Connecting the Cincinnati Community to Its New Casino

At the February 1^st meeting of the Major Transportation and Infrastructure Projects Sub-Committee of the Cincinnati City Council, Lea Eriksen, the city’s Budget Director, and Stephen Samuels, Governing Board member of Bridging Broadway, presented research and plans to develop the half-mile radius around the new casino, which broke ground three days later and is scheduled to open in the end of 2012. Bridging Broadway is a non-profit whose mission is to “maximize the new casino’s positive effect on Greater Cincinnati by connecting stakeholders, sharing concerns, and promoting opportunities.” This group of creative professionals, business leaders, and urbanites has been conducting small and large-scale research and hosting community dialogues with residents, business owners, and landowners. At the time of the meeting, the organization was 4 months into Phase I with final documentation to be complete at the end of March.

The presentation opened with discussion of the project’s vision and guiding principles. The vision is to “develop a pedestrian oriented mixed-use and mixed-income environment that will promote economic development and connect the surrounding neighborhoods around the casino site as a vibrant entertainment destination.” Seven guiding principles were chosen to facilitate the vision:

1. Create and promote complementary uses around the casino site.
2. Develop the casino site as an aesthetic compliment to the existing historic districts and neighborhoods and their surrounding area.
3. Create a green setting in terms of streetscapes and landscapes.
4. Preserve scenic views from Mt. Adams.
5. Create and reinforce a strong sense of place taking inspiration from the existing arts and entertainment venues and the visual and historic character of the area.
6. Create strong multimodal connection corridors for all users.
7. Foster a diverse, welcoming, pedestrian-friendly urban character.

The neighborhoods included in this development are Pendleton, Over-the-Rhine, the Central Business District, Mt. Adams, and Mt. Auburn. The large-scale research done by Bridging Broadway is focusing on the question of “How does the casino relate to its surrounding geography?” The organization is studying transportation routes, housing, land use, and commercial districts while thinking about marketing, branding, and inventory. Samuels said, “We don’t want to cannibalize what already exists downtown.” They want to find complimentary uses that synergize already existing offerings and potential new businesses. The idea of a mixed-use environment includes residential, retail, and the arts and entertainment.

Their four main objectives regarding the district are to complement existing activities, eliminate the edges, fill the gaps, and explode the program, which refers to exploding the 100,000 to 150,000 square feet of non-gaming uses—restaurants, retail, bars—that exist around the exterior of the site by complementing them with public art, street entertainment, streetscape improvements, and more. Bridging Broadway is hoping that these developments would provide an experiential perspective that could lead casino-goers through five proposed routes: arts corridor, entertainment corridor, streetcar line, Fountain Square, and Egleston.

Bridging Broadway is also proposing the creation of thematic districts, one of which is being called the Entertainment District. Its focus would be the 24/7 lifestyle that will be spurred as a result of the casino. The problem is that not everybody locally or regionally can relate to or will use the casino. There is no broad appeal. Further, the casino is insufficiently linked to downtown’s existing destinations. The solution is to use the “explode the program” idea to promote a “multi-use destination in and around the casino site that meets a broad range of consumer demands.” Developments in this district could include commercial revitalization for local and regional tastes, special events, emphasis on complementary entertainment-oriented uses, new development of surface parking and vacant lots, streetscape improvements of primary corridors with wayfinding, clean and safe programs, branding and marketing, public art, and street entertainment.

Bridging Broadway’s proposed solutions are essential to create cohesion between the casino and the community it lives in and the residents it will affect. By developing the surrounding area, the casino will not remain isolated. The synergy will energize the city. Further, what a great way to promote the high-quality arts and culture that Cincinnati has to offer! The Entertainment District and the Arts Corridor route, which travels up Pendleton to the Pendleton Arts District and down 13^th to Main Street, feature many historical arts and cultural institutions. Adding public art or street entertainment would only add to the aesthetic experience that community members and visitors could get. These developments would attract not only casino visitors by bringing them out of the casino and into other parts of the city but also Cincinnati area residents who may not normally venture into these areas.

The next Community Dialogue will take place on March 12^th, and it will focus on implementation. I’m sure additional presentations to this sub-committee will occur, and it will be interesting to see proposed budgets for the project. Certainly it will take a lot of capital to actually realize these ideas, but I think the enhancements are well worth the investment.

Sources:

Bridging Broadway