Stars aligning for remake of Lytle Park area

Big changes under a plan to redevelop Downtown Cincinnati's Lytle Park and the area around it could begin within a couple months.

Public and private entities will soon launch projects to remake the park, the Anna Louise Inn at 300 Lytle St. and the Interstate 71 tunnel that runs under the park.

The Ohio Department of Transportation could begin construction work on the state's longest vehicular tunnel by the end of May. ODOT is finalizing the construction schedule for the $32.3 million project, which would install new ventilation, lighting and tiles inside the tunnel.

About a quarter of the park could be closed for the construction project, said Steve Schuckman, superintendent of planning and design for the Cincinnati Parks Department. The project could last about a year, but the parks department will get $1.1 million from the state to help mitigate its impact.

That money is expected to help complete a full redevelopment of the 2.3-acre park, which is on the doorstep of the Taft Museum of Art, Literary Club and Park Place at Lytle. Schuckman said the parks department needs $5 million to complete the full renovation, but that money isn't likely coming from the city's biennial capital budget. He and other parks officials hope the private sector can step up to complete the project.

Early plans for a park makeover were drawn up before Downtown-based Western & Southern Financial Group publicly shared its development plans to add new housing, hotels and restaurants.

"Redoing Lytle Park would be a culmination of the rebirth of the southeast quadrant of Downtown," Schuckman said. "We've got new residents and changes around us. This would be an opportunity to raise the park to the next level and have it be a better place for residents, visitors and daytime workers to congregate and experience the park."

In June, Anna Louise Inn residents are moving to a new Mount Auburn building featuring dormitory-style apartments.

Western & Southern's real estate subsidiary Eagle Realty Group expects to close on a deal to buy the building from Anna Louise operator and nonprofit social services agency Cincinnati Union Bethel once residents move out. Cincinnati Union Bethel announced in May 2013 it would sell the 300 Lytle St. building to Western & Southern for $4 million.

Eagle Realty plans to develop a 106-room Autograph Collection Hotel in the building. Blue Ash-based Winegardner & Hammons will oversee the construction and management of the new hotel.

No timetable has been established for construction, but it is expected to coincide with planned renovations for Lytle Park, said Western & Southern spokeswoman Sheila Roth.

Eagle Realty is evaluating financing and preservation options for the Anna Louise Inn building and its neighbor, 311 Pike St. Western & Southern owns that building and is planning to repurpose it to house a restaurant. Near Lytle Park, Western & Southern also preserved the Guilford Building and Phelps Building. The Phelps is now home to the Residence Inn hotel, which is also managed by Winegardner & Hammons.

Model Group and Over-the-Rhine Community Housing are leading the $14 million project to build the four-story Anna Louise Inn at Reading Road and Kinsey Avenue. The building under construction is next to the Esther Marie Hatton Center for Women (Women's Drop Inn Center) and across the street from the United Way of Greater Cincinnati's offices.

The new Anna Louise Inn is a four-story building with 85 studio apartments, space for Cincinnati Union Bethel's Off the Streets program and community space. The building will also house Cincinnati Union Bethel's main offices.

The Anna Louise Inn has provided affordable housing for single women at its current location since 1909.