Sak's 5th Ave Redevelopment

The former Saks Fifth Avenue building in downtown Cincinnati is undergoing a transformative $35 million redevelopment, set to become a vibrant mixed-use space. The 75,000-square-foot property will house 66,496 square feet of Class A creative office space and 8,654 square feet of commercial retail space. The redevelopment will also feature significant streetscape and sidewalk enhancements, including the removal of the skywalk connecting the building to the Hilton Netherland Plaza Hotel.

Bayer Becker’s design team contributed to the project by creating improvements to the urban streetscape, which include new curbs, widened sidewalks, and the addition of street trees. One of the key design elements involves bumping in the southwest corner of the Fifth Street and Race Street intersection, which will widen the sidewalk to better accommodate pedestrians and create space for an outdoor patio for the restaurant anchor tenant.

A notable challenge of the project was the design of the Race St entry courtyard, which sits above the building’s parking garage structure. To address this, the design team worked closely with the architect and structural engineer to coordinate the landscape design and grading to ensure a seamless integration with the building’s underlying structure.