Downtown Cincinnati is the place to live, work, and play populated by restaurants, cafes, bars, arts and culture venues around every corner, plus a long-awaited and busy Kroger's that anchors recently-renovated Court Street Plaza. The downtown urban core is alive with programming, including music during the summer and ice skating in the winter, and features the largest living room 'television' in the region overlooking The Genius of Water at Fountain Square. Downtown has experienced dramatic expansion and population growth with residential developments, including condos and apartments in all price ranges, many of which boast scenic views of the hillsides and the river and offer unparalleled access to nightlife and recreation.
There is more than meets-the-eye in Over-The-Rhine and its recent (and unlikely) revival. A unique partnership between city leaders, local corporations and private developers helped to pave the way for what is becoming one of America’s greatest smart growth success stories. Read the full story here.
The property at Fifth and Race streets has seen its fair share of change in the past 14 years. Plans for a Nordstrom, a skyscraper, even condos came and went. The parking lot stayed. But by December 2014, the new dunnhumby Centre will occupy the space. Construction began on Jan. 31 on the nine-story, $122 million building that will house the branding giant’s headquarters. When completed, the project will include a three-level parking garage with 1,000 parking spaces; 30,000 square feet of retail space; and 280,000 square feet of dunnhumby office space. Building plans boast lots of open space and glass windows, plus a wide staircase that will allow for more interaction between employees and less time at their desks. In the future, dunnhumby can expand downward by taking over the parking garage, if needed. dunnhumby currently has about 650 employees, and it plans to grow to more than 1,000 by 2018, which is one of the reasons for the new building. Also, the current dunnhumby headquarters is in the right-of-way for the proposed new Brent Spence Bridge, says Ann Keeling, public relations representative for dunnhumby. Turner Construction Company is building dunnhumby Centre; it’s funded by new market tax credits, 3CDC-managed corporate loan money, and state and conventional loans. By Caitlin Koenig Follow Caitlin on Twitter
The Original Makers Club is a fairly new startup from Louisville—it was founded in 2011 by photographer Josh Merideth— but it already has branches in Lexington, Cincinnati and Brooklyn. OMC is an aesthetically minded brand and publication that curates, highlights and looks to elevate the culture, society and local business scenes of cities. “A few years ago, Louisville was going through a similar revitalization to Cincinnati’s current one, which makes it a prime time to celebrate local culture,” says Mike Brady, managing partner and events director of OMC. Comprised of design-conscious, forward-thinking local businesses, Cincinnati’s branch of OMC has about 60 members, including A Tavola, Ensemble Theatre, Sloan Boutique, 21c Museum Hotel, 3CDC, Smart Fish Studio, 5 Dot Design, Bakersfield OTR, Paolo Modern Jewelers, Japps, 4EG, MiCa, Taste of Belgium, DIGS and Jaguar Land Rover. “We are less about adding anything than we are about showcasing the culture and talent that exists here,” Brady says. “We want to insure that those visiting the city get a real taste of her. We also wish that those currently living in Cincinnati are experiencing it to the fullest.” On Feb. 8, OMC is hosting its launch event for the Cincinnati branch. Members of OMC will be providing appetizers, drinks, music and neat things to look at—including A Tavola, 5 Dot Design, Marti’s Floral Designs, Parlour, Christian Moerlein, Matthew Metzger and Jaguar Land Rover. Besides the launch event, OMC is working on creating a mural with help from Artworks and hopes to co-host larger events like a Dinner Series, which would showcase member chefs and entertain a group of people in an exotic location in or near the city, Brady says. There are only a handful of tickets available for the launch event for non-OMC members, so get them while you can. By Caitlin Koenig Follow Caitlin on Twitter
Cincinnati Parks’ Explore Nature! program will host its award-winning Ravine to Freedom event Feb. 10, allowing participants to walk along the same trail that served as an escape route for those using the Underground Railroad more than 100 years ago. “The Ravine to Freedom was recognized by the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center as the only documented, undeveloped, local escape route,” says Kathy Dahl, naturalist at Laboiteaux Woods. It’s a 1.5-mile unpaved path that runs along Hamilton Avenue, up and downhill, through the College Hill and Northside neighborhoods. “College Hill was named because of the colleges here, so people were progressive in their thinking and more toward abolitionist views; however, the Farmer’s College—where Aiken [High School] and the College Hill Recreation Center are today—also had Southern students, so they had to be especially careful,” Dahl says. Dahl leads the tour and is well-versed in the history of the land, but it’s the stories, she says, that are so important. To help make those stories come to life, she conducts the tour in the winter—first because the leaves from trees are gone, so historical houses can be seen along the route—and second because the winter months were the primary times that slaves would make their escapes. “If you were field hands, you weren’t doing as much, so your absence may not be noticed as quickly,” Dahl says. “There were also the holidays in there where the owners would travel or go to parties; and at the same time, the Ohio River would freeze, so it was a land bridge—or an ice bridge.” To help others understand the history of the ravine, Dahl joined forces with local historian Betty Ann Smiddy to create a detailed map of the route and markers of interest along its way. “Cincinnati’s role—it was a battleground,” Dahl says. “We’re taught [about] the Civil War in history books, but it’s only a part of what actually happened.” Dahl says it’s important that people not only recognize the history of the town where they live, but that they experience it. “It was trying times, but when I discuss this, when I talk about these things on the hike, I try to show that there was hope,” Dahl says. “There were people who came together, and they were up against big odds.” Do Good: • Call (513) 542-2909 to register for the Ravine to Freedom Feb. 10 from 1 to 3 pm. • Volunteer to help maintain Cincinnati Parks. If you want to help maintain the grounds so that tours like Ravine to Freedom can continue successfully, you can request to volunteer at Laboiteaux Woods. • Connect with Cincinnati Parks by liking their Facebook page. By Brittany York Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.
Kyle Campbell remembers designing his first house when he was home sick from school in the fourth grade. “Ever since then, going through high school, while most people would go out and do things, I would actually build models of houses I designed just for fun,” he says. “Coming into architecture was sort of a long time coming.” Campbell, who currently serves as the Architectural Foundation of Cincinnati’s board member for the Architecture by Children program, did not initially make the decision to major in architecture, but he says the built environment has always had a huge impact on him. “I was a huge LEGO nerd,” says Campbell. “So the thought of building space and constructing things and designing things has always been a big part of who I am.” Now Campbell is sharing his childhood love with others in the ABC program. Jointly sponsored by the AFC and a local chapter of the American Institute of Architects, the program aims to teach architectural principles to students through hands-on projects, as explained by volunteer architects. Campbell is one of those volunteers, but he’s also working to evaluate the program by matching it with the Ohio Department of Education's academic content standards to ensure that it has a lasting educational impact. “The AFC, as of this year, has decided that we want to take a more invested role in how the program unfolds because essentially, what we’ve been in the past is a donor of money,” Campbell says. “We’d like to be able to provide more manpower and more resources to help it be more successful.” The program currently reaches about 60 schools and 1,100 students, with ideally one architect assigned to each school. Participating students are tasked with a new project each year. This year, they are designing a museum of their choice for a space at 12th and Vine streets downtown. One seventh grade student has envisioned a nature museum with a river running throughout and a grand staircase with water flowing from the roof to simulate a waterfall that flows into an outdoor pond the public can enjoy. Her museum also contains a fountain enclosed in glass so people who are not inside the museum can interact with it. “It’s just amazing coming from a seventh grader because those are the things I’d dream to do in a real-world project,” Campbell says. “The most important thing is to keep the kids understanding that it’s okay to be creative and to think outside the box.” Campbell says he’s proud of the architecture this city has to offer, and he’s made it a personal goal to help the AFC achieve its mission of “educating the greater community of Cincinnati on the built environment.” “Most people don’t realize that Cincinnati has a fantastic history in architecture; it’s actually one of the most historical cities in the development of modern architecture,” Campbell says. “I want to be able to use the AFC as a way of educating the general public on those kinds of things.” Do Good: • View ABC student projects at the downtown branch of the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County during the week of April 13-20. • Contact the AFC if you live in a home or know of a historically significant building that you'd like to share or learn more about. • Attend the AFC's exhibit, ENVISION CINCINNATI. By Brittany York Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.
One out of every four women in America are victims of domestic abuse, says Julie Marzec, program coordinator for the Alliance for Immigrant Women. Marzec, who in previous years spent time working in Latin America, says their statistics were much higher, with four out of five women predicted to be affected by domestic abuse. “That doesn’t just go away when they come to the United States,” Marzec says. Cincinnati became home to an influx of immigrants in the early 2000s; and in 2001, a group of organizations came together in an effort to assist women facing a number of troubling issues within the community. Shelters were unable to provide women with the support they needed for a number of reasons, including language barriers and lack of legal support, Marzec says. So the Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati formed the Alliance for Battered and Abused Immigrant Women. The nonprofit’s efforts have now shifted and are led chiefly by the YWCA, which has formed a coalition with more than 30 organizations—the AIW. The main goal is to provide support for women who have either been victims of domestic abuse themselves, or know someone who has. The AIW assists women in a variety of ways, whether it is through teaching them about healthy relationships, creating multilingual safety plans, training other social workers and law enforcement officers about successful tactics for helping those in need, or referring women to other organizations within the alliance that can best help them. As part of the community education goal, the AIW hosts a Lunch & Learn series, a monthly luncheon where service providers eat, listen and learn about an issue central to domestic violence survivors within the immigrant population. This month’s session, “Domestic Violence and Immigrant Women with HIV/AIDS,” takes place Feb. 20 at the YWCA of Greater Cincinnati. “It’s really a chance for community members to reach out and meet each other, learn a little bit about different opportunities and different references they utilize in the future,” Marzec says. The Lunch & Learn series is just one effort the organization has made to raise the profile of immigrant women and domestic abuse, and it hopes to continue to do so through its various advocacy and outreach programs. “To help these women, we really need to learn about it,” says Marzec. “More immigrant women are learning about our services and know there’s an organization out there specifically for them, and that makes a big difference.” Do Good: • Contact Julie Marzec if you're interested in or in need of the organization's services. • Request literature and handouts for immigrant women who may benefit from knowing safety plans and information about domestic abuse. Contact Julie Marzec for more information. • Become culturally competent about immigrant women and the struggles they face when they are survivors of domestic violence. By Brittany York Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.
Pets need homes, and according to Cathy Madewell, program director of Pets in Need, it’s not feasible to say that people who can’t afford them shouldn’t take on the responsibility of owning them. “There are just way too many cats and dogs that don’t have homes, and you have too many people with a compassionate heart for them that take them in,” Madewell says. Pets in Need of Greater Cincinnati is set to open in early to mid-March with a facility of its own in Lockland, though the nonprofit is currently running a weekly clinic on Tuesday mornings at Valley Interfaith Food and Clothing Center. PIN provides basic care, including checkups, vaccines and antibiotics, to pets whose owners can’t afford preventive care. Madewell says that when those involved with PIN first started their work, they witnessed too many pets who had contracted severe diseases and had to be euthanized, either because they had never received a dewormer, or because they had flea infestations that had gotten so bad, they were no longer treatable. “Simple things that could have been avoided,” Madewell says. “We’re now able to provide that and help people keep their pets healthy so that they avoid any major situations, and [so we] don’t end up finding them on a vet’s doorstep.” When PIN opens its new clinic, it will serve members of the community who income-qualify for just $10 a visit—a fee that will cover the visit itself, in addition to any needed vaccines or medicines—so long as the condition is treatable and is within the realm of possibility for what the organization can feasibly take on. PIN currently has two vets—both have other jobs as well. “So they definitely have to have a passion for what they’re doing,” Madewell says. One of the two vets is Jennifer Wells, director of the veterinary technology program at the University of Cincinnati's Blue Ash College. Wells uses PIN to not only assist pets and their owners, but to also provide real-world experience to her students, who use their involvement at PIN as a clinical experience. Madewell says their experience with clients is invaluable, as their other clinical experiences involve animals from the SPCA, for example, so there are no pet owners involved. Prior to being treated at PIN, pets must be spayed or neutered. “We will pay for that for our clients,” Madewell says. “It’s a $10 copay for a cat or a $20 copay for a dog, and we then give them a voucher to use that for spay or neuter.” Clinic hours are currently 9 a.m. to noon every Tuesday, though pet owners can begin submitting applications now if a cat or dog needs to be seen prior to PIN’s official opening. Do Good: • Donate to support the work of Pets in Need. • Volunteer to help keep the PIN program running. • Register your Kroger Plus Card so that each time you use it, the PIN program benefits as well. By Brittany York Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.
Join Soapbox and Joseph-Beth Booksellers as we welcome former Procter & Gamble Chairman and CEO, A.G. Lafley, to launch his new book, "Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works," on Thursday, Feb. 7.
After many years and a combined investment of about $10 billion, Ohio’s three largest cities—Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland—are enjoying downtown booms that have added residents, jobs, economic impact and vibrancy. Read the full story here.
Downtown Horseshoe Casino doesn’t open until March 4, but it has a power-packed restaurant line-up sure to please casino-goers and foodies alike, including Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville, Jack Binion's Steak and the latest addition, Bobby Flay’s Bobby’s Burger Palace. Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville will have an outdoor entrance off Broadway, adjacent to that of the casino. The 14,000-square-foot restaurant will have seating for about 400, and feature an outdoor patio and Margaritaville retail store. Named for the founder of the original Horseshoe Casino in Las Vegas, Jack Binion's Steak will offer traditional beef cuts, dry-aged prime rib, American Wagyu beef, lamb and veal, plus seafood, poultry and a potato car that will have tableside preparation of sidedishes. The 200-seat dining room will overlook downtown and have a private dining room equipped with audio and visual equipment available for rent for meetings and special events. The new Burger Palace is Flay’s 14th location, but the first in the Midwest. Located on the casino’s gaming floor, the 3,500-square-foot restaurant will have seating for about 90 people, and 10 signature burgers that are inspired by Flay’s travels across the United States and his love of grilling. The menu’s highlights include the Buffalo Style Burger with Red Hot sauce, topped with blue cheese dressing and watercress; the Dallas Burger, which is spice crusted and topped with coleslaw, Monterrey Jack cheese, BBQ sauce and pickles; and the Palace Classic Burger, which has your typical cheeseburger toppings (American cheese, lettuce, tomato and red onion). The menu also features a Burger of the Month; all of the burgers can be prepared with Certified Angus Beef, ground turkey or a grilled chicken breast. Flay opened his first BBP in 2008 on Long Island. “At any time of year, my favorite thing to eat is a cheeseburger,” he said in a statement. “I’m very excited to open the first BBP in the Midwest and be able to share this with the families and residents of Cincinnati.” Flay and his business partner, Laurence Kretchmer, look for areas where they can open several restaurants and create synergy. "There is a lot of breadth in the Ohio market, and good potential opportunities," says Kretchmer. "Opening Bobby's Burger Palace in the casino is a great springboard opportunity for future expansion in the region." Flay and Kretchmer have done business with Caesars before, and they're one of the developers of Horseshoe in Cincinnati. The team has a high-end restaurant at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, and two of the BBP are in casinos. Flay is an award-winning chef, restaurateur and the author of 11 cookbooks. He is owner and executive chef of Mesa Grill, Bobby Flay Steak and Bar Americain, with locations across the U.S. Flay has also starred in countless Food Network and Cooking Channel shows, served as Resident Chef and Lifestyle Correspondent for “The Early Show on CBS” and “CBS Sunday Morning” for over a decade, and is a regular contributor on NBC’s “The Today Show.” Horseshoe Casino is a $400 million venture between development partners Caesar and ROC Gaming. It will feature a 100,000-square-foot gaming floor, complete with 2,000 slot machines, 85 game tables and a 31-table World Series of Poker room. By Caitlin Koenig Follow Caitlin on Twitter
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