Michael L. Redmond

September is what I heard for Switch.

I personally know both owners very well, I even had diner at one of their homes last night. So...pretty sure. I understand why you were told what you were told however but I assure you, the new store is in no way affiliated with Voltage.

The specific reason could range from the theater, the condos, the art academy dorms, Mica, Metro Nation, Park & Vine, Lavamatic, City Roots, A Lucky Step, Outside or just general interest in the overall development. More and more people will be hanging around, not just the 1200 block, but in OTR as a whole as new developments of the Q expand up Vine, Republic, Main, Pleasant, and now possibly Walnut. I have said it here before and I will say it again, the more people that do come to OTR to live work or play, the more that will come. Crime continues to fall, business continues to open, new residents continue to move in month after month and finally, even those who have been our harshest critics throughout the years have to acknowledge the fact that OTR is now, and will continue to revitalize. Block is going up now on Trinity Flats. BellMain has just put the glass in the storefronts. Drywall is now in Ball North. Trideca already has multiple contracts without even being on the market. City Home has already had its kickoff. All units in Bremen are now sold out. Only one storefront left on the east side of Vine in the current phase. Things are ramping up fast.

I assume you are talking about the space behind MICA which has the corner spot. Nothing yet there, that I know of. The others are true and Incredible Creations is the name of the Salon/Barber Shop.

Next to Lavamatic on the west side of Vine above 12th. stay tuned!

Not exactly. The new store will be called Switch, also a lighting store but not affiliated with Voltage. BellMain-Kaldis (I think I spelled that correctly) Goodfellows-Ball South or the building with all of the graffiti on on the bottom Ball north is still up for debate on the naming but they will have something very soon. 1400 block of Pleasent (OTRCH) - City Home and the B2B/ Northpoint project has not been named yet. I lobbied for Pastorius Flats, after the first German settlement in the US and one of the largest celebrations historically in Cincinnati but who knows.

I disagree when it comes to this project but agree as a whole when it comes to voucher recipients and there is a difference. Affordable housing, as with the City home project goes to those making below the average income. This can be a graduate, fresh out of college or any number of students or people just starting their careers. I don't disagree with what you say of many who have been "stuck" in OTR for years wanting to get out (and most will stay in the subsidized rental market) but you have to think more broadly when the only criteria for ownership in this particular part of Gateway is that you make below the average income. Most of us on this site probably at one time or another would have qualified for this.

I would use the word ignorant, or lets just say uninformed (this is the nicer, kinder me) of what is happening today in OTR or Downtown as a whole. This is not the same OTR as it was 5 years ago and it will be an entirely different OTR 5 years from now but to many, Over the Rhine is just that forgotten waisteland of empty buildings, drug dealers and murderers. Unfortunatly, this ingnorance is not confined to just the everyday person's opinion when discussing urban renewal around the diner table but it extends to professionals as well who's job it is to be informed. We see this everyday in RE with Apraisers that still consider OTR a declining market all the way to the pizza place that will not deliver in certain parts of OTR past 6:00 (my house excluded of course, I know people). So ignorant or uninformed, the perception problem exist and it is our job and the job of the people of OTR to help get the word out that OTR, and especially the Q is one of the most exciting and fun places to live in this town.

I may have misread this LK but which city owned land are you talking about that exist today along that stretch? If you are refering to land created by a narrowed street, then what of the current business owners along the present road who will now have one off parcels? If you give them a first right of refusal (assuming they have the means) then aren't you saying that we will sell you a surface lot (because what else would you want to place in front of a business like a grammars etc) and therefore making you pay again for what you already have, Liberty frontage?

That is absolutely the reason for the sustained turnaround however many people view your equation as a zero sum game. Bad out of OTR means bad into my community. Many of the people who talk down OTR and Downtown do so because the turnaround, although they say they want it, is truly the last thing they want to see for fear that it will negatively effect them. There is some truth to that view if other communities do not step up as well. Usually when I say how great things are going down here in OTR the first words out of the persons mouth is "yeah, and they are all coming up here". Everyone is responsible for cleaning their own back yard and I will not be faulted for making my community better just because someone else doesn't want to do what it takes to maintain their community standards. So under ignorance, I would place an us vs them mentality.

I am not sure what that means to begin with. I find that it is general ignorance of the redevelopment here that drives the naysayers. Is it a rapidly decreasing crime rate that defines a turnaround? Is it a 400plus unit development that defines a turnaround? Is it restaraunts like Jean Robert's Lavamatic that defines a turnaround? Is it condos that are selling faster than just about any other development in Cincy rangining from 89,000 to 1.3 million in the American Building that defines a turnaround? Ignorance is the fuel of the naysayer when it comes to OTR today.

Consider the project itself and where it is happening. 3CDC went into what was the single worst block in OTR and began redevelopment. Hard to sell condos at 12th and Vine with shootings, open air drug dealing and the usual day to day thuggery that was synonymous with that block. Look at today. Things change and so will Washington Park and it will happen faster than you can imagine. There is a stranglehold that is being placed on, not just the park, but all of OTR. Washington Park is being surrounded by development and will be redeveloped itself but look closer at the map that Randy posted, those are just the announced buildings so far and look at the myriad of locations. No where is being untouched either directly or indirectly by the Q and those 300K units in places like Duveneck and Trideca (which may be sold out before it hits the market officially) are moving, even today.

B2B is doing a building on Republic now and it has not yet been named. The one Randy is speaking of, Trinity Flats, is being done by Model.

Vine and 14th is part of Trinity Flats that is a mix of new and rehab const.

She just mentioned that the Kaldis building will all be in that range.

Next Ambassador Meet and Greet is Grammars Friday, June 27, 2008 5:00pm - 8:00pm

That is part of it for sure, but not the only part. My point above was that there are so many things that are being put in place now that each acts as a catalyst for interest and excitement in the Q. There is no more powerful a catalyst then people on the street, residents in the units, businesses in the storefronts...that is the ultimate driving force.

That is a tough one. The problem is, many of the units sold do not get to the point of even getting listed and get presold or "sold before sent". Gateway is averaging a sale a week right now, but have had single days with as many as six contracts. I really expect for the excitement to really ramp back up when Trinity Flats begins to come out of the ground. This is another one that probably will be sold off extremely quickly plus Holly and I were just at the kick off for the Pleasant Street portion of Gateway and those too are in the price range that gets snatched up quickly. I tell Holly all the time that the more that do sell the more that will sell. Gateway is proving itself everyday and is growing stronger and stronger. But that is just part of it. When you begin to factor in a completed SCPA, redesigned Washington Park, and more and more businesses signing onto the Commercial portion of Gateway it becomes easier to buy today then it was a year ago but what will it be like a year from now?

There is so much more coming that will be in that price range but they are all selling so fast that new supply isn't being built fast enough to replace the solds. As for the selling of the 300+ units those will move as well. Looking at just Trideca, that building may be sold out before it is even listed on MLS and the units that are being built now on Main are so jaw dropping that there is already interest.

In researching best practices for a Special Improvement Dist. we ran across a tactic that is used by the Discovery and Capital City Crossroads SID in Columbus where they have an Ambassador go where there is panhandling problems and hand out a pamphlet to people saying give a hand up and not a hand out with a list of social services that they can make a donation to that will actually help the person get food or shelter instead of a few cents to purchase drugs or alchohol. This helps the person who feels obligated to help their fellow man by giving them a ligitimate charity to give to. This is done in conjunction with an ambassador who tries to steer those panhandlers to the appropriate social service on the other end. We would like to implement this tactic in OTR.

The city is just giving this the runaround. There was an agreement on the table a couple of years ago and then it comes down to them not wanting to fix their (the cities) own property that surrounds the project.

Don't forget about Ultimate Tour of Living at the Gateway Quarter June 21st and 22nd.

still ongoing talks with the city

Because this topic was split, I am going to repost this invitation to everyone. Anyone interested in an Urban Ohio tour of Gateway? If I can pull together 10 or 15 (or more) people then we will provide lunch and get you through some buildings and units that aren't even on the market yet, including Main. Just let me know and we can figure out a date that is good for everyone. PM me if you would like to do this.

I will see if I can get us into the Main Street buildings on the tour, we couldn't even do that on the blogger tour a few months ago. Drywall was delivered yesterday so there is now something to see. Just PM me and then I will figure out a date with everyone and get it coordinated with the Q.