jim uber

^ I forgot to add, by the way, that despite everything I said, I don't find myself in the camp of folks who think these units are currently overpriced. I'm a realist and think that the price is going to be what people will pay and not what they cost.

jmicha, you have to be careful when you talk about developments "losing money" at $200/ft. To most people, losing money means you're out of business. It means you're not getting a paycheck at the end of the month. You're not paying bills. That's obviously not what's happening, because if it were, then nothing would be happening. Now when you say that they're not making a profit at $200/ft. -- that I can believe, and it's also technically correct. But it's also probably misleading in terms of what people are thinking that it means. I have a business and I can guarantee you that our profit margins are extremely small and often times negative. But I still get paid. My partner and employees get paid. The bills and subcontractors get paid. I am certain that for every building in OTR at $200/ft or higher, there are many principles, architects, engineers, GCs, HVAC/electrical/plumbing subcontractors, material suppliers, and laborers that are getting paid. And in many cases, very well paid, by most peoples standards. Stephen Leeper is well paid. All, as it should be. But at the same time I'm sure that the development business in OTR is not by its nature a high margin business. So I find it disingenuous when I read in the papers about how expensive OTR development is, and how hard it all is, and how (my reading between the lines here, obviously) you must have to be the progeny of Einstein and Mother Theresa to even contemplate doing it. I'm going to finish a 4 story building of about 5000 sq. ft. for about $110/ft. Yes, I am. And you know what, CDF thinks that I am too, and they wouldn't give me the loan if they didn't believe both me and my GC, who also says that I am. The finishes will be nice. Part of that is the building. It has 90% good original floors, and original plaster, and original moldings. That's worth tons. And what about the "finishes" provided by 10-11 ft. ceilings? Priceless. After that, what finishes you have left are compartmentalized in the kitchens and baths. My wife and I will design the kitchens and select all the bath tile and fixtures and avoid paying a 50-100% premium just for that. For things like kitchens we'll almost play the role of a GC, and arrange for and supervise installation. We know people who will do a good job and are reasonably priced. But of course, we'll lose money doing this. My wife and I aren't getting paid for what we do. But other folks are. And if it were $200/ft, we could pay ourselves a lot of money. But we'd still not make a stitch of profit on the job.

I have a question for folks on here with opinions about the design of small units. Would it be interesting if I posted the current designs for smallish 1BR units that we're contemplating for an OTR rehab? The idea would be a discussion about what people wanted or needed in a small urban apartment, and the resulting tradeoffs. I'd obviously be interested -- we're still prior to permit drawings, so there's time to make changes -- but I'm also sensitive to this looking like I'm trying to get something for nothing. For the record, I do have an architect (and will continue paying him!), and I wouldn't give out the name of the firm. Anyway, if anybody has any strong opinion either way about the interest or propriety of this, just say so. I'm not sure this forum is best, but if it looks useful I'll follow up with a couple of drawings for discussion. Otherwise, I'll be silent!

I don't have stats, but I believe there are already lots of units in that size range in a place like OTR just waiting to be rehabilitated in the original format. A building we are getting ready to start was built around 1900 into two flats per floor, each around 600 sq ft. And that's what it's going to stay.

Even accepting that 250/sq ft is the best you can do (and I don't believe that), you can support about 250K mortgage for 1300 monthly, which buys you 1000 sq ft. There are two numbers involved, the $/sq ft, and the square feet. People moving away from cheap land and 1/3-1/2 acre lot sizes will have to want to decrease their footprint. Fortunately an increasing number want to make that trade off. We definitely need more good options for them.

Ok this is bordering off-topic but... that phrase about partnerships being the only ship that won't sail... cracked me up. In my view of the business world _everybody_ is looking for partnerships that will provide leverage in the market, either through combined capabilities or capital. It seems that nobody can do anything in a vacuum anymore; everyone is paranoid about being left in the dust. So you partner in order to get it done quick, or at all. And any partnering agreement that says one person can sell to whomever they want to, is stupid. Those people have never talked to a lawyer, and probably never even googled "what should be in a partnering agreement". It's common to require that members purchase the shares of any other member who withdraws, for any reason (including death). I mean, that's the advantage of having a private partnership as opposed to a public company; you control who owns you.

I know that in Trideca, for example, 3CDC owns the storefront unit (and collects rent), and 3CDC is responsible for paying their share of HOA dues for that unit (as the owner).

It's somewhat erroneous to focus on the energy source. We should make them focus on something that makes sense, like the energy required to transport one person one mile. Presumably the streetcar (and most any public transit) will be significantly more efficient than the standard of the automobile carrying one person, no matter what the energy source. And whenever I read about Cranley saying such these sorts of things, I'm surprised that a politician would do that. What is going to happen when the Streetcar is running and he is Mayor? He's boxed himself into a corner where he can't ever be seen riding the streetcar. Isn't that going to be pretty weird? How will he avoid sounding petty whenever someone asks him why he hasn't ridden the streetcar, and he just reiterates that it's a bad thing for the city? I just can't picture how that is going to be good, but maybe that's cause he's a politician and I'm not.

And that is because we refuse to pay for anything, whether it be infrastructure, or wars.

Our 1875 row house has a side entrance as well as a front. It also has an added 2.5 ft step in about midway where the side entrance is. I see many homes like this and assumed it's partly designed for the greatly increased natural light that it enables. I know I appreciate that.

Nice!

Ha sure. I did pay them by the way. It was really that they did not enforce AT ALL for two years I was living on elm. I guess that I'm not such a good citizen that I won't take advantage. (These are all unmetered spaces in front of my house by the way. So the only tickets given are on street sweeping nights.)

I don't think it's insane; I think it's expected. Complaining about anything is probably a function of rate of change as much as anything else. Once things get to a new normal I'd think the rhetoric will change.

they doubled the number of people to 10 I heard. plus, I've never heard of or seen a "warning" ticket. I think they'll consider the notices through the press to be the warning, and then issue real tickets. On elm street a few months back they stepped up enforcement (as in, they went from no enforcement to cruising every weekly "street cleaning" night). I picked up three tickets in two weeks. The last one was when one side of the street was closed off for parking due to streetcar construction, and the other side was no parking for the regular "street cleaning" activity. I figured they would call of the hounds on account of the construction issue and allow parking on the only side you could park on. I figured wrong. At that point I seriously contemplated a freedom of information act request for all emails from Cranley's offices related to parking enforcement in OTR, and on the streetcar route specifically.

It's an interesting case right under our noses in Cincinnati -- Tucker's diner near Findlay market. That place has been slingin' goetta since WWII. Think about the transition they've been through. The complete disintegration of their thriving neighborhood economy, and now revitalization creeping up on them. I wouldn't call their food sophisticated or unique -- probably not even high quality -- but I would call the whole experience ultimately authentic. I believe that Saturday and Sunday (at least) will still be pretty packed with a healthy mix of young folks. I really think that people nowadays are becoming more aware of, and interested in, people around them who actually know how to do something. (Like cook, or grow food.) A locally owned and sourced restaurant is infused with that sort. Knowledge is everywhere now - I mean you're not even allowed to ask a question without searching for the answer first, and the answer you'd get anyway is just a poorer version of the search results - but actually experiencing an expert hand at work can be somewhat unique. This is different from just having the food taste delicious. I should add that in my opinion this is all a very good thing. I mean it can get annoying listening to a 24 year old talk to you with enthusiasm about all the different places he's eaten Pho, which is after all a common street food, but maybe these same people will eventually cap the growth of evil empires like Walmart, after my generation expires.

I'll put it this way -- it's pretty hard to get a bad meal at one of these places in OTR. But I think the real distinguishing feature is that none of these places is a chain. Since people are craving authenticity and uniqueness of any kind, to go along with their common shared experiences via Facebook, instagram, etc., these places create a destination-level draw.

I'm not sure of the point. The difference is that the length of the queue at the eagle is longer. I guess that we want to be a big city sort of place with hustle and bustle but just not where I happen to want to eat.

I like dunnhumby and I like the terrace plaza. I guess that puts me in a class all by myself.

I really enjoyed Rob Daumeyer's "Five things..." piece from today's business courier (www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati): "Five things you need to know today, and a word to the streetcar haters". Scroll down to "featured posts" and the streetcar paragraphs are stuck in at the end. (FYI this is free content.) I almost can't believe that someone writing for a Cincy business publication could call out things so plainly, but personally I think it's a good thing. Not that it will make a difference, but it sure resonated with me.

I have lived in OTR for the last 5 years, in downtown before that, and there has been a sea change just in the last year, in terms of properties being redeveloped. I just don't see how it's possible to deny that, unless you don't spend time walking through OTR (and not just along vine street...). It used to be that you'd know every single property being redeveloped just by reading the business courier or urbanohio. No way you can do that now. I lose track... see buildings that are in full scale renovation regularly that I had no idea about. Like, I didn't even realize the entire half block of 13th adjacent to washington park was now completely done. Jus hadn't noticed. North of liberty used to be an area that everyone was super pessimistic about. 3CDC won't go there so... let's just draw the boundary. That attitude has completely changed in the last year. There has been huge interest in the 30 or so properties being handled by 3CDC for private development. Seriously, I just don't know how to say it with any more effect. This isn't a "boom" but it's the biggest surge of redevelopment I've witnessed anywhere near the urban core in the last 25 years. (I'm not counting the banks cause... I don't want to.) To have anything else than full-on enthusiasm about the coming decade would be just ... Cincinnati. Fortunately the people actually doing the work don't know that.

Well for all of the commotion over the past 10 years, only three of DT Cincinnati's 50+ surface lots have been built on: 4th & Central, 4th & Sycamore, and 5th & Race. Commotion over the last ten years? Ten years ago was 2004 Jake, between "the great civil unrest" and "the Great Recession", and near the end of "the great downtown boycott". Really, we are at the beginning of the significant reinvestment in our core and I doubt the next ten years will resemble the last.

Fascinating results. 92.9% agree with this statement: "Even though you may not use public transit, ensuring that the system can provide transportation to seniors, students, workers and people without cars is essential to the economy and the basic quality of life in the community." In general it seems like most of the respondents still view public transportation as a social service of sorts, not some thing that should actually be "nice" or that they feel they would rely on. Travis nailed it. Too many people here view public transportation as a social program. I completely agree with you (and Travis) but that's only my opinion (as well as yours -- and I don't think it's a very surprising one). You can't get that from the response to this survey question. It seems created so that you'd have to be a callous jerk in order to disagree. They could have asked a bunch of different questions geared towards peoples views of public transit, but they didn't do that.

Yes, but I was surprised how _many_ people said they would vote for a 1/4 or 1/2 cent sales tax increase for 10 years -- and this is just an impromptu survey without any plan or education (or opposition, yes that's true...). Seemed overall encouraging to me given how little experience our county has with public transit. The single question I found most depressing was this: Q. 19. Do you agree or disagree that...Any additional tax dollars for transportation should be spent to resurface and widen existing roads and highways, rather than on buses and public transit? 58.5% Agree 35.2 Disagree 6.2 Unsure/no answer Still, this question might suffer from a poor design, cause it doesn't really make sense in light of other responses.

I don't understand the point of agreeing or not agreeing.

New York magazine has a Cincinnati 'weekend' article http://nymag.com/travel/weekends/cincinnati/ It includes downtown hotels and restaurants of course, but has a lot of suggestions for OTR. They even talk about the woodward theater project on Main street as if it's open now.