LincolnKennedy

I think most units in this building have been sold. Expect in the near future a similar project on the SibcyCline realty site at the corner of Edwards and Erie. Breath some new life in the Square? HP Square seems to have plenty of life to me, and with condos in the building ranging from $585,000 to $1.4 million, it's probably just going to be breathing more of the same life into the Square. It looks like every unit is under contract except one for $1.325 million and another at the more moderate price of $825,000. Get yours today!

I'm flying in and out of Hartfield all the time and the boys and girls there have moving people through security down to a science. I actually have to arrive at CVG earlier than I would at Atlanta because of how much time they waste at security in Cincinnati, and Atlanta is one of the three largest airports in the world, if not the largest. I love that place. Sleek, efficient, dead simple layout and it gets me the f*ck out of Georgia.

^We all thought it actually looked best from outside - the bricks really frame it well. Really? I have to say I think it looks better on the inside. Anyway, your friend is really talented and using stained glass to get light into a bathroom while maintaing privacy is a great idea. Thanks for the photos.

Well, since every version of this project involves the use of TIF funds, and is incumbent upone the City/County/State building the parking garage foundations, obviously it will be subsidized. My point is that if we are all so concerned about people who are leaving the City, then perhaps the Banks project could be used in part to appeal to those people. Young couples with new kids, single-parent households (a growing constituency, to use the parlance of our times) and young unmarried professionals looking for a starter house/apartment. The fact is that nothing is going to be built there without state intervention, but that's okay. Remember, nothing gets built without public goods like water, sewage, access roads, electricity, etc. It's usually just a question of how much on the margins that the private developer makes. I think you are kidding yourself if you think that OTR has affordable housing. Affordable rentals, for sure, but it cost an f-load to fix up those old buildings to a habitable state. I consider Hyde, Park, Mt. Lookout, Oakley etc. to be part of the core. Residents and Businesses in those neighborhoods contribute just as much to the City as any in OTR or the West End (most likely more). The thing about OTR is that it is an underutilized resource right in the middle of the two largest employment areas in the City (Downtown & Clifton) that has been systematically disinvested in for the past three & a half decades. That's just consultant and adman talk so it sounds like they are doing something. it's the new cult of management, when people forget that sales is at the heart of any commercial enterprise. It's like, have you ever noticed when you're at a party, people are always talking about marketing? This idea that marketing is a science is ridiculous. When you look at their evidence, it's largely anecdoctal.

Agree absolutely. They could do this for the Banks or to revive the Main Street District in OTR. Frankly I think that we should be more concerned about affordable housing at the Banks and less about using the public funds to create an "entertainment district". That will more likely than not grow naturally from making sure a good mix of income types are living in that area. C'mon dude. If this site was so easy and so bankable to develop, it would have been done years ago. But the Riverfront has lain fallow for nearly three decades. My guess is that any successful Riverfront district has been the result of conspicuous and planned government investment, not from natural turnover resulting from private investment (e.g. Mt. Adams shifting from being a working-class neighborhood to a wealthy neighborhood being in the 1970's). Simply blaming politicians shows a real disinterest in the inherent problems and riskiness of the site and size of investment. And finally, it's better that this take longer and it's done right than done quickly but wrong.

Agreed. That new design looks incredibly stupid. It looks stupid because it assumes we are stupid, that's why there are little pictures of what one can do at Fountain Square just in case a bunch of wealthy illiterates wander down to Fifth and Vine and can't figure out what's going on- Guitar = Cool Music!, Confetti = Fun & Wholesome Party!, Fountain = Fountain! How many euros did they pay the gay German designer to come up with this piece of schlock? How bout some catchphrases for these signs just in case people don't understand what they're supposed to do when they see them: Fountain Square- You're supposed to have fun here. Fountain Square- Don't be scared, a square is like an outdoor mall. Fountain Square- Lamer than the Special Olympics. I apologized for the above cheap shots, but in the words of G.O.B. Bluth, "C'mon!"

That must be the case, because I was either living or hanging out in Over-the-Rhine from Jan. 2001-July 2003, and the worst experience I had was when my passenger side car window was smashed. You obviously have plenty of bums and non-bums who think they can intimidate the average looking chump (yours truly) asking for change all the time. I've found that ignoring them to be pretty effective in dealing with such people during the day, and outright hostility at night worked pretty well, whether it be a result of natural rage or intoxicated indignation. My sister and I bought a property at 1532 Pleasant St., (since sold to 3CDC) and while she and her boyfriend checked out the inside I stood outside, across an empty lot where a young guy was clearing standing with his presorted stashes of various drugs arrayed along a brick wall where the mortar was missing, like shelves of a convenience store. He looked at me, mostly out of curiousity I suppose, and went back to waiting for his runner to come around with the next prescription. A pretty ghetto experience, and nothing happened. Redmond makes a good point though about people need to take a certain amount of responsibility for their own safety. I think jmeck's right on this point. There was a real slowdown in police activity after the riots, and the crime rates show that (sorry I don't have a reference for that). Respect to the police, but the amount of complaining these guys do about City Council and specific politicians is ridiculous, counterproductive, and baffling. Crime isn't nearly as bad in Cincinnati as it is in comparable cities, no matter what The Enquirer says; hiring more police officers would be great if the City could afford it, but even then the Union leadership needs to focus on policing and quit pissing contests with local politicians. The only politics the Cincinnati FOP should be concerned about is why all the black cops still belong to the Sentinels and there isn't one union, regardless of race after all these years. If I were you, I'd be most concerned about which location provided the greatest safety for my scooter. Doesn't Ohio have a concealed-carry law? I'm sure there are plenty of websites that will tell you exactly what the rules are for concealed-carry in most states. Teach yourself a new skill. Sure it's an extreme solution, but it's available and possibly effective, at least on a personal basis.

The Bay Horse was the last place I had a drink before I moved out of Cincinnati. I think it's closed now since they're refurbishing the Ft. Washington Hotel. Damn shame. Is the Bay Horse crew now forced to hang out with those losers at the Phoenix Cafe?

Where's that MKC BBQ? Is it still open or is that just an old sign? I think there are two Tucker's in OTR due to a family dispute. That's just rumor though, I can't confirm it. Did you ever go to Teez Cafe on Liberty, in an old one-story White Castle? That place rocked, particularly if you had been drinking heavily for the previous 4+ hours. Much more convenient than the Ludlow Skyline, and just as effective at neutralizing hangovers.

It is kind of incredible how much resentment and ill will a good portion of suburbanites feel toward the urban core. These people seem to spend a lot of time being angry about a place they never go. Without being too harsh, let's all come to terms with the fact that you can't trust any of the reasons given on these comments or surveys. First off, it is self-selective. The people who fill them out are the people who want to fill them out. Second, the complaint about the quality of city schools is basically bunk, at least for the people who can afford to move to "good districts". West Chester gives one the option of attending either Lakota East or Lakota West (and they probably don't even have that option, since my guess is that one is assigned one by district) for high school. Cincinnati Public offers Walnut Hills High School, SCPA, Clark Montessori, all superior schools, as well as the Withrow Language and International Baccalaureate High School. There are no more neighborhood high schools in Cincinnati anymore, if West High has the program you want, you can go there. So in terms of educational options, no other local school district can hold a candle to CPS. While there are plenty of crappy schools in CPS, the people responding to that article aren't forced to attend them. Also, if these so called "good" school districts superiority was a function of their methods of instruction instead of the income levels of their parents, than you'd see a lot more apartments in Kenwood (Indian Hill School District) or Sycamore Township. People like educational exclusivity and don't value contributing to the education of children other than their own. The next time someone tells you that the public schools waste money, ask them how much money their spending to send their kids to private schools that teach the same geometry they teach at public schools. Exactly. These people have no idea what crime is aside from what they watch on the local news. I remember when I was living in DC in 2000, about four months before the riots broke out. People were complaining about the fact that the past 14 men the Cincinnati Police killed were black (a few of those cases were a bit questionable, but that's another story). People would banter about how racist the city was, while at the exact same time, Prince George's County MD, a suburban county east of DC (and a black-run county at that) had about 25 people killed by police that year alone. And one of them was followed by a PGC sheriff who shot and killed him outside of the county! Anecdotal evidence, while interesting and occasionally amusing, doesn't do a good job about providing understanding. I guess they don't teach that in suburban school districts. They probably encourage you to just "go with your gut".

Thanks KJP. Are you familiar with any Cleveland area politicians who are bullish on rail? It gets lip service in Cincinnati, but I don't think any of the guys down here even know about the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative or the Ohio Hub plan.

^Way to go Butler County and SW Ohio for continuing your right-wing extremism in every political facet immaginable! Yeah that B.S. in Butler County pissed me off too. But when it comes down to it that Butler County sherrif (I've forgotten his name, he has that Wilfred Brimley mustache) just likes seeing himself on TV and his name in the paper. I don't even think he was involved in the arrest of that Chinese restaurant owner in Fairfield. The problem isn't local law enforcement chasing away illegals it's that the state government isn't doing anything about attracting new residents, regardless of where they are from. I firmly believe that the State government should be actively encouraging people from all places, especially from outside the U.S., to settle in Ohio. The feds can enforce their own laws, to paraphrase Andrew Jackson. But without a State government that takes the issue of population loss seriously, and puts real policies and money in place to reverse the trend, nothings going to stem the slow drift to poverty and loss of influence. Especially not one stereotypical fat, bewhiskered county sheriff.

Hey KJP, so what specifically would you recommend Ohio do? What system to use, how to upgrade the track, follow the French, German, Japanese, Chinese model? What do you suggest?

Anyone else think "Columbia Square" was an uninspired choice? How many of those are there in the U.S.? I would have gone with the more prosaic Tusculum, which brings to mind the practical philosophy and wise patriotism of Cicero: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tusculum I would have gone with something with an interior loggia (underrated and underused in the U.S.) with a couple of stories of apartments and one storefront. Basically I would have ripped off the Plaza Real in Barcelona. I tried to post a picture of it I found on the internet but I don't have the web skills to pull it off, so here's the link: http://www.donquijote.org/album/rate.asp?id=744 I don't know who that person is or who took that picture.

Thanks Cramer. I'm of a like mind. The powers that be really need to take a good hard look into what sort of investments are going to have the greatest return, not just raising money through firesales of assets, a la Heimlich at the County. Profitable investments would actually be running government like a business. I can't think of anything that might send a greater postitive financial ripple throught the area than well-planned local transit. Capturing personal transit expenditure and keeping more money in the pockets of locals; adding value to decayed properties which encourages the rehabbing of those properties, and greater tax base. Magnificent.

>Apparently they have owned it since the line was built in the 1800's and it has been leased for operation by a series of railroads.... currently the NS. Anyone know how much in rents the City nets from the Southern railroad every year, and where that money goes, e.g. general operating fund? ^What's interesting too about Nashville redevelopment is that there is seemingly no controversy unlike the constant battling in Cincinnati. Being the state capital has got to help. It seems to. Indianapolis, Columbus, etc. all pretty lame relative to Cincinnati seem to get more development projects done. There's also the semblance of stability in those places, which I assume is because the job base of state employees tend to keep those cities more stable. I find it hard to believe that Cincinnati isn't the biggest money-maker for the State of Ohio, strictly in terms of private sector jobs. This is all conjecture, I have no factual basis for any of those statements.

^Cleveland played some serious hardball and Cincy got screwed. I wonder if the Cleveland mob got involved. I completely disagree. Saved by our own apathy, once again. I'm not being sarcastic. Let's hope this issue fades away and doesn't come up again. By the way, if they get slots at River Downs, some one out to try and keep some statistics on who's using them. That would be a responsible act from the proponents of gambling in downtown Cincinnati.

^Of course the libertarian argument is that this should be freedom of choice. People can choose to gamble or not, and if the choice is a bad one for them, it is a character flaw, and not the concern of the state. Or something like that. Except that people currently have many gambling options, so it's not about freedom of choice. ^Gary probably had the best approach to casinos. They turned a disused industrial harbor into a casino district (which is somewhat removed from the main part of the city). The fact that you used Gary, Indiana as an example should clue you in that your argument isn't going to be universally valid. Anyone who thinks that Cincinnati is in as bad an economic posiition as Gary is being exceptionally and unduly pessimistic. Gary is a one industry town (grew up around the U.S. Steel Works, the town was named for the CEO at the time- Gary is so wholly identified with U.S. Steel that it isn't even the county seat of Lake County despite being the second biggest city in Indiana) who's industry left them years ago, a town that has the misfortune of being the decaying rust belt city par excellence, part of the Chicagoland metropolitan area yet at the same time being outside the State of Illinois. It's a unique combination of painful twists of economic and geographic fate. By the way, is Gary keeping any statistics on who visits the casinos? Are they from Gary, or at least from out of state? Tarbell has some undeniable charm, but he also has some undeniable affinity for a project, any project, at Broadway Commons. Tarbell has an idea, based on little more than love and faith, that a project there will become a major destination. That's not going to happen. The experiences of other cities, as well as general economic impact studies, show that gambling is refuge of the desperate and deluded. Just because my mother thinks I'm great doesn't mean most other people will, and likewise, just because Tarbell thinks a Broadway Commons casino will be a great destination doesn't mean the potential patrons will.

I think high-speed rail could really jump start the entire Midwestern economy. The more I think about it, the more I become a geographic determinist. A major reason why the Midwest is hurting so bad in this age of air-conditioning without state-sponsored segregation is because we exist in the colder reaches of a temperate zone without real access to the ocean or mountains. This is the only way I can explain why people move from the Midwest to Texas, New Mexico or Arizona. Anyway we need to take our liabilities (incredibly flat landscape) and utilize them as best we can. I think a high speed rail system that connects the primary cities in the region (Chicago, Cincinnati, Columbus Cleveland, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Detroit, Twin Cities, St. Louis, etc.) and the Big Ten + campuses (Ann Arbor, South Bend, Lafayette, Champaign, Lansing, Bloomington, Columbia Mo, etc.) would be the best investment the region could make for itself. Man evening the hand geography dealt him.

I don't think it is as simple as keeping that money in Ohio. I'm not currently in Cincinnati, so when I am there I might go out of my way to grad a Chip Wheelie from Graeter's, amounting to perhaps ten Chip Wheelies per year. But if I was still living back home, I might feel like treating myself to one per week, which would end up being 52 Chip Wheeles per annum. My sense of limit and reward might be the same in both cases, but proximity leads to (what one might describe as) excess in one instance. I think you are glossing over just how many jobs will be created, just how much tax revenue will increase, and just how much positive change will occur. Name one major city that is not a "gambling destination city" (e.g. Atlantic City, Vegas) that has based their economic rebound on gambling receipts. And after you've done that, find out how much they've rebounded. The reason I'm against this is because I can't think of one. Personal choice is not really what this is all about. There are restrictions on all those activities you just described including age limits, speed limits, insurance requirements, waiting periods, registration requirements etc. Also, there are gambling venues aplenty in Ohio- race tracks, the state lottery, online poker, and so forth. And no one has brought up the idea of sin until you just did. The issue isn't about rights, it's a practical one: will casinos in downtown Cleveland and Cincinnati benefit those cities and the State of Ohio in terms of economic development and funding for education? Additonally, who will be making out more, the casino operators or the State? It's quite clear that the casino operators will be making out more than the State. I'd rather pay a toll to drive on every highway in Ohio to raise money for education than have gambling pay for it. At least in that instance the state is the sole owner and sole beneficiary. Gambling is an attempt by the state to elide its responsibilities, like massive borrowing to pay for current expenditure. It is a way to put the burden of a public good (education) primarily on the backs of those least able to afford it. Moral or immoral, it is simply bad policy.

I was under the impression that pre-71 and parking lots there was a small park in the area called Broadway Commons, and that's where Tarbell got the name from. But I could be wrong. Maybe I should ask Dan Hurley at the Museum Center. Anyway, jmeck & david are making perfectly good arguments against allowing gambling. All I have to add is that of all the ways to gamble, slots are the most insipid and are the biggest money-makers for the house. Aside from the fact that a casino WILL NOT improve the City/County financial position, those two fact should be reason enough to keep casinos out. I honestly can't believe this is being taken seriously. This is about as low as the City has sunk, and I'm a proud native and huge fan of the place. Ugh. It really sickens me that gambling is considered a legitimate measure. It won't work, it's incredibly tacky, and once again, since it obviously won't work, why the hell are people doing this? I'm pretty sure there was an attempt nearly ten years ago to allow riverboat gambling in Hamilton County that failed miserably, and rightly so. How to defeat this? Maybe the archbishop could come out against it, both for purely noble reasons and the fact that it seems bound to cut into church festival receipts.

I'm a bit late to the discussion but I really enjoy that people are kicking around the idea of a Casino to pay for stuff, or extolling the nightlife it will provide, for two reasons: 1) It is such a stupid idea. 2) Local politicians are taking it seriously. Now I like a lot of our local politicians, even those who are taking it seriously. I'm mostly amused that advocating such a position ten years ago would have been as political viable as advocating legalized prostitution. Let's face it- there is nothing socially redeeming about convincing people to give their money to a major corporation for a few hours pleasure. And the idea that we as a City are reduced to such a level in order to raise revenue shows both that people are okay with the idea of taking money from the poor and ignorant, and that we are pathetic to have sunk to such a level. By the way, the City of Cincinnati isn't, nor has it ever been, in competition with Lawrenceburg or Rising Sun Indiana. Ask yourself this question: Who is going to come to Cincinnati for the casinos? Here's why casinos are so stupid- the economic multiplier that may occur from gambling revenues in Las Vegas, Monaco or Macau won't occur here because those places are destinations based on a long-term association with gambling, and we are not. We aren't going to turn into Vegas (and would we want to?) and so it's not going to work, and it of course, cheapens us. But if we no one really cares that it cheapens our City to contemplate such an action, let's get serious and consider trying an industry that would put us in a comparatively advantageous situation vis-a-vis others. Let's consider legalized prostitution (in brothels, no streetwalking). Think about it: there's not a convenient place in the United States that currently offers such an environment, so we have little competition there. Plus, the revenues should be easily collectable with the right laws. We have a convenient model to follow (Amsterdam) and by making it a government monopoly we could capture all the revenues created for maintenance of the business first with the rest for the public (and the girls of course. Better they get paid well than Steve Wynn). Plus what Russian broad wouldn't jump at the chance to come to the U.S., put her time in, make some cash and finish an American citizen rather than give hand jobs all day long to Pakistanis in Dubayy? We'd get the choicest picks!

This argument about Charles P. Taft is a little beside the point, since Government Square has been named after him for years. I'm not in town so I don't know if they are still there or not, but those little square (green?) street signs that exist exclusively downtown have "Charles P. Taft Government Square" printed on them. Look for them. Charlie Taft was a good and honorable public servant back when you could still find a couple in the Republican Party (George Voinovich is probably the only left). When he ran for office in city elections, he ran as a Charterite, in state elections, as a Republican. Anyone who wants to learn more about Charlie Taft can go to the smallest National Park in the United States, right up in Mt. Auburn on Auburn Avenue, the Wm. Howard Taft Birthplace. Charles P. Taft II should not be confused with his uncle, Charles Phelps Taft, older half-brother of Wm. H. and last resident of the Taft Museum. Charles P. Taft was an avid fisherman, to the extent that his tombstone reads, "Gone Fishin'". Those are just a few fun Charlie Taft facts. I guess kendall thinks that "Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport" is appropriately named because he fired striking airline workers. Or maybe Boeing contributed to his campaigns. I was in college in DC when they tacked Reagan's name onto the front, and I thought it was hilarious that some Republican congressman said, "Finally this airport is named for a president." Uhh, what about George Washington? Cramer, your vitriol against this complaint is much appreciated by me, of course (and I'm not being sarcastic). However I think your example of Brent Spence is unfair and unfounded. Brent Spence was a long term Kentucky Congressman, so I really have no problem with him being honored in the way he was. Plus "Brent Spence Bridge" sounds awesome, and anyone who thinks otherwise probably enjoys going to Coldplay concerts.

Or for more sedentary types, just look up I-74 on Wikipedia, and you'll see the same proposal there. Here it is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I-74#Proposesd_I-74_Midwest_extension

Groan. It's terrible punsters like you who give bloggers such a bad name, as far as I'm aware. By the way, we're still going antiqueing on Sunday, right? Certainly Cramer's right that the reason the Eastern Corridor has had progress is because the conditions are most favorable. This project has been in the planning and prep stages for quite some time as well. If it bothers you that it happens to be located on the east side of town, think of it as their due after River Road improvements and Cross-County Highway (which unfortunately was built relatively recently and yet with no thought of rail in mind). I like both the Wasson Route and the Oasis Route. I'm a bit skeptical of the Norfolk Southern Route, because it's proximity to Mariemont is very deceptive (it's at the bottom of a very steep hill, making it essentially unusable for people in that town). I'm also curious as to why the rail portion doesn't seem to proceed with the Rte. 32 alignment all the way to Eastgate. That seems like a great place for Park 'N Ride.