CINCINNATI-A joint venture of Al. Neyer Inc. and Towne Properties is about to break ground on the $95 million University Square at the Loop mixed-use project, directly across from the University of Cincinnati. The redeveloped site will include 161 multifamily units, 80,300 square feet of retail, a 100-room hotel and 44,000 square feet of office.
Located north of the downtown, the university has about 43,000 students, making it the second largest school in Ohio. John Heekin with Cassidy Turley says most of the students live on the campus, which is self-contained and not spread out through the city. “There’s about 145,000 people within a three-mile radius, and if you add the university and medical school, that’s another 80,000 people,” he says. Heekin is part of the leasing team for the project.
In the mid-part of the past decade, the university and the city worked together to buy the properties that ring the campus, Heekin says. This 4-acre site formerly held fast food restaurants and some residential. “Now we want to make this the main retail area for the school,” he tells GlobeSt.com.
He says the ground breaking will be this summer, with a November 2012 opening. There’s one retail tenant, the Mellow Mushroom chain, signed, with four leases out for signature and another eight in letter of intent stage, Heekin says. “We’re looking at getting a pizza place, a haircut place, some men’s retailers, and a number of other restaurants. We should be able to announce retailers by July 15,” he says.
The project also includes a 716-space parking garage, which will be the first thing built, with the city retaining ownership. The rest of the project would follow, Heekin says.
The hotel operator should be announced this week, Heekin says. “It’s an extended-stay property, and will have quite a view, it’s the highest point around,” he says. The office space is yet to be leased.
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.
Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
*May exclude premium content© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
