Michael L. Redmond

Nick, What brought you here? Now I know the history of issues in OTR pretty well over the past few years so what was the climate like at the moment that you decided to open the doors at Alchemize? Why would you come here and make an investment in an area that is troubled at best? Now what is different today? You said the counsil is better today, and I agree. I can assure you that there is more market residential in OTR and CBD both than when you first opened your doors. You said in your blog that you feel like you have wasted the last 5 years of your life, well that puts us at 2001. How was OTR then? Why yes then, and no now? If someone like yourself can be convinced to enter into the OTR marketplace with bleaker numbers than today, a more inept city counsil, why do you think that we can not do it now? "They don't have the slightest idea what it would take to reverse the staggering loss of young people from this city, and they have no interest in listening to ideas outside of their own." Take your own advise here, don't be so quick to jump on anyone with, not even an opposing idea for Main, but something a little different.

Ok, sorry you feel that way. I wish things could have worked out for you and your business and maby one day in the future it can. Best of luck to you Nick in whatever you do.

Well first of all if you don't think that you draw from outside of a 3 block radius then I believe you are sorely mistaken. For CBD those are the figures for end of year 05. Are you telling me there is a healthy base of office workers in Newport? In Rookwood, in Mt. Adams? What do those numbers look like for Northside? they don't even show up on the radar screen. I have tried to be honest with you as to what OTRs problems are and granted, you and I see things through different eyes. Yes sir, I am a Realtor, and those weak residential #'s that you are talking about, well, that is part of what I do for a living. Those office numbers you are refering to is the picture that Colliers International is painting to both National and international clients, maby they lie, but somehow I doubt it. However in addition to being a Realtor I am a resident, I am someone who works in OTR-for OTR. I am involved in trying to address those safety concerns that you are talking about, I am involved in trying to bring more businesses down here, I patronize those businesses as well. I live OTR Nick, everyday, allday. I know what it is and what it is not, yet I still do not think I am the one with unrealistic expectations, it seems to be you in your expectation that Main can support bars and bars only. I am not trying to offend you or your business because I do think there is a place for nightlife on Main. However you are offending an equal number of people here by tearing down OTR. This is my home, I live here, I work on Main, I represent a fair amount of the inventory now on Main, so if you are telling me that I am somehow the offensive one by defending OTR well then so be it.

Nick, I just am not going to be able to convince you otherwise and I respect and understand you opinions of the area. However I strongly disagree with you assertions of the future of Main. There is a much stronger and wealthier residential base then was here when it was a purely bar dist.-you are just going to have to trust me on that. Lack of offices and workers? 2005 absorption numbers were 598,000 sqft, we have a lower vacancy rate at 13.70% then Blue Ash at 15.90% and way lower than Mason at 21.46% You mentioned Newport on the Levee, NKY vacancy at 32.05%, Net absorbtion 69,000, New Deliveries 0, under construction 0 Seven new building totaling 665,000sqft just in 05 CBD had its first new office tower in 13 years (and I am working on another) You could take a rock and hit these people from Alchemize. Crime, as I said, I agree. But look at just the past month or two. Citizens on Patrol, OTR taskforce, new laws on the books to deter drug and prostitution buyers from wanting to come to the area (car seizure) Quick question, what is our anchor right now for Main, I can name it for everyplace else. We once had anchor clubs that were nationally known, how about now? It is so easy to point out basic short comings of Main that could be fixed but what is being done to fix them. Why in 91 when Neons opened up and all of the things you said were certainly true then, why did we see a rise in this District over the next several years? Why did people come then? Was it safer, more people living on Main? I represent some of these spaces that you are talking about and once again, I disagree. Is it an uphill battle, sure-will it be easy, no-will we be successfully, I have staked my professional career on it.

once again, there is a tyranny of the "or" and a genius to the "and" (stole that from a book). Everything is interconnected here. I do not think that we can have a safe neighborhood without a thriving business and residential community. Empty store fronts and empty buildings lend to the continued decay of OTR. Put eyes in the windows and feet on the street and crime will go down and vise versa. Every community will, or should, fight to make itself as attractive as possible and OTR is no different. If there is going to be an entertainment district, I want it in OTR. If there is going to be a new business coming to town, I want them in OTR. If there are developers considering residential or commercial projects, I want them to build in OTR. We must make ourselves as attractive as possible and right now, I will admit that we are indeed the ugly sister of downtown. But we clean up well-we can limit crime, we can fix up buildings, we can increase foot and drive by traffic, we can attract people to our community to live, work and play. We can have a residential neighborhood AND an entertainment dist. We can have nightlife AND service stores. We can be residential AND commercial hotspot again. We can do all of this, there are solutions to every problem, sometime the trick is just finding them.

Sorry, damn caffiene again. I moved to Orlando at 25, moved back at 28. My neighbor across the street on Mulberry, moved from Tampa, Next door moved from Columbus, down the street moved from Puerto Rico, next door to him from Mason (doesn't really count) and two doors down from him from South Dakota. East Clifton condo, early 30's moving from Indianapolis to work for Lunken, Peete St home, in talks with a pilot from Net Jets, mid 30's moved from Chicago. I don't deal with Relo but how many people is Gillete bringing in right now? Federated? My wife has been showing around a couple from Paris, who are going to work for Chaquita, condos here, mid 30's-up to a million, and downtown. People do not necessarily move to Cincinnati because they want to, but because their job says they have to. Now are they only hiring in the 50 plus crowd? Nope, I have a couple on Mulberry that work in Mason for P&G, 25 years old. How much disposable income do you think these people have? Well just look at their houses. Are we capturing that market on Main? Why not, they are the ones with the money.

Alabama, They have not changed themselves to meet the changing market per se, they changed markets. As Nick pointed out, Newport on the levee as a whole has a different target marget with an 'adult' entertainment segment. Jeff Hall I hope will be able to sustain its crowds for the long run, Tony is a good guy and I wish him the best over there. That being said, I and approx 5 or 6 others were there simply because it was a bar that we were familiar with in a new location. Will I be there next week? No, I will be at Pitifuls on Main. Second, I am not going to sit here and say that they will have just as big of crowds on Main St as they do on the Levee. And is safety one of the factor behind this, absolutely, but so is the current selection and perception of venues on Main. People will come because it is new but what will keep them at the levee? So far, nothing, well except the theatre. Main st still can beat out the levee for some of the same arguments as above- it is where you send your 13 year old, and if I am a parent, I will keep sending my teenager to the levee for safety, my wife and I-well we can take care of ourselves and go to Main. Getting away from this for just a moment, in my opinion, one of the other major downfalls of Main has been that there is no one reaching out and trying to attract major venues to Main St. It is almost as though we are simply waiting for people to knock on our door down here. We need to be proactive, we need to fight for business here, of all types. A mix of business that fits into a 19 hour plan is what I believe can help bring Main to a point beyond what we were in the 90's. I was speaking with some others in our office last night about this very discussion and the consensus was that due to the large amount of inventory that now is the time to reach out and redesign Main. Reading through this thread I see the mention of residential as one of the driving forces, and it is. But another factor is office. Why would someone who lives in Kenwood or Montgomery drive to Main? Perhaps because they work here. We are in talks, and next week will most likely have 14,000 sq ft of office space at the top of Main. We are in talks for a huge, and I mean huge, new commercial piece , lets just say somewhere on Main. Where do these people eat? How about happy hour? After work do you go home first and then meet your coworkers out for a drink? No, you leave the office and go to the closest bar you can find. Are we capturing that business? What is the number of people working in CBD on any given day? Take 1/4 of 1% and that could drive Main. Are we targeting those people? We will. One thing that I have been fighting for (and I think have lost the battle) is for the sale of Rothenberg. The American Red Cross is currently looking for 60,000 sq ft and will be placing 100 full time empoyees and 50 part time employees into a new facility. Rothenberg has 87,000 sq and we can supply up to 200 parking spaces. What would this do for Main? Once again, were do they eat, where do they go for happy hour, where could they shop for something that they don't get at home? Unfortunatly as I said, the school decided not to sell Rothenberg due largly in part of efforts by the OTR Foundation to turn it into a neighborhood school, but this is another direction that should be explored. There is more than just a residential solution to Main, it is time to get creative. And due to an overload of caffeine this morning, I will throw one more thing out there for the short term. Has anyone ever gone to Kenwood Mall and seen an empty storefront? Me either. So why do we have one empty store front on Main after another. When people drive up Main today, they would think nothing was here. Why are property owners not leasing or even giving away display space to places high end, highly recognizable stores? If we want to get a buzz out about Main, fill the store fronts. What business would not take the opportunity for free or at least low cost advertising of their products? Main would look cleaner, and the sense that there is something going on here may help to serve as a catalyst for even more change.

Bottom line is that they are successful venues. I understand the safety issue, believe me. I have this conversation with people everyday. You think no one wants to spend a few hours down here because of safety, we have to convince people to live down here and we have been successful. You can to. But I relize that this place isn't for everyone and I do not market to everyone. I don't go into a project and say that if I simply build a product that it will automatically sell, I have to build the right product for the right person. You and I have similar goals in different industries. Both of us are trying to attract people down here, both of us are faced with the same issues of safety. I will stick it out and I wish you would do the same. One last thing, I went to Jeff Hall Saturday night with some neighbors of mine, haven't been in years but wanted to see how it fit into the new venue. It was something different, if only in location.

Nick, I did not mean that as a put down to you or your bar in particular, but the concept of keeping Main St a bar dist. without some sort of concessions to the needs and wants of the market. Is Neon's meeting that need? Bar, nightclub or whatever the market is saying we want something else. Trust me, they should. In business you have to follow the market, not your heart. There are new entertainment districts opening up and old ones are re-emerging. In the mid 90's there was no Newport on the levee, No Rookwood, no Union Center. And I do agree with you that safety is the single largest reason that people are not coming to Main, but there is more to this puzzle, it is not as simplistic as to say put more cops on the street and they will come. This is not a put down session for your club (I actually enjoy your club just as much as DV8) nor should it be a put down session for OTR. I am a genxr who moved here from Mt. Adams and put my hat in the ring professionally just down the street from you. I, like you have a stake in this neighborhood and I, like you am frustrated with it from time to time, but instead of giving up on it, I am trying to look for solutions to improve it.

Nick, I respect your opinion and appreciate your efforts here, however many of us are not ready to throw in the towel and give up. If leaving the Main St. Dist is what is best for your business I certainly will never fault you for that. My thoughts are that many on Main St. now and in the past have put businesses here that they feel should work, not what the market tells them will work. Main in its entertainment prime was new and fresh, what is it now? Neons, still the same bar as it was in '91? DV8 was wonderful (Will Benson was a friend of mine) but it was different and then when they decided to switch to high dollar door fee and bring in DJ's that no one had ever heard of, it lost business. Tell me what is new, tell me how Main can compete when it is just the same Main st (less a few bars) as it was 10 years ago. What is Dan Dell's marketing stategy with Main St. Live? What is Alchemize's ? No one wants to go to their parents bar, and many of the bars that are on Main have been there almost long enough to reach the last generation of club goers, not the present and certainly not the next.

Well said.

How was Vine in the early 90's when Main was booming?

I go to Newport on the Levee, I do not live there. I frequent both bars and restraunts in Mt. Adams, I do not live there anymore. I shop at Rookwood and Kenwood, don't live there either. By offering the right product and attractions, Main will be successful. By longing for the good old days and saying Main should stay the way it is regardless of what the market demands sounds like a business model for failure. If I never sold another piece of property, my kneejerk reaction would be to blame a slower market or any other exterior force other than myself. Main St has never changed with the changing market. Main St. has not kept it fresh, it just sits around, saying that the market is at fault. Well there still is an entertainment market, they are going to other places and perhaps the venues of this street need to be the ones who say what can we do to attract them.

Once again, that is part of it. Why put all of our eggs in one basket? Why not diversify? I am not looking to put in anything here that people need necessarily, I am talking about things that people want. A trendy strip that no matter what time it is, who you are, where you are from, you just want to visit. Security is a must, I agree. But one sure fire way to a safe and secure Main is patrons on the streets. One does not happen without the other.

Cramer, Just listed this one, http://listing.loopnet.com/14647328 David, That is definitely a step that must be taken, but in conjunction with business outreach as well. There is no one single solution to OTR. From security issues like you talk of, increase in home ownership, business outreach, and creating a positive image for the community- these are all steps that need to happen to have a sustainable change in OTR. And this is why I refer to destination retail. The existing demographics of the immediate neighborhood, excluding the hill, can not support much of anything, however when Main was at its peak it was not drawing from the residents of Walnut and Vine, it brought people in from everywhere. My point is that we need to think in terms of what will bring others in from surrounding areas from morning through night. If you are able to find the same stores, restaurants or bars in Kenwood or Rookwood, we will lose every time. We need to have something that is unique to Main, yet has a broad appeal. I balk at the idea of having stores that cater to just a small segment of the overall market however I believe we can have a mix, including entertainment, that is both inclusive as well as uniquely Main.

I just took over the Comey City Office Commercial Dept and Main St. is first on my list. The suits now get it. I think that one of the biggest problems for us in the past is that entities such as the OTR Chamber had to focus on Safety issues and could not work on attracting new businesses to the area. Things are changing, there is a plan, and yes, it will take time.

Main St. does not have to be either/or. We can have a entertainment district that has a large retail component. We speak of night life in downtown but money and people need to be here in the daytime also. The problem with Main during its prime was that it was filled with people at night, dead during the day-CBD is filled with people during the day and dead at night. With the amount of inventory available now on Main why not put in place a 19 hour plan where as you can have you breakfast and drink your coffee in the morning, shop during the day and transition into diner and then the bar scene at night. Any other part of town would look at a 3 and 5 mile draw for residential support, why is OTR any different? Put in destination retail and we will draw from the hillside, from Mt. Adams, from CBD. I look at the demographics here perhaps a bit different then Nick does and I feel that a strong case can be made for bringing back Main, not as it was, but something better.

Beth purchased 140 Mulberry from HUD with the agreement that it was to be lived in for 1 year and was not to be purchased as an investment property. Big surprise, she is not living there. HUD will be paying her a visit soon. 25 is still standing but I just heard that it is coming down very soon. It is in very bad shape, you can tell that better from the back. Next door at 29 Mulberry, the bottom two condos are well under way. Framing is complete and I believe it just passed its electrical inspection about a week ago. interior plans for 102 Peete and 75 Peete have just been completed and construction may start very soon. 67 Peete has been saved, the crack down the side of that building has been repaired and the building is now structurally sound. Interior plans for 67 are being worked out now for 2 condos. If I ever figure out how, I will begin posting some of these on this thread.

I would appreciate that. We need all the help that we can get and if this provides any leverage for us to help move OTR forward then I am behind it. I am very happy to hear this may prove to be more than a title.

Let me give you an example of temporary population loss, surface lot parking without demolition, and a return of a building to its original historic state. 101,105 Peete St and 100 E. Clifton. The building will be delivered to us vacant on the closing date. 5 adjacent lots are sitting there now with nothing but weeds and garbage, these 5 lots and 1 other vacant lot on E. Clifton will give us 19 spaces for parking for that building. The building, although occupied is in horrible condition with a mismatch of Windows and in a general state of disrepair. We will lose 16 people in the short run, regain 16 more in the long run and the building will be completely redone, parking will be added with no demolition, everyone is happy. Beyond that, new construction design downtown has parking as part of the lower level of the home, not next to it. Building a garage is expensive (unless part of the foundation) but to aquire adjacent land, demo, and then build a garage, that is cost prohibitive. Another example is 72 E. Clifton A,B, and C. Once was 9 apt, now 3 condos, all with garages that are on adjacent vacant land, no demo. All new construction designs we are considering are on contiguous, vacant lots and the garages are built into the foundation. No Demo. 30 sites proposed by the HBA at the top of Hughes (now dead) was all new const, all with garages, no Demo. It can, and is being done. To say that OTR can not move forward with new const. or even rehabbs (they require parking to) without mass demo is not true.

Walter, you kill me. Please give me a new community counsil pres. because this one does not speak for me. Sorry, had to get that off my chest. PresOhio, Can you expain this a bit further. And I am truly asking out of ignorance, not disbelief. When you say resources are you refering to grants etc? And do you know if this means further building and development restrictions. Is there an action plan? When I first read that this would increase colaboration between developers, preservationist, and gov. I was wondering when is our first meeting?

I do believe that we ultimatly will have to agree to disagree on the last point. The only rise in population between 1900 and 1960 occured in the 40's, but that is neither here nor there. You and I may differ in our views of what a sucessful OTR is. I do not necessarily define it by density of population, but by OTR simply being a safe, clean and economically vibrant community that presents itself as a choice for people to live, work, or play and not as a last resort. 50,000 people living here because they have to vs. 20,000 people living here because they want to-I choose the latter. Also to the point of density, I am currently working on several projects that are taking buildings that once held up to 19 units of low income apartments (that have been vacant for years) and turning them into 3 and 4 units of market rate housing/condos. Net loss of 15-16 units per building you may say (although they have been vacant) or a gain of home ownership that is hovering around 4% in OTR. Bottom line, would you say OTR is heading in an upward or downward direction now? Personally I would say up, way up, yet you will see more losses in population before you see a rise. You and I probably have the same outcome in mind for OTR, however I do believe our equations on getting there may differ.

I am a member of the Republican Party and I am willing to stand on any street corner with you today to fight for equal pay and equal benefits for illegals. Who will stand with me? Lets decide today that any legislation allowing amnesty of any kind to include ALL WORKERS EQUAL PROTECTION so that everyone is on an equal playing field. How much support do you think you will get from either party? Lets give them a voice, unionize now, not after the they are granted amnesty. This will show where peoples heart truly is. And if you are for amnesty but not for making them fall under Federal and State worker compensation guidlines then you are 1. Creating a second class work force 2. handicapping U.S. Const workers by not allowing them to be competitive in the workforce. So either force the entire workforce to have a minimum wage or do away with that minimum wage and let each worker decide what they are willing to sell their service for. If you have another alternative I would love to hear it because these aren't just farmers in a field we are talking about, they are brick layers, framers, roofers, drywallers, flooring, demo crews, etc. My labor cost on a project is fixed but if we change the rules and I can deliver a product at a cheaper rate to the consumer (because the consumer demands it) with the same margin, then our current labors will be replaced. I as a Republican am willing to go either way, I am not against Mexicans or even Guatemalan's (they did some brick work on a house that was great and only $400, much cheaper than I was quoted by a friend of my family who worked for Hummel((he didn't get the job)). Now if you think that all of these construction jobs are jobs that no American would take or want, then tell the next brick layer that you see that you are doing everything in your power to make sure he does't have to show up to another worksite ever again. So you decide, but we all need to be on equal footing, we all need to play under the same rules.

Well I hope so, and if we get just one investor or homeowner out of it then it is worth it. I was just curious about the spin that the Foundation was putting on it with the lable "this is it!!!" well hopefully this is a part of "it".

"Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff on April 20 announced the results of the "largest single work site enforcement operation against a company in American history." In a raid that spanned 26 states..." NAHB National Assoc of Home Builders News