Ram23

I guess when a town only has college sports to get behind, they really get into it, and when a city has no colleges, they're all for other cities colleges. I'll check out this thread next year, I'm off to the Reds thread.

I think you're referring to the University of Norwood, they were lucky enough to have to beat the likes of Lehigh to stumble into the Sweet 16.

I just recently learned that there is a college basketball team in Columbus.

Metro has one of the worst transit maps to size of the operation ratios of anywhere in the world. Even New York City's bus maps for the outer boroughs, which are incredibly complex, are easier to read.

It is in the Ohio Revised Code. That means the streetcar is, according to state code, both a motor vehicle and not a motor vehicle. In other words, a bunch of dusty old bullsh!t. "Motor-propelled vehicle." I linked to that section of Ohio Revised Code over a month ago, so I was shaking my head as soon as I glanced at the article that was linked. Jake is correct above though, that entire section of Ohio Revised Code is written to apply to private operators of streetcars. Later amended sections apply to publicly owned buses, but clearly state that streetcars or (motor-propelled vehicles) aren't covered.

Mahogany's owner fires back at critics The owner of Mahogany’s restaurant, whose financing deal with the city of Cincinnati has stirred controversy, said on Wednesday she feels picked on. ... On Tuesday, Rogers turned herself in on a year-old warrant issued because she failed to show up in court regarding a debt that Queen City Computer Press Inc. is trying to collect from her. Queen City had designed a website for her now-defunct Forest Park business, Brooklyn Spa & Salon. Rogers asserted “there may be no merit to the case.” But a Hamilton County judge ruled she owes Welch’s company $3,000 plus interest. The case has been pending since 2009. (http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20120314/NEWS/303140149)

^ No one is ever parked in the lowest level of the Nordstrom garage. This has absolutely nothing to do with The Banks, though. I actually find it easier to park downtown/The Banks on any given evening. There is plenty of free on-street parking along 3rd Street, especially if you are arriving right around 6:00 when the rush hour parking restriction is lifted.

^ I think it's just because the development in Oakley is farther along. The theater would open much sooner than a potential one at Rookwood, and would thus build up a client base before Rookwood even had a chance to open.

These probably aren't what you're looking for, but there's a Bruegger's and a Starbucks on Columbia Parkway just off of Delta. Bruegger's is in the newer development and Starbucks is right on the corner of Columbia and Stanley. There are some interesting places to grab a beer or food down there, but not any little coffee houses that I can think of off the top of my head.

^ Speaking of that particular stretch, I was walking down it last night after parking on-street up on 3rd, and couldn't come up with any reason why there isn't on-street parking there other than the fact that the city wants to force people into the garage ala Washington Park. Standard rush hour restrictions aside, that street really doesn't need to be four lanes. The walk from the Banks to the Riverfront would feel a lot less sterile if it had more street parking, for instance Freedom Way has the nice buffer of parked cars between the street and sidewalk.

You guys are behind the times. The hipsters in OTR have already been overrun by the Mt. Adams/Mt. Lookout crowd. Weekends in OTR now resemble a marriage between Mt. Adams and Mt. Lookout, with maybe only a smaller percentage of frat boys in the crowd. Weekdays are still safe, though. Hipsters have migrated away to some neighborhood that most of us probably haven’t heard of; probably Camp Washington or something.

I went at 6:30 last night (Monday) and it wasn't too crowded. Waited at the bar maybe 10 minutes for a table of 6. I wouldn't ever even try to go on a weekend for the first month or two, though, I assume it'd be packed. It does seem to be attracting the suburban commuters, though, as well as a big after work crowd. The people I met there all came from the suburbs/out of town to check it out, and will come again.

You can't really convert an American city into a European village. However, for an example of what I've found to be an excellent place to live that is walkable and drivable is Astoria in Queens, NY. I lived there and walked/took the subway to work, and drove to other parts of Queens in the evenings, weekends, etc.

There is a difference between the city building infrastructure and doling out grants directly to single persons. That simple difference is the basis of the anger over this grant. Building The Banks directly employed thousands and created direct revenue generation for the city. Offering cheap loans to tenants is a break-even on paper, but entices more tenants to seek out space at The Banks. Giving direct grants to tenants who have not demonstrated their value only benefits the single owner. Your point that I shouldn't be upset because it's "only" $600,000 is absurd. That money comes out to $195 per square foot to finish out a restaurant. Adjusted to scale, that's far more bloated than the Brent Spence project. I've never judge a restaurant this way before because I've never heard of such a small, single place getting that large of a startup grant before. I'm fairly sure it's unprecedented here in Cincy, as is the anger over it.

In an interior fit out like this, there is maybe $50,000 worth of interior construction that could ever be reused by another tenant. Restaurants are designed to fit their clients needs, and are quite specific, except for some kitchen and restroom equipment. The city is giving $195 per square foot to create a luxury restaurant for a tenant that has proven they can't pay their taxes. I think my anger is justified, but it is all said and done, so I guess the only result is that I'm that much less likely to go to The Banks. And if there's outrage on a very liberal, urban forum like this - I can only imagine how most Cincinnatians reactions are.

The city won't recoup money because the bulk of the money was a grant. There's no terms for it to ever be repayed. The tenant won't be paying the city anything; the rent will go to the developer, the loan of $300,000 is all the city well ever see back. There might be some profit by way of taxes or other auxiliary benefits of attracting a crowd, but that would have existed had anyone located there without a grant.

No business would ever give someone $1 million to build a restaurant knowing it'd be impossible to recoup that money. I like the fact that the city is (sometimes) run as a business, which is why I'm even more appalled at this grant situation. I'm sure there are any number of places that could locate at the Banks, without a huge grant, and drive just as much economic benefit. The only difference is that in the current case, the city is out almost a million dollars.

I did not know it was only 3500 square feet. A nice restaurant can be built (from the ground up) for around $150 a square foot, $200 would be extremely upscale. Mahogony's was given $684,000 which comes out to around $195 per square foot to finish out their space. The city is basically paying for everything via the grant. I guess the loan is for operating expenses.

That's not the type of place I'm talking about. I won't name names, but they're more upscale than you're typical take out place. A few of them would be right at home in The Banks, actually. Some successful restaurant owners start off with cheap places like that, and later on in their careers opened up much higher scale places. It's possible to build successful businesses that way. What huge city grants like this do is usurp that in the same way having a rich family does, only it uses taxpayer dollars instead of inheritance. Personally, I don't like either of those because there's no way it'd ever be possible for me.

I can name a dozen or so Asian restaurant that have started without family money and without government handouts, and I know the owners personally and know that they managed to startup by being fiscally sound. It is possible to start a business without 100% financing and without parents support. As for this particular case, I'm fine with the city seeking out minority owned businesses and offering low interest loans. I oppose giving out grants, however. That money can never be recouped and there's no way to measure the ROI. I also wish the city would be more careful in vetting out potential loan recipients. I'm sure there are plenty of black Cincinnatians who could run a restaurant that don't owe over $50,000 in backed taxes. While we're on the subject of minority owned restaurants, let's hope the city seeks out some Asian, Indian, or Middle Eastern food for The Banks. Like most people in Cincy, I can cook soul food at home no problem, I'd prefer the city attract something a bit more in-demand.

I haven't seen any source showing what money other restaurants at the Banks have gotten. Can anyone produce one? Even if there were other handouts, the recipients were not in debt to the government already, as Mahogany's owners are. I don't mind loans at all, that's a respectable business move on the cities part, the grants aren't, however. I don't see how anyone can defend a grant like this. There is no shortage of restaurants wanting to locate around downtown, and The Banks has comparable rents and much, much better amenities than any other location downtown. The city doesn't need to pay anyone to attract them to the space, and they shouldn't feel a need to manipulate the market to shape the final clientele.

Another restaurant at The Banks that I won't find myself ever going to. Not because it reeks of spray tan and Drakar Noir like a few of its neighbors, but because it reeks of backroom deals and corruption.

Aside from the backed property taxes that were bringing the Mahogany's deal into the spotlight, the owners also a $49,000+ federal tax lien: Council members question Mahogany's deal DOWNTOWN — The owners of a restaurant that’s in line to receive nearly $1 million in City of Cincinnati financing to open at The Banks are facing a federal tax lien in excess of $49,000, according to Butler County records. Liz and Trent Rogers, owners of Hamilton-based Mahogany’s Cafe and Grill, are working to pay off the lien, but the debt has led some Cincinnati City Council members to question the restaurant’s wherewithal to do business downtown. Last Thursday, Cincinnati City Council postponed voting on the financing deal after learning that the Rogers had just paid off a $3,900 delinquent property tax bill one day before. The financing package would have provided Mahogany’s a $684,000 grant to cover the design and construction costs for the 3,520-square-foot restaurant at The Banks, and a $300,000 loan for furniture, equipment and to set up a working capital fund for the restaurant.

If she's renting a dedicated space, where's the hassle?? Where does she live compared to where she has to drive to? I've freelanced for a company downtown and we'd do on location work all over the CBD and OTR. Every time we would walk unless we had some big equipment to haul. One day we all walked to up to OTR and everyone was remarking about how great it would be to have the streetcar soon enough. I think it depends on what type of company you're working for, I think. I work for an architecture firm and people I work with will walk all over downtown to eat, even though we are in the very corner. Admittedly, though, we drive if we do lunch at Findlay Markey. There's just not enough time in a lunch hour to walk up there and eat unless you're Barry Horstman. I think people outside of the "creative" fields are less inclined to go out and walk somewhere. I'm pretty willing to walk almost anywhere, but I even drive from OTR if it's raining or cold. In my case, the streetcar could easily replace my car, though I'll probably keep it until it breaks down. I like the idea of having the car as a luxury option, not a necessity, which is why I kept it even while living in New York City.

Anchor owns the entire strip mall, including the Kroger. Since they routinely deal with Walgreens and Kroger, I'm sure they are all in agreement upon the redevelopment and promised a new space. The smaller tenants probably don't get that kind of assurance, so they'll simply be kicked out. I'll bet Anchor eventually pays them something to relocate.