Fall 2013 Update

AN OVERVIEW

In 2011, through the leadership of the DaVinci Partners (Dayton Children’s Hospital, The Salva on Army, the City of Dayton, the Greater

Old North Dayton Business Associa on and a private founda on) CityWide was engaged to develop a comprehensive community

development plan to improve the Old North Dayton and McCook Field neighborhoods.

The adopted work plan for community improvement focuses on target investment zones including: strategic acquisi on and demoli on of

blighted structures; community organizing to developing stronger rela onships with residents and business owners; crea on of a naviga on

loop to improve traffic circula on in and out of the area; and the redesign and beau fica on of Valley Street including the addi on of a

Children’s garden.

ADOPTED DAVINCI DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY

Zone A – Valley Street Corridor 

Extend the Valley Street Greenway to include

gateways at both “The Point” and the

intersec on of Valley St. and Stanley Ave.

Link bike and water recrea on ameni es

located along the Mad and Great Miami Rivers

to the neighborhoods, businesses, and park

system.

Zone B – Webster Street Corridor &   

Lower Keowee (South of 75) 

Reconstruct the Webster St. bridge to serve as

a gateway from downtown.

Reconstruct the Webster/Stanley intersec on

for improved vehicular ingress and egress.

Improve the streetscape by adding trees,

ligh ng and other ameni es.

Zone C – Keowee Street Corridor  

Encourage commercial demoli on along the Keowee Corridor.

Engage community members and businesses along Keowee St. in the redesign of Keowee Street slated for 2017.

Link the corridor to exis ng bike network and recrea onal ameni es.

Advocate for the former Parkside Homes site to be a part of the community’s permanent green space.

Zone D – Da Vinci Interna onal Loop 

Improve naviga on throughout the Da Vinci geography for residents, workers, and visitors.

Raise funds to hire a wayfinding consultant to work with businesses to design the DaVinci Interna onal Loop.

Create consistent elements to improve the sense of place within the geography.

PROJECTS UNDERWAY

Housing: DaVinci staff has been working closely with the City to analyze housing condi ons and

opportuni es in the DaVinci target area. We are also working with neighborhood leadership to be er

understand the needs of residents.

Earlier this year, we successfully competed for CDBG discre onary dollars and were awarded a $150K

grant. These funds will be used to start a home repair and paint program targeted to homeowners in the

DaVinci target area. We are working with neighborhood leaders to define the program parameters and

develop marke ng and outreach strategies.

Valley Street Re‐imaging and Design: CityWide received a $25K grant from the Dayton

Founda on to hire Vivian Llambi and Associates to work with on the reimaging of Valley Street. This

work will focus on gateways at both of ends of Valley Street, produc ve uses for vacant and remnant

pieces of land and the design of a public children’s’ garden on a one acre site across the street from

Dayton Children’s on Valley Street.

DaVinci Children’s Garden:  The Children’s Garden will be built on a one acre lot, owned by Dayton

Children’s situated across from the hospital, and donated to the project for this use. There are two major

goals of the garden: to provide a public amenity to the neighborhood focused on health and wellness

and to provide respite and play for families u lizing hospital services. The project is currently in the

planning, design and fundraising phase.

DaVinci Naviga onal Loop:  The DaVinci geography is not laid out in a typical street grid and the

irregular pa ern makes naviga ng the area difficult par cularly for local businesses. A common

concern is the confusing street pa ern and lack of consistent way finding signage. The concept for this

project is to create a “ceremonial loop” linking the three major corridors: Stanley Avenue, Valley Street

and Keowee Street which run through the DaVinci Community Redevelopment area. These main arterial

streets are the most heavily traveled and the main connec ons to the commercial, residen al, and

industrial areas in the target neighborhoods. In addi on, Webster Street, which bisects the “loop”, is

home to many larger businesses such as Behr, and Salva on Army KROC Center. Webster Street is also

the leading corridor to Tech Town, located at the edge of downtown Dayton. The project is currently in

the planning, design, and fundraising phase.

AREA MOMENTUM CONTINUES

Dayton Children's announced a $140M campus expansion including a 260,000SF 8‐story pa ent

tower. Fundraising is now underway and construc on is expected to start early next year, with the

en re project slated for comple on in 2017.

CARE House the Montgomery County children’s advocacy center, con nues construc on on their

new building on Valley Street. The $2.6M state of the art building designed by Lorenz and Williams

plans to open in early 2014 and serves more than 600 children a year in our region.

Strategic Demoli on The Da Vinci effort has also helped spur private interest in the area. Along

with residen al demoli ons, the city is also working with a private developer to acquire and demolish

some of the worst and biggest commercial and industrial proper es in the area. The demoli on of

obsolete and deteriora ng buildings on key corridors improves the image of the neighborhood,

demonstrates ac vity in the area, and will hopefully spur further private investment in Da Vinci.

For more informa on on the DaVinci Collabora ve or to join our mailing list, contact: 

Karen DeMasi: kdemasi@citywidedev.com or 853.2555

Ka e Lunne: klunne@citywidedev.com or 853.2520

Andy Badinghaus: abadinghaus@citywidedev.com or 853.2535