Monday, February 16, 2009

Site of American Red Cross HQ added to Keystone Parke

Cincinnati City Council has passed unanimously an ordinance that will allow a new headquarters for the Cincinnati chapter of the American Red Cross to be built at Keystone Parke in Evanston.

The ordinance amends Keystone Parke's planned development district (PD-44) to include an additional 8.8-acres of property south of Evanston Park, formerly zoned for single-family residential and recreational use.

Neyer Properties will build the new three-story, 50,000-square-foot disaster operations center, which it will then sell to the American Red Cross upon completion in 2010.

The development will include a vegetative roof, rain gardens, bio-swales, and 125 open-grid paver grass parking spaces, and is seeking LEED Silver certification.

Construction is scheduled to begin this spring.

The American Red Cross announced plans to vacate its Downtown space at 720 Sycamore Street due to space constraints.

Last September, council rezoned the Downtown site to a planned development district to make way for a 13-story hotel and 150-space parking garage proposed by developer Rolling Hills Properties, LLC.

Rendering courtesy of project architect emersionDESIGN.

Previous reading on BC:
Cincinnati EDC considers altering Keystone Parke plan for American Red Cross (2/3/09)
City approves rezoning for Downtown hotel (9/30/08)
EDC to hear proposal for new Downtown hotel (9/19/08)
Cincinnati to apply for $1.4M grant for I-71/Dana interchange (5/21/08)
Cincinnati approves Keystone outlot, public access (5/12/08)