UPTOWN IS CINCINNATI'S DOMINANT REGIONAL CENTER OF ...

1VISION STRATEGIC OPPORTUNITY PLAN UPTOWN CINCINNATI

UPTOWN IS CINCINNATI'S DOMINANT REGIONAL CENTER OF
LEARNING AND HEALTHCARE INFUSED WITH THE ENERGY OF

VIBRANT AND DIVERSE NEIGHBORHOODS.

A n extraordinary opportunity exists to build on the successes of Uptown. The initiatives of
the Uptown Consortium, its member institutions, neighborhood development
corporations, residents and the private sector have created the capacity for Uptown to
become a true 21st century diverse, creative, urban district. It can be a place to live, work,
study and play for diverse communities. Over the next ten to fifteen years, the Consortium
has committed to ensure that Uptown becomes a magnet for innovation and creativity that
builds on strong neighborhoods and institutions. It has the potential to become a highly
successful and sustainable city 'District' with a strong shared identity.

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1VISION STRATEGIC OPPORTUNITY PLAN UPTOWN CINCINNATI

OUR VALUES
We can see the future and in it . . .

• we are fully engaged with our community
• we are connected and have built strong alliances
• we communicate with our Uptown "family" and they with us
• we are a unique catalyst for change
• we are wholly invested in Uptown
• we are leveraging our resources to benefit the larger region
• we are thriving because we are in Uptown
• we are a "good citizen" to the people around us
Uptown is . . .
• a unique collection of neighborhoods with a strong sense of place
• a safe, clean, and growing community
• a destination for healthcare, education, and recreation
• a great place to live, work, learn, and play
And when we say . . .
"we live and work in Uptown"
People say . . .
"Wow!"

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1VISION

Uptown is a known district within the city and the region

The Uptown Consortium, with its strategic
partners, plans to put Uptown "on the map," by
creating a clear and distinct identity. This new
identity will link Uptown to Center City, Cincinnati
and to surrounding regional destinations. This
recognizable identity will be bolstered by the
presence of Uptown's historic neighborhoods, as
well as it's healthcare and educational
institutions, which will retain their own identities,
while creating a new shared identity of Uptown
as a whole.

The Consortium's work will strengthen existing
neighborhood centers and create special places,
forming recognizable gateways to the district and
serving as common ground for Uptown's diverse
neighborhoods and residents.

Fig 1.1 Uptown shown in the context of the greater Cincinnati region. STRATEGIC OPPORTUNITY PLAN UPTOWN CINCINNATI

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1VISION

Uptown is a place to grow and live

Uptown is a powerful economic engine and
employment generator for the city and the
region. Approximately $3.5 billion of
development activity is underway within and
around Uptown. The University of Cincinnati,
Children's Hospital, TriHealth and the
Zoo/Botanical Garden each have major capital
projects underway. With the presence of the
University and the hospitals, new synergies will
emerge, which may include spin-off enterprises
such as a life sciences and technology corridor.

Approximately 1,000 new residential units of Fig 1.3 Uptown has a plentiful supply of attractive
market-rate housing are in the pipeline. The and historic housing stock.
Consortium seeks to encourage mixed-income
housing development, improve the quality of
rental properties, support existing homeowners
and encourage new and existing Consortium
Member employees to buy and live in Uptown.
Moreover, nonprofit and community development
organizations are transforming underutilized land
and buildings into dynamic mixed-used
development projects.

Healthy, safe and well-performing schools are the Fig 1.4 The Corryville Community Center.
hallmark of a healthy community. As the
Consortium addresses the "brick and mortar"
challenges within Uptown, it will also seek to
improve neighborhood schools for existing and
new residents. The University of Cincinnati's
School of Education will partner with Cincinnati's
public schools to provide and offer high, quality
centers of educational excellence.

Uptown is better connected to itself, Center City and the region

Uptown's identity will be enhanced and STRATEGIC OPPORTUNITY PLAN UPTOWN CINCINNATI
celebrated through coordinated wayfinding,
street signage and attractive lighting. Improved
public transit opportunities, including coordinated
shuttle systems, increased express bus service,
and transit-oriented centers will serve to provide
accessible means of travel to and through
Uptown. Improved access to Uptown from east
and west, through redesigned (and rethought)
interchanges at Routes I-71 and I-75, along with
enhanced arterial linkages to Center City, will
better connect Uptown to the region.

Fig 1.5 Uptown’s shuttle systems should be
coordinated between institutions.

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1VISION

Uptown is a great place to walk, play and shop

With an enhanced streetscape that provides Fig 1.6 The Ludlow Avenue retail district.
identifying gateways and wayfinding,
pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists can co-exist
on Uptown streets. Attractive and green
walkways will provide new pathways through
appropriate areas of the hospital and University
campuses, linking Uptown's neighborhoods and
destinations. Uptown will be a model of
sustainable design, including such
improvements as an expanded tree canopy
throughout the district. Burnet Woods, Uptown's
'central park,' will be restored as a safe and
accessible center of community activity and
recreation.

The Uptown Consortium's coordinated retail
assistance strategy will utilize data and
encourage development to enhance existing
neighborhood retail centers, while infusing
challenged areas with new life and activity
through targeted interventions and support. The
Short Vine corridor and Burnet Avenue will join
other centers of activity to provide a diverse set
of retail offerings to the people who live, work,
study in and visit Uptown.

Fig 1.7 The lake at Burnet Woods.

Uptown is safe, clean and attractive

In partnership with the Cincinnati Police Fig 1.8 University of Cincinnati Police officers. STRATEGIC OPPORTUNITY PLAN UPTOWN CINCINNATI
Department and Member's public safety
departments, public safety challenges will be
aggressively pursued and addressed in a variety
of ways, beginning by being visibly present.
Through the creation of a Public Safety Resource
Center within Uptown, the Consortium will send a
visible and clear signal that ensuring Uptown's
public safety is a key priority. The Consortium
will create an Uptown Ambassador unit that will
have "zero tolerance" for graffiti, trash and
unsightly lots. These Ambassadors, Member
public safety departments and the Cincinnati
Police Department will work with residents to
identify troubled areas and disseminate
information widely to increase public awareness.

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1VISION

Uptown exemplifies high quality urban design and planning

The Consortium shares a commitment to the Fig 1.9 The corner of Ludlow Avenue and Clifton
highest standards of urban planning, and the Avenue demonstrates attractively designed and
quality and beauty of architecture and pedestrian-firiendly urban design.
landscapes. Through a proposed Design Center,
an independent urban design and planning
center, the Consortium will work to ensure that
Uptown development, infrastructure and open
space projects include exceptional building,
landscape and streetscape design. The Design
Center will promote new design standards and
guidelines. These will address issues such as
ensuring that new and rehabilitated buildings
include active ground floor uses to activate
streets, and that structured parking is integrated
with new development. The Design Center will
also work with the Members to produce
guidelines for future institutional growth to
promote a connected, lively and walkable
Uptown.

Strategic Objectives

The Uptown Consortium has embraced the vision of this Strategic Opportunity Plan. To implement this
vision, the Members have committed to work together to address the common elements which give
shape and character to Uptown. These shared strategic objectives work together to produce an overall
framework to guide preparation of the Consortium's development plans, as well as individual
Institutional Plans for Consortium members, and neighborhood plans.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES STRATEGIC OPPORTUNITY PLAN UPTOWN CINCINNATI
• Establish Uptown as a unified place
• Make the whole more than the sum of the parts
• Maximize synergies between uses, institutions, neighborhoods, and

commercial centers
• Increase and improve safety
• Make Uptown amenity rich
• Promote a common identity
• Create clear orientation and movement across Uptown

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