Commitment made to downtown Toledo development

22nd Century Committee members join downtown board

In mid-July, a public meeting was held to reveal key elements of the Downtown Toledo Master Plan that is currently being developed. The meeting was conducted by members of the 22nd Century Committee and two consulting firms, MKSK and HKS. The 22nd Century Committee is a partnership comprised of Toledo-area business leaders primarily from the private sector.

Commitment to implementation

At the end of the meeting, one of the 22nd Century Committee members, Bob LaClair, president and CEO of Fifth Third Bank (Northwestern Ohio) addressed the audience. He explained that the 22nd Century Committee was disbanding, but that many of its members were being placed on the board of directors of the Downtown Toledo Development Corporation.

LaClair further shared that members of the 22nd Century Committee were committed to staying involved in the implementation of the Downtown Toledo Master Plan. “We are committed that this plan will not be placed on a shelf waiting for the next time another plan is developed,” explained LaClair.

During the public meeting, a number of issues were reviewed. Andrew Overbeck of MKSK, located in Columbus, discussed the current downtown situation. He explained that downtown Toledo is comprised of approximately 1,600 acres of land. At the present time, there is only 22% building coverage. In contrast, he explained that there needs to be a “continuous development process” that brings building coverage closer to at least 65%.

Recipe for success

Overbeck identified a number of important components that would contribute to a “recipe for success” that include a network of parks, “complete streets”, and continuous development.

He shared that currently there is only 2% of the downtown area that can be classified as park land. The new Downtown Toledo Master Plan significantly increases the amount of park area. The plan includes a new park on the east side of the Maumee River in the Marina District that will be owned and managed by the Metroparks of the Toledo Area. It also includes a new Metropark opening in September on the west side of the river on the Middlegrounds in proximity to Owens Corning’s world headquarters.

Overbeck also explained the concept of and need for “complete streets.” Currently, downtown streets accommodate the flow of traffic with some one-way streets designed to get vehicles away from downtown as quickly as possible. “Complete streets” not only accommodate vehicles, but also pedestrian and bicycle traffic. It will be much more accommodating to residents and visitors and an important component for aiding growth, according to MKSK.

Participant at the third public meeting of the Downtown Toledo Master Plan

Market opportunity

Overbeck also provided a review of the additional market opportunity for downtown development. His firm believes that there is demand for 1,200 to 1,500 residential housing units and that there is demand for 700,000 to 800,000 thousand square feet of office space. He also shared a forecast for the need for 250,000 to 350,000 square feet of retail space. In addition, he projected demand for between 450 to 650 hotel rooms in the downtown area.

A critical issue that Overbeck shared is that rental rates for residential and commercial space in downtown Toledo are significantly below the development costs for this space. He explained that there is an important need for incentives or subsidies in order to assist development. He discussed the need for local government involvement to provide support that might include tax abatement, the use of tax increment financing (TIF), low interest loans, real estate equity funding, and other possible incentive programs.

Business development

Another important issue for downtown Toledo is the need for business development. Overbeck suggested that an effort to position downtown Toledo as the center for innovation and entrepreneurship in the area might be a solution. He advised that this would require an involved economic development initiative that would include incentives, access to capital, a target industry cluster initiative, and much more.

The public session included a review of 12 priority action items that must be implemented. One action item involves the construction of a riverfront promenade that will enable residents and visitors to easily travel on the west side of the river and connect the area between two large bridges in the downtown area.

Another important action item involves a program for housing incentives in order to spur residential growth. Completing a Parks Master Plan is also felt to be important for aiding residential development.

According to Overbeck, another key for downtown development will be success with development of mixed-use projects. This work is needed to infill open area that will bring new retail, office space, and additional residential to downtown.

Another priority action item involves a TARTA transit center study. One option being reviewed involves the possibility of eliminating the downtown bus loop, opening up traffic lanes that can then be converted to bicycle and pedestrian traffic. Development of a plan for bicycle traffic in the downtown area is one of the priority action items.

The public meeting review enabled an examination of quite a few of the key elements of the Downtown Toledo Master Plan that will be completed soon.

The significant involvement of private sector leaders in this master planning process and the commitment of 22nd Century Committee members to continue their involvement on the Downtown Toledo Development Corporation board in order to implement this plan provides an opportunity to further spur the development in this area.