After negotiating a preferred developer agreement, this week the Uptown Consortium (UCI), MLK Investors I, Avondale Comprehensive Development Corporation (ACDC), and the City of Cincinnati began planning the development for the northeast quadrant of the Uptown Innovation Corridor. The process began over a year ago when the City and UCI issued a request for proposals (RFP) for the quadrant, a 17-acre site adjacent to the new MLK interchange. MLK Investors I LLC were selected through the RFP process. The organization is made up of Neyer Properties and Kulkarni Properties.
UCI kicked off a project team meeting to begin planning for the northeast quadrant. UCI led a discussion regarding the grand vision for the Uptown Innovation Corridor and UCI’s implementation strategy to date. The group had a positive discussion on strategic next steps and aligned on the vision for the quadrant, which is to create a world-class, mixed-use development for future-facing research and innovative companies.
The project development team for the NE quadrant includes: representatives from Uptown Consortium: Beth Robinson, president and CEO of UCI, Franz Stansbury, UCI’s director of real estate development and Brooke Duncan, UCI’s community development manager; representatives from MLK Investors I: Dan Neyer, president and CEO of Neyer Properties, Chris Dobrozsi, vice president of real estate development for Neyer Properties and Shree Kulkarni, CEO of Kulkarni Enterprises; Russell Hairston, Executive Director of ACDC, and Brandon Holmes, Operations Manager for ACDC, and, the City of Cincinnati was represented by Bob Bertsch, development manager.
Next, UCI will convene the project team, including Patricia Milton, President of the Avondale Community Council, to lay the foundation for community input and participation in development planning. UCI is taking intentional steps to ensure all developments in the Innovation Corridor are models for equitable growth and economic opportunity. As a part of the preferred developer agreement, the group will need to have a robust community engagement and economic inclusion plan both during construction and for future tenants in the building.
Including the Neyer and MLK Investors I’s proposed development, three quadrants in the Uptown Innovation Corridor have development plans in process:
- The northwest quadrant was named the preferred site for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) development by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in July of this year (the CDC is NIOSH’s parent organization).
- The Uptown Gateway project led by Terrex Development and Construction and Messer Construction will be located in the southeast quadrant of the Corridor. The $150 million project is a mixed-use development that will include a hotel, office space, a park and a parking garage. Planning for this section of the interchange started earlier this year.