Michael L. Redmond

Remember, these units are still under construction but I will update this site as well as the MLS as we finish more and more. several fireplaces are in each units, at least one in each condo will be operational,the A units will have 2 operational. This is a good shot of the mix of old and new. We have a tremendous amount of exposed brick and the bamboo floors should be laid in the first units within a week or so. Still a lot of work to be done to the facade, temorary glass is in the picture windows right now during construction. Ok, time for the rooftop deck views. A mix of old to the right and new to the left. Ok, I can't get that picture to work on here for some reason, just imagine a Cincinnati skyline, and picture it at night, with fireworks... yeah fireworks! And children laughing and playing... well whatever, it was a good pic.

are we talking about political conservatism here or conservative development plans, it seems to go back and forth a bit, just need some clarification.

We have plenty between 150-200 in Cincinnati.

We are working on that now. Photos will be up as early as tomorow and we will have floor plans as attachments on the MLS within the next two days.

This is why it is so important to catch people like yourself while you are still in the area. The downtown business plan should reflect the expectations that people will not return. However after hours should be geared towards the ever expanding residential market. Many of the businesses do a poor job reaching out to the residents.

exaclty!

gotribe, You are correct that convenience is the driving force behind the commercial success of downtown. And you are right that we need to think a bit out of the box. We are convenient because as you said, many people work downtown everyday. However we must catch them while they are here, before they return to the burbs. Most restraunts and shopping areas are within walking distance of most downtown employees for 8 hours of every day. We need a happy hour for shopping downtown. 5:00 hits, sale time! And they can walk to the store.

I have been in downtown Cincinnati for many years now. The thing that originally drew me down was the demographics. I was starting a new business and looking at the walkby, driveby, and residential in such a close proximity, Downtown was a no brainer. I moved downtown with the business, the business went away, I stayed. I grew up in the suburbs, and I have no desire to move back. If we could conquer the safety issue, downtown would be such an easy sale. I see some people talking of the parking issue in CBD and this was an issue that we fought a decade ago. It isn't that there isn't parking downtown, we just do a poor job on telling people where it is. OTR is the same way, so much parking, so little signage.

I know a lot of people on this forum have some great ideas for improvements in safety issues in OTR. And I know a lot of people would like to help make OTR a better, safer, cleaner place but sometimes don't know how to help. Well this is a start, I would like to extend an invitation to the Mulberry/McMicken Safety Sector Meeting this Wed to anyone who would like to attend. Give us a helping hand in the community even if it is just showing support or offering ideas we would love to have you there. This is a copy of our email announcement with the details. The next Mulberry and McMicken Safety Sector Meeting is this Wednesday, February 22nd at Milton’s Tavern (301 Milton Street), 6:00 pm. EVERYONE IS WELCOME. Representatives from District One Neighborhood Officers, Keep Cincinnati Beautiful and the OTR Chamber will be present. We will have the Statistics from the Drug Elimination Program for 2005 and discussion on Safe and Clean Grants. Accomplishments and results from the Hot Spots Line and Post Cards will also be discussed. Remember this is your opportunity to continue to share concerns, and accomplishments as we all work together to make OTR a safe and clean community. So mark your calendars for this important Neighborhood Meeting and bring a neighbor.

I have been waiting a long time for this. 72 E Clifton, A, B, and C 79 Peete St. A, B and C Are now available! Luxury condos on Peete and E Clifton. This is not a sales pitch (although I do have the listings) it is an sheer excitement that this is here now and so much more are coming on streets that have been long forgoten. This is in Presale stage but the E. Clifton units will be done in approx 3 weeks. Site preparation has begun on 5 of the vacant lots on the North side of Peete, trees are coming down and new construction is almost ready to go up. For the first time in a long time, sunshine will hit Peete St. (the overgrowth is terrible) The Park board is meeting with us next week to discuss some beautification projects on E. Clifton and Peete so hopefully you will begin seeing a big change on hill. Pics are being taken today and tonight of the exteriors, I will post them as they come in. Also information on the whole site will be broadcast through "talking house" and you will be able to sit in your car on Mulberry and get the rundown on the whole project via your radio.

OTR Fan, Big changes on Peete St. Today! It is about to become a whole lot friendlier. But I will post that on Projects and construction later, exciting stuff! Riverviewer, I was, in a round about way, trying to raise the point of the law of unintended consequences. Quimbob, You and I may be arguing two different things. I don't care what people do when acting responsibly (or irresponsibly) in their own homes. It is what happens on the streets that I care about. It is the irresponsible action in front of my home, that affects my home, or my safety when walking in or around the neighborhood of OTR. When it happens in public vs private, it hurts the community, what you do in your own home is your business and I am not trying to change that. I don't see where we disagree. This is more of my point. There is no resistance here vs the surrounding two states. We have created a vacuum. "Stooping" I am not familiar with the term. Please explain.(I thought about a taser but stooping sounds better)

OTR fan, The events create the momentum, we will have to talk. Great pic also. You are definetly on to something with citizens and police simply being visable. This is why I have high hopes for a joint citizens on patrol in OTR. The other day I walked home from a meeting on Main and I stopped at the Sharpe alley steps on Mulberry for a minute to look at some trees that we are going to be cutting back in a few weeks. From that spot you can see down 3 or 4 blocks through Peete, E. Clifton, and McMicken. It was packed, drug dealers, prostitutes were as far as the eye could see. Within 2 minutes of them seeing someone watching them from Mulberry, not one person was on the entire alley. I was just standing there, you are right in that there is a tremendous amount of power in presence. More is coming.

"until we decide to do so as a nation, Cincinnati needs to fight tooth and nail against crimes that victimize innocent folks - and open air drug dealing does exactly that. Just my opinion..." I agree with your opinion RiverViewer. Max, way to go, many residents are doing just what you are doing. It is dangerous for us to approach these drug buyers but what choice do we have. Quim, people will break laws all day long, but when we handicap the police through such low penalties, enforcement of the laws becomes non existent. Laws need teeth, there must be consequence to breaking the laws otherwise it has no use. I agree with you in that if we do not provide the adequate penalty behind drug laws, do away with them-any of them. But if you want to make it effective, make breaking that law hurt. I am interested in how all this works in your opinion though. If we legalize drugs and it is sold behind the counter at CVS or wherever, the drug buyer is taxed, the state makes money, I get a better road or something. Ok, I am fine with that, but what happens to the seller? What does he do? Does he just go back to his home play nintendo or re-enter the workforce and becomes the fry guy? What does a newly unemployed drug dealer do? Well, what did the mob do after prohibition ended, I guess they just find another crime to commit to make up for lost income and we can jail them for that. How does all this play out in your mind?

Moonloop, Yup, thats the one, but I think you will see that as condos sooner rather than later. Quim, We can go back and forth with sayings all day long. you ever hear this little one by Edmund Burke? But what is liberty without wisdom, and without virtue? It is the greatest of all possible evils; for it is folly, vice, and madness, without tuition or restraint. I will take these one at a time. Well it is for me, and I can only speak for my sector, this is a great enough of a concern for the residents of the Mulberry/McMicken Sector that the residents are willing to patrol the streets in order to discourage this. I was under the impression that the drug dealers and buyers created the problem. Is any other crime no longer a problem if we just make it legal and tax it? It has a measurable negative effect on our community, I did not do that, they did. Not exactly, I am trying to up the penalty, I am the one here yelling and screaming that we should not leave things the way they are, they need to change. Without new laws on the books OTR is nothing but a vacuum for KY and Ind drug buyers, I don't want to maintain that status at all. HUH? Unless you have a nice little drug vending operation going on out of your basement, I really don't see how it is. The way I see it the way things are right now is invading all of our homes, we can't escape it unless we just keep to ourselves, locked indoors, this is not my idea of urban living, it is urban death. I lived at my house on Mulberry for all of 3 weeks before I had a person walk into my front door while we were painting our living room (a real nice red to, you should see it!) asking to buy drugs. The bastard walked into my house! My fault for not having the door locked but still! 2 Hust Alley, just last week recieved a Knock on their door asking to buy drugs. Peete St., can't remember the address but the yellow stucco house, an old man lives their, nice guy, tells me he gets people coming to his house all the time asking for drugs. 109 Mulberry, my neighbor, had a man in his basement using drugs while construction was going on at his house. Little prostitution action also. 101 Peete St. Foundation building run by Metro Man. Dealer arrested 2 months ago. I was attacked by his "girlfriend" that night as I got out of my car at my house on Mulberry. (she was convinced I was a cop) threatened to kill my wife and myself. to at least discourage some of this. Will it stop it entirely, no, but if the laws here do not at least meet the laws in the surrounding states (let alone the rest of the country) well people are willing and do drive across the border because it is safe here. We can do better than this! "If liberty has any meaning it means freedom to improve." Philip Wylie

Moonloop, A reverse sting just happened Friday in front of Rothenburg School. They do it almost monthly now. Thanks for the info, I wasn't aware of the fine, its a start.

Quim, You go your route and try and legalize drugs, I will go mine, we agree to disagree. Their should not be a hub, but now it does exist, and it is OTR and the West End. We have just instituted a program of car impounding for prostitution, why not try the same for people coming into the neighborhood to purchase drugs. You say that what I propose is a step backwards? Take a good look at where we stand today. If you want to maintain the status quo, try it your way, but in the meantime, I will try mine, the residence will make it uncomfortable for the sellers and the buyers. We will confront them. Pic from OTR fan on Ohio pics.

Fine the living crap out of them. Take their car, their women, whatever it takes. It is everywhere, especially Vine but yes it is on every street down here including mine. The KY and IND problem is discussed every day, week month and year by the residence and all we can do is throw up our hands and say what can we do. I am not willing to sit back and let that be the answer. I understand that jailing them may be an issue, but there is an answer, we just need to find it. As you can see this is a major frustration for me. I truly believe that this issue is not a "non issue" and it does have a negative effect on downtown. When a drug deal happens outside my door I don't just say well thats pot, no, it is a drug deal outside my front door! The same when driving down some of the streets of OTR, it is not harmless, it is detrimental to our community, whatever drug is being sold (because we don't get out and verify that it is just pot). When people come to visit, look at property, shop, eat, this is what they are confronted with. Is this the image we want to put out to everyone, "Eat, Live, Work, Buy Pot" No, we can do better than this. I could care less what drugs people do or do not use. It really doesn't bother me one bit, but for god sakes, open air drug dealing and consuming the product in the streets, well that does bother me, tremendously. My house is not a meeting place for drug buyers and dealers and neither should OTR be the hub anymore, the place to go and get your drugs. Is this where you want to live, is this one of the features you want to point out to mom when she comes to visit, because like it or not, it is in the wide open, you don't have to tell her, she can see it with her own eyes.

I disagree with using it simply as a tool for search and seizure, but Quim, don't you think that at least we should be where the other 49 states are? The residents of Mulberry alone probably approach at least a dozen people a week (and those are just the one's we happen to see when we come out of our front doors) and chase them off. Is this what downtown living is supposed to be? I am not willing to settle for "its a peaceful drug" and they aren't hurting anyone. Have you ever tried to convince someone to invest downtown when a drug deal takes place right in front of your investor? This makes no sense whatsoever. I want to help turn around a community, but the damn lack of drug laws that at least reach the level of the rest of the country is getting in our way.

Susan and I need to take a little tour up and down Vine, the mairjuana capital of the Tri-state. Now I will admit, E. Clifton and McMicken does sell more crack but unless she confines herself to one or two streets, she should know better. to me, this says it all... and to not do anything about this is a crime in and of itself. I am normally a very optimistic person but issues like this are extremely frustrating to me. Right now the OTR Chamber is putting together a joint Citizens on Patrol, so the way I see it, the citizens are going to have to be the ones knocking on the car windows of these people because the police have no power. So because the city doesn't want to take action, the people have to do it for them.

True quim, I have to admitt, I am not that familiar with the bus stops in OTR. Of course I see them, I simply have not payed close attention to them. The ones I see are simply marked with a simple sign and that is it. If we have people, students especially waiting in the dark for a bus, or waiting in the dark for anything in OTR it should be addressed. I will be in OTR all day tomorow, and I will pay attention to the various stops, I did not relize it was a problem. and as for gambling, I would like to see it on the river, we should at least be competitive with our neighbors, but I can't see it ever coming inland into OTR, if it ever does happen it will be more of a CBD issue than for us.

Everyday we talk to investors. It seems to be an easier sell to people outside of Cincinnati than the people who are from here. There are incentives including Tax abatement's etc but the biggest incentive is the low cost of acquisition of high quality architecture. It is easy to take for granted what we have in OTR, it is easy to point to the high crime and disrepair but when compared to the high cost of places like Calif, NY, Fla, etc. OTR seems like a pretty good bet. I agree that incentives are important, but I believe the most important thing is lending confidence rather than money to a potential investor. We need to have great catalyst projects to that gives others the confidence to do a project/development of their own. This is what we do when trying to paint the picture for a potential investor is to say look at this dev. or that dev. you are not the first, and you are not alone. Investors need to think that their dev will be utilized or purchased, that is why they are in it to begin with. By people moving into downtown or going to the different venues offered here, more will come. It is a catalyst effect and this is more valuable than low intrest loan or tax incentive. You have more power than city council. And one more thing to Jimmy, The best idea I've heard all day!

Jimmy, When I first moved to OTR the thing that struck me was that one could almost do anything. The neighborhood just seemed to be at a point where radical things were actually possible. The reason that I started the thread was to try and capture some of that pie in the sky thinking, something out of the box. We all know that 99.9% of this will never come to fruition, but I would be able to settle for .1% and that could make all the difference. I think it is important for all of us when we travel down the rougher parts of OTR to be able to envision what could be, not just the harsh reality that is, as long as we have the dreamers dreaming up tomorrows ideas, OTR has a chance. That being said, we are working on the other stuff to, but its nice to break away from the frustration that sometimes comes with the safe and clean issues and dream a little.

My vision of what you were saying was less graffiti and more like the Kroger mural. I think that the art students could pull something off on some of the buildings that we already have something on (ie furniture building on Main) that would add to, not take away from the character of the street.

What about the gateways to OTR? How about Reading Rd, what a terrible entrance to the neighborhood from 71. There is some decent street scaping at the bridge to Mt Adams, but you really don't see it unless A. you are going to Mt.Adams or B. leaving OTR- There just isn't much there to say welcome to an up and coming neighborhood. Central Parkway side I don't think is bad and I love coming down Sycamore into OTR. But Reading, well thats crap. The one building that was cal-cars, I had high hopes for something decent (my wife was pushing for a drive through Starbucks) but now I hear it is going to be a check cashing place. We need something dramatic there lining Reading. David, I have one building that the students of either school could do a huge mural on and I don't think anyone would mind, the furniture building on Main. Serta Matresses are great and all but I think we could do better than a 50ft tall one staring at us, especially when they don't sell them at that building anymore. I would love to see more of the statues also that you talk about, the pigs went over great, we need something of our own in OTR. Don, That is truly a great idea, could you go deaper, give us some more info?

In addition to lighting, and I am speaking at least for the hillside, is overgrowth, even sunlight doesn't hit the street because of vacant lots with overgrown trees and honeysuckle. I think that this is an improvement that we can actually do during the lead up to the Great American Cleanup. Cincy Rise, I see communities all over with very nice decorative lighting but we priced out lighting and WOW, anyone on here know how these communities do this? Electric was an issue also, more info would be great if anyone has any. Don, Street Improvements We are in the process of writing a grant to do just this for the Main St. steps, Heric Flores has designed a mosaic to do on the steps, it would be great to get the art students to do the same for Vine.