Formerly blighted corner is harbinger of Pleasant Ridge redevelopment

Pleasant Ridge’s signature property at the corner of Montgomery and Ridge roads is in the midst of a $2 million redevelopment. Once finished, 6099 Montgomery Road, or Sixty99, will be home to Cincinnati’s newest brewery and other businesses that add to the neighborhood’s entertainment district.
 
The two-story building dates back the 1800s, when it was a stagecoach hotel. In the late 2000s, it fell into foreclosure and sat vacant for several years. The Pleasant Ridge Development Corporation (PRDC) began to look for opportunities to redevelop and formed a partnership with Gene Levental of Cincinnati Premier Realty.
 
In 2011, PRDC won a $200,000 Neighborhood Business District Improvement Project grant from the city and used the money to purchase the building. Phase I of redevelopment included shell stabilization of the building and preparing it for future tenants.
 
“Since securing our entertainment district license, it’s always been a vision of PRDC to supplement the existing business mix with more destination businesses,” says Jason Chamlee, president of PRDC.
 
In addition to Nine Giant Brewing, two existing tenants will remain in the building: a salon above the brewery and an insurance company. There are currently three spaces awaiting tenants, which Chamlee says he hopes will be food- and beverage-based businesses.
 
“The new model of using these types of businesses as anchors can be replicated,” he says. “It used to be the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker, but food and beverage businesses are the ones that will drive traffic.”
 
The three remaining storefronts vary in size, and two of the three have a shared wall that could be removed to create a larger space.
 
PRDC wants to show Cincinnati that there are great opportunities for investment and development within Pleasant Ridge and help raise the profile of the business district.
 
“We’re hoping to increase Pleasant Ridge’s customer base with this development,” Chamlee says. “We’re a very strong community, but we’re small. We’re targeting our larger nearby neighborhoods and beginning to draw people in from outside. With that, we’re working to bring attention to Pleasant Ridge. We’re trying to raise the district’s profile and the awareness of the area in the city.”