Cygnus

Downtown's Paragon Salon moving to Carew Tower Bowdeya Tweh, [email protected] The Downtown location of Paragon Salon & Day Spa is moving into a space now under construction in Carew Tower, eliminating a critical hurdle in the effort to launch a mixed-use project at Fourth and Race streets. Paragon would move into a 6,150-square-foot space that once housed the Penguin Dueling Piano Bar, said Greg Power, chief executive officer of Belvedere Corp. He said the lease has not been signed, but the terms of the deal have been agreed upon in principle. "They're very much looking forward to being there," Power said. "They have about 50 employees that will be staying in the city. They will be a wonderful addition to the tenancy in the property." Cont

At the same time, and of course on the front of Cincinnati.com, Dusty: Streetcar foes won't be silenced

Crosspost from the Cincinnati Reds Discussion thread: Reds seek new LED screen outside stadium

Some major improvements are either underway or soon to be underway (if approved) and scheduled to be complete before the All-Star Game... Reds, P&G adding huge second scoreboard at ballpark Lisa Benson - Cincinnati Business Courier Procter & Gamble Co. is sponsoring a huge second scoreboard to be added to Great American Ball Park, just in time for the All-Star Game. The 90'X30' Daktronics LED video board will be installed above the Sun/Moon Deck seats in right field, giving a clear line of sight to about 7,500 seats that now have an obstructed view of the current scoreboard. Cont Reds seek new LED screen outside stadium Sydney Murray, [email protected] The Reds hope to install a large LED video screen on the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum before the 86th MLB All-Star Game on July 14. If approved by the City Planning Commission on June 5, the screen would be used to promote the Reds, the Hall of Fame, the Reds Community Fund, the All-Star Game and establishments located within The Banks. Cincinnati Reds Chief Financial Officer Douglas Healy sent a letter May 19 to the city's Department of Architecture and Planning asking a special city ordinance approving the screen be passed. Cont

"Under the ideal scenario, Carter would be in a position to begin building the podium (at Lot 24, south of Freedom Way between Vine & Race) by January or February." The Banks Steering Committee OKs third phase of development Tatum Hunter - Cincinnati Business Courier The Banks Steering Committee unanimously approved on Thursday the construction of a $29.3 million public parking garage as part of the mixed-use development project’s third phase. The structure will contain 690 parking spaces and be located on the lot directly south of General Electric's U.S. Global Operations Center and a new apartment complex currently under construction. Tax increment finance bonds from phases I and II of development will cover $22 million of the cost. The remaining $7 million comes from the state of Ohio. Cont Will next Banks phase include condos? Bowdeya Tweh, [email protected] It will take $29.3 million to build a garage and make other improvements to support the next phase of development at The Banks, officials overseeing progress at the riverfront site said Thursday. But exactly what will go atop the garage in Phase IIIA remains unclear, including whether it will feature retail and what could be the 18-acre project's first condominiums. Building a 690-space, two-level garage and completing utility improvements could yield 400,000 square feet of development on land called "Lot 24." The lot is located due south of buildings under construction for General Electric Co.'s offices, 291 one- and two-bedroom apartments and 19,000 square feet of retail space. Cont

YMCA unveils $27M downtown renovation plans: SLIDESHOW Erin Caproni - Cincinnati Business Courier The YMCA of Greater Cincinnati closed its historic Central Parkway location in December to undergo a $27 million expansion, and president Sandy Walker unveiled the plans for the building on Wednesday. To take a look at the plans, click on the image at right. The YMCA will spend $15 million on renovating the historic building and $12 million to create 60 to 65 senior housing units at 1105 Elm St. that will be developed by the Model Group and managed by the Episcopal Retirement Homes. The YMCA’s new offices will also be consolidated on the third floor of that building. Cont

Walking the route at lunch it appears this crew (of 4) is lacking a supervisor or a PM. They were working on the Race at Elder intersection and there seemed to be a lot of confusion around what went where. They did manage to paint a double white stripe before the Findlay Market stop where the west most lane is for transit vehicles only. I also noticed in some areas the solid/double white lines ended at an alley or driveway intersection and in other areas it didn't. Could result in cars parking illegally. With the removal of the parking meters in favor of pay stations, I'd like to see individual marked spaces. Something this city doesn't seem to do anywhere.

Long-planned $30M Lytle Tunnel rehabilitation set to begin Randy Simes - Cincinnati Business Courier Ohio Department of Transportation officials have announced that work will begin next week on the $30 million rehabilitation of Lytle Tunnel. Construction crews will begin work on Tuesday, May 26 to add ITS cameras, a fire detection system, upgrade tunnel lighting, repair existing concrete and tiling, upgrade mechanical and ventilation systems, install a new power supply and replace existing underground vaults beneath the Fourth Street sidewalk. In addition, ODOT crews will move the tunnel’s ventilation system and add new access hatches to several locations to avoid interfering with future plans for Lytle Park. Cont

Avondale plans walkable development to capitalize on MLK Interchange Kevin LeMaster - UrbanCincy.com Avondale’s desire to capitalize on the upcoming $106 million MLK Interchange with more dense, walkable development took a big step forward on Monday with the approval of the rezoning of several properties by City Council’s Neighborhoods Committee. If approved by the full City Council on Wednesday, the move would rezone approximately 16.76 acres along Reading Road from commercial community-auto to commercial community-pedestrian. The properties were recommended for the creation of “a more structured street edge” in the September 2014 MLK/Reading Road Corridor Study, and were chosen by the Avondale Community Council, Avondale Comprehensive Development Corporation, and Uptown Consortium. Cont

Seems like that took a long time... Raising Cane’s sets 1st Cincinnati opening date, adds 2nd location A Raising Cane’s downtown? It’s not out of the question

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2015/04/21/this-stretch-of-sycamore-is-about-to-go-from.html Only open a few weeks... 3 shot in separate overnight incidents

Per @RoadMapCincy, it is for the Hyatt Regency HVAC replacement.

Medpace has scheduled a 10AM press conference where I'd expect more details to be released.

Uptown CEOs: Build Cincy State bridge University of Cincinnati President Santa Ono and leaders of other major Uptown employers are calling for a bridge connector to be built near Cincinnati State, according to a document obtained by The Enquirer. Five executives sent a letter to Mayor John Cranley and City Council this month urging Cincinnati's leaders to identify money to build the proposed $42 million overpass near the Interstate 74/I-75 interchange. The bridge would connect South Cumminsville to Central Parkway in Clifton near the main entrance to the Cincinnati State campus. The region's largest community college is among the major Uptown institutions, which include Greater Cincinnati's top hospitals. Cont

I wasn't aware Paragon Salon had moved.

You won't be able to see from video/pictures, but if you walk either side of Mehring Way you'll see (what I believe is called) hardboard creating squares in the concrete. These can be jackhammered out and replaced with tress, all the while not damaging the rest of the sidewalk. This is finally occurring to the sidewalk east of Main Street.

Concrete for this section is being poured now. All that remains on Walnut Street is build of the 5th Street stop, the OCS, and repaving.

Yucatan Liquor Stand

Design panel pans look of proposed AC Marriott Hotel at the Banks Chris Wetterich - Staff reporter and columnist - Cincinnati Business Courier The design of the proposed AC Marriott Hotel at the Banks needs some work, members of the Urban Design Review Board told representatives from developer Winegardner & Hammons Inc. on Thursday. Members of the panel, which advises the Cincinnati city manager on the look of projects in the city’s urban core, said they hoped for a bolder, more-distinctive look. The four members present on Thursday do not have the power to compel design changes, but developers sometimes heed their suggestions. When they did not like the look of the new General Electric building at the Banks, the developer made some changes. Winegardner representatives showed the board renderings of other AC hotels in the U.S. and Spain, which they felt had a bigger and bolder design. Cont

Ah, Change Lies Ahead of Us... I went there one Saturday night thanks to a friend of a friend. Line to get in stretched maybe a hundred feet or so. No celebrities that night. I heard they paid Britney to show up one weekend. Didn't hear that Snoop or JT made appearances. I remember the space being rather small, a DJ spinning, and a projector over the dance floor presenting some cracked out videos on a white sheet. All in all it was overpriced pretentious BS at its finest. At least in my experience...

Correct. One of my biggest complaints is the whole "no-crosswalk" on certain sides of the intersection (e.g. East side of Walnut and 2d) . God forbid that someone turning left trying to race home vis the expressway would have to be held up for a pedestrian. It's a stadia district for Chrissakes. I have no clue why this exists, and frankly its broken all the time. Shame Cincy has leadership who doesn't care at all about these issues right now. Two of these "no crosswalk" intersections exist on 2nd St. The reason (whether right or wrong) is because the two way streets, in this case Walnut and Race south of 2nd, become one-way north of 2nd, which it self is one-way. Traffic from both directions are turning eastbound onto 2nd at different times. The Walnut intersection is by far the worst of two. It'll be even more interesting when the streetcar is in operation.

It wouldn't hurt if the CPD actually policed these two streets. I cross them daily and most people drive well over 35mph, speed limit is 25mph, and at rush hour there are so many that race through yellow/red lights. The most I've seen recently was during the lead up to a Reds game. An officer was standing at the SE corner of the 2nd & Walnut intersection enforcing the not a crosswalk signs and a bike cop was riding on the sidewalk, weaving through the pedestrians.

From the Enquirer:

Perfect location with a streetcar stop out in front. Instead we have an area that on most mornings you'll find trash, cigarette butts, and dried vomit.