Campus construction

Calhoun Street Garage and Marketplace

Projected completion dates: Phase I - fall 2005 Phase 2 - fall 2007 UC garage - summer 2005

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UC-community partnership rebuilds neighborhood

UC’s new Calhoun Garage is literally the base for Phase I of a community-directed housing/retail project.

Phase 1
Block by block, the neighborhood business district south of UC's main campus is beginning to rise -- aesthetically, economically and literally. Directing the transformation is the nonprofit Clifton Heights Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation (CHCURC), in which the University of Cincinnati holds a board seat.

As a partner in the drive for community improvement, UC is contributing in a number of ways, including a $40 million loan from its endowment, expert opinions from staff such as university architect Ron Kull and a lease to "air rights" above the university's new $40 million, 1,000-car garage between Calhoun Street and Corry Drive. The air rights agreement opened the way for CHCURC to begin construction early this year of Phase I of its Marketplace mixed-use project -- on top of the university’s garage.

Calhoun Garage itself is scheduled for full occupancy next June, with limited use possible before then. More than a harbor for automobiles, it will contain work space for the UC Band, both Air Force and Army ROTC programs and the Division of Facilities Management.

The Marketplace project above the garage will consist of 766-bed student apartments in single, double and triple configurations. At street level along Calhoun, 37,500 square feet of "at-your-service" retail is scheduled to open, with parking either in the adjacent surface lot or the university garage below.

"This retail space will have the things students need on a daily basis, such as a small bank and places like Panera Bread," CHCURC urban planner Matt Bourgeois explains. The names of retailers had not been finalized at "Cincinnati Horizons" deadline.

The redevelopment plan's first phase also includes a quarter-acre park at the corner of Dennis and Calhoun streets. "It will serve as a gateway, visually, from the community to campus," Bourgeois explains. "There is an impressive open vista of the UC campus at that point. Whatever retailer locates there -- a cafe for example -- its customers will spill out into the park."

Phase 2
By the beginning of next year, the Clifton Heights Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation (CHCURC) will start construction of Phase II of their Marketplace development across Calhoun Street from the University of Cincinnati campus. A more ambitious project than the first, it will reshape several blocks west of the Shell gas station into high-rise condominiums, townhouses, upscale stores and bistros, plus a single-story marketplace with specialty food shops.

Land acquisition for this phase will increase development costs to more than twice that of Phase I, which was constructed on top of UC's Calhoun Street Garage.

"There will be 220 condominiums in Phase II, very upscale," Bourgeois notes, "situated above ground-level retail shops and our 600-car underground parking garage." The views will be panoramic, all the way across campus in one direction and to the Ohio River in another.

In addition to condos, 18 traditional three-story townhouses will be constructed, surrounding a large oval green space. Parking for those residents will be available on a lower-level deck.
Bourgeois says the 60,000 square feet of retail space in this area will include "nicer clothing shops, sit-down restaurants, a large bookstore" and more local retailers. "We want to keep the mix of national, regional and local businesses as diverse as possible," he adds.

The marketplace structure reflected in the project's name is an 8,000-square-foot building that occupies its own block. "We will have small shops, similar to those seen at Findlay Market -- cheese, breads, wine, a mini-grocery -- things that work together," the planner says. "All around the outside of the building will be tables and chairs for people to sit and enjoy."

And for the future? A new CHCURC project -- the Gateway -- is next on the development list. It aims to transform two blocks at the southeastern edge of campus near Vine and McMillan streets into a "visually engaging" entry to the business district and community. Features could include an upscale performance venue, theater, supportive retail, boutique hotel, housing, office space and underground parking.

Architects: VOA Associates of Chicago
Project cost, Phase I: $60 million
Phase II: $125 million

NEXT | Future construction

LINKS:
Locate on map
City of Cincinnati's Clifton Heights UC Joint Urban Renewal Plan (pdf) Web site
Visit the Clifton Heights Community Urban Redevelopment Corportation Web site
Read an early prospectus describing the “Calhoun Street Marketplace” (pdf)

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