CincyStreetcar Blog

Cincystreetcar.com recently asked the Brandt Retail Group, a locally based commercial real estate brokerage firm, about the potential they saw in Cincinnati’s urban core.  Here is their response:

For the last 40 years our industry has lived by a simple principle:  retail follows rooftops.  Build houses and shops will follow.  This accepted wisdom has driven the burgeoning of suburban and big box developments throughout this and other regions.  As the local commercial real estate firm representing such great retailers and restaurateurs as Target, Home Depot, IKEA, Red Lobster and some 50 others, this suburbanization has been very good for Brandt Retail Group.

But recently we also formed an Urban Focus division, led by Kathleen Norris with Doug Brandt, because now we see a strong move toward re-urbanization as our Midwestern central cities, our downtowns and our densest first ring suburbs gain new appeal.

Cincinnati is in many ways at the forefront of this movement. Downtown, Uptown and Over the Rhine are not only our most important workforce centers; they are also increasingly important neighborhoods with growing residential density as well as unique dining and shopping.

And as that density increases retail will follow those rooftops as well.

We believe, based on data from other markets, that the streetcar will be a force multiplier in creating that density. It will provide a convenient 21^st century means for people to move from a ballgame at the Banks to dinner in the Gateway Quarter, from home to work. It will also decrease parking demand without decreasing mobility or access.

A fixed streetcar route will create development opportunity as sites proximate to the line are revitalized, increasing residential density and creating both new retail and new retail customers.  That’s just the kind of opportunity Brandt Retail Group’s Urban Focus team can successfully offer to those  retailers and restaurateurs excited to be where the future is  in this great city.

UrbanCincy has this piece about how streetcars improve the liveliness (and outdoor culinary options) of a city:

For example, when people living at The Banks development along Cincinnati’s riverfront ride the Cincinnati Streetcar to Findlay Market for their weekly shopping needs it is not the businesses that sparked this behavioral change, it is the streetcar that enables this, as Mr. Callinan would put it, cosmopolitan lifestyle. The lifestyle changes influenced by the streetcar system will create additional demand for cosmopolitan offerings like the street food vendors Mr. Callinan details as more people, instead of cars, begin to populate our streets.

Read the rest here.

The Enquirer has this story about a group of Xavier students promoting the Cincinnati Streetcar:

Anna Garnett, 19, a sophomore from near East Lansing, Mich., stresses that the students “do not want to build a streetcar for the sake of having a streetcar, but because we see it as a critical step in creating the Cincinnati we want to live in.”

The streetcar’s most ardent advocates could not make the case for the project’s $128 million first phase more forcefully.

Cities, they stress, must give people a reason to move there or stay. That is especially true for desirable demographic groups such as young college graduates, who, largely unencumbered by established career and family considerations, often have wide options available to them.

Read the rest here.

Even before it is operational, the Cincinnati Streetcar is encouraging investment along the line.  This letter from Rookwood Pottery was written in support of the streetcar and details the streetcar’s impact on Rookwood’s  investment in Cincinnati.

Support Rookwood Pottery–Build the Streetcar

Even before construction has begun, developers are already beginning to market proximity to the Cincinnati Streetcar as an attribute of a property.  This sign is on 646 Main St.

This week’s Soapbox has this story about Lohre & Associates, Inc.’s relocation to Over-the-Rhine:

Cincinnati-based Lohre & Associates Marketing Communications has decided to relocate to historic Over-the-Rhine near Music Hall.  The advertising agency will occupy 1,500 square feet of a newly renovated second floor space inside the 110-year-old building.

“We’re looking forward to making our new home LEED Platinum,” said Chuck Lohre, President and LEED AP who stated that they purchased some materials from Building Value in Northside.  “Having a new park across the street, the streetcar at my front door and being able to walk to Park+Vine make me excited about our new location.”

Read the rest here.

WLWT ran this piece on the Cincinnati Streetcar on Friday.  Click the picture below to view.

Click Image to View Video

The Cincinnati Streetcar was selected by the State of Ohio’s Transportation Review Advisory Council (TRAC) to receive $15 million in funding to advance the project.

TRAC was created as a way to objectively evaluate projects across all modes of transportation.  Each project, whether it is road, transit, aviation or freight, is scored using criteria that can be applied equally across all modes of transportation.

Out of a possible 100 points, the Cincinnati Streetcar scored an 84–the single highest scoring project in the State of Ohio.  Mayor Mark Mallory said of the award:

“We are confident that having the State as a partner in the project will be helpful in obtaining federal funding in the upcoming months.   We should all thank Governor Strickland for becoming a partner on this project.  He clearly understands the transformational effect that the streetcar will have on Cincinnati.”