Anderson Towne Center, Anderson Township, Cincinnati, Ohio

Anderson Township, named one of the Cincinnati’s most livable neighborhoods, is located southeast of downtown Cincinnati and is the home of Anderson Towne Center. Anderson Towne Center, located at the corner of Beechmont Avenue and Five Mile Road, is the result of the redevelopment of the Beechmont Mall an indoor shopping mall, originally constructed in 1968. Beechmont Avenue has long been the focus of Anderson Township, since it serves as the primary thoroughfare around which the township was developed, so the redevelopment of the Beechmont Mall into Anderson Towne Center has served as an improvement by recreating the center of the community and becoming what is considered the heart of the township.

Columbia Engineering was involved in this project from early conceptual design and construction cost estimating through final design, permitting and construction. Columbia Engineering performed a detailed site investigation in 2001 for the 48-acre site in order to identify key issues early in the design process. Among these were determining locations of existing utilities at the 35-year old site, allowing the existing tenants to remain operational during construction and coordination of utility improvements with the Greater Cincinnati Water Works and Metropolitan Sewer District.

Columbia Engineering performed land planning and preliminary engineering for the overall site as well as detailed civil site design for three phases of construction - Demolition Phase, Phase I and Phase II. During the design phase, Columbia Engineering coordinated with the developer, architect, mechanical engineer, landscape architect and existing tenants. In addition, Columbia Engineering worked with our own consultants including a surveyor, a geotechnical engineer and a traffic engineer.

The most significant design hurdle was providing a phased demolition and construction design solution so as to allow two existing anchors, two existing restaurants and several existing shops spaces to remain open for business throughout all phases of construction. During the Demolition Phase, portions of the existing mall building were removed. During Phase I, a 9,600 SF portion of a proposed shops building and associated parking was constructed in order to relocate several existing shops tenants. Finally, during Phase II, the remainder of the proposed shops buildings, approximately 63,231 SF, and associated site improvements were constructed. Columbia Engineering prepared detailed design construction plans for each of the phases discussed above.

Columbia Engineering permitted the project through Anderson Township, Hamilton County, Metropolitan Sewer District and the Greater Cincinnati Water Works. During Construction, Columbia Engineering reviewed submittals and draw request, and worked with the contractor to resolve construction issues.