CINCINNATI — The vision for the restoration efforts of the Mount Airy water tanks is a little clearer after a presentation to the Climate, Environment & Infrastructure committee on Tuesday.
The plan isn't fully carved in stone yet — the design phase of the project is scheduled through the end of 2025. But Greater Cincinnati Water Works officials laid out a few more details, including a glimpse at the possible cost.
In October, GCWW announced early plans for renovating the water tanks — a step forward in a project that's been in the works for several years.
The Mount Airy tanks have been an iconic landmark in the neighborhood since the 1920s. Built in 1926 and 1927, the castle-like structure is comprised of 14 water tanks — and are now close to 100 years old.
The tanks are comprised of seven small tanks and seven large tanks, and the structure is capable of holding 8.4 million gallons of water — an amount GCWW Deputy Director Andy Orth said was not necessary for that area, even by today's standards.
After meetings with the Mount Airy town council and community embers, Orth said GCWW intends to keep the entire structure the same aesthetically, while making some changes to futureproof it.
There are necessary repairs that need to be made to a crumbling concrete foundation and the brickwork around the tanks, but Orth said the concrete towers need to be fully replaced.
There are four possible options for replacing those towers.
The first is to replace them with pre-cast concrete panels supported from steel frames.
The second is to replace them with the same cast-in-place style of concrete that will fully replicate the towers as they are now.
The third option is to rebuild the towers in a hybrid of the first and second options. In that case, the top portions of the towers would be pre-cast concrete panels while the lower portion of each would be cast-in-place concrete.
The fourth option is to fully rebuild the towers with fiberglass.
There's a fifth option listed in the presentation that Orth didn't touch on during committee; that option suggests repairing the towers with traditional surface spall materials.
"There are significant concerns with this approach," reads the presentation. It says a field investigation would be needed to allow GCWW to fully vet whether it's truly an option.
However, all design and renovation plans have to be approved by the Historic Conservation Board, because the Mount Airy water tanks are designated a local historic landmark by the city.
In an effort to take steps to improve the facility, Orth said GCWW is looking to decommission some of the tanks, cutting down on the amount of water the structure stores. Currently, the plan is to decommission five of the smaller tanks, but there are two additional tanks GCWW is still deciding on.
"We just don't need that volume of water at that particular location, because of storage elsewhere in the system," said Orth.
Orth said decreasing the volume of water held in the Mount Airy tanks wouldn't change service for neighborhood residents.
The renovation project is still in the design phase through this year, a process GCWW said is set to not exceed a cost of $3.8 million.
Phase two of the project is construction, which is estimated to begin in 2026 and last two years. While GCWW says it should know the full guaranteed maximum cost of construction in early 2026, Orth said he already thinks it could be "north of $20 million, probably."
Parts of the renovation plans aren't fully defined yet. Orth said GCWW is not only looking at how the tanks can be improved to be more functional in today's water systems, it's still looking at what can be done around the tanks.
"What else can we do?" said Orth. "This is the gateway to Mount Airy, the central business district of Mount Airy."
He said GCWW has already been in communication with community partners involved in nearby developments, and a feasibility study is being conducted to see what other things could be done with the site.
In the past, GCWW said it was considering whether the project could include new amenities for the residents of Mount Airy.
"We'll also be reaching out to residents during the next year to get input on whether part of the site can be used for a neighborhood amenity like a community center or coffee shop," read a social media post by GCWW.
None of those plans will be finalized until the feasibility study is completed by the city's Department of Community and Economic Development.
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