Cincinnati's Budget, Finance and Governance Committee voted August 3, to send $2.3 million in public funds toward a $45 million mixed-use apartment project at 1520 Madison Road, giving the development its first concrete city financial backing.

The emergency ordinance, submitted by City Manager Sheryl M. M. Long, creates a new city account for the project and authorizes the transfer from the East Walnut Hills Equivalent Fund. The money will pay for acquisition costs, demolition, site improvements, and sewer relocation on the 1.5-acre parcel between Victory Parkway and Woodburn Avenue.

The site sits on the Madison Road corridor that feeds directly into the Oakley business district.

What's planned

Uptown Rental Properties, a Cincinnati-based developer with holdings near Hyde Park, the University of Cincinnati, and downtown, plans a five-story, roughly 168-unit apartment building designed by architecture firm GBBN. The project has been valued at approximately $45 million, according to Hoodline, with projected rents between $1,500 and $2,200 per month based on industry reporting.

Cincinnati Business Courier staff reporter Brian Planalp described the design on X on May 8:

@BrianCinciBiz: "Designs unveiled for a new development in East Walnut Hills show it won't be the typical 5-over-1 vinyl shoebox everyone complains about, but a 'signature project' that looks like it belongs in the historic neighborhood. Uptown Rents and GBBN are cooking on 1520 Madison."

The ordinance still requires a full City Council vote. No date for that vote or a groundbreaking timeline has been announced.

The site's history

The property previously housed Hamilton County Developmental Disabilities Services in a building constructed in 1992 with nearly 40,000 square feet. Hamilton County sold it to an Uptown Rents affiliate as part of a broader push to consolidate departments into a newer Bond Hill facility.

The East Walnut Hills Assembly announced the sale on March 19, noting that its Development Committee had been in regular communication with county administrators about the building's future and its impact on the neighborhood business district.