Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation (3CDC)

3CDC is a nonprofit real estate development and finance organization created in 2003 to lead redevelopment of Cincinnati’s urban core. It was formed on the recommendation of a city economic advisory task force convened by then-Mayor Charlie Luken and corporate leaders led by Procter & Gamble’s A.G. Lafley, and it operates in partnership with the City of Cincinnati and the local corporate community. Roughly thirty Cincinnati corporate leaders sit on its board, and since 2004 it has managed two private investment vehicles, the Cincinnati New Markets Fund and the Cincinnati Equity Fund.

The organization has had a hand in more than 100 development projects representing about $2 billion of investment across the Central Business District and Over-the-Rhine. It also programs roughly 1,500 events a year across seven civic spaces and manages more than 15 garages and lots totaling nearly 6,000 parking spaces. 3CDC was lead development manager on the $264 million transformation of the Cincinnati convention center, completed and reopened in January 2026 as part of an $828 million convention district program, and delivered the adjacent Elm Street Plaza in 2025. Earlier work includes Washington Park and Ziegler Park. It merged with Downtown Cincinnati Inc. in 2019.

Fountain Square came first. 3CDC completed a $48.9 million renovation of the square in 2006 and, unable to find a third party willing to program and manage the finished space, took the job on itself. That decision is what turned a development organization into one of the city’s largest event operators.

Property assembly in Over-the-Rhine followed. The organization acquired roughly 170 vacant buildings and 200 vacant lots before launching redevelopment of what was then called the Gateway Quarter in 2007, starting with Duncanson Lofts and continuing through Duveneck Flats, Bremen Lofts and Centennial Row. MiCA 12/v became the first tenant at 12th and Vine in 2010, followed by Lavomatic, Senate, Taste of Belgium and Bakersfield.

Civic space and landmark work stacked up through the 2010s. The $48 million Washington Park overhaul in 2012 added an events lawn and a 450-space underground garage. Ziegler Park reopened in 2017 after a $32 million project that grew it from 1.5 to 4.5 acres and added a pool and a second 450-space underground garage. Music Hall’s $143 million renovation finished the same year. Memorial Hall reopened in 2016 after an $11 million job, with 3CDC taking over day-to-day operations and programming, and the Central Parkway YMCA reopened that summer after a 19-month, $29 million renovation done with the YMCA and The Model Group.

Housing strategy shifted at Mercer Commons in 2014, moving from condominiums toward mixed-income development: phase two delivered 67 apartments, 30 of them affordable, plus 10,600 square feet of commercial space, and Empower moved a 64,000-square-foot headquarters into the project’s final phase in 2017. The $17 million Abington Race & Pleasant project added 50 affordable units in 2018 with The Model Group and Cornerstone Renter Equity, and Perseverance added 32 more with Over-the-Rhine Community Housing in 2021.

Downtown moves have been equally visible. 3CDC bought the former Macy’s store in 2019 and converted Fountain Place into The Foundry, which drew Deloitte, Turner Construction, Divisions, Jeff Ruby’s and Royce. Kroger on the Rhine opened the same year as the first full-service grocery downtown in fifty years, paired with a 139-unit residential tower and a 560-space garage. The former Saks Fifth Avenue building was purchased in 2024, and Paycor signed to move its headquarters onto the 40,000-square-foot second floor.

On the community side, GeneroCity 513 launched in 2018 with City Gospel Mission, Downtown Cincinnati Inc., Greater Cincinnati Behavioral Health Services and the City, connecting people panhandling downtown with services and offering a paid day of work. The OTR South Special Improvement District was approved in 2021. Commercial leasing prioritizes locally owned small businesses, and the organization runs fair chance hiring, supportive housing and social services outreach programs. Its own offices moved from inside Kroger’s headquarters to Saengerhalle in 2011 and then to 1201 Walnut Street in 2015, in the renovated former Pabst Bedding Warehouse.