Brutus_buckeye

there are many houses on slabs that are not trailers.

^ I am sure cost has something to do with it. When you can pre-fab the house in a factory and assemble it on site, it can make building much more affordable.

concerts no longer are the draw they used to be. Plus, it is not that Cleveland is competing with Columbus and Cincinnati and Pittsburgh for concerts, but they are also competing with Cleveland for the large acts too. Artists like U2 have a choice on where they want to play in Cleveland. Is it more profitable to play 3 shows in Quicken Loan arena, or they could also play a show at Progressive too when the Indians are out of town. I know Paul McCartney played a show a few years back at Great American in August when the Reds were out of town. So First Energy is not the only game in town either anymore.

The one thing about the various black churches is that their congregations will travel for the right pastor, so it does not matter the location as much.

I enjoy your perspective

are you an architect?

The question is how you economically do that. Land prices in the inner ring are still fairly high compared to an undeveloped tract of farmland in Mt. Orab or Harrison. Add to that demolition and any environmental remediation, and the costs can go up significantly. Tax abatements help, but not always the answer.

^ I thought the same thing myself but we were with a group, and they wanted to take it so I reluctantly agreed.

I lived in Cleveland for a while, used to ride the Rapid when going downtown, but it was not the most convenient. It did not connect some of the key job centers there in Strongsville, Independence areas, and did not extend far enough to really make an impact on some of the emerging suburbs like Richfield. Being so close to Akron probably did not help either. What it did do well was connect areas of town not easily served by the highway. Shaker and University Circle areas were not convenient to the highway, neither was some of the near West Side areas. The brilliant thing, although probably minimal was that it was able to encourage those who would otherwise have to drive, to have another option. This is what light rail should do in Cincy. Have an E/W line to go from Delhi to the uptown. have a N/S going from Mason to Blue Ash to Downtown through Clifton and Norwood. Continue the E/W line to Newtown and Eastgate or Milford. All these areas are underserved by highway. Don't compete with the highway, complement it.

What are some flaws with the current project you do see Jake? I have a few ideas...some are free and some that are multi-million, but I don't see anything improving until Cranley is out of there. It's imperative that anyone with time this fall get out there and canvass or volunteer in some other way for Richardson or Simpson. Don't vote for Richardson, he is a complete clown. Simpson is genuine. Richardson is just pandering.

^ There is certainly a faction of dead set against it and will never change their mind. That is true. However, listening through the muck, there are legitimate concerns that can be separated from the absurd concerns that by addressing the legitimate concerns it makes proponents arguments stronger when it comes to pushing for expansion, changes, etc. I heard Amy Murray today, and while she is not a streetcar supporter, she takes a very pragmatic view of things and did address some concerns that were legitimate, and as a stakeholder, she was actively trying to address. She did not go on saying that this project is a big boondoggle that should never happen and no one should ride it for that reason, which the trolls do, but rather how to improve the system. WHen people express their concerns constructively like this, they merit discussion. As for me, while a fan of the streetcar, I would have much rather seen a larger more comprehensive rail service akin to Metro Moves, but alas that was defeated. While I hope to get there someday, the success of the streetcar is imperative to that, which is why it is important to understand and address the areas where it is coming up short. My biggest complaint about it, is that it offers very little convenience. Either traffic gets in the way or it is behind schedule from Red/lights etc. this defeats the point of the system. I have ridden the car about 3 times so far. The last time was from ftn square to the banks with a group. I would have preferred to walk and it would have been shorter because of the wait and delay in the streetcar. The majority of areas where I would go in the city would be more convenient to walk than ride the streetcar. This is a legitimate concern I think. If there was an effective way to improve service times, then it may make some judgment calls about riding more favorable. This is just one concern I would say is legitimate.

While they tend to skew against the streetcar, obviously they have concerns, some are unfounded others are legitimate. As a supporter of the streetcar, how would you address their legitimate concerns about the project. What are some flaws with the current project you do see Jake?

Muni Courts are still state chartered courts. State judges are elected or if a vacancy the appointment goes to the governor, because they are a state employee, not city employee. The reason for Muni court is to more efficiently handle smaller cases and smaller matters in order to keep the Common Pleas courts available for bigger matters. However, it is part of the same court system in Ohio and subject to the same rules for the most part. What you are probably thinking of are Mayors Courts, which are not real courts in the sense of a court hearing and conducted more often by an administrative judge, often the city attorney. These courts do not operate in the same capacity of a traditional court.

^ outside of NYC, San Fran and DC, do you know of other areas where micro units may be working? I would be interested to see if they are being built in more peer markets like Minneapolis, Charlotte, Columbus, Nashville, etc.

^ Whether it is in place or not, is the Cincy market ready to support a micro unit? To build a 230 sq ft micro unit new, the rents would still have to be somewhere in the $500-700 range (new construction). I imagine a larger studio or one bed in a place like Plum St Lofts or another building like that would not rent for much more than the brand new micro unit.

Why not just add onto the existing store and renovate it into a marketplace store. I cant imagine it costing more. It may not save much, but it seems more efficient to use your existing footprint.

Cincinnati and Dayton are tied together tighter than Columbus and Dayton are. There are greater synergies in economic and association between Cincy and Dayton. When I lived in Dayton, it was a huge Ohio State town but it felt removed from Columbus. You felt a strong pull to Cincy with Reds/Bengals and even UC and other synergies. UD being the institution it is, has a pull toward cincy with Xavier being a big rival. People follow the Crew in SW Ohio, but I think a Cincy tam would pull more from Dayton than the Crew does.

I thought it was a bit weird to have condos on that corner without a garage for parking. If I were buying a condo, I would expect to have parking. Not so much for an apartment. Plus apartment dwellers in cities are younger and can deal without a car much better. If I am going to pay close to $500k for 800 sq ft. I would expect a parking spot.

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2017/03/13/next-up-riverfront-decks-over--71/99131430/

^ Interesting that nothing is said about winter. Figure winter flights to Denver for ski season would be popular.

It has been so long since Metro moves some of the details became hazy. I always thought they wanted a line that ran along 71 to Kings Island. The Norwood to Blue Ash line made much more sense. They need to run the lines where there is not a highway there. Why? Doing so is SOP in many areas due to the R/W already existing and having extra space. Just because there are cars around doesn't mean there's no need for rail transit. But there are other RR ROW's in the central corridor that can be used too. The reason why you dont go down the highway is that it can spread out employment and population clusters. If rail and highway go down 71, everyone will choose to live or build offices along that route. If you have a rail alternative, people will be more apt to locate along those lines too, putting less stress on the infastructure in those areas.

don't forget about all the good things that Step Ladder Properties is doing in the area.

It has been so long since Metro moves some of the details became hazy. I always thought they wanted a line that ran along 71 to Kings Island. The Norwood to Blue Ash line made much more sense. They need to run the lines where there is not a highway there.

Unless the Streetcar ridership improves and therefore improving public perception, it is going to be a hard sell. I liked most of Metro Moves however, would not have run the line along 71 as it is duplicative. I would go more central up the Montgomery Road corridor or even a little west of there.

Does the rendering change at all or are they just reconfiguring the inside to fit the rendering?