As more visitors discover — and regional residents rediscover — the charms of Over-the-Rhine (aka OTR), most are delighted to find a neighborhood rich in art, history, and community plus plenty of food and drink establishments and independent retailers. Architectural treasures like Music Hall and Memorial Hall sit side by side with the School for Performing Arts and Washington Park in this neighborhood that's been heralded as a national leader in urban transformation. Vine Street, Main Street, Race Street, and Pendleton are the area's hot spots for an eclectic array of restaurants and shops near the Ensemble, Woodward, Cincinnati Shakespeare, and Know theaters. Findlay Market, between Race and Elm Streets north of Liberty Street, is Ohio's oldest continuously-operated public market where you will find locally sourced food, cafes and restaurants as well as the Rhinegeist Brewery taproom. The community's remarkable 19th-century buildings feature one of the country's largest collection of Italianate architecture and provide a dramatic background to the diverse residents that call OTR home.
This weekend, the City of Cincinnati and the Cincinnati chapter of the Urban Land Institute will convene the Building Valued Neighborhood Conference, a two-day open exploration of how form based codes can attract talent and develop "places that matter".
Cincinnati USA's branding efforts deliver a consistent and persuasive message, according to the Branding Strategy Insider.Ed Burghard, executive director of the Ohio Business Development Coalition, writes that it is his belief that place branding is an effective strategy for accelerating the economic growth of a location, either through direct foreign investment or through the expansion of already established companies.In his opinion, the Cincinnati region does a great job across seven different place branding strategies, making the area even more competitive for capital investment.But Burghard warns that other cities and states are also in the game, so both the state and the region must continue to push their brand promises while continuing to improve their business climates.Read the full article here.
With hurricane Ike gone and electricity back on, Cincinnati continues to bring a line-up of Fall events which you absolutely cannot miss. This week it’s rock and roll’s turn to blow into town as the MidPoint Music Festival takes over stages everywhere. Also sweeping in is the 20/20 Arts Festival which kicks-off Cincinnati’s arts season. Making smaller vibrations are short films from around the world and a radio’s look at this year’s Presidential race.
A new Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments (OKI) study looking at the future use of the City's subway tunnels was presented to the OKI Intermodal Coodinating Committee on September 9.The Cincinnati Subway Conversion Study, conducted by URS Corporation, looks at three possible options for the segment of tunnels between the Western Hills Viaduct and the underground stations at Race Street, Liberty Street, and Brighton: maintaining the tunnels, filling them, or improving them for light rail transit.A 2006 inspection showed that the overall condition of the tunnels is fair to good, but ten locations show signs of advanced deterioration, mostly caused by water leakage at construction joints.The Race Street and Liberty Street stations were found to be in generally good condition, and the Brighton station was in fair condition with deterioration to the roof slab and beams.The study also finds that, with a few modifications, light rail transit in the tunnels is feasible.Estimated to cost $115 million, $85 million would be dedicated to hard construction costs, $15 million to soft costs, and $15 million for water main and communications line relocation.New platforms and headhouses would be required for all three stations, as well as new construction for ticketing and other related transit functions.The study recommends: Maintaining the tunnels ($3 million) and developing a funding strategy any long-term decision Planning for the relocation of the water main and communication lines Continuing documentation for a potential local funding match Studying future light rail transit impacts to the CBD street grid and the feasibility of extending the tunnel system along the I-71 corridor and down Walnut Street, past the Riverfront Transit Center, and into Covington Studying the possibility of running light rail along Central Parkway Writer: Kevin LeMasterSource: Cincinnati Subway Conversion Study, OKI
Thousands of low-income Cincinnati Public Schools students should get a better shot at getting to college with a $2.4 million federal grant to a Cincinnati partnership led by the University of cincinnati. The grant, expected to be for a total of six years, will be matched in value of services contributed by the partnership, called GEARUP SCORES, led by UC and Cincinnati Public Schools. GEARUP stands for Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs, and it emphasizes increasing the number of disadvantaged students prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education. The grant is the highest ever awarded to the partnership since it was first funded in 1999. The partnership will support sixth-and-seventh-grade students in 31 Cincinnati Public Schools and follow them through their high-school graduation. For the first time, this new funding will also track the success of GEARUP students as they enter their first year of college, trade school or other postsecondary education. A total of 4,000 students will be linked through the program over the six-year period, supported by academic and enrichment programs, advising and mentoring to increase student achievement. The program also educates students and their families about higher education options, about dual-enrollment programs in which students earn high-school and college credit, and about the financial resources to get to college.
Hamilton County is currently in third place in the large counties category in the National Association of Counties' Green Counties Competition.The competition encourages county employees and residents to take the Energy Star Campaign pledge to save energy and help fight global warming.By joining the pledge, employees and residents will receive a 10 percent discount on Office Depot's Green Brand Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs, and the county with the most pledges will receive 1,000 free lightbulbs.The competition runs through November 30.Read the full release here (PDF).
There's more to do in this city than you can shake a stick at and with teh National Baptist Convention in town this week, you can bet downtown is going to be hopping. Here are some events you might want to check out...
Our Partners
