Walnut Hills Reinvestment Plan

Cincinnati, Ohio

Over the last 15 years, the Walnut Hills neighborhood in Cincinnati has been in the process of undergoing a significant and historic transformation. After decades of disinvestment, many see an opportunity to position Walnut Hills, with its once vibrant retail district and prominent historic housing stock, as the next up-and-coming neighborhood in the city, although significant socio-economic challenges persist.

Our Approach

Recognizing the need to harness this momentum and leverage new development to promote a sustainable and equitable future for all Walnut Hills residents, the Walnut Hills Redevelopment Foundation embarked in a planning process to create a long-term reinvestment plan for the community. Development Strategies was part of the consulting team, led by MKSK, to analyze the underlying market challenges to the neighborhood and develop a roadmap for new investment that addressed the needs of the existing community and improved the neighborhood’s overall marketability to attract new residents and broaden its retail appeal.

Since the adoption of the plan in November 2016, the neighborhood has experienced considerable redevelopment, including the redevelopment of the Paramount building that includes more than 30,000 square feet of commercial space now housing the city’s first minority-owned microbrewery and more than 120 units of mixed-income rental housing. Current plans include the development of 56 affordable units as well as continued development of market rate housing.