Rezoning could make Avondale land marketable

A change in zoning could make a piece of Avondale land that hasn't sold in two years more attractive to developers.

BMF Pediatric Care wants to rezone 2.1 acres of land it owns at 400 E Martin Luther King Drive from IR Institutional-Residential to CC-A Commercial Community Auto-oriented District so that they can market the site for a restaurant use.

BMF would use the proceeds from the sale to continue its mission of providing health care to needy children.

A medical office building on the site, currently occupied by BMF and Tri-Health, would be demolished.

The property has been marketed to local institutions such as Tri-Health, the Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati, and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center with very little interest.

Interest in the site under the proposed CC-A zoning has drawn substantial interest.

The Avondale Community Council does not support the proposal, but the City Planning Commission approved the zoning change on April 18, reasoning that "there is no demand for institutional uses on such a small site, yet there is demand for restaurant uses in this commercial corridor".

City Council's Economic Development Committee will hold a public hearing on the rezoning next Tuesday.

BMF Pediatric Care, originally known as Babies Milk Fund, is a non-profit charitable organization established in 1909 to deliver pasteurized milk to families that could not afford it.

Today, their three Cincinnati locations serve over 9,000 children with quality health care and social service support.