Streetcar Feasibility Study

Streetcar Route

Streetcar Feasibility FAQ's

Streetcar Transit FAQ's

Findlay Market on Proposed Streetcar Route
Cincinnati City Council recently received a preliminary feasibility study for a 3.9 mile downtown streetcar system. The route studied runs from the riverfront between Main and Walnut Streets north to Findlay Market, passing the Underground Railroad Freedom Center, Great American Ballpark, the Aaronof Center, the Cincinnati Hamilton County library, the Cincinnati Art Academy, the new School for Creative and Performing Arts, Memorial Hall, and Music Hall along the way. The study envisions modern electric streetcars running every ten minutes during peak hours, with about a twenty minute travel time from the riverfront to Findlay Market. The streetcars run on rails and are driven in traffic by an operator.
Streetcars of the kind proposed for Cincinnati are often described as pedestrian circulators. Like a moving sidewalk, they move people around a relatively compact area, making it easier for residents and visitors to enjoy community assets within a few blocks of the streetcar route. Modern streetcar systems in cities like Portland, Oregon, Tacoma, Washington, Toronto, Memphis, San Francisco, and San Diego have significantly accelerated residential and commercial development within three blocks of the rail lines. Cincinnati is consequently looking at a streetcar system more as a downtown development strategy than as a transportation solution. The feasibility study projects a $1.9 billion economic benefit from the streetcar, in the form of new development and increased property values, representing a 15.2 to 1 return on the cost of building and operating the system.

Two Year Progress Report

Request for Proposal: Zone 2A Redevelopment

In 1995, the City of Cincinnati's Departments of Economic Development and Public Works commissioned a master business development plan for revitalizing Findlay Market. The planning process involved public officials, market merchants, neighborhood representatives, market shoppers, and several national experts on public markets. The resulting master plan was adopted by Cincinnati City Council in December 1995 and continues to guide the revitalization of Findlay Market and its surroundings. Pursuant to the plan, The Corporation for Findlay Market was founded in 2000 to become the private, non-profit management organization for Findlay Market.

In June 2002, Cincinnati City Council adopted an Over-the-Rhine Comprehensive Plan. The plan identifies Findlay Market as a key development asset and envisions, "Findlay Market is a food and flowers district that is eventually seen as a daily market for residents of Over-the-Rhine and outlying neighborhoods with additional restaurants and housing." The plan includes market rate residential development adjacent to Findlay Market among its housing priorities. Its economic development goals include, "Focus marketing of retail space around Findlay Market for local, specialty, and international food products and services," and, "Enhance Findlay Market as a regional destination by expanding the market and targeting renovation of the surrounding buildings."

After its founding, the Corporation worked closely with both the City of Cincinnati and market vendors during the complex renovation of the city's 150 year old historic market house and adjacent buildings. The transition from municipal to private management of the market took place in July 2004. Since then, the Corporation's duties have included day-to-day operations, general maintenance, marketing and promotion, public relations, tenant coordination, leasing and new tenant recruitment, and customer service. The Corporation's goals include improving sales and profitability for Findlay Market merchants and attracting a diversity of new merchants to the Market and surrounding business district. A copy of the Corporation's Two Year Progress Report, published in October 2006, can be reviewed or downloaded by clicking the link above.

In January 2006, the Corporation's Board of Directors formally prioritized the need to accelerate neighborhood development in the blocks surrounding Findlay Market to address blight and building vacancies that threaten the market's successful revitalization. The board enlisted support from two experienced community development corporations working on both the south and north edges of the Findlay Market District - Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation (3CDC) and the Uptown Consortium - and together with them formed the Findlay Market District Development Partnership.

In June 2006, Cincinnati City Council named The Corporation for Findlay Market its Preferred Developer for 38 city-owned properties near the market. The Corporation has since acquired several additional properties and now controls 18 parcels on or near the Market Square. The properties are being held for development by third parties in a manner fully compatible with Findlay Market revitalization, the Over-the-Rhine Comprehensive Plan, and the distinctive historic character of the neighborhood. A Zone 2A Redevelopment Request for Proposal was issued on December 15, 2006 for the 18 parcels on or near the market square. That RFP can be reviewed or downloaded by clicking the link above. Development proposals responsive to the RFP must be submitted to The Corporation for Findlay Market by February 28, 2007.

Development Interview with Bob Pickford

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