PRidgeFlyer

I think they are probably a little bit higher prices than at a regular grocery store, but you won't be going there for everything you would get a Kroger and they didn't seem to be too far out of line with other stores.

Gold - It is on Madison, across the street from the Oakley Library in a "plaza" with a CVS. This used to the where the IGA was, then more recently Jones the Florist was located there. It opened on the 12th and I've been there twice already. This place is great! I want to eat everything in the store.

Maybe "Goats on a Trampoline" can be there sequel to Erin Brockovich were Julia Roberts takes on the Miami Twp Zoning Board and brings them and their corrupt ways to their knees. Of couse Samuel L Jackson will make a cameo at the town council meeting where he is able to say something along the lines of,"we got motha-effing snakes on the zoning commission, what the eff is wrong with letting a little boy having his motha-effing goat on a trampoline". Or not :|

I think at this point, the money spent on sidewalks and branding is to more about making the area more attracive for the potential retail, restaurant, and office tennants they want to lure to the area rather than drawing pedestrians into to what is already there.

I also like that the guy drives to the tri-county Sam's Club because it's supposedly cheaper than the one down the road in Oakley. Ridge-Highland plans make public debut County regional planning commission will hear comments July 6 BY LIZ CAREY | COMMUNITY PRESS STAFF WRITER COLUMBIA TWP. -- The long process to approving zoning changes on Ridge and Highland is headed to the county. On July 6, the Hamilton County Regional Planning Commission will conduct a public hearing on the Columbia Township Special Public Interest Strategies Plan for Ridge Road and Highland Avenue at its offices, 138 Court St., in Cincinnati... http://news.communitypress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060705/NEWS01/607050439/1002/RSS01

The only thing you need to "check" is your reading comprehension. All I said is that the physical structure of Michigan Terrace fits the character of the square well and I like that this project provides the first opportunity to add new street level development (retail/restaurant) to HPS. How you are able to read melodramatic angst into my post is beyond me. Generally people do not puncutate melodramatic angst with a smiley face icon. Am I guilty of using and overworked cliche when I said "beathe new life"? Sure. What I didn't say, that you seem to infer is that I am celebrating is the creation of new overpriced housing in Hyde Park. That is actually the least interesting aspect of this project to me. There is already an over abundance of that, but I have no problem with it either. Lastly, by saying that HPS is boring for my demographic does not mean that I dislike the square nor did I say I said HPS is dead. I do in fact like several of the restaurants that are there - which is why I was eating there last weekend - however before of after I eat, there is little for people like me to do other than go to Graters. What I am saying is that the current tenant mix is stale for me and that the new street level development offers the Square and opportunity to add something new to the mix that may make the square more dynamic.

Are you suggesting that it's reached the saturation point? I lived in Hyde Park from 99 - 04 and for the exception of Le Cezzane and the toy store closing & the black hole for restaurants that is Red On the Square (formerly Vince & Jakes, Cafe St. George, Pane E Vino, etc) everything has pretty much remained the same. Unless I am mistaken, that project will have street level retail/restuarant space so as far as I am concerned, anything that is created as a result in is "new life". Even if it does not include retail or restaurant space, the new structure will certainly have more impact on the square than the former Sunoco station did. For the record, I think for people my age Hyde Park Square is fairly boring and Oakley Square and its business district has more to offer (i.e. a music venue, boutique shops, and bars). So excuse me for my throw away line, but anything else at street level in Hyde Park Square is new to me so please spare me your "snarky tone".

I ate lunch on HPS last weekend and it took away my earlier concerns that it was going to look out of place in the square because it's such a large building. Setting the upper floors back keeps it from looking overly imposing due to height. Really a great looking building that I think will breathe some new life in the square. Well done :-)

I was there recently to see a friend's band (not punk) and it was still a pretty rock n roll crowd. We went straight there from dinner at Bella and we were definately overdressed, but I can fit in anywhere they are serving IC Light on tap 8-)

Well put. I hate the Drexel

I would love to see JetBlue come in.

I would recommend the following: Northside: Take in a game at PNC (best new ballpark in America) & a trip to the Warhol Museum. The Strip: Take some time just to wander around down there, it's a really cool area that is still a working warehouse district with a lot of resturants, shops, and bars. Definately hit the original Primanti's on 18th. I also like Kaya a Carribean restaurant on Smallman a lot (http://www.bigburrito.com/kaya/). Roland's Seafood Grille is a cool place to go for some drinks that's not your standard bar. If you're into music, Eide's Entertainment on Penn Ave is an great independent record store. I probably spent most of my money there when I was in high school. No visit to the Strip is complete without hitting the Semi Suite Boutique on 21st (http://www.semisuite.com). Sorry - it's my friend's store so I had to give it a plug. Two other places of note literally just up the road from the Strip are The Church Brewworks in Lawrenceville (I like to think that the beer tastes "sacrelicious" because it is brewed where the alter used to be) and Tessaro's in Bloomfield. If you like burgers, do yourself a favor and make the trip to Tessaro's. It has the best burger in Pittsburgh - or anywhere for that matter, but it is more than just a burger joint. It is a Pittsburgh original and I try to make it everytime I'm in the city. If you go, try to go early because they don't take reservations and the place gets packed at peak hours (http://www.post-gazette.com/food/20000401tessaro2.asp). Southside: Station Square (http://www.stationsquare.com/) is a good place to start out. Here you can catch the Incline, the T into downtown, or if it's nice out, you can take a Gateway Clipper cruise. In additon, there is a lot of shopping and entertainment in Station Square itself. I probably listed more restaurants than attractions, but Pittsburgh has some damn good food and I miss it living in Cincy (I'm also already hungry for lunch). Make sure you don't leave without getting some Perogi's made by the real deal Ukranian ladies...Mrs. T's they are not!

My personal experience with the Main St entertainment district has pretty much been what Nick was relating. I never loved the cheesy chain dance bars that were the main drawn when I first moved here in 99, but that's where the girls were so that's were my friends and I went. The streets used to be packed and there was a line to get in everywhere. Even though I didn't love the bars, Main St itself was a good time because it was a happening place. It was a draw that got a lot of people from the outer suburbs down to OTR two nights a weekend. Almost none of the people I would meet when I was out lived in the city, they came there for the bar scene. After the riot, the police were afraid to police, and things definitely went downhill. Perception is reality and when girls started to not feel safe going there, guys don't go either. But there is more to it than just the perception. I'm not a girl from the suburbs and I don't let the negative stories the local media seems to love scare me away either; however, between my experiences and those of my friends, I don't bother with it any more. I still go out downtown, but not on Main St. In the last few years when I've gone to bars on and around Main, I'm usually followed from wherever I park by panhandlers and they can be pretty aggressive. I have had 4 friends get their cars broken into (one of them twice) and one guy I know who lived down there got jumped and robbed going home one night. I understand that it is an inner-city area and to some degree those things will happen, but when most of your clientele is coming there from suburbs and they have other nightlife destination options like Mt. Adams, Mainstrasse, etc. where you don't get panhandled, your car is generally safe, and you don't have to walk past thugs hanging out in front of a liquor store to go from one bar to the next, then people start choosing the other options. My fiancé and her friends used to always want to go down to Main to hit the dance clubs and now none of them even mention Main St. because they do not feel safe walking around down there. It used to be that if a bachlorette party happening in Cincy they were automatically heading to Main St, but now you now see bachelorette parties everywhere from Mt. Adams to Mt. Lookout because girls are scared away. I think the attitude most people from the greater Cincinnati area have about going downtown at all - as evidenced by the recent Enquirer survey - demonstrate the challenge that exists to draw suburban people into OTR at all, let alone late at night. Sure there are more condos opening and more people moving and living downtown today than there were in say 2002, but most of those condo's start in the 300's. I can not imagine that many of those are being sold to 21-25 year olds who make up the core of the bar demographic. For Main St to become a viable entertainment destination again it has to be able to pull people in from the outer suburbs, where a study mentioned earlier in this thread show the population is moving, and that won’t happen until the city decides to clean up the area. Could there be better marketing for the nightlife district as a whole? Maybe, but would that really matter to the 21 year old girl who had some crackhead following her down the street, pulling on her arm demanding money the last time she was there or to my friend whose car was broken into twice when they are deciding between Main St or Mt Adams on a Saturday? I have a great deal of respect for Michael’s opinion on this board, but I have to disagree when he says these things do not play the major factor in the decline of nightlife on Main. I know that's why I don't go anymore.

When I was at UD we went to Tanks all the time. They have a huge import/microbrew selection and the best chili in Dayton (or anywhere for that matter). I've probably only been in there once in the last 3 years, but the clientle when I used to go wasn't any more redneck than any of the other "local" bars we went to in the city.

I'm curious about that quote myself. I know the goal is to improve the overall look and pedestian friendliness of the area, but I almost wonder if they meant you would be able to get from one to the other without having to drive on Ridge or Highland via new access roads. Sidewalks don't make Value City and Home Depot any closer together. Here is the link to the Ridge & Highland Business District Corridor Study that was done in 2004. It is interesting to see some of it start to get implemented: http://www.columbiatownship.org/ridgenhigland.pdf

Not sure exactly what is going in, but there are signs on the old Kmart indication that a new "Retail Development" is coming and retail space is available; Neyer & Vandercar are the developers. That seems to indicate that they will be building a shopping plaza of some sort on the site. There are also a number of florescent orange spray-painted signs indicating that there is a "Big Sale" taking place at the old KMart - although they do not say what is being sold. A while ago I read the minutes of the Col Twp community council meeting and it said there was some interest in the former Frank's Nursery site on Highland as potentially becoming office space.

Those are interesting pics! Prepare to be visited by Homeland Secuity :-D

Alright...I'll stir the pot since it's late friday and I can't do any more work: The gulf states are very hot by our standards, but your temps are a little off: Dec - Mar the average high temp of the UAE is 80 or under and the rest of the year Apr - Nov the average highs run 86 -103. Definately hot, but not extreme compared with South/SE Asia or the Gulf States. http://www.weather.com/outlook/travel/businesstraveler/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/AEXX0004?from=search No doubt you are right, but this is hardly something that is isolated to the Arab world. How as Americans can we point fingers at the mistreatment of foreign labor in other countries while we very little to control it here? Mexicans and South/Central Americans in this country are probably treated marginally better, but they are doing the work that US citizens will not do for significantly less money and in poor conditions. While it does not justify the mistreatment of foriegn workers anywhere, the extreme poverty and high unemployment rates in these people's home countries are the reason that they migrate to take this work. I've seen construction sites in India that make me believe Indians working on sites in Dubai can not possibly be any worse off. Kind of like Vegas or Disneyworld and they seem to do ok. The bottom line in all of this is investment and tourism. Tourists don't care how the arab monarchies earned their petrodollar or who did the built the buildings. Americans today don't care that the early "Captains of Industry" were robber barons, that the mob built Vegas, or that mistreated chinese & irish immigrants built our railrways. I'm not saying that your socially conscious point of view is wrong because I share some of your feelings, but to say that an thriving international city isn't legit because you don't agree with their politcs is to ignore the reality. I understand why you personally don't like Dubai, but that does not mean it is not becoming a player on the international scene.

Thats great news. It is also good to hear that Chief Streicher and the CPD made nice with everyone after the incident last week. The last thing the CPD needs to be doing is antagonizing concerned citizens who are getting involved in something positive for the good of the community. Let's hope the police and sheriffs keep the pressure turned way up in OTR after the media coverage starts to fade. I am certain that you the the rest of the Citizens on Patrol will do your part.

I love that it always comes back to burrito discussions on this board and I can never stay out of them. Baja Fresh is better than Moe's and Chipotle. I think they both suck also :-) My opinion on NOTL is that it is what it is. I rarely patronize it, but I don't hate it either. It's a nice entertainment destination that people of different age groups can enjoy and it has spurred a lot of additional urban development around it. I've always hated malls and NOTL feels like a mall to me even if there is very little retail, but I guess there is something to be said for having all of the dining and entertainment options in a compact location. For me personally, if it were more spread out along the street and not in a box I think I would like it a lot more.

AMEN!!! I understand that developers want to get the most return on their investment, but is marketing every new condo development to weathly empty nesters really the only way to breath new life into the city? I think most of these projects are focused too much on the high end units and not enough on pricepoints that will lure young people to buy downtown. If you truely want to make the core city a 24 hour urban neighborhood, you need young people. I guarantee that the bars, coffee shops, and restaurants that are and will open downtown as the population increase will not be packed with people my parent's age at 10:30 on a Tuesday night.

I agree with you 100%. I do not care who does the policing...I just want to see it being done. I didn't intend that to be pro-CPD as much as I meant it left me wondering if the Sheriff is soaking up the press while waiting to let the city pull the plug on this somehow.

I know this is a sensitive issue, but I was talking to someone who works for the Hamilton County Sherrif's Dept last night who said he and a number of other deputies seriously doubt that they ever end up patrolling OTR. He said there are just too many unresolved operational issues of how it would actually work and a lot of the deputies have no desire to work OTR; some would rather leave the department than do so. Now I realize that this is one person's view of things and I could not tell you with certainty what my company is always planning to do next because I don't make those decisions, but it made me think about this proposal a little more. Simon Leis never misses an opportunity to make the CPD look bad. Even on little things like when COPS wanted to film with the CPD and council shot it down. The media jumped on this as being ridiculous and who did the COPS producers get the first phone call from...Simon Leis. Sure you can ride with the Sheriff's's Dept! The Hamilton County Sherrif, unlike the Chief of Police, is an elected official which means public opinion is vastly more important to him than Tom Streicher. This proposal has generated a ton of favorable media coverage and is extremely popular with voters who are fed up with crime in the city. Correctly or incorrectly, who looks like the good guy and who looks like the bad guy in all of this? Whether the Hamilton Co Sheriff's Dept ever steps foot in OTR or not, Simon Leis (and the dept) look like the white knights riding in to save the city and they were not the ones who were going to let police dept turf wars or government bureaucracy stand in the way. If they have been going down this path knowing that eventually the City will find a way to block them from patrolling within city limits then how much goodwill and good press did the Sherriff's Dept just get for free without actually doing anything? I really hope they do patrol down there. The citizens of OTR and everywhere in Cincinnati need our core to be cleaned up. Please understand I am not saying that this is necessarily the case, but the conversation I had last night just made me question motives a little more and with the local politics in this area I am now sceptical of everything.

I thought that too at first (skyscrapers, man-made islands, but no substance), but I'm not so sure now. In the US you really only hear about Dubai when they make a splash with one of their mega projects. What you are not seeing here is the full impact of the Dubai marketing machine in overdrive. When I was in Asia last year you didn't pick up a newspaper that wasn't filled with ads promoting Dubai as a place to live, to work, to invest, and to play. I think they realize that Americans are leary of travel to the middle east so they aren't wasting the money on us, but in Asia, where the majority of the world's population is located, Dubai casts a pretty big shadow. As more western business and jobs flow from the west to the east there is an emerging middle class; particularly in India & China. With disposable income comes travel and in Asia I think more and more people will be heading to Dubai.

Hmmm....I wonder if they'll be adding the area's first Check N Go Supercenter there? Seriously though, I had not heard that they actually had plans for that site and that is great news. Whatever they do there should be a vast imporvement for the area. Kmarts are bad enough, but vacant Kmarts with overgrown weeds scream blight. The only real downside is that the Hamilton Co Sherrifs who patrol Col Twp will have to find a new place to sleep. As happy as I am to see some movement on the Ridge-Highland business district, if adding a dedicated center turn-only lane is not part of their immediate plan I'm not sure I want any new development there. I think road rage is fully justified along ridge when you see the left turn idiots try to make during rush hour :shoot: