Pleasant Ridge Development Corporation
prdevcorp@gmail.com

Pleasant Ridge Business District in the News:

http://cincinnati.metromix.com/events/shopping_event/pleasant-ridge-shop-hop/2145753/content

The State of Things Now

Currently, the Western side of Montgomery Road within the core of the business district has over 40% vacancy.  Many of those locations are large enough to house a restaurant.  As well, the former BP station is now for sale and many expect the current PNC Bank will be moving out within the next few years.  As these sites remain vacant, the prices will go down and become attractive to businesses that may not be healthy for the long-term stability of the Pleasant Ridge community.

Community Entertainment District

The Pleasant Ridge Development Corporation (PRDC), in coordination with local residents, is actively pursuing a potentially long-term and sustainable vision for the business district that builds upon current successes.  The idea is to recruit unique businesses, specifically restaurants, which attract customers to the business district from outside the neighborhood. We aim to create a restaurant row that would complement existing businesses like Molly Malone’s, Emanu, Loving Café and the Gaslight Cafe. 

In 2005 the state of Ohio passed legislation intended to revitalize communities and business districts, the legislation created Revitalization Districts and Community Entertainment Districts (CEDs) that bypassed the current cap on liquor licenses within a defined district to encourage the growth of restaurants and entertainment businesses.  Currently, under the cap, a restaurant that intends to provide beer and wine, or liquor, to its customers needs to buy an existing liquor license from a broker, and the price often exceeds $30,000.  That price is a large hurdle for small businesses when they also have large upfront costs like kitchen conversion, decorating, initial staffing and marketing.  The CED designation will remove the broker and the upfront cost for businesses seeking a license from the state of Ohio.

Going Forward

The PRDC would like to use the CED as a tool within a broader strategy to define, or brand, the Pleasant Ridge business district for Greater Cincinnati consumers.  The ultimate goal is to have a professionally managed business district that manages issues for existing businesses to retain them, and actively recruits new businesses to the area.  No zoning changes will be necessary to implement the CED as the boundaries are within the current contiguous zoning of the upper Pleasant Ridge business district.  The idea is to create a convenient and walkable district with unique and ethnic restaurants.  We have already spoken with and received support from many local business and property owners and local institution leaders. 

The PRDC believes a unique vision for Pleasant Ridge that is embraced by the community can reverse the downward trend and build a sustainable and successful business district.