Sycamore Zoning Commission OKs new Kenwood apartment tower despite height concerns

SYCAMORE TWP, Ohio — It could become the second tallest building in Kenwood unless that makes it tall enough to disrupt medical flights at Jewish Hospital next door. The Encore at Kenwood won the conditional approval of the Sycamore Township Zoning Commission on Jan. 8 despite concerns raised by township residents and Zoning Commissioner Roger Friedman.

They questioned whether the building would cause problems for the Jewish Hospital Heliport on Galbraith Road. “Obviously it’s not a plane coming in, but I know that certainly where you do have a flight path there’s a limited height in what you can have on a building,” Friedman said. “I would be concerned with approving something that would be contrary to what the hospital needs in terms of their flight path for the helicopter.” Mercy Health, which owns Jewish Hospital, has yet to take a stand on the issue.

“Jewish Hospital is actively gathering information and learning more about the proposed plans. Our priority is to thoroughly assess the potential impact,” spokeswoman Lisa Dyson in an email response to WCPO’s questions. “We want to assure our patients, staff, and the community that their safety and well being remain our utmost priority.” It's just the latest bump for a $176 million project that got caught up in Sycamore Township politics in 2019, when trustees approved a controversial $15 million tax increment financing plan to enable the Gallery at Kenwood.

The mixed use development, by downtown based CIG Communities Inc., was expected to bring a 248 unit apartment building, a 130 room hotel and a five story office building to an 8 acre site across from the mall. The Aspire apartment building opened in 2022 and is now 97% leased. The hotel is nearing completion.

But the office building is no longer feasible. “Our preference would have been to have an office building on this site years ago when we had it under contract,” CIG Senior Vice President Brian Crecco told the zoning commission Jan. 8. “Unfortunately, the economy and COVID hindered that.” But instead of a five story office building, CIG Communities now wants a 10 story structure with ground floor retail space, two floors of office space and seven floors with 133 apartments.

“This is the minimum density that’s required to make this project work,” Crecco said. “Otherwise, it’s not a feasible project for us.” Four residents of the Holiday Acres subdivision testified against the taller building at the Jan. 8 zoning hearing, saying it will tower over their homes and cause traffic problems in their neighborhood.

“I’d like to thank you guys for making my neighborhood a fishbowl,” said one resident, Erv Moermond. “They’re taking all our privacy away from us. Totally.” Planning and Zoning Administrator Jeff Uckotter cited traffic studies predicting “negligible” impact on the area and noted “only the top three floors” will be visible to Holiday Acres residents in his Jan.

5 staff report on the project. “Similar to The Kenwood Collection, since Encore would be sited on a major arterial road, approximately 470 feet away from the closest residential single family dwelling, and further buffered by the Aspire residential building, staff finds that Encore does not violate the visual or acoustical privacy of the area,” Uckotter wrote.

The Zoning Commission voted 4 1 to approve the project but added conditions to make sure traffic studies were adequate and seek Jewish Hospital’s input on the helicopter. The final decision is expected to be made by township trustees next month. If it gets built, the Encore would be the second tallest building in Kenwood, rising 970 feet above sea level.

That’s about 50 feet lower than the Kenwood Collection office tower, east of the mall. And it’s 150 higher than the Jewish Hospital Heliport, according to AirNav.com . But it’s only 145 above street level, which means it wouldn’t run afoul of this FAA rule : “Federal law requires that the FAA determine whether a structure that is proposed to be built or altered, 200 feet above ground level or higher, or near an airport, does not pose a hazard to the airspace.”.