Abby Noll Urban Planning Portfolio 2024

ABBY NOLL

URBAN PLANNING PORTFOLIO

University of Cincinnati

EXPERIENCE & EDUCATION

WORK EXPERIENCE

3CDC (Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation)

Cincinnati, OH I Development Intern, January 2024 - May 2024

Assisted development officers in the organization’s mission to revitalize Cincinnati’s urban core through mapping, research and data organization for projects such as the Duke Energy Convention Center expansion, Saks Fifth Avenue redevelopment, historic building redevelopments, and numerous commerical build outs. Created site logistic plans and maps for upcoming large scale construction projects occuring in the Central Business District. Assisted in the closeout for The Annie Lofts and managed communication with external partners on the project.

COLLEGE HILL CURC I

Cincinnati, OH

Community Development Coordinator I January 2023 - August 2023

Community Development Co-op I August 2022 - December 2022

Project lead on the federally funded Facade and Outdoor Improvement Programs totaling over $500,000 in development to support small, female, and minority owned businesses. Project lead on a Request for Operator for the Historic Hollywood Theatre that reached over 150 potential operators and partners nationwide. Performed other tasks including commercial leasing, partnerhsip proposals, and site acquisition assistance.

BE NKY I Fort Mitchell, KY

Economic Development Intern I January 2022 - August 2022

Assisted project managers with project support needs such as development of proposals, site searches, data analysis, and RFI completion for clients. Assisted in maintaining Tri-ED’s industrial and office sites and buildings resource database. Performed other tasks necessary to assist Tri-ED in working with new and existing firms to locate in Northern Kentucky.

EDUCATION

University of Cincinnati

Design, Art, Architecture, & Planning (DAAP) Cincinnati, Ohio

Bachelor’s in Urban Planning, Expected graduation May 2025

3.865 GPA

Participating in the Professional Practice Program, alternating semesters of classroom study with work in the field of design.

Dean’s List all semesters

Politecnico di Milano I Milan Italy

Fall 2023 Academic Exchange Program. Attended courses in the Masters of Urban Planning and Policy Design in the school of Architecture, Urban Planning, Construction and Engineering

Eastern Kentucky University I Richmond, Kentucky 2019-2020 I Transferred

Undergraduate student in Graphic Design

Women’s Volleyball Team

4.0 GPA

Dean’s list Fall 2019, Spring 2020

SKILLS

Software: Adobe Creative Suite, Microsoft Office, Salesforce, Northspyre, Bluebeam, Zoom Prospector, SketchUp

Fine Arts: Painting and sketching

ACTIVITIES AND INVOLVEMENT

UC DAAP College Transfer Ambassador Program

Active Member of Kappa Alpha Theta 2020-2023

Rose Garden Mission - Volunteer

Notre Dame Academy Volleyball Coach

Blessed Sacrament School Volleyball Coach

PROJECT

FACADE IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM

OUTDOOR IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM

REQUEST FOR OPERATOR & FUNDING PROPOSALS

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

CREEK CONNECTIONS OHIO RIVER INITIATIVE

VISION & GOALS SITE SELECTION CRITERIA CONCEPTUAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN

REVITALIZING THE MILL CREEK

STUDY AREA

ABSTRACT MAP OF DEMOGRAPHICS IN STUDY AREA

EQUITY SERVING AS THE BACKBONE FOR PROJECT PRIORITIES

Cincinnati’s westside neighborhoods have the potential to be thriving community hubs again. However, the city must commit time, energy, and funding into the Mill Creek area in order to see this vision through and improve the quality of life for many residents. This initiative can begin with the smallest of actions as they represent the path through which we achieve our targeted performance.

PROJECT VISION: Create a distinctive asset by bridging communities together through creek connections that strengthen the environmental and economic sustainability of Cincinnati’s westside.

TheworkshownwascompletedasagroupeffortinthePlanningDesignStudio:Neighborhood/District

INCREASING ACCESS POINTS

INCREASING ACTIVITY THROUGH TRAILS AND PATHWAYS

REVITALIZATION THROUGH ECOLOGICAL FOCUS

ACTIVATION THROUGH INCREASE OF AMENITIES

PLANS OF ACTION 01

- New urban park to attract more visitors and lead to economic impacts of urban open spaces using the sales data of local small businesses

- Help to promote awareness to the asset that is the Mill Creek of Cincinnati, in providing greater access to spaces like these, and recognize the potential and value to theses surrounding neighborhoods

02 STORM WATER MANAGEMENT

- Storm water management system will improve the natural environment and encourage native species to return and flourish in the area

- Park will provide a publicly accessible activity for families in the surrounding neighborhoods

03 INDUSTRIAL PARK

- Multi-use urban path, custom furnishings and paving treatments and pedestrian level lighting all set in a generous green space with a new urban forest

-Links major new high-density, mixed-use developments with a commercial district, park and a regional trail network while offering multi-modal (pedestrian, bike, bus) transportation facilities

PROJECT INSPIRATION

- The Master Plan proposes a rainwater recycling concept that collects and reuses rain runoff as an integrated element of the overall storm water management strategy

-Collects or recycles runoff water/rainwater to be used in the fountains and ponds mitigating flooding and achieving net zero for the various water features

QUEENS BOTANICAL GARDEN

WILLINGDON LINEAR PARK

INDUSTRIAL PARK

SITE PLAN

PROJECT INSPIRATION

CAMP NORTH END - CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

- Multi-use facility that centers around happiness, health, and creativity

- The site pushes the region’s economic and community limits by featuring shopping, food and drink, local artists, and many other types of amenities as well as hosting more than 250+ community events each year

PARK LOCATION

- Enhance the economic and community aspects of the region in this area of the Mill Creek Watershed

- Repurpose vacant shipping containers to allow local artisists and businesses to use them as a temporary storefront

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT WORK

College Hill Community Urban Redevelopment - Cincinnati, Ohio

Facade Improvement Program (FIP)

Architectural Drawings

Project Architect: Team B Architecture

FIP Projects:

1) The Dow Cedar Building

2) Total Indulgence Salon

3) College Hill Yoga

4) OurShop

5) Marquet Building

6) Historic Hollywood Theatre

7) Rasheedah’s

8) Unforgettable Cuts

9) Kiki College Hill

10) Yep! Fitness

11) Moon Beauty Supplies

FIP OVERVIEW:

- $233,400 for facade improvement of buildings funded by Neighborhood Business District Improvement Grant in the City of Cincinnati

- 11 projects supporting 13 small businesses (female and minority owned)

- New signage, awning installation, fresh paint, roof repairs & other exterior improvements

DOW CEDAR

Outdoor Improvement Program (OIP)

Architectural Drawings

Project Architect: Team B Architecture

OIP OVERVIEW:

- $217,500 for outdoor improvement funded by Neighborhood Business District Improvement Grant in the City of Cincinnati

- 6 projects supporting 8 small businesses

1) West Lot Patio

2) Kiki College Hill Patio

3) Marty’s Hops & Vines Patio

4) Bacalls Cafe Outdoor Dining

5) Kindness Alleyway

6) Demolition of 1539 Cedar Avenue

- Outdoor patios featuring bier gardens, new landscaping, outdoor lighting, activity areas, & outdoor dining

- Outdoor spaces will attract more clients to the businesses and enhance the College Hill Community

KINDNESS ALLEYWAY

WEST LOT PATIO

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT - Site Development

Co-lead the first round of community engagement to gather the opinions of community members for the development of a large site, College Hill Station III. Our organization is working with Pennrose Development to create a mixed-use development with over 90 units of mixed-income housing and around 5,000 sqft of commercial space.

Event Breakdown:

- Ground Floor:

- staff members to explain the site history and affordable housing

- interactive boards to hear community feedback on Use, Corner Relief, Commercial Use, Quality of Materials, & Amenities

- Second Floor:

- interactive boards to hear community feedback on site strategies, story height, parking, & layouts

- Form Based Code explanation

EVENT GOALS:

- To be transparent with the community on our intentions for one of the largest sites in the Business District

- Listen & understand to what the community wants for the development in terms of use, materials, style, & overall outcomes

- Show community members our organization is active and wanting to strengthen the College Hill community by hearing & utilizing their feedback

- Use answers from the community to impact development decisions & structure the second round of engagement for the site

Board Examples:

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT - Light Up College Hill

Light Up College Hill is an annual holiday event for the community members of College Hill as well as people all over the City of Cincinnati. All members of our organization played a large role in making the event a success. I lead business participation and assisted in community and donation outreach, event silent auction, set up & clean up of the event, and completing tasks during the event to make sure everything ran smoothly.

Light Up College Hill expands over the 6 blocks within the Business District and 12 businesses hosted holiday activities for attendees.

EVENT GOALS:

- To give community members a fun, memorable, festive night with their friends & family

- Show community members our organization is active and wanting to strengthen the College Hill community

- Fundraise for our organization; all funds raised at the event went directly back into revitalizing the Business District

Graphic credit to Ismael Hassan, Community Development Manager

OUTREACH & FUNDING PROPOSALS

Hollywood Theatre Request for Operator (RFO)

The above images show pieces of the RFO sent out in Fall 2022 that reached over 150 companies, partners, and potential operators nationwide for the Historic Hollywood Theatre. I was the project lead and created the RFO with our Community Development Manager, Ismael Hassan. The goal of this RFO was to find the best fit for the College Hill Community to locate in the most historic & iconic building in our Business District. Plans for the Hollywood Theatre have not yet been finalized, but our organization is in conversation with multiple potential operators to decipher its end use.

NATIONAL PARKS SERVICE GRANT

The Boone Conservancy - Boone County, Kentucky

This map shows a small piece of the master plan The Boone Conservancy is working on with the National Parks Service. The land shown is a park in Boone County and the marked spot is where a small bridge will be developed to connect two parks over a local creek.

National Parks Service Project Goals:

- connectivity for hiking and biking trails

- water trails with kayak and boat ramps

- more public access to the Ohio River throughout Northern Kentucky

- land conservation

- complete individual goals of all 17 agencies working on the project

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS

Changing

the Unsustainable Development Patterns in the Ohio, Kentucky, & Indiana Region

WHAT?

This project investigates underutilized sites, once valuable and now in need of repair. Current development patters favor blank slates over reclamation, which is not sustainable. The findings point to opportunity areas where alternative thinking can be implemented. Our goals are to implement innovative, resilient solutions.

WHERE?

The city of Cincinnati is the central actor of the Southwest Ohio region. The greater Cincinnati area encompasses its own county, Hamilton, as well as many parts of Butler. The two jurisdiction are often in relation with one another to accomplish shared goals as they face similar development issues.

The need to revitalize existing vacant land rather than continuing the pattern of consuming natural area to accommodate population growth and sprawl is felt between the two.

Both counties are unique, predominantly rural, exurban communities and have a denser urban environment.

HOW & WHY?

Sustainability in development of greenspace to preserve the existing natural environment and local ecology.

Suitability of sites to take advantage of the capacity existing within the current infrastructure.

STUDY AREA

TheworkshownwascompletedasagroupeffortinthePlanningDesignStudio:Comprehensive/Regional

80 vacant industrial sites in the study region

DESIGN IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES

These two graphics show how we decided on what type of end uses our selected sites should be and what those types of uses should include

CONCEPTUAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN

REGIONAL VISION PLAN

SITE RENDERINGS

The proposed site plan is to incorporate three of our proposed end use goals; preservation, commercial, and recreation. This site changes a vacant, industrial site into a sustainable mixed use that is structured around outdoor recreation, but has commercial pockets all around it. The pathways in the center of the plan are designed to be a public, community area. The goal of this site it to start changing the toxic, unsustainable development patterns that are currently in place.

TheworkshownwascompletedasagroupeffortinthePlanningDesignStudio:Comprehensive/Regional

nollai@mail.uc.edu

859.743.8175

“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.”

-Robert Louis Stevenson