Trendy Mt. Lookout Square may soon get facelift

The Mt. Lookout Community Development Corporation (MLCDC) is looking to transform the trendy Mt. Lookout Square on Cincinnati’s east side.  The efforts are being driven by community activists who feel the neighborhood’s business district has become somewhat worn over the years and is in need of some new attention. The group has been meeting for the past couple of years and developed a multi-phased approach to cleaning up and rejuvenating Mt. Lookout Square.  Within that approach are three main priorities for the redevelopment efforts that focus on Square Appearance, Vehicle Flow and Parking in that order. The neighborhood priorities are detailed into the following high-level objectives: Enhance the appeal of the square to residents, visitors and businesses by addressing many of the dilapidated walkways, parking structures/enclosures, signage and lighting.Incorporate more green-space into the currently very “car centric” appearance of the square.Address many of the pedestrian and traffic safety concerns expressed by businesses and the community at large.Improve the aesthetics of business frontage and provide more business-friendly pedestrian access to window shopping and open air dining.Grow and sustain a diverse business environment.Improve the aesthetics and reliability of public utilities.Address constraints to hosting public Square festivities.Implement a comprehensive parking solution that will allow us to more effectively utilize the center island as green-space. The goal is to address all of these priorities by the completion of all phases of the redevelopment effort.  The final of the efforts would also be the most difficult and include off-street parking that would replace the parking currently located in the middle of the square.  That space would then become an inviting public space with a fountain, seating areas and trees very similar to what is seen in Hyde Park Square. Similarly the same company, Vivian Llambi & Associates, which developed the plans for the Hyde Park Square renovation years ago, is also the same firm that has developed the plans for the Mt. Lookout Square renovation project.  Vivian Llambi & Associates was also responsible for the work at Fountain Square, Government Square and the Aronoff Center for the Arts. In addition to off-street parking and a restored public center piece, the renovation efforts also hope to include wider sidewalks to enable more sidewalk dining and street cafes, minimization of overhead power lines, new streetscaping and traffic calming measures like curb bump-outs. Mt. Lookout Square has long been criticized for being difficult to navigate for motorists, somewhat dangerous for pedestrians and also lacks the necessary amounts of parking for the various merchants on and around the square. Writer: Randy A. Simes Photography by Scott Beseler