CINCINNATI — Business owners in Hyde Park are still cleaning up the mess and damage left behind by Friday’s flash flooding as rain and water found their way inside a number of storefronts and basements.
For some, it was just a few inches, and for others it was a few feet.
“It started coming up like a water fountain, through the cracks in the floor,” said Kristen Folzenlogen, the owner of Poeme. “I just couldn’t believe how fast it was coming in.”
Sue Reichert, the owner of Monkee’s, also told us she had flooding damage to her store. She said when it started, she was worried about how she’d get out of the store.
“It started coming in like a monsoon, from the front too, so it was coming in both ways,” Reichert said.
WATCH: Businesses worry new Hyde Park development may worsen flood concerns
Both Folzenlogen and Reichert said they only got a few inches of water, but that flooding is a common issue businesses face almost every time there’s heavy rain.
“My concerns are it’s not gonna get any better if it’s been happening for years,” Reichert said.
Business owners told us they're concerned that the ongoing flooding issue will only be made worse by the upcoming Hyde Park development, which includes an underground garage in the parking lot between Edwards and Michigan Roads, an area that became a pond on Friday.
“If they don’t do their due diligence, and they start digging down to create a two-story parking lot on what used to be a spring-fed lake, it’s just gonna be a continual problem,” Folzenlogen said.
According to the development’s plan released last month, an underground stormwater detention will be added below the parking garage.
Right now, any rain and water from that parking lot goes directly into the storm drains and then the sewer pipes all at once.
The project's developer, PLK Communities, says with the new detention, “the runoff from our site goes into that tank first instead of straight into the city pipes. The tank holds the water and then lets it out slowly, at a controlled rate, over time, instead of a big surge hitting the pipes all at once.”
Nick Lingenfelter, chief development officer with PLK communities, said they too are impacted by the flooding and want the community to flourish.
You can read Lingenfelter's full statement below:
“First, we're living it too. We own and operate multiple buildings in the area, and several were affected by the recent flooding. This isn't abstract for us, and we're still cleaning up. No one wants this, and we take it seriously.
Here's the part that often gets missed in the new development vs. leave it as is conversation. Our site today is largely a nearly century-old impervious parking lot, and like most of the properties on and around the Square, it has no underground stormwater detention. It is not currently required because none was required when these lots and buildings were built. That existing condition, as with many of the buildings in that area, contributes to flooding now, along with all the other older properties around the Square.
Because we are building new, our plan changes that. Our project includes underground stormwater detention that doesn't exist on the site today, and it replaces the limited, aging drainage infrastructure on the property. To get a permit, we're required to bring the site up to modern standards, and we're doing exactly that. Redevelopment here is one of the few things that actually improves the stormwater situation on this block rather than leaving the site as is.”
