2009 Annual State of Downtown Report

Downtown Cincinnati is the heart of the growing and vibrant Cincinnati Usa region. As the front door to the region, the Central Business District (CBD) along with its neighboring communities— Over-the-Rhine, the West end, Pendleton, and Mt. adams— continued to grow and evolve to meet the needs of its many visitors, residents, employees, and property owners.

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Downtown Cincinnati Incorporated (DCI) with the collaboration and assistance of many public and private partners, researches, compiles, and publishes the State of Downtown Report annually. In its sixth year of publication, the State of Downtown Report provides a comprehensive profile of the various downtown markets: Development Projects; Office and employment; retail and restaurant; residential; Conventions and Hotels; arts, Culture and entertainment; safe and Clean; and access and Parking.

2009 was a challenging year globally, nationally, and locally. the economy was less than optimal and made success difficult across nearly every industry. However, downtown Cincinnati continued to seek innovative ways to maneuver the economic trials of the 2009 economy.

The national retail market faced a number of obstacles but downtown retail and restaurants remained relatively stable. In the office and employment market, the commercial brokerage community faced a variety of challenges including high vacancy rates, but began to see companies hiring again, which led to lease renewals and expansions.

Although the housing market remained in flux throughout 2009, downtown Cincinnati’s residential market was steady in comparison to other markets. Development projects slowed slightly, but the continued progress of major developments such as the Banks, Queen City tower, and the Over-the-rhine revitalization contributed to downtown’s continued positive momentum.

Ten Years Later/Special section: A changed city?

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Arts, culture, and entertainment venues continued to bring many visitors to downtown—a direct complement to the record setting convention attendance. While hotel occupancy was not at its highest level, downtown hotels averaged better results when compared nationally and regionally. the presence of more pedestrians on downtown streets, both during the daytime and evening hours, was due to many of the above mentioned factors, plus the compact walk-ability of downtown, availability of low cost parking, and the safe, clean, and welcoming environment.

The following pages provide detailed statistics in each market mentioned above. For more information or to give feedback regarding the information in this report, please email sODreport@downtowncincinnati.com .