Alabama ExPat

I agree, except O'Malley's is so close, I'm nit sure it qualifies as a "walk". Assuming there's a back door to the McAlpin, it's practically in the lobby (which I view as a good thing).

It will be great to see those new residents around and about in the Central Buisiness District. Talk of condominimums going in at that building is what got my wife and I talking about the idea of eventually getting a place in downtown Cincinnati in the first place.

Neon's owners making changes Post staff report The Main Street bar Neon's will reopen later this spring as Jardin Wine and Tapas Bar, complete with flamenco and jazz music, imported and domestic wines, and a menu of Mediterranean tapas, skewered meats and imported cheeses. Click here for article: http://news.kypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070330/NEWS01/703300371/1014/NEWS02

Jean-Robert headed to Over-the-Rhine De Cavel plans restaurant in 'Gateway Quarter' By Joe Wessels Post contributor Cincinnati restaurateur Jean-Robert de Cavel plans to open a new restaurant late this year or early next in the city's Over-the-Rhine neighborhood, joining a growing group of business owners giving the troubled neighborhood a chance. The owner of popular downtown restaurants JeanRo Bistro and Jean-Robert at Pigall's said he plans to open a café akin to his Greenup Café, near the foot of the Suspension Bridge in Covington's Licking Riverside neighborhood. Click here for article: http://news.kypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070330/NEWS01/703300361/1014/NEWS02

Probably not vintage enough, and I suspect they plan to use it again somewhere else.

Caucasian (White, South African, NON - latino) I hope you are aware that not all South African's are Caucasians. :-D

Levee proposal faces uphill fight By Greg Paeth Post staff reporter Concerns about plans to expand Newport on the Levee have stalled an effort to give the complex more time to capitalize on a state tax rebate. "The people who want this are starting to realize that maybe they should be looking at something else," state Sen. Dick Roeding said Tuesday.

Great news! It will be great to have the new residents showing up downtown. As far as the two move ins a day, our building did that and it worked out well. No fighting over the freight elevator.

Does anyone have any new information to share on this project? I think March '07 was the first move in estimate I heard about 6 or 7 months ago.

I don't know your source, but that statistic for Park Place seems to be inflated. We added major upgrades to our unit and still came in under $200 / sqf, including appliances, floorplans, electrical configuration, trimwork, master bath reconfiguration, and flooring upgrades. Given what I've seen in many other units, I assume our price per sqf was higher than the average. Huh? If I understand it, the project we're taking about is at 7th and Broadway. That's a six block walk to the corner of 5th and Vine. The Taft museum, the furthest spot in the Lytle park area is 7 blocks. I guess I don't see that as being a big difference. I guess I should be thrilled at the thought that downtown has become such a popular destination for residency that Lytle park is now considered suburban, signifying that a block closer to the city center is much more desireable. If this really is the true preception, then I'm happy. It means that the notion of downtown as a desirable residential area has turned the corner. However, as much as I would like to believe it, I don't.

I'd really like to know what they estimated cost per sq foot for condos was for the project to be viable. I wonder if they are aiming for the correct market for their project. I think the high end for downtown condos is about to become saturated.

'GREEN' GENERAL STORE TO OPEN ON VINE IN MAY OVER-THE-RHINE - Dan Korman has returned to the Queen City to launch Park + Vine, a "green" general store that is expected to open in May at 1109 Vine St. A Cincinnati native, Korman signed a lease to occupy a 2,000-square-foot space. He moved back to Cincinnati a month ago after living for about 11 years in Chicago and New York. http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070311/BIZ01/703110354/1076/BIZ

I think that problem can be avoided as long as they keep the opposing tracks close to each other (I think someone said two blocks at most is the goal). You then just catch the line that goes in the direction you want to go. As long as there are a proportional number of additional cars on the line for the extra distance, it shouldn't make a difference. If the opposing lines get too far apart, then you are correct. It starts to look like the southbank shuttle route.

From Downtown Cincinnati Inc. Not much new that hasn't already been posted in this forum except that the OTR Summer Home tour is returning this June to feature the Gateway Living Quarter. http://downtowncincinnati.com/PDFs/4Q_2006_SOD.pdf

Great report John! After becoming a bit jaded from the ongoing drama over projects such as the banks, it was great to hear that the reasonable minds appear to be attached to this activity. A nice change of pace! Just curious, does anyone think there would be value in running an east/west bound loop as part of the initial run that ran down 5th, and then cut back on 4th before heading northbound again? It would add the office workers at P&G and the various Western Southern companies to the mix as potential future downtown residents, as well as the Taft Theater and Taft Museum to the circuit (and go by my front door, but I'm thinking of everyone else. Not me. Honest!).

Is it just me, or does that look like they've moved the orientation of the towers with respect to the river? Other renderings show the alignment being perpendicular to the river. These show an angle that points them downriver. Maybe the artist has just taken a few liberties.

Wow. I completely missed the fact that a Whiskey Dick's had oppened downtown.

Based on the structure and content of the site, I just assumed it's advertising / fee based to get listed.

Maybe he thinks he can sell views of the Ascent. :-)

Pretty sparse for downtown Cincinnati. And what the heck happened to 5th street between Vine and Walnut?

Gee! Ya think!?

You can buy wine at Strauss Tobacco shop on Walnut between 4th and 5th. It's in a side area that has an entrance fro the lobby of the Mercantile building. Although not huge, they do have a pretty decent range of offerings. It should do the trick for people living in the area that don't want to get in their car to pick up a bottle of wine.

You're right. I've never thought of that, but when you say it, it seems completely obvious. However, it needs to be a real wine shop, with a broad selection. Good every day table wines along with the high end stuff. I can't stand those specialty shops that looks like someone opened it up as a hobby. Maybe less than 50 labels total. All way overpriced. I've never seen one of those make it.

This may be old news, but there's a sign in the window of the Paula's Cafe at Findley Market saying that the location is permanently closed.

I wouldn't think the riots or 9-11 would have any impact on local visitors to NOTL. However, they could be referring to a drop in out of town visitors to the Cincinnati area. I think including 9-11 is a bit of a stretch, but I'm not really familiar with what the overall drop in domestic air travel has been to Cincinnati and similar destinations since then.