Anderson Township: Beechmont Avenue Corridor Study May, 2014 Table of Contents

The Traditional Alternative: Anderson Township’s continuing commitment to development, as evidenced by its sponsorship of numerous inquiries over the past decade, clearly indicate that it has taken a considered approach to developing a progressive land use policy with accompanying guidelines and regulations, significant public commitment to improve the Beechmont corridor, professional expertise, developer input and resident commentary.

Great opportunities exist for acquiring/incorporating top design into mixed-use project. Design can be critical. People want to live and shop somewhere that is eye-catching and attracts more visitors and new residents.

The only way to make projects economically viable is to dramatically increase their density by adding a mix of uses and integrating them vertically, and this includes the inevitable parking needed to accommodate visitors/customers. Building parking structures with entrances through small surface lots is another way to gain support.

Beyond providing a product to suit a growing need, mixed-use infill developers gain a diversification of income streams that may sustain the property through difficult economic periods. “When the office market is down and not performing too well, the apartments could still be making a contribution to the property owner,” Hunt says.

Local Development Interests: This can prove to be one of the critical factors in any collaborative arrangement for multi-use projects in that those practitioners in the area have a finely tuned sense of place and context. They additionally have ties to design, financing, and other development elements that can contribute significantly in producing a product that the local market will respond to positively. This faction should include local developers, commercial realtors, and retail/service business leasing professionals. A seasoned, multi-skilled team is fundamental to attracting the best equity and debt sources.

Demographics: It takes significant population density to support a retail center, especially a regional one. In a post recession economy, demographics play an increasingly more significant role than in past years when growth projections were met with greater confidence. Accordingly, mixed-use projects will, in large measure, depend upon recruiting new residents, businesses, and other users as well as retaining older residents who may be inclined to leave the Township after their child rearing years are complete.

It is common knowledge that senior citizens are the fastest growing demographic. There have been traditional, negative perceptions of this growth, making the assumption that many seniors would leave the community if financially capable, leaving a remaining group that will have diminished income in their later years.

The suburban paradigm has traditionally been based on a family-oriented lifestyle. Seniors within suburban communities have often gravitated to institutional residences when in need of assisted living services.

Given that a surplus exists among more traditional retail and service commercial real estate space in this corridor, mixed-use projects will ultimately need an accompanying strategy designed to attract new people, office tenants, and supportive retail/service components.

The Township will need to develop an active strategy to attract new residents. It should begin by mounting an initiative to retain existing residents.

The modern suburban community has witnessed two generations since their dramatic expansion in the years after WWII. Alternately called “empty nesters,” seniors who have raised a family in a larger home often do not find residential options more suitable to their altered lifestyles. Many seniors are reluctant to leave their communities as social, spiritual, and other ties remain. Traditional apartments built for a mass market are often a poor option. Conceptually, mixed-use developments which afford proximate easily accessible goods and services, in addition to professional, medical, and perhaps recreational components, might be attractive in terms of convenience and scale.

Tenant Mix: The right tenant mix in suburban mixed-use is challenging. Retail is the biggest draw in mixed-use developments. Supportive shopper’s goods are a fundamental element. National brands and larger retail facilities are more problematic.

A successful retail mix optimally includes bookstores, fast-casual dining, bakeries, coffee shops, and small apparel and related retail. These uses provide a unique synergy promoting an entertainment atmosphere that, in turn, benefits the overall feel of the project.

The retail component delivers goods and a service in support of the other components depends, in large measure, on its resident population. It also provides new options for other local shoppers. The pedestrian transition that characterizes mixed-use projects better consolidates trip demands and leads to lower traffic volumes.

Parking: Parking plays a crucial role in the success of all mixed-use projects, especially in auto-centric suburban settings.

Suburban residents, especially shoppers, are accustomed to readily available, proximate parking. In a sense, parking in the suburban paradigm is an entitlement as opposed to a service or commodity. Developers have traditionally included vast amounts of surface space to customer parking. Many have constructed garages as a built-in amenity. Mixed-use projects present a paradigm shift as it relates to parking. The initial issue is space. Less space translates into higher density which in turn implies a vertical parking structure.

Although in-line shops lend themselves to new urban formats, larger anchor stores and requisite parking does not integrate well with a pedestrian dominated environment. Nevertheless, anchors are needed to attract patrons from beyond the project’s immediate resident base project’s setting. Inevitably, a hybrid approach often results.

The first step in adding density and diversity to an existing site is to free up land that is customarily assigned to surface parking.

Solutions to these parking issues are likely to be found and realized by local governments which see their vested interest in promoting mixed-use developments and ultimately become involved in, at minimum, assisting in the financing of parking facilities to offset costs and increase the chances for project success.

Suburbanites are less willing to pay for parking than urbanites and are more accustomed to surface parking, but habits can change.

A multi-pronged approach is required--one that reduces demand and slowly introduces paid parking.

Anderson Township has taken several steps in this direction and possesses current assets that can mature into a fully realized mixed-use environment.

Charging for close-in premium parking is a first step toward acclimating customers to paid parking.

In Main Street-style projects, parking meters on the street can bring in revenue while encouraging turnover; merchants benefit because customers can generally find a spot to park.

Many cities are introducing modern parking meters that enable users to pay for their space with a credit card or smartphone. The City of Cincinnati has installed credit devices throughout downtown. It is almost a foregone conclusion that this payment system will be expanded through technological capabilities of smartphones and other mobile devices. This may be a crucial factor in bridging the gap between pay parking and formerly free access. Alternatively, offering a 90-minutes-free parking program for the less convenient spaces gives shoppers enough time for short trip demands.

Technological enablement may allow communities to have variable parking rates based on time of day, occupancy, special events, etc. It is safe to say that we can anticipate these technological advances as well as a generic form or application of payment interchangeable with other public venues that have timer-based rates.

Use of paid parking and demand management will help the parking supply match demand, eliminating the excessive supply generated by minimum parking standards. Elimination of minimum parking standards should be a major goal of planners seeking to add density to suburbs. Achieving it requires creating neighborhood parking districts with permits so parking does not spill into neighborhoods; changing the practice in many cities of using reduced parking requirements as a negotiating chip with developers; and managing on-street parking with meters, returning the money to the district.

Attaining Authenticity


Mashpee Commons Mashpee, Massachusetts, planned by DPZ,

is a lively, mixed-use, mixed-income, and pedestrian-friendly

town center, redeveloped incrementally over 15 years from a

strip shopping center.

A major challenge in creating mixed-use developments of any size is creating a qualitative feeling of authenticity.

No matter how much the form of a project echoes pre-automobile town centers or how much the architectural style takes its cues from the region, the place likely will lack a sense of authenticity and fail to attract members of younger generations. Derivative architecture’s shortcomings are only compounded by all too familiar national chain tenants found in almost the exact placement sequence as in every other retail center.

Customers want a mix of both national and local tenants. They do not, however, share the need to underwrite projects like real estate developers who rely heavily on national chains to generate sales volumes that enable sizable retail projects to become financially feasible.

Smaller “mom and pop” tenants usually are all too often not considered creditworthy by the lenders and investors who finance mixed-use projects. Achieving a judicious blend of strong local and regional tenants can often be an effective alternative approach to the ubiquitous retail mix.

Restaurants and other food service users have the ability to attract customer volume that can assist other tenants in meeting individual goals. Cincinnati has experienced a significant increase in quality, locally owned dining venues but their location choices have typically been in areas of intense activity, most notably in the revitalized Over-the-Rhine area astride downtown Cincinnati. There are, however, a growing number of smaller, artisanal food groups that have developed small chains that often look to establish themselves in evolving suburban settings.

Non-commercial uses are a newcomer to the tenant mix that relate to the locale and that diversify and broaden the user base. Examples include offices, professional practices, cultural centers, and other elements; things that better attach the development to the particular area. Here is a particular opportunity for ethnic groups within the community and ethnically-oriented businesses serving them to fill these roles.

All this helps ensure long-term economic stability and local relevance.

Possibilities for mixed-use development are both numerous and will have a greater impact north of Five Mile Road.

In its current form, The Towne Center addresses several of the core concepts of both mixed-use and new urbanism principles. Though it is currently a commercial retail/service complex, the Towne Center’s expansion possibilities suggest the potential for residential, office and additional development in pursuit of the mixed-use goal. The Kroger Marketplace is a major trip demand and provides the majority of surface parking. The established pedestrian patterns to the Towne Center encourage visitors to circulate through the area without the need of a second parking exercise. It has a fairly broad mix of shopper’s goods and services, recreation, food, entertainment and national brand retailing. Lastly, the center’s optimal location affords excellent roadway access and a central location.

In the course of this inquiry a number of properties identified as commercial surplus may be considered as sites for future mixed-use development, assuming that acquisition and assembly can occur over the coming decade. HCDC examined a number of additional sites that could accommodate mixed-use development.

The threshold size for mixed-use development varies with the surrounding environment and non-geographic factors, in areas in which high density and vertical development are normative.

Establishing a local project threshold size is tempered by numerous factors. Short of acquiring a large institutional property, local assemblages typically involving multiple owners, would rarely exceed 20 acres of contiguous developable land. A goal of this inquiry was to identify commercial real estate elements in the Beechmont corridor that were contributing to a market and perceptual state of confusion and malaise. Accordingly, these examples involve relatively small and medium size retail strip properties, typically fewer than 10 acres. Assembling larger sites would imply extended acquisition efforts to enlarge the potential development sites. Many properties would additionally entail relocation consideration. Suffice it to say that the length and complexity of site assemblage in the Beechmont commercial environment would be somewhat comparable to that faced in the densely built out urban sectors of the region.

Priority should be given to site assemblage of blighted or otherwise obsolete commercial strips and stand-alone structures in Beechmont’s Nagel to Eight Mile segment. Prospective sites would be relatively close to the I-275 interchange at Nine Mile. That location could prove attractive for new residential prospects as it is an efficient access point for those involved with commuting, as well as an equally attractive and efficient route for office visitors, retail clients and other visitors.

Re-inhabiting, redeveloping, retrofitting, re-greening, or repurposing, are all means to bring life to aging retail centers.

Bringing life back to retail centers increases the surrounding properties’ value, attracts new investments, and can bring new jobs to area. Reason dictates, however, that if the supportive population is not growing, prospects are diminished.

Though retrofitting has often been thought to be cost-beneficial, redevelopment of traditional commercial properties into multi-use projects implies a totally different conceptual approach to configuring the project. Accordingly, HCDC sees greater merit in assembling and acquiring sites that can be formally run through the RFQ/RFP process in pursuit of the most progressive redevelopment concept.

The properties profiled below have varying merit. Some are currently viable, though in need of some physical refreshment. Others are objectively positive, performing assets for their owners, but though in relatively good condition, are nonetheless reflective of the surplus character of the Beechmont corridor’s market environment and could be redeveloped. Finally, there are properties that lack redeeming value. They are, for all intents and purposes, obsolete, poorly tenanted, and would be better served in the marketplace and the civic sphere as a component part of a larger land assemblage that might lend itself to a more progressive redevelopment. Notable examples include:

The Festive Marketplace: 7685 Beechmont Avenue

The Festival Market is a 26,324 sf strip center with approximately 5,000 sf (19%) vacant. This facility houses numerous local uses, represented by both national chain store tenants and local independent businesses. Lease rates are in the area of $17 sf, which is a healthy rate within the corridor.

Though a well trafficked facility, the center is a primary example of confusing and harsh signage common among earlier suburban commercial corridor development. It is fair to say that the major portion of customer volume in this center is decidedly local, with tenants offering a range of shopper’s goods, gathering spots, and specialized services. It is a well known destination among local residents. It could definitely pursue a decidedly more subtle approach to attracting those non-local customers searching for a specific business.

The Marketplace’s close proximity to the Towne Center suggests its long-term redevelopment move toward a denser, less automobile-centric character. It is, however, very difficult to improve and add density to a center that is operating. This is particularly the case with re-allocating surface parking for additional development.

Given its close proximity to the Towne Center, this would be a prime example in which collaboration with property owners and a program of measured incentives could bring a less cluttered, more contemporary look to this center.

This is an aging retail strip center that appears to serve as a well tenanted, quality shopper’s goods destination. It is located in the area between Nagel Road and Eight Mile, the section of the Beechmont corridor that contains a number of marginal properties due to a lower level of maintenance or a weak tenant mix.

The 1990 vintage main structure contains 57,289 sf, with a second free standing out lot building, also constructed in 1990, containing an additional 10,275 sf.

The development is situated on 8.53 acres.

The current eleven tenant mix includes Susan’s Health Foods, Country Fresh (produce, delicatessen meats/chesses and imported food items), two learning centers, The Book Rack, a used bookseller, a weight loss center, a regional optical center, and Servatti’s, an iconic Cincinnati bakery.

Country Fresh is the largest tenant. This business has been in the Cincinnati region for the past decade with locations on Beechmont Avenue in Anderson Township, Vine Street in Springfield Township, and Werk Road in Western Hills. The company appears to prefer locations that evoke an older, smaller time in grocery store size and design. Accordingly, they search for spaces that actually served in that capacity or resemble this site. For example, the Springfield Pike location is housed in a 1950’s-early 1960’s [former] grocery store that is a component part of a multi-use strip configuration with retail and service businesses on the first level and offices above. The facility shares a relatively good sized parking lot with two free standing retail spaces and a small office building. Though the structures themselves are obsolete, there is a good amount of shopper’s activity generated primarily by Country Fresh.

The center appears top run, counter to the notion that the aging strip center is obsolete. This is generally the case. There is, however, a positive element in the operation at the Crossings facility. Users provide typical shoppers goods and services. The Country Fresh anchor is paired with other relatively offbeat, but attractive users. Books, educational tutoring, and health foods add to the eclectic character of this center.

This property’s value can be approached from two vantage points. In the short term, the property‘s current configuration is of value to the commercial corridor, providing an interesting array of shoppers goods to the residential and visiting consumer. It is, however, a dated property and could be significantly improved or renovated with appropriate public infrastructure and financial incentives. The second vantage point involves a more long term view. The Crossings property could conceivably be either incorporated into a larger site to become part of a mixed-use project or evolve into an ancillary facility connected to a larger mixed-use property through secondary roadways in the Anderson Ways system.

Dollar General: 8263 Beechmont Avenue

This property, zoned as a community shopping center (Land Use # 426) is a 58,910 sf facility constructed in 1985 and situated on a 4.894 acre site. It sits in close proximity to the Crossings of Anderson but reflects a rather different ambiance.

Built in a traditional strip center configuration, the center is situated at the rear of a sizable parking lot. A lone drive-up ATM machine is located at the front of the parking area nearest to the street. A seemingly vacant Asian restaurant sits at the property’s western edge.

The center is anchored by a Dollar General store and complemented by an array of disparate users. The facility has a high vacancy factor. This property is a prime example of traditional shopper’s goods and services facility that has moved toward obsolescence and compounded by minimal maintenance. Though the property may serve its owners well as an investment, it does the commercial corridor little in the way of providing fresh, active retail and service space. As one of those properties referred throughout this inquiry as “soft” or “surplus” sites, the center offers a highly accessible location coupled with affordable lease rates.

This property should be considered be among the first for site assemblage. The larger site that might accommodate a mixed-use development contains a broad range of buildings of varying condition, which includes a contemporary office structure, several service-oriented but dated facilities, a free standing restaurant, and the aforementioned strip center. The site effectively begins at the corner of Beechmont and New England Club Drive. This site assemblage could link the assisted living projects and residential subdivisions south of Beechmont through the Anderson Ways system. The aggregate size would be approximately 10.7 acres. The Crossings of Anderson could conceivably either be linked to the site or incorporated into it if the owners opted to become part of a larger footprint, increasing the site to 19.2 acres.

This retail strip center was built in 1974, making it one of the oldest retail strips in the corridor. The facility contains 132,676 sf on a 9.4 acre site without lots serving automotive needs. Considering its age, this facility appears to be well maintained. It is a utilitarian design, devoid of much exterior artifice. The tenant mix is decidedly oriented toward value retail, the euphemism most often applied to discount shopping in other than national branded big box settings. A considerable amount of space is devoted to commercial storage. The major tenants include an independent outlet store, a local/regional fitness center, a storage facility, and an Applebee’s restaurant on the front out lot. A Subaru auto dealership faces the site across Beechmont Avenue. Fast food and other franchise venues bracket the facility on the east and west. There are 8,400 sf (6%) of vacant space at this center, in the $10 per square foot range.

This is a modest retail and service center that shares a robust demographic with the surrounding portion of the Beechmont corridor. It is fair to conjecture that given the property age, style, tenant mix, and price point for leased space, this property represents an opportunity for retail that might otherwise serve customers more closely in the neighboring county and township. Users will find comparable space to be more expensive as they move eastward toward the Eastgate area. It may also be noted that the residual effects of the dramatic economic downturn from the 2008 recession has created new customers for this tenant mix within the Township and represents a proximate and value-oriented retail/service option.

This facility, built in 1987, is very similar in size, condition, and tenant mix to the aforementioned Pinnacle Plaza. At 132,468 sf, the facility is almost exactly the same size as the Pinnacle Plaza. It is of straight forward design and a former location for Home Depot. The facility has been re-purposed for multi-tenant occupancy. Its tenant mix is value retail, with major tenants including a Dollar Tree store, Once Upon a Child, and Gabriel Bros., a regional chain of discount clothing stores located in Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Georgia, and South Carolina. Once again, it appears fair to conjecture that this tenant mix is driven by space cost. In both cases, the facilities are proximate to the I-275 interchange at Nine Mile Road, providing businesses with an ability to continue to offer their customers relatively quick access to goods and services. The above properties represent differing perspectives on the issue of surplus retail/service real estate, and display several variations of “stress,” depending upon who is evaluating them.

Communities that seek to maintain their commercial bases tend to view these properties as displaying either early signs of physical deterioration or an erosion of the tenant mix. One decreases property valuation while the other implies dissatisfaction with the quality of or incompatibility of goods and services as they relate to the community’s demographics. The opposite perspective regards properties as investments. A healthy net operating income (NOI) will satisfy most property owners who see their particular properties as pragmatic investments. If they can provide space in a tough post-recessionary market, they are maintaining their asset.

Property rights and the civic sphere are often at odds with one another. Obviously, the public perception of property characterizes them as at least quasi-public assets in that they make up the overall community fabric. Public officials have long recognized their stewardship included a significant concern for and involvement with the [continuing] redevelopment of the community’s economic sector. In past decades the concept of eminent domain expanded to include active public appropriation and acquisition of property in pursuit of maximal economic development. That role came to an effective end in 2006 with the case of Norwood, Ohio v Horney (110 Ohio St 3d 353), in which the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that eminent domain was no longer applicable to involving public acquisition of real property for private economic development projects. This decision has significantly altered the public approach to redevelopment issues. Accordingly, land assemblages involve the cultivation of local governments, developers, and property owners in extended negotiations, with a measureable increase in collaborative outreach to other related interests. This process will become increasingly complex as communities consider mixed-use development.

Taking the above into account, it is imperative that the Township form a collaborative Beechmont Avenue redevelopment entity and dispatch representatives to engage property owners in dialogue regarding the future of their respective properties. As the retail/service landscape shifts, many of these commercial retail/service centers will no longer remain attractive investments in their current configurations.

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