Union residents now have updates on two major developments in the city: the Union Promenade and the Union Town Square.
Developers from both projects delivered updates to the city commission on Monday. Mayor Larry Solomon had been meeting with developers of the Union Promenade, 9541 U.S. 42, LLC as represented by commercial broker KW Commercial and wanted to inform the commissioners on their progress.
“I think that they’ve made significant progress, and all of that progress is in line with the entertainment district that was the original promise, and what we’ve seen is that it is consistent with that,” Solomon said, introducing the developers.
Much of the discussion of the Promenade focused on tenant businesses the developer had either successfully secured or was in the process of finalizing. Some businesses are already operating on the property, but the meeting gave deeper insight into what the final commercial ecosystem on the development may look like.
Two TJs – TJ Schutte of KW Commerical and TJ Ackermann of 9541 U.S. 42, LLC – presented the updated tenant list for the promenade. A satellite site for Cincinnati Children’s Hospital is the promenade’s flagship property. The hospital broke ground last November and aims to begin accepting patients next summer.
The remaining properties were split into numbered lots, some of which are capable of housing multiple businesses, described below:
- Lot 1: UDF, which is currently operating.
- Lot 2: A drive-thru coffee shop. The developers are in talks with three potential tenants, whom they did not name at the meeting. The developers added they hope to open some green space on the lot, as well.
- Lot 3: Mixed commercial space. No deals have been finalized yet, but the developers are working with potential tenants.
- Lots 4 & 5: These lots are controlled by another developer, who did not attend the meeting, but Schutte and Ackermann had been informed those developers had secured leases with Schlotsky’s Deli and Tropical Smoothie Cafe.
- Lot 6: Multi-tenant building. Two businesses there are already operating: Elite Med Spa and Glamour Nails. The developers are in the process of securing a lease with Epic Eats, who plan to open a By Golly’s and a location of The Works, a brick-oven pizza joint. The developers hope to sing a lease with Epic Eats this week.
- Lot 7: Two-tenant building. The first tenant is Strip Quality Meats, an old-fashioned butcher shop. The developers had not yet signed a lease with the tenant at the time of the meeting. The second tenant is Mexican restaurant El Asadero, which the developers had previously secured.
- Lot 8: Chik-fil-A. The developers plan to finalize the lease next week. They plan to open by Sept. 15.
- Lot 9: Two-tenant building. The first tenant is a McAllister’s Deli. The second is Body Alive, a fitness business specializing in yoga, Pilates and barre courses. Both leases have been finalized. McAllister’s is slated to open by May 15.
- Lot 10: A multi-tenant building. The developers have already secured a lease with Taco Mama, a Mexican bar and restaurant that has multiple locations in the Southeast. Schutte compared them to Condado Tacos, which has multiple locations in Ohio. The developers have also secured a lease with Teriyaki Madness, an Asian food restaurant, and are currently in talks with AT&T, although that deal has not been finalized. The final tenant is Blaze Cigar Lounge and Bar, which has a location in Newport.
- Lot 11: 5/3 Bank branch. The developers finalized the lease with the bank last month, and the bank has already broken ground.
The second development discussed was the Union Town Square, a large park project that will eventually include a splash pad, a new city building, some residences and walking trails. The city purchased the 22 acres of land for the project, located between US Route 42 and Old Union Road, in June 2022, and has done public surveys asking the community about what they’d like to see in the square.
Scott Noel and Teresa Hargett Brooks of Summit Architects + Engineers presented options for what to focus on as it related to costs. The goal was to get feedback from the commission so they could better plan.
“If we’re leaning on either side, it’s on the conservative side just to make sure that we’re going to deliver a project that’s going to come in on budget or maybe slightly under,” Noel said.
By the end of the discussion, the commission had chosen to reduce the number of picnic shelters to just one on the northeast end of the square, which is slated to host the pump house for the splash pad. Additionally, the commission chose to remove some porch swing fixtures originally slated for installation on a canopy on the north-end of the square. Both moves aimed to control costs. Other playground swing fixtures were kept.
The city plans to put the project out to bid in April, and they expect it to take between 18 months and two years to complete.