CINCINNATI, Ohio — Cincinnati plans to renovate the former Frisch’s headquarters in Walnut Hills into a centralized Health Department headquarters, a relocation the Cincinnati Planning Commission approved unanimously on Nov. 6, 2026, according to The Cincinnati Exchange’s report on the commission’s action.
The city purchased the property at Gilbert and Yale avenues in September for $2.975 million, The Cincinnati Exchange reported. Health Commissioner Grant Mussman said the department plans to renovate the property and consolidate administrative functions currently spread across several Cincinnati neighborhoods, according to The Cincinnati Exchange.
Those operations are now located in Corryville, Over-the-Rhine, Millvale and Northside, The Cincinnati Exchange reported. The relocation is intended to address maintenance problems and improve operational efficiency, and it represents the first phase of a broader facilities master plan; the department has raised concerns about the deteriorating condition of its existing headquarters on Burnet Avenue, near the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, according to The Cincinnati Exchange.
According to the Cincinnati Business Courier, as cited by The Cincinnati Exchange, the renovation is estimated to cost $21.5 million. The project remains in its early stages, a final construction budget has not been established, and Mussman said the renovation will take at least three years to complete, The Cincinnati Exchange reported.
Walnut Hills leaders raised concerns about communication. Walnut Hills Area Council President Mona Jenkins told the Planning Commission that local organizations learned about the city’s plans only the week before the Nov. 6 meeting, The Cincinnati Exchange reported. Jenkins said neighborhood groups had been pursuing the same property to establish a grocery store to address food insecurity in the community, and she raised concerns about the loss of a nearby community garden, which will become a Metro transit hub, according to The Cincinnati Exchange.
Jenkins clarified that neighborhood organizations were not opposed to the health department’s relocation, but wanted better communication and involvement in decisions affecting the community, The Cincinnati Exchange reported. Planning Commission members acknowledged the city should have engaged neighborhood organizations earlier, and Assistant City Manager Billy Weber said communication with the community should have happened sooner, according to The Cincinnati Exchange.
Although the headquarters will primarily hold administrative operations, the property could also include clinical space, The Cincinnati Exchange reported. Mussman said he wants neighborhood residents and organizations involved as the department develops its plans for the building, and that the department would welcome community input on the floor plan and the services that could eventually be offered there, according to The Cincinnati Exchange. What happens next is additional planning and renovation work over at least three years, with community engagement a stated part of the process.