nati streets

Think the block long face on 7th would be perfect for a mid-rise tower or two, as long as there was a with a monolithic glass, or perforated/woven metal scrim base on the North facade (first 6 floors). The space between Wise Temple and Second Presbyterian Church would be perfect as a plaza for entry to the tower but also for use by the Temple and Church. Add a few benches, a fountain or sculpture, and it could be named Inter-faith plaza. Might sound hokey but it could work.

^Thanks Cygnus. IMO something 17-25 stories (250-350 feet) tall would really do well anchoring western part of The Banks/blending it into the CBD.

WTF? That is one of the dumbest ideas I've ever heard. Expensive and a bit impractical for this application but not unheard of. http://www.wired.com/2014/02/supersonic-jet-video-windows/

Good eye jmicha. With regard to infill - the project you reference Samsung's Store & Offices at 837 Washington - is how I believe good infill should work. I would apply the same principles to OTR or the West End. I know The Banks renders & vision changed to a decidedly modern feel from the original faux industrial Baltimore Inner Harbor knockoffs we saw at the beginning, and that is a good thing. But I do not feel they have been achieving that vision, as they have pandered to some imaginary contingent that they think will be satisfied because there are multiple colors of brick. I included the Boston Seaport because that type of Class A building is what you want on your city's front door. It is taller then what has been shown for The Banks but I think this is necessary to blend the area into the 2nd street wall of buildings. I vaguely remember the Bengals having some sort of height veto on the neighboring buildings to PBS does that ring a bell for anyone else?

I really wished for a bit more scale or style that felt modernly industrial like the two stadia around it. But there is still time with a few more sites and buildings to go up in the area.

Something of scale needed to be added and thus it makes a big impact. It helps that the facade is glass and so has a "new" feel. But it is very general (pun intended), extremely suburban feeling, and not very pretty. More scale would have been great, and if you cant get that through floors then with a glass or metal building skin that covers the roof mechanical. My hope for quality at this location was not pie in the sky but just on par with quality urban office space, double height lobby, roof terrace, amenities floor, integrated streetscape... Decent example with exact same scale: 1200 17th Street Washington DC 12 stories ZGF Architects - practical US firm, with quality but not fancy work. Akridge Development

I do not think a venue at the Banks is a good idea and happen to agree that the neighborhood is set up for more density not more entertainment. OT but on the venue front... A lot of bands enjoy unique venues especially if you can get a reputation going with them, the Banks would now offer a unique experience. If the city can focus on the unique venues it has Music Hall, Emery Theater etc -- see list above... and a new more industrial large Brewery District/West End/Queensgate venue, we would be in great shape. We just need concert planners to look at MRA not MSA...

Would like the building to address the corner a little better - there is not a specific point on the Medical Campus that ever invites the pedestrian in. I always found that odd as students are pedestrians 90% of the time. Still if the east skin is a nice double-skin like it looks, perhaps this will be a good looking building with operable windows.

From a quick count from google images, just the southeast side looks obstructed. So about 20 rooms with obstructed views. Would be great for an suspended sculpture/art commission to enliven the vertical volume of the alley and provide privacy/screening. Or... just reprogram 20 of the rooms to provide lounges or upgraded amenities at that part of the floor...

Good news definitely, but the company- Parkes -does not have a history working with urban sites. Maybe they see this as an opportunity to get in the game... Hopefully they do the building well - a lot of potential on Court Street.

I was disappointed at first that it might be a retailer like H&M, Zara, etc... which could provide a decent base to encourage other retail. Glad to see the title should have actually read "Chain Food & Beverage" not "mega-retailer."

I do not see this site as fit for an office tower... would really love to see office tower investment up along Central Parkway (and the city/port to push for that but it does not seem to be on anyone's radar).

I am afraid that they are going to have the building "face" I-75 to maximize their exposure to passing motorists. It would be much better for the neighborhood if the building had a proper front on the Court St side. The current Hostess factory is a windowless wall facing Court St, so I won't shed a tear seeing that thing torn down. But I really hope Messer manages their site plan in a way that is sensitive to the Court St side. I did not see the ROW removal on Cutter Street - hopefully it is just to repave for a parking lot and Cutter south of Richmond disappears to become some sort of gated parking only. Sad that this is the hopefully scenario, better than the building at this location though.

^And this is where it comes back to Streetcars because inherently areas with greater transit service should be allowed to have less parking requirements. So better buildings could be made based on sort of transit influenced form based code. ^^Good news on funding. Now lets start planning Phase 2 & 3 so there is an actual network in place.

This area is right next to the CBD, if it is not going to be treated like a continuation of the CBD then it should be treated like one of the inner neighborhoods. A suburban style development misses the mark completely, and is not a step in the right direction. Glad Messer wants to move into the West End, just wish there were rules in placed for responsible inner neighborhood development, and long term vision.

I could not agree more, this granularization waters down the historical significance of its neighbors. It's fake facades lifted off the street do not help make the building attractive, nor do they help its inner program. The HCB has to change its rules so that buildings are not made to fit in but made to compliment and accentuate their historic neighbors. This would open up the quality of design and design solutions and lead to a much better result per building and neighborhood. (imagine that if that were the goal we would end up with stuff like this at 8th & Main instead of the weird "modern" panelization presented last month. )

^This. Yeah I realize its a stock design but... I think they could enlarge the balconies facing the river. Should only require 3 additional drawings maybe... (elevation, enlarged plan, corresponding structural plan with extended beam) Pretty easy to do, much better views than their location in Nashville so I would think this would only improve marketability. Who knows what sort of small additions they may be making to the base project design if the estimated cost is roughly 25M more than its Nashville counterpart.

I don't necessarily see a problem with that. With a little development across Pete Rose Way the highway starts to become shielded from the street level a bit and this could turn into a decent residential area. Bike in the park and eat downtown one day; catch a Reds game, walk the PPB, and grab lunch in Newport the next... not too bad. Very connected but very quiet. $$ As for more southern developers, that maybe a good or bad thing. Perhaps its mainly the contractors I have run into on jobs in the south but the quality does not seem as good, and part of that starts from the developer's expectations.

Yes, though late Chicago school. The influence of Itallian architecture is very evident and more in the style of Daniel Burnham - after the death of his partner JW Root. Burnham furthered ideas of European flair in the 1893 Columbian Exhibition in Chicago and while this building was finished in 1905 (12 years after the Exhibition) it is almost too heavily Itallainate for the early interpretation of Chicago School architecture, which often does not have as heavy horizontals as is present at the lintel or between the 8th and 9th floors. But thats taking it a bit far ;)

You kinda had me until the second paragraph. If the nature of the investment is to be part of the urban fabric of the neighborhoods as a hobby (or you know to live within walking distance of bars, and restaurants)... Then within that argument the limit is the existing urban fabric, it is what people want to see and it is what people want to pack into. Thus a few 10-14 story buildings very much have a place in OTR, as the physical limit -which may be a ocean elsewhere- is the neighborhood boundary of OTR here, and people are and will be willing to densify within those limits. This densification is made even more lucrative and marketable by its height. The views from the roofs over and within OTR are outstanding, and I believe there will be an even larger market for this going forward when people get to the 10th floor and can see the historic fabric around them running west to Music Hall and Union Terminal beyond. I have always believed that the new should not look like the old, and in fact actually highlight and draw more attention to the value and quality of their historic neighbors by their contrast. I had actually not thought of this with specific respect to height but this too is a solid case for diversity of height (within reason) in OTR - as it sets the new apart so the old can be appreciated.

Things appear to coming along quite well down at Smale but I have not heard anything about the dock they were hoping to get approved & a grant for... anyone have an update on that? I think it is vital for the water to actually be used for transportation and recreation, making the river in effect part of the park. I was looking forward to a possible kayak rental place as well as the idea of having a functional modern waterway entrance straight to the city grid.

I am having a hard time understanding where you are talking about could you be more descriptive. Donahue and University do not approach Burnett in my recollection. Tangentially though I have always wanted the park edge on Bishop to be more clearly defined. A low retaining wall, a gracious sidewalk, and pedestrian scale lighting, could be made possible by the eventual removal of most houses along the west side of the street. Such selective demo could do wonders for the perceived quality of the park, by providing a maintainable park barrier (a frame if you will) and creating an inviting pedestrian connection from the University to Ludlow/Jefferson. A slow project by the parks service and UC partnership maybe 10-15 yrs out... one could dream right?

Wow leave it to them to take it all the way to the other extreme just for clicks... They do know that the image they have of the Burj Kahlifa (163 stories) is actually the Burj Al Arab a sixty story resort hotel... I mean they have to know that right? (if not someone tell them http://www.emporis.com/building/burjalarab-dubai-unitedarabemirates) In short I was thoroughly disappointed, as most were, by the mere acceptance of what I assumed was done as a developer placeholder image by an employee who threw a sketchup model into a decent render software. Maybe what we were hoping for was a bit more like the Angelos Law Center, or KfW in Berlin, or the Arbil planned for Baghdad. Anything that would look responsive.

Is this a joke? Seriously... Bern's talking about himself in third person, and Cranley pretending the City has money to splash all over the place. 100million (Streetcar) sounds like a big number but its not, filing potholes is damn expensive and if that is what this election is coming down to I fear for the future of Cincinnati.

I like the BSB visualization the most, and really wish we could see another angle of the building. But I just decided to superimposed the released "dusk" render into the GoogleEarth shot... not too bad... I did take the height down a bit; from the dusk render it looks a little bit shorter, than 375ft.