Uptown Cincinnati:
Progress and Accomplishments to Date

The Uptown Consortium, Inc. was founded in 2004 as a non-profit development company dedicated to building the human, social and physical improvement of Uptown Cincinnati.  Uptown Cincinnati generally includes the neighborhoods of Avondale, Clifton, Clifton Heights, Corryville, Fairview, Mt. Auburn and University Heights.

Community and Economic Development

In February 2006 the consortium closed a $52 million New Markets Tax Credit Fund which has since funded $15 million in project investments. The Uptown Cincinnati Development Fund has leveraged $100 million in project investments.

Urban Design and Transportation

• The Uptown Consortium has completed baseline studies on the constituent attitudes (residents, employees and visitors) about Uptown, including perceptions of safety.  These studies inform the consortium’s investments in housing, public safety, commercial developments and community initiatives.
• The consortium and its partner organizations partnered with the Cincinnati Park Board on a master plan for Uptown parks.  This historic venture is seeking to improve neighborhood development through investments in and around Uptown’s extensive green space and park system, including Avondale (Fleischmann Gardens and the Cincinnati Zoo), Clifton (Burnet Woods), Clifton Heights-Fairview (Bellevue Hill Park and Fairview Park) and Mt. Auburn (Jackson Hill Park and Inwood Park).
• The consortium continues to make progress implementing recommendations from the Uptown Transportation Study (administered by the Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana Regional Council of Governments, or OKI) which addressed such topics as parking, public transit, wayfinding and alternative designs for an interchange at I-71 and Martin Luther King Drive.
• The City of Cincinnati and OKI have agreed to provide nearly $1 million in 2007-08 for design of a new wayfinding system for Uptown.
• Several alternatives to improving access into Uptown from I-71 are being evaluated, including the creation of an interchange at Martin Luther King or improving the Taft interchange.  These alternatives will be sent to the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) for further study and prioritization.
• A transportation management association is being evaluated to implement other study recommendations  to improve parking, traffic circulation in the Uptown area and connectivity between Uptown’s major employers, tourist attractions and business districts.  Funding strategies are currently under evaluation.
  

Development in Avondale

• Construction started on North Burnet Phase I in September 2007.  The  first phase includes an $85 million mixed-use development project  featuring office space, housing, retail and parking – between Burnet Avenue, Harvey Avenue, Erkenbrecher Avenue and Northern Avenue. The consortium is serving as the master developer in the Burnet Avenue target area and has acquired over $11 million in real estate and demolished over 60 blighted structures.
• With its partners, the consortium secured a grant from the City of Cincinnati for $1.3 million to help with site acquisition and redevelopment in Phase 2 of the Burnet Avenue Revitalization Plan.
• The architecture and land planning firm Goody Clancy was retained to assist with developing a community vision for Burnet Avenue revitalization.  The plan and subsequent redevelopment tools – such as an urban renewal designation and the establishment of a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district have been approved by the Avondale Community Council and Cincinnati City Council.
  

Development in Clifton

• The consortium approved matching funds for a part-time executive director in support of the community’s application for a “Main Street” program on Ludlow Avenue.  The consortium provided $45,000 in Neighborhood Services grants to Clifton community partners in 2007.
• The consortium supported a State of Ohio capital funds request for the redevelopment of the Clifton Elementary School as the Clifton Cultural Arts Center.
  

Development in Clifton Heights-Fairview

• The redevelopment pipeline includes more than $200 million in mixed-use development projects (office space, retail and parking) along McMillan and Calhoun streets between Vine Street and Clifton Avenue.
• The consortium supported a State of Ohio capital funds request for the renovation of the Old St. George Church.
  

Development in Corryville

• The consortium has allocated nearly $25 million in capital to initiate the University Village Urban Renewal Plan in Corryville which  includes more than $100 million in residential and commercial development projects at Short Vine, Martin Luther King and Jefferson Avenue.
• The consortium provided the Uptown Faith-Based Community Development Group with a $650,000 revolving funding commitment for its infill workforce housing initiative in Corryville, CUF and Mt. Auburn.
• The consortium supported State of Ohio capital bill request on behalf of the Vine Street Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation (VCURC), which resulted in a grant award of $250,000 for Turner Place and a request for $750,000 in the 2007 bill.
• A formal integration of accounting services and consolidation of real estate-owned portfolios between the Uptown Consortium and the various Corryville community urban redevelopment corporations has been established.
  

 
 
Development in Mt. Auburn

• The Uptown Consortium has initiated a master plan to start its first phase development of the Sycamore Gateway project.
• The redevelopment target area is focused at Auburn Avenue around Hopkins and Jackson Hill parks.
  

Communications, Neighborhood Services and Public Safety

In Collaboration with community stakeholders and key partner organizations, the consortium has:

• Provided $260,000 in grants to community organizations
• Completed the development of a brand identity for Uptown Cincinnati and began to initiate brand-building activities through a series of meetings with neighborhood community councils, business associations, consortium member employees and other key stakeholders
• Reviewed academic performance data for all Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS) in the Uptown area and engaged in ongoing dialog with CPS
• Sponsored and engaged in community improvement programs such as Community Care Week (in conjunction with United Way) and World Changers
  

In Collaboration with the Cincinnati Police Department, the consortium has:

• Budgeted more than $100,000 to hire off-duty police officers to reduce crime in Uptown’s identified “hot spots”; hot spots are high crime areas that have been identified by police reports, community complaints and tracking reports provided by UC’s School of Criminal Justice
• Sponsored “Operation Cease Fire,” a community meeting to present and discuss solutions for eliminating gun violence in Uptown at Avondale.
  

Local and National Prominence

Tony T. Brown, President & CEO

• The redevelopment initiatives of the Uptown Consortium have been featured prominently in local news; at national or regional meetings hosted by CEO’s for Cities, Coalition of Urban Serving Universities, Ohio Housing Conference; and field visits from the U.S. House Small Business Committee of the U.S. Congress and from senior executives at Fannie Mae.
• Provided advocacy for the re-authorization of the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Program as a member of the Board of the NMTC Coalition and prior official in the George W. Bush administration.
• Appointed in 2006 to a three-year term as a member of the Consumer Advisory Council to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; currently serves as the council’s chair.
• Appointed in 2007 to a three-year term as a member of the Community Reinvestment Fund Board of Trustees.  CRF is one of the nation’s largest recipients of New Markets Tax Credits (over $410 million allocated)
  

11/29/07