Resident-Led Neighborhood Revitalization
Over $150M in redevelopment
Walnut Hills, now one of the fastest growing neighborhoods in Cincinnati, was one of the most disinvested in just a few years ago. The efforts of the Walnut Hills Redevelopment Foundation (WHRF), previously led by a Yard & Co. Principal, have yielded over $150 million in development projects in the historic Peeble’s Corner commercial corridor. The complex development projects included both historic rehabilitation and mixed-use new construction. The capital stacks of these projects included complex financial tools, including Tax Increment Financing, New Market Tax Credits, Historic Tax Credits and Low-Income Housing Tax Credits. The Master Plan for the district and several of the catalytic infill development sites were led by Yard & Co. and have yielded desired neighborhood outcomes related to affordability, market rate housing and Black-owned businesses. At every step of the way a resident-led process was used to ensure development was happening with and for Walnut Hills, not to it.
Services
Plan
Develop
Activate
Operate
Timeframe
2011 - Present
Location
Cincinnati, OH
Client
The Walnut Hills Redevelopment Foundation
The Model Group
Community Organizing and Property Acquisition
In 2011 the long-time community development corporation for Walnut Hills (WHRF) was on the verge of shutting down. Fortunately for the community, several leaders reinvigorated the organization and hired a new Executive Director (Kevin Wright, Yard & Co. Principal). Under this leadership, the organization developed a new and inclusive system for decision making and began working with the City of Cincinnati to acquire property in the neighborhood’s historic commercial corridor.
Existing Conditions:
Testing Demand through Placemaking and Events
As the WHRF grew its team and began recruiting developers and applying for project financing, a focus on placemaking and events also took shape. This strategy was intentional about highlighting the racial diversity of Walnut Hills and testing demand for new audiences to come in and bring life back to Peeble’s Corner. Several events, both large and small, were implemented but it was the reclamation of a series of alleys that created a truly catalytic movement around change, culture and identity. The Five Points Alley started small and has since grown into one of the most interesting and dynamic public spaces in Cincinnati.
Mixed Housing & Minority Business Focus
As placemaking and events created a new energy in the district the WHRF began closing on several redevelopment projects up and down the corridor. These projects have included hundreds of new housing units, tens of thousands of commercial/retail square footage and new public gathering spaces. Major institutional tenants such as ArtWorks, Mortar and La Soupe now call the neighborhood home and a growing number of Black-owned businesses are planting their roots in the district.
Project Impact
Over the last 10-15 years the change in Walnut Hills has been catalytic and put the community on a new trajectory. It is one of the premiere examples nationally of how processes led by residents and focused on resident priorities can yield both inclusive and monumental change.