Downtown residential, retail surges

When Downtown Cincinnati Inc. holds its annual meeting Thursday at The Phoenix, officials plan on making one thing clear: Downtown living is better now than it has been in nearly five years.

In a study showing patterns from 2010-14, DCI's statistics indicate Downtown residential housing prices are up, crime is down 15 percent, and 50 new retailers and restaurants opened in 2014 alone.

In 2004, Downtown proper held a meager 6,962 residents. By 2013, the number had grown to 13,500. Today, there are 15,500 people living in Downtown and Over-the-Rhine.

Perception is changing. People are no longer viewing Downtown as just the place they come to work. Gradually it would seem, Cincinnatians are once again seeing the city center as home.

This fits the pattern of big investments helping to revitalize Downtown and Over-the-Rhine, which Cincinnati Reds owner Bob Castellini lauded in a speech Tuesday.

David Ginsburg, president and CEO of DCI, said the recent re-urbanization boom is due to two factors:

"Downtown is simply a bigger thing than it was five or 10 years ago," Ginsburg said. "Geographically bigger. It's The Banks and OTR now, not just the business district anymore."

He went on to cite the recent boom in restaurants as evidence that Downtown is no longer being viewed simply as a place to work.

But as the city becomes re-populated, housing costs are also on the rise. This concerns both longtime residents and advocates for affordable housing, particularly in Over-the-Rhine.

In 2014, the average cost for a residential home in the Central Business District had climbed to $675,000 – a significant increase from past years. In OTR, residential prices have risen steadily, with the average cost of a condo at $250,000 – up from just under $200,000 four years ago. In 2010, just over 40 condos sold in OTR. This year, that number has risen to 93.

"Perception is key," Ginsburg said. "Downtown is safer now, and the gateway is that people know and believe that."

DCI's 2014 perception polling show that 74 percent of Downtown residents and visitors felt Cincinnati was clean, 70 percent felt it was safe and 86 percent were likely to take an out-of-town guest Downtown to visit.

And the facts seem to support perception in this case. Crime, for example, is down 6 percent from last year in the Central Business District, and "quality of life crimes" (think misdemeanors and panhandling) have decreased across Downtown by 15 percent.

Downtown is diversifying, too. A year ago, the average age of Downtown residents was 32.5. Now that number is 38, and though 75 percent are single professionals, DCI is seeing something of a swing.

"We have baby boomers that are selling 4,000-square-foot houses in the suburbs and moving back Downtown," Ginsburg said. "They want the amenities, they want to be able to walk to places like restaurants and bars."

Janet and David Green – of the baby boomer generation – swapped their house in Mount Lookout for a Mercer Commons condo in OTR this past May, as soon as their kids moved out of the house, they said.

"We love being in the area," Janet said. "We love the diversity and energy of the whole thing."

As for safety? "We feel like there's nowhere we can't go during the day," David said. "And even after dark, you just know to avoid certain blocks. But we've never felt threatened."

Construction for the streetcar continues to advance, and this year saw the launch of Red Bike – which allows you to pick up and ride a bike around Downtown for as little as $8. With 260 bikes stocked at various docks around Downtown, Red Bike saw sudden success in just their first year of operation. Coupled with Metro bus service, transit within Cincinnati is expected to soon be easier than ever.

Earlier this year, Fortune Magazine wrote: "One of the big stories of the past few years has been the striking resurgence of cities, with Cincinnati ranked as one of the Top Five Up-and-Coming Downtowns."

David Ginsburg would certainly agree.