In Evanston, 8K Development has cut the ribbon on The Bridge, an $8.5 million mixed-use makeover that pairs rehabbed apartments with a full slate of neighborhood-serving storefronts. Every street-level space is already spoken for, and the project is pitched as a way to revive foot traffic along Montgomery Road while adding income-targeted housing upstairs.
As reported by Cincinnati Business Courier, the ground-floor lineup includes The Home Base dance studio, Pink Tattoo and Cream + Sugar, among others. The Courier notes that 8K pursued a neighborhood-first leasing strategy to bring in local operators, and pegs the development cost at roughly $8.5 million in a story by Brian Planalp published Thursday.
Financing and partners
8K Development lists a project budget of about $8.4 million and describes a financing stack that combines state and local historic tax credits, tax-increment financing and support from neighborhood funding partners. Planning materials from the City of Cincinnati state that partners on The Bridge include The Port and the Walnut Hills Redevelopment Foundation, which helped secure public funding and community backing.
Neighborhood leasing strategy
The Bridge’s leasing plan focuses on small, locally owned businesses that cover everyday neighborhood needs rather than destination retail, according to The Bridge. The project pairs modestly scaled, ground-floor commercial spaces with apartments targeted to households earning about 60% to 80% of area's median income.
Preservation and local impact
Supporters of neighborhood-led redevelopment have pointed to the project’s historic preservation work and local hiring goals. Preservation Cincinnati highlights The Bridge as a model of adaptive reuse that leans on historic tax credits while trying to keep storefront rents attainable for small businesses. The Port also features the development as an example of how public support can help stabilize neighborhood commercial corridors without pricing out local operators.
8K says the fully leased storefronts are expected to start welcoming customers soon, and the project has already drawn local coverage accompanied by photos credited to Phil Armstrong. For more details on the tenant mix and individual leases, see the report from the Cincinnati Business Courier.
