percent of Saylor's lodgers come from a 50-mile radius of her B&B's location in Bellevue, with much of the rest coming from Indianapolis, Louisville, Columbus and other nearby cities. She also gets football fans who spend a weekend when catching a Bengals game.

Saylor bought the established B&B about seven years ago. Located in a residential neighborhood, it's in two side-by-side renovated Victorian Gothic homes that are listed on the National Register of Historic places. And lest you think it's too big city, the Weller Haus is also known for its secluded backyard gardens.

In Over-The-Rhine, one bed and breakfast has proved so successful that it's expanding into an adjoining historic building. The Symphony Hotel & Restaurant, near Cincinnati's Music Hall, attracts guests looking for dinner and a show before retiring to their rooms. Located on 14th Street in a renovated mansion, its six rooms (three more will be added with the expansion) are named after composers such as Mozart, Beethoven and Bach. The Hotel will continue its popular food service before CSO concerts at Music Hall during the renovations. 

Writer: Feoshia Henderson

Cincinnati residents will have an opportunity to share their thoughts about the City's future on Saturday, April 2 at the annual Neighborhood Summit. This year's Summit, held at Xavier University's Cintas Center, will provide a forum for interactive discussions about the City's comprehensive plan and strategic development for neighborhoods. The ninth edition of the Summit will also provide residents with one of the last opportunities to make a contribution to the first draft of Plan Cincinnati, the city's new comprehensive plan.

Charles Graves, the Director of the Department of City Planning and Buildings, notes that the city hasn't undertaken a comprehensive plan in thirty years.

"This comprehensive plan is like a business plan, except businesses naturally update strategic, marketing, and sales plans every five years. It's time to talk about how we want the city to look for the next thirty years and to get people interested in planning the future," he explains.

Attendees at the Summit will include community council leaders, members of grassroots organizations, institutions that support
neighborhoods, community-based non-profits, funders, and public officials. In addition to locally-led workshops and forums there will be keynote presentations by Shelley Poticha, Director for the Sustainable Housing and Communities at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Mitchell J. Silver, AICP, Planning Director, City of Raleigh, NC, and President Elect of the American Planning Association. 

The day long program will feature presentations and panel discussions on Cincinnati's new Land Development Code, managing and eliminating blight, intra-neighborhood collaboration, and utilizing form based codes. The rest of the Summit's workshops are divided into three different themes: policy, character, and making an impact.  Building better commercial areas, improving transportation, preserving historical architecture, and planning economic development are among the topics to be addressed. Graves says the most important aspect is involving citizens who are the most impacted by the neighborhoods that surround them.

"It's their city, we are the planners, but they are the residents who live in the neighborhood and impact it. They are impacted by good housing and bad housing, for example, and it is important to respect their ideas and values," Graves says.

According to Graves, economic development should be our top priority. He says it is extremely important to focus on increasing jobs and strengthening commercial areas. Graves also believes it is important to reach out to everyone, including children and elderly, as they already were successful with the Planting the Future youth project.

Writer: Lisa Ensminger

Years of building creative partnerships has made Know Theatre an important part of Cincinnati's contemporary arts scene.

Founded in 1997, Know opened its own theatre space on Jackson Street in Over-the-Rhine after seven years operating out of a church basement on Sycamore Street. In recent years, the theatre company has collaborated with Exhale Dance Tribe and Concert Nova, among others, and led the Cincinnati Fringe Festival, which utilizes spaces throughout Over-the-Rhine. But as the Theatre and its partnerships grew, so have its needs so now Know and its partners are taking advantage of Over-the-Rhine's historic building stock.

"We've always helped each other out," says Eric Vosmeier, Know's producing artistic director. "What I'm looking to do is formalize that process."

Know has signed a lease for a new rehearsal space inside the historic Germania Building, owned by Kelly Dragoo and Kelly Murphy of Eden Floral Boutique. In addition, the fourth floor will also be used to provide affordable office space to artists and small arts organizations. The programs are a part of Jackson Street Market, launched in August by Know with a mission of investing in the local community of artists in new and innovative ways. Current tenants include mural and street artists, Higher Level Art, and the Requiem Project, a non-profit organization that is restoring and programming the historic Emery Theatre across the street.

Requiem plans to use the Germania building space for one year, when the Emery could have a certificate of occupancy. Project founders Tina Manchise and Tara Gordon say Vosmeier has been supportive of Requiem since it began in 2008. They say creative collaborations are part of the Requiem's core mission as well.

"When you start to collaborate in ways that don't currently exist, you tend to draw (new) people to the area and stimulate new audiences," Manchise says.

Vosmeier says the costs for tenants of the Jackson Street Market are minimal.

"The plan is that we will essentially invoice them at the end of the month for their cost of the utility bills for the square footage of the space that they are using," he says.

Know's next efforts include renting two additional spaces at Germania and launching a resource-sharing website, or "a library of everything we own that people can check in and check out," Vosmeier says. It's also moving its scenic shop and storage to a new space on Spring Grove Avenue in partnership with Cincinnati Shakespeare Company.

Know Theatre previously kept its scene shop in a building owned by the Art Academy, but the Academy's plans to move their ironworks facility in Pendleton closer to their Over-the-Rhine campus had Know seeking new space. Vosmeier reached out to Cincinnati Shakespeare Company artistic director Brian Issac Phillips who proposed the shared space.

"There are some tools and toys they have that we don't and vice versa," Phillips says, "and our openings fall far enough away from each other that we can do that without hurting one another." It is another example of how strong theatre companies in Cincinnati can be when they work together."

Writer: Rich Shivener

Just in time for the warm spring weather, a new pop up shop on Main Street will bring the wares of eleven artists and designers into the Final Friday mix.

The PopShop Group, founded by three local women, is taking over the space at 1301 Main Street and filling it with locally designed clothing, accessories, books and home goods displayed in a terrain constructed from cardboard and brightly-colored duct tape. The Final Friday PopShop will also have do-it-yourself stations with ready-made designs that gallery walkers can use to make their own goods - like a purse or backpack - from recycled materials.

One of the shop's organizers, Tamia Stinson, said the shop intends to bring exposure to Cincinnati's artist-entrepreneurs, and let them test the downtown/Over-the-Rhine market.

"Oftentimes we come across people who are interested in opening their own business, and obviously Main Street is one of the more creative areas of the city," Stinson said. "So it's a really good opportunity for people who are exploring doing something bigger for themselves to get a good idea of what shoppers might expect, and what it would take to open a storefront down here."

Stinson's two partners in the project are Jessie Cundiff, a ceramicist who is a partner at MUD on Main, and Catherine Richards, art director and program manager of the Future Blooms program. Stinson said the three first met through the Merchants on Main group, which promotes commerce in the Main Street District of Over-the-Rhine. Stinson said they hope to hold the PopShops every month from Spring through Fall.

This week's PopShop will feature goods by a number of local designers, including clothes from the Brush Factory, books by Katie Louvre and jewelry from Hark and Hark. Other vendors include Carla Rabbit, Saint Lexi, Katie Swartz, Dulcet Design, The Sarah Center and the 4th Street Boutique.

The Sarah Center is a program at St. Francis Seraph that supports women who make their own jewelry and clothing, and provides a venue in which they can sell them. The 4th Street Boutique is a high-end thrift and vintage shop that funds Dress for Success, a program that provides interview attire for low income women who are seeking better employment.

The Final Friday PopShop opens Friday from 5 to 10 p.m. with music and "treats" and will also be open Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. During Saturday's hours the shop will become a studio, with vendors demonstrating their work on-site. From noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday the 4th Street Boutique will hold a trunk show to benefit Dress for Success.

Writer: Henry Sweets

Over-the-Rhine gets a makeover with the 90-Day Neighborhood Enhancement Program. A unique collaboration between the city, local organizations, and citizens, the goal is to make OTR cleaner, safer, and more attractive to the public within 90 days.

The NEP program focuses on enforcement efforts, enhancement, and sustainability. Funding for the program comes from US Bank and community contributions which will be used for a wish list created by residents that includes new signage and a streetscape plan for Vine Street north of Liberty. Keep Cincinnati Beautiful will also play a major role in this project by conducting litter analysis and sweeping up streets and parks in the area.

The first priority is redevelopment of the OTR Recreation and Community Center. Peter Hames, a trustee of the OTR Community Council, said the center currently is not an inviting place. It will be a step forward to make it more accessible and inviting to residents in the area.

Although the 90-day project represents an immediate positive impact for OTR, sustainability is the most important aspect. The NEP program requires community council members to meet regularly to review progress.

"It gives us a way to focus our energies. It provides a forum for all of these agencies to come together when they might not have otherwise in the past," Hames explained. "If we are effective we will not only participate successfully, but also build relationships within the area and continue to work together beyond NEP."

Enforcement efforts are one of the most important aspects of the program. Cincinnati Police already started addressing hot spots within the area in order to control crime and make OTR a safer place.

"This is an area that can make or break a city and the Police Department will be at the forefront of being part of the effort that is going to make the city a much greater, much more beautiful, and much more tolerable city than it ever has been before," said Cincinnati Police Chief Tom Streicher.

Writer: Lisa Ensminger

This Saturday Bridging Broadway will host its third and final community dialogue to discuss how to maximize the benefit that a new casino will have on Cincinnati.

The dialogues, which began last year, will inform a report that Bridging Broadway will submit to the City in mid-April, making recommendations that could guide the City's interactions and negotiations with the casino in the future.

The first dialogue was an on-foot walkabout that circled the Casino site and took inventory of the site's immediate surroundings, and potential corridors that could link the Casino to other downtown neighborhoods. The second dialogue was an "envisioning session" that mapped out the types of physical and social improvements that residents wanted to see happen in those areas. This third dialogue will introduce tools that could help the community achieve those improvements, according to Bridging Broadway's founder and director Stephen Samuels.

"Now that we know what we want, how do we make it happen?" Samuels asked. "How do we fund it, how do we implement it and how do we sustain it?"

Speakers will include leaders from Downtown Cincinnati Incorporated, the Uptown Consortium, LISC and ArtsWave. These organizations have experience with some of the "tools" like special improvement districts, tax increment financing and arts funding that could support positive changes in the areas around the casino, and help make it a more cohesive district.

"I personally would like to bring examples of other LISC sites around the country and how they dealt with the impact of things like a casino. In some cities it's been a rail line and in some cities it's been development on a riverfront," LISC Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky's executive director Kathy Schwab said. "It's so much easier to deal with crime and safety and some of the other things that might crop up before you build the thing and it's up and running."

Schwab will discuss a couple of instances where community benefits agreements have helped communities win specific benefits from a development.

Margy Waller, Vice President for Arts and Culture Partnerships for ArtsWave said she will share information about potential grant funding for public art, particularly public art that promotes wayfinding between the Casino and other Cincinnati neighborhoods. Those efforts could be funded in part by a $200,000 grant that ArtsWave and the City of Cincinnati have applied for from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Other potential tools that will be discussed include making the area a special improvement district, which Arlene Koth, Executive Vice President of DCI, will speak to. Beth Robinson, executive director of the Uptown Consortium, will discuss private-public partnerships and techniques her group has used to work with major institutions to benefit their surrounding neighborhoods.

You can learn more and register for this Saturday's session here.

Writer: Henry Sweets