AndrewN

I know all of the second floor retail left several years back and it now houses offices. The first fllor is gradually emptying out. A space by Barnes and Noble was never occupied. This is not the success they had hoped no matter how you spin it.

But many of these restuarants accept business casual dress. The daysof fine dining where the patrons show up in suits, tuxes, evening gowns are gone. Downtown does not support the high end style of restuarant the Maisonette represented.

Then the post should be titled favorite national pizza delivery chain. SIGH.......

What---no option for California Pizza Kitchen (CPK). They are a national chain and much better than any of the places listed in the polling. Cincinnati doesn't have one---but Dewey's beats CPK anyday.

I have to say Dewey's in Cincinnati.

Think of it as kinda foster parenting of sorts. The owner lost management custody of the building. Once the owner gets his act together, he can have the building managment back. Until then, it will be managed by someone else. No matter what the building will always belong to the owner--unless the owner puts it for sale.

Actually, I can name several Renaissances ( OKC, Tulsa, Dallas-Richardson) in the US that are owned by John Q. Hammons hotel company. I am confident that others are franchised. JQH properties are located predominantly in the south central plain states. What is interesting is that JQH operates many brand flags under his franchise. You will see Embassy Suites, Renaissance, Marriott courtyard, ect. I am not sure about the "rule" of operating more than one or 2 under the brand. I would think one convention center hotel with 1000 rooms might count for some thing in any market. Anyway, a Renaissance in Cincinnati is a dream right now. When all is said and done, this building could become a number of boutique hotels flags that fit the property size and location. Honestly, Someone was probably having a conversation about the building becoming a boutique hotel and the person in the know said something similar to "a boutique hotel like a Renaissance" and the media jumped all over it.

nah. We will just be required to build a stop to Monroe in the regional light rail transit system.

I just want to point out that the Marriott Spring Hill Suites is a franchised location. Marriott Rivercenter is a franchised operation. In fact, most Marriotts in the Cincinnati area are franchised. This means Marriott did not "build" these locations. Should a Renaissance open, it could be a franchised location. The owner would simply raise the Renaissance flag and agree to operating it to Marriott's standards for the Renaissance brand.

Does anyone really think the Cincinnati Mills Saks off 5th location will still be open once the Monroe location opens?

I know metronation when they first opened in Gateway Q had furnishings---and I liked the furnishings better than Lucky Steps offerings. Two weeks ago I went in and most the furnishings had been replaced with clothing...*SIGH*

This a publicity rehash of news Macy's shared a couple months ago. How many times do I need to hear about them leaving swimsuits out longer in Phoenix vs. Minneapolis as an example of the changes they are making.

any new student apartments on Calhoun would probably kill Mcmillan Manor. Aren't they still struggling too?

Tower place parking garage has been like that for years---talk about something that needs to be torn down and replaced. It is structually a mess and the entrances and exits are very weird. I didn't mean to get off subject---I look forward to seeing the new tower go up. It should be a nice addition to my view from my City West Condo.

I don't think student apartments are allowed to be built until Stratford Heights reaches 100%. something about how the land lease agreements are written for UP and Stratford.

Maybe the picture was meant to be viewed in HDTV. hehehe

Interesting---since both are owned my Williams Sonoma.

I am going to forecast that the new Mercy Western Hills site will end up somewhere near the I-74 Harrison/Rybolt interchange. It makes sense given all the continued building that is occuring in the area.

Living in City West, I can honestly say that most people in this neighborhood are extremely nice and want good things for themselves and their families. As a homeowner, I have very few problems with any of the people who live in City West. I woudl make a similar statment about former places I lived in the burbs. I can walk to downtown to eat, make a quick drive to Newport for a movie, and stand on my deck waving to the neighbors without feeling threatened. What is hard is many of us feel like an island out here. The city and country were to busy fighting over who should have jursidiction over City West to actually keep an eye on it. We are surrounded by similar projects to the ones that City West replaced on many of our borders and the OTR on the east. Has this stop us from enjoying our homes or apartments? No. We are all hopeful that things will continue to change and that this experiment in mixed income housing will continue to succeed. There are still homes yet to be built in our neighborhood and then with the potential for new homes at the museum center, I think this neighborhood is ripe for positive growth. I have enjoyed getting to know my neighbors. I wish they would tear down places like the Jet-in Market and the two worn strip centers on the west side of Linn. I think those being torn replaced could help change a retailers perspective on taking a chance down here. Honestly the only time I feel uncomfortable is at night. I live in the city and expect that as a part of living in the city.

If I remember the old Uno's site correctly, the first floor only had a bar and was very small. The second floor had all the guest seating and was actually quite large. You had to go upstairs to sit and eat. If they have the same shell to build out, the elevator would be used alot.

Most universities of which I am aware (having worked in the campus housing field for 14+ years) depend on summer conference attendees to fill housing needs---not summer school students. I know of very few that have over half there housing filled in the summer with students.

and now back to City West....

I am happythey are open until 9pm. The old Graeters downtown store closed at 5pm. I was never able to get ice cream after work.

I think what makes the low-income portion of City West different is: 1) The apartments are mixed with low income and market rate units. 2) The low income units are not Section 8. The residents must meet a higher standard than section 8 low income housing. They are not to have any criminal record. It is an urban neighborhood which does have some risks, but I think the long term benefits (establishing a sustainable mixed income neighborhood) for the community out weigh the risks.

City West still has many more apartments and owner occupied housing units to build until it is built out. The owner occupied units are selling. I move into mine at the end of November. The block at the southeast corner of Ezzard Charles and Cutter that sits empty except for the streets and two blocks to the north of Laurel park (about a block north) that sit empty. I don't think linn will take off until all the market rate homes are complete. Drees has done a nice job on the market rate homes.