Construction Set to Begin on New Findlay Community Center
Posted on May 6, 2025 by ccurran
Project Partners and Community Members Gather for Groundbreaking Ceremony
CINCINNATI (May 6, 2025) – Leaders from the City of Cincinnati, Cincinnati Recreation Commission, Cincinnati Center City Development Corp. (3CDC), and several other project partners gathered this afternoon to commemorate breaking ground on the construction of the new Findlay Community Center, a catalytic project in a $100M effort to revitalize and uplift the North Over-the-Rhine (OTR) neighborhood.
The celebratory event took place at Findlay Playground, the future site of the new recreation facility. Project and civic leaders – including Mayor Aftab Pureval and City Manager Sheryl Long – spoke to the need for the community center and the positive and transformative impact it will have on the North OTR neighborhood. The event concluded with the ceremonious shoveling of topsoil at the project site.
3CDC is the developer for the new Findlay Community Center, working on behalf of the City of Cincinnati and in collaboration with Skanska as the construction manager. Moody Nolan is leading project design, working with Human Nature and Bayer Becker.
“We’re excited to be here today as a community-centered vision is realized after years of planning, collaboration, and commitment,” Katie Westbrook, Senior Vice President of Development for 3CDC, said. “We believe this project will have a catalytic impact on North OTR’s revitalization, much like the redevelopment of Washington Park had on the neighborhood south of Liberty Street 13 years ago. Findlay Community Center will serve as a vitally important place to gather, celebrate, and strengthen our bonds of community.”
The 18-month, $47 million construction project will transform the underutilized park into a state-of-the-art community center—a pivotal step toward neighborhood revitalization that has been made possible by a robust financial stack. In addition to the City of Cincinnati committing over $25 million in necessary project funding, Fifth Third Bank and McCormack Baron Salazar provided New Markets Tax Credit equity, and over $8 million has been raised in private philanthropy from a series of organizations and donors, including The Haile Foundation, Union Savings Bank and Guardian Savings Bank , The Jacob G. Schmidlapp Trust, The P&G Foundation, The Farmer Family Foundation, and Fifth Third Foundation. Funding from the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development – secured by former US Senator Sherrod Brown and current U.S. Representative Greg Landsman – and from the State of Ohio, via the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, were also critical to moving the project forward.
Upon completion, the brand-new building will feature two levels of recreation and multi-purpose space totaling 60,000 square feet (SF), an 8,400-SF early learning childcare center for children ages six weeks through preschool, and an outdoor space with a play area, seating, grills, and a dog park. In addition to the childcare center, the first-floor layout includes a gym, indoor pool, roller rink, locker rooms, multi-purpose rooms, and a child-watch area. Floor two will feature a walking and running track, a fitness area with cardio and stretching equipment as well as free weights, group exercise rooms, and a rooftop field. This design plan is the result of extensive community engagement, which started in 2021 and is still ongoing. To date, 3CDC and its partners have engaged with nearly 900 community attendees and stakeholders over the course of 113 events. Additionally, the team has conducted five community engagement surveys, which garnered 387 responses.
North OTR’s larger transformational development plan will occur in strategic phases over the next two years. In addition to the community center’s construction, the first phase also includes the redevelopment of the existing OTR Recreation Center into a new and expanded home for Crossroad Health Center, a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) that is currently located on the corner of Vine and Liberty streets. The second project phase, slated to kick off later in 2025, involves the renovation of Grant Park to improve the playground, field, and multi-purpose courts, as well as the Findlay Flats development, which will renovate 10 historic buildings located at the intersection of Vine and Elder streets into mixed-income apartments and 9,300 square feet (SF) of first-floor commercial space. Additional Phase Two work includes significant improvements to the Vine Street streetscape
Construction on the Findlay Community Center begins on May 7 and will progress in stages toward a target completion date in late 2026.
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