Cygnus

What will it cost to fix our icons? Cincinnati's iconic Union Terminal and Music Hall need a combined $331 million to transform them from crumbling buildings to state-of-the-art cultural showcases. That's the conclusion of business leaders who have spent seven months studying the historic buildings and coming up with a plan to save them. Their plan goes to Hamilton County commissioners Monday, but The Enquirer got an exclusive first look at the details. The bottom line: About two-thirds of the renovation costs – more than $225 million – would come through a higher sales tax or property tax. The rest would come from $40 million in private donations and another $66 million from local, state and federal tax credits and grants. Cont

Supermarkets not sold on downtown – yet Kroger says it could be interested in building a grocery store Downtown. A Downtown leader says discussions about a grocery are accelerating. And every year, more Downtown residents cite a grocery as their biggest business need. So why doesn’t a store just move in to fill it? An Enquirer review finds that significant holdups still exist, 40 years after the last Downtown grocery left. Store operators find the population not dense enough to support a thriving operation. And the right location, operating model and financing continue to be elusive, interviews with real estate and grocery experts show. Cont

Construction elevator going up on Main St.

U.S. Bank Arena upgrade plans back at square one Pick your saying when it comes to U.S. Bank Arena. Cincinnati is between a rock and a hard place. Upgrading the arena will cost $100 million, according to its owner. Not upgrading will cost the city high-profile events. Or you could go with the chicken and egg. It doesn't make sense to pour public and private dollars into the arena without a major tenant besides the Cincinnati Cyclones, a minor-league hockey team. Another tenant likely won't commit without knowing an upgrade is imminent. Either way, there are limited options for the 39-year-old, privately owned Downtown facility, which hasn't had a major renovation since 1997. The most recent window of opportunity closed in May, when Cincinnati withdrew its bid to host the 2016 Republican National Convention. [http://www.cincinnati.com/story/money/2014/06/19/us-bank-arena-upgrade-plans-back-square-one/11028467/]Cont[/url]

EXCLUSIVE: Catholic Health Partners names new HQ site Catholic Health Partners, Ohio's largest health system, has named its new headquarters site Catholic Health Partners, Ohio's largest health system operator, has confirmed with The Enquirer that it will move its headquarters from Downtown to Bond Hill. The health system, which operates Mercy Health locally, is sharing the news with it employees on Friday. The new location is projected to be completed by second quarter of 2016, CHP officials said Friday. The multimillion dollar decision has been pending for months as CHP weighed its options. Cont

New thread created: Cincinnati: Over-the-Rhine: 3CDC North of Liberty

Dear Pat... Google Images

Cincinnati will have to wait a little longer for new chicken finger chain The Raising Cane’s chicken finger restaurant set to open in a former Five Guys space in West Chester has been delayed. Raising Cane’s Ohio Limited marketing manager Caitlin Brooks said the restaurant, which was expected to open in the second quarter of this year, is facing some development delays. “We still own the site, and we are still very intent on opening a restaurant there,” Brooks said. “We’re still really excited about the Cincinnati market.” Cont

Hope this jump starts finishing the two building pads and one unoccupied space in Phase 1.

News/discussion on the redevelopment of buildings around Findlay Market: Cincinnati: Over-the-Rhine: 3CDC North of Liberty

OTR group asks city to stall 3CDC property deal Over-the-Rhine community representatives are worried that the city of Cincinnati plans to give 3CDC the rights to redevelop more than 20 vacant buildings around Findlay Market. The OTR Community Council on Wednesday sent a letter to Mayor John Cranley and City Council members asking them to reconsider such a plan, which could jumpstart new development in an area north of Liberty. So far, most of the redevelopment of Over-the-Rhine has taken place south of Liberty, remaking the neighborhood with new residences, retail and entertainment venues. Cont

Downtown? I believe a lot of people take an hour.

The evening news, Channel 5 specifically, really blew this announcement out of proportion last night. And they failed to mention anything about the KY side of the river being unrestricted. I'd like to see them cover if street vendors have to be licensed in Newport/Covington and if they allowed to set-up shop on the bridges.

It has always surprised me that there is no dine-in Larosa's downtown. Columbus based Donato's has a location and St. Louis based Pi Pizzeria will be opening in the AT580 Building sometime this year.

Marion's Dayton Mall location has teamed up with Warped Wing to offer local craft beer: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=662912527121565&set=a.522820867797399.1073741831.341061995973288

EXCLUSIVE: SORTA asks for federal funds to operate streetcar Chris Wetterich - Staff reporter - Cincinnati Business Courier The Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority has asked for $5 million in federal funding to operate Cincinnati’s streetcar in its second two years of operation. The agency, which operates the Metro bus system and plans to operate the streetcar, has submitted an application to the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments asking for funding typically given to projects that improve air quality or reduce traffic congestion. The funds would be used during the 2018 and 2019 fiscal years, the second and third year of the streetcar’s operation. Cont

Thanks for the reminder/update. I ran by last night and snapped this picture but forgot to post.

Per the Business Courier, Cranley will host fundraiser for Hillary’s PAC August 11 at a time and location to be determined.

Jeff Ruby: Waterfront restaurant to be rebuilt on land Jeff Ruby's floating Waterfront restaurant is making a move to dry land. Owner Ruby and the city of Covington have agreed to alter their plan to place the restaurant barge in the river at Covington Landing. Instead, it will be rebuilt on land, putting it on the empty Covington Landing space at the foot of Madison Avenue. "People may think it's sexier dining on a boat that's actually on the water," Ruby said. "But it's not safe sex." Concern for the safety of guests and employees, not to mention the extra cost of operating a floating restaurant, prompted Ruby to make the change. "The Waterfront has been sunk, hit by an iceberg, hit by a runaway barge, and come unmoored," Ruby said. "I watched the video of the last time; it was scary. We almost lost an employee." Cont

ANALYSIS: Why the streetcar isn’t in Uptown’s master plan Chris Wetterich - Staff reporter - Cincinnati Business Courier One thing that caught my attention in Uptown’s master plan to develop the area near the Martin Luther King Jr. Drive/Interstate 71 interchange, which is set to begin construction this summer, was the lack of any expansion for the streetcar. Beth Robinson, CEO of the Uptown Consortium, said the group still supports the streetcar project. The consortium is the community development organization that led the creation of the plan and is sort of an Uptown version of the Cincinnati Center City Development Corp. (3CDC), which has led Over-the-Rhine’s redevelopment. “We’ve always been supporters of the streetcar. We see the value of connecting Uptown and Downtown, the two employment centers,” Robinson said. “There was an old plan to bring it up Vine Street, and of course you know what happened there. But there was never any layout of what happened once it got to Uptown.” Cont

Updated Quimbob's original post with background/links to a few of the names. I'll continue to update as more info is made available.

Apartments planned next to Newport on the Levee The developer of the Vue 180 apartments took six months to sell out all 93 units along Newport's riverfront this spring. That's why the same developer, Capital Investment Group, is looking a few hundred feet upriver adjacent to Newport on the Levee to build another 230 upscale apartments. The five-story apartment complex will go alongside an already-planned hotel on the parking lot next to the Levee and across from the Hofbrauhaus. Cont

First look: The streetcar under construction Cincinnati streetcar executives are just back from Spain where they signed off on the final streetcar specs – how fast it will go, at what rate it will stop and how many people it will hold. Up until this trip Cincinnati's Streetcar Project Executive John Deatrick and Assistant City Manager Chris Eilerman had only seen the cars via weekly video conferences. "We had to make sure what they were building meets the performance specs," Deatrick said. "The drawing on the laptop came to life," he added. "It was cool – there is no other way to put it." Cont

Time to write Sherrod Brown! Philadelphia Business Journal from April 14th: Congressman urges Stone Brewing to move to PA