Business Districts

Walnut Hills is home to a variety of smaller businesses, both franchised and locally owned. Many of these businesses are centered on Gilbert and McMillan. Those which aren’t in this Central Business District are placed sporadically throughout the neighborhood, mostly along Gilbert Avenue. With businesses being so concentrated in the center of the neighborhood and poor transportation conditions for everyone other than drivers, it can be hard for residents to feasibly on the fringes of the neighborhood to make it to the existing businesses. Expanding the current business district will provide better accessibility to businesses for the different residential areas.

Inspiration

Tradition pop-up shops served as inspiration for the temporary storefront units

The design also aligns with the current mix-used developments within the neighborhood.

Proposed Site Plan

One of the biggest setbacks to any efforts of bringing businesses to Walnut Hills is that the potential sites aren’t the most attractive in regards to business potential. Because of this, it’s important not only to consider the buildings the business will go in, but also the area surrounding it. In addition to considering the site, it’s also important to create appropriate building footprints for businesses looking for a temporary, lower-risk space.

Mixed Use Building Elevation

Mixed Use Building Diagram

Proposed Plan Collage

Creating more temporary options in regards to storefronts can promote the addition of local-owned businesses or allow established companies to test the waters with a pop-up shop. With these modular, storage garage units, business owners will have the option to rent out as much space as they need.

Streets

Today, the streets of Walnut Hills solely serve the automobile. Pedestrians and bus riders are an afterthought, while cyclists aren’t even thought of. We envision Walnut Hills to return to its transit orientated and walkable past while retaining the important connections that motor vehicles have provided the neighborhood with. With these improvements, it will be able to return to a center of commerce as it was a century ago.

Toolkit

McMillan St. and Gilbert Ave.

This is an important intersection for all modes and its the center of the Walnut Hills business district. Buses would be the new dominate mode, replacing cars. There would be a southern gateway to a Melrose Avenue bike boulevard and a major bus junction between the Montgomery Road BRT, Route 4, Route 11, and Route 31. It would maintain vehicle throughput while also reducing speed.

Key

Red: Bus Space

Green: Cycling Space

Blue: Pedestrian Space

Purple: Bus Stop

McMillan St. and Gilbert Ave.

This intersection is also important for all mode. It would serve as a possible new center of a potential North Walnut Hills business district and gateway to Crown Trail to the west of the intersection. It would feature separation between vehicular turning movements and pedestrians and cyclists. Vehicle throughput would be maintained with speed reduced. It would also include pedestrian islands on the western and southern legs and curb extensions on the norther leg to reduce the currently long crossing distance. Cars would continue to be the dominate mode, but other modes could safely coexist.

Walnut Hills is at once a typical example of an African American and urban neighborhood in the United States. It was at one time a center of business and black culture before Interstate 71 and other road projects decimated the neighborhood in the name of progress and urban renewal in 1970’s. At the same time, Walnut Hills is a very unique neighborhood with deep historical roots. Its position as the second downtown of Cincinnati in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and its continued position as the meeting point between Uptown, the East Side, and the Downtown Basin puts it at an important and special crossroads in the city of Cincinnati.

At its heart, what Walnut Hills truly is, is complex. It is a multifaceted neighborhood which has different trends and patterns throughout its area, with clear divides between the south, center, and north. It has serious problems currently, such as the large amount of vacant land, the difficulties with gentrification, the lack of a grocery store, and the dangerous streets. Yet at the same time, the neighborhood is filled with positives and opportunities, such as the rich history of the Harriet Beecher Stowe House and Peebles Corner, the beautiful architecture along McMillan Street, and the convergence of important city bus lines. Additionally, while the vacant lots and surface parking lots pose a hindrance to development, they also provide an opportunity to build more buildings and increase density without condemning and destroying any existing buildings.

The neighborhood has a potentially bright future with more investment in store for the area, a bike lane project on Gilbert Avenue which will start in 2025, and a possible Bus Rapid Transit line which has yet to be confirmed. At the same time, Walnut Hills will have to try to balance its current residents’ needs along with the needs of future residents without making any group feel left out or uniquely affected by negativities.