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Council committee hears staff support for changing Uptown Gateway zoning to permit labs, multifamily and other uses
Summary
City planning staff and the project applicant said a major amendment to Planned Development 79 (Uptown Gateway) would add research and laboratory uses plus multifamily and entertainment without changing building massing; the committee placed the amendment on for passage but the transcript does not record the final roll-call vote.
City planning staff told the Equitable Growth and Housing Committee that a proposed major amendment to Planned Development 79 (Uptown Gateway, Avondale) would update permitted uses to allow research and development, laboratory uses, hotel and multifamily residential while leaving the PD boundary, parking, building form and open space unchanged.
Jesse (Department of City Planning and Engagement) outlined the site at 71 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Redding Road and said the PD concept plan was approved in 2017; two buildings have been completed and the applicant (Terex Uptown Investor) seeks flexibility to attract tenants in a changed market. "They are requesting a major amendment to the existing plan development basically just to update the permitted use," Jesse said, noting staff recommended approval and found the change consistent with Plan Cincinnati and Avondale's quality-of-life plan.
Tom Roe, representing Terex Development Construction, told the committee the original approvals were interpreted more narrowly than the applicant intended and described active recruitment of hotel/multifamily and lab tenants after COVID disrupted the office market. Roe said the developer had pursued hotel developers who pulled out during the pandemic and that the team hopes the amended uses will support business attraction and retention.
Council members asked for clarification about which uses were newly added; Jesse listed research and development, laboratory, entertainment, hotel and multifamily as additions to the original office/retail plan. Council member Dolan and others pressed whether tenants were lined up; the applicant said conversations are ongoing and that the amendment is intended to increase flexibility for both lab and housing prospects.
Chair Mark Jeffries said he supports the change and urged future coordination with port planning and restaurants to activate the area around the Digital Futures building. With no objections, the chair announced the committee would "put item number 2 on for passage." The committee did not record a formal roll-call or final vote in the provided transcript.
Next steps and any financing or final development plans will be decided when the council takes the item up for final action.
