Section 2.0 Study Area Characteristics
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Cincinnati Streetcar Project Environmental Assessment 2.0 STUDY AREA CHARACTERISTICS This chapter describes the characteristics of the populations, neighborhoods, employment centers, activity centers, and transportation facilities and services within the project study area. A discussion of the project’s consistency with local transportation plans developed for the City of Cincinnati, Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Agency (SORTA), and regional entities is also discussed in this chapter. The Cincinnati Streetcar is designed to serve the core of the urban region, which includes the Downtown, Over-the-Rhine (OTR), and Uptown neighborhoods of Cincinnati (Figure 1). These three areas, which are immediately adjacent to one another, comprise the largest and most densely developed employment and activity center in the Greater Cincinnati region. The street network that connects the three areas is constrained by traffic and a significant change in elevation between Downtown and OTR and the Uptown area. Downtown and OTR sit in the basin and are just north of the Ohio River. Uptown’s elevation is a few hundred feet higher. Although interstate highways bracket Downtown and Uptown, they do not allow for connectivity between the three areas. A street grid exists on Downtown and OTR but the street patterns in Uptown are less regular, and feature several “superblocks.” All three areas include sidewalks and are pedestrian-oriented. 2.1 Demographics 2.1.1 Existing Population The study area is a relatively narrow corridor within the larger Downtown, OTR and Uptown areas. The population within the project study area corridor was estimated to be 4,169 in 2009 (Claritas Inc., 2009). This is approximately one percent of the population of the City of Cincinnati, with a population of 331,285. Among the study area population, 1,409, or 42 percent of the population over the age of 16 are employed (Claritas, Inc., 2009). Existing population data were also obtained from the 2000 US Census on a census tract level. The tracts within or partially within the study area are 6, 7, 10, 9, 16, 17, and 25. Tables 1, 2, and 3 show population and housing data for the county, city and study area. Table 1. City and County Demographic Characteristics (2000) Percent Percent Median 2000 Number of Location Population Population Median Age Household Population Households White Minority Income Hamilton 845,303 72.9 27.1 35 346,790 $40,964 County Cincinnati 331,285 52.5 47.5 32 148,095 $29,493 Source: US Census Bureau 2000 Page 9 March 2011 Cincinnati Streetcar Project Environmental Assessment Table 2. Demographic Information by Census Tract (2000) Median Census Population Population Percent Median Number of Household Tract 1990 2000 Change Age Households Income 6 853 550 -35.52 41 374 $35,278 7 2,985 2,639 -11.6 39 1,138 $17,721 9 2,614 2,070 -20.81 36 938 $6,972 10 1,594 1,357 -14.87 27 725 $14,539 16 2,312 1,712 -25.95 27 803 $8,175 17 1,861 1,358 -28.03 28 635 $8,511 25 2,587 2,317 -10.44 23 1,130 $19,802 Source: US Census Bureau 2000 Table 3. Housing and Employment Characteristics (2000) Occupied Housing Vacancy Total Census Tract Housing Unemployed Units Rate Employed Units 6 459 374 18.5 391 50 (11.3%) 7 1,509 1,138 24.6 720 163 (18.5%) 9 1,424 938 34.1 558 260 (31.8%) 10 1,081 725 32.9 535 55 (9.3%) 16 1,186 803 32.2 355 156 (30.5%) 17 897 635 29.2 366 149 (28.9%) 25 1,306 1,130 13.5 1,331 88 (6.2%) Cincinnati 166,012 148,095 10.8 150,574 11,892 (7.3%) Source: US Census Bureau 2000 There has been a loss in population within the study area between 1990 and 2000. This is primarily due to the deterioration and abandonment of the housing stock in OTR, and accompanying out-migration of residents to nearby neighborhoods. It does not reflect the large- scale re-investment in housing in both the Central Business District (CBD) and OTR. This is in the form of conversion of Class B and C office buildings to condominiums and apartments in Downtown Cincinnati and the renovation of deteriorated and/or abandoned housing in OTR that is being undertaken by the Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation (3CDC). 2.1.2 Forecasts Population and employment forecasts are provided by the Traffic Analysis Zones (TAZ) from the Ohio Kentucky Indiana Regional Council of Governments (OKI). According to OKI data, the 2005 population for TAZs in the study area was 11,515 while employment for the TAZs in the study area was 53,513. The 2030 OKI forecast population for TAZs in the study area is 10,658 while the 2030 forecast employment is 56,417. This represents a seven percent decrease in population and five percent increase in employment in the study area between 2005 and 2030. The population and employment forecasts for 2030 are illustrated in Figures 2 and 3. Page 10 March 2011 Cincinnati Streetcar Project Environmental Assessment Figure 2. 2030 Population Forecasts Page 11 March 2011 Cincinnati Streetcar Project Environmental Assessment Figure 3. 2030 Employment Forecasts Page 12 March 2011 Cincinnati Streetcar Project Environmental Assessment 2.2 Major Activity Centers The project location encompasses several major activity centers (Figure 4). These activity centers include three major employment districts (riverfront/CBD, OTR and Uptown); several regional entertainment, tourist, and shopping destinations; two major institutions of higher education; and three regional medical centers. The regional importance of the study area is reflected by the number of jobs found within its boundaries. 2.2.1 Downtown Cincinnati/Riverfront/Central Business District Downtown Cincinnati comprises the City’s Riverfront/CBD. Downtown Cincinnati is compact and densely developed, home to numerous historic and modern structures that primarily date from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The heart of the City of Cincinnati is located downtown. Fountain Square, a popular public square and gathering place for various events located within the study area (Figure 4). A list of activity centers and their location in relation to the streetcar alignment is in Appendix F. Downtown’s major activity centers fall in the following categories: x Employment center: There are approximately 60,000 workers in Downtown Cincinnati. It is a major corporate center and the headquarters location of six Fortune 500 and ten Fortune 1000 companies. x Government center: Downtown is the location of Cincinnati City Hall and associated city offices; the Hamilton County Courthouse, administrative offices, and social service agencies; and several federal installations including the federal office building, federal courthouse and Federal Reserve Bank. x Retail center: Two major department stores- Macy’s and Saks Fifth Avenue, are located downtown along with several retail shops. x Cultural center: Performing arts institutions downtown include the three-theater Aronoff Center for the Arts, Taft Theater, and Cincinnati Shakespeare Theatre. Visual arts institutions include the Contemporary Arts Center, Taft Museum of Art, and several art galleries. Other attractions include the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center and the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum. x Sports and entertainment center: The Duke Energy Convention Center anchors the western portion of downtown and helps support five major hotels and two additional hotels currently in development. There are several restaurants, bars and nightclubs, and the Fountain Square entertainment district is located within the study area. Along the central riverfront, Major League Baseball’s Cincinnati Reds play at the Great American Ballpark, the National Football League’s Cincinnati Bengals play at Paul Brown Stadium, and minor league and college teams play at the 18,000-seat US Bank Arena, which also hosts other special events. x Residential center: Over the last several years, a renewed interest in Downtown housing has occurred with new construction and the conversion of several large historic structures into loft apartments and condominiums. The Downtown population was 9,026 in 2009, a year when 500 new residential units were completed. More than 2,000 additional residential units are under construction or in the planning stage, with an estimated Downtown population of 12,452 in 2012 (Downtown Cincinnati, Inc. State of Downtown Report, 2009). Page 13 March 2011 Cincinnati Streetcar Project Environmental Assessment Figure 4. Major Activity Centers Page 14 March 2011 Cincinnati Streetcar Project Environmental Assessment The City is undergoing major changes due to an influx of new development and private investment as well as the construction of The Banks project along the riverfront. Nearly $3.5 billion has been recently invested in the urban core of Cincinnati (including the riverfront of adjacent Northern Kentucky), and it is anticipated that more investment will take place. Two major construction projects will be completed in 2011. The first is the Great American Tower at Queen City Square which opened in January 2011. The tower is located at Fourth and Sycamore streets; one block east of the proposed streetcar alignment. The second is “The Banks” project, a mixed use development along the riverfront featuring housing, retail, office space and a hotel. The first phase is scheduled to open in June 2011. The proposed streetcar alignment also directly serves The Banks. 2.2.2 Over-the-Rhine (OTR) OTR is a neighborhood in Cincinnati located between the region’s largest activity and employment centers, Downtown and Uptown. It is bordered by the CBD, the Clifton Heights- University Heights-Fairview (CUF) neighborhood, and the neighborhoods of Mount Auburn, Pendleton, and West End. OTR covers 306 acres and is listed as a historical district on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), containing the largest collection of 19th century Italianate architecture in the United States (see Section 5.18 for cultural resource discussion).