Alabama ExPat

Wow! I missed this thread the first time around. Those pics are great!

Gee. With all this excitement over streetcars and discussion about OTR redevelopment, I nearly forgot about the banks. (and I'm not kidding).

Can Cincinnati Mills work? Hardly anything has gone right since it opened 17 years ago By Mike Boyer, Cincinnati Enquirer Describing Cincinnati Mills as "struggling" doesn't quite capture the misfortunes of the sprawling mall at Interstate 275 and Winton Road. The 1.5 million-square-foot facility, straddling Forest Park and Fairfield, has suffered from a combination of flawed retail concepts, weak demographics, stiff competition and distracted management almost from the day it opened as Forest Fair Mall in 1989. And just recently, the mall was close to landing a big-name new tenant that could have reversed its perennial cycle of misfortune - and it just didn't happen. Ikea, the Swedish home furnishings retailer, which plans to open its first Ohio store next year off Union Centre Boulevard, gave the Cincinnati Mills site serious consideration before deciding on a West Chester location, said Steve Brandt, president of Kenwood's Brandt Retail Group, who represented Ikea. Read full article here: http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070204/BIZ01/702040324/-1/CINCI

I agree. The carousel in New York's central park is an icon. Ferris wheels and carousels are not an unheard of item in urban parks in Europe. I don't think we should be criticizing ideas or suggestions coming out of what was essentially a brain storming session.

Huh...Is this guy that dumb? Someone tell me how this is possible? Mirrors?

It looks like you suggested exactly the same idea in July. Oh well, it just goes to prove that great minds think alike. :wink:

Pretty cool. I've never seen that view of the Riverfront Stadium demolition before. With a few interesting exceptions, that web site is alomost a museum of mundane video clips. Exciting titles such as "A drill Sergeant stands talking to troops some of which stand and some kneel", or "Homeowner outside mowing his lawn".

I was playing around in Google Earth and saw a link on the map in Mount Adams for the film at this site. I came back here and searched to see if we had anything about it. It would be great if various groups of Urban Ohio members put together a short showcase film for their respective cities. It could be the first Urban Ohio film festival. I know nothing about shooting and cutting a film, but I'd be up for helping. Anyone interested in doing one or more short films for Cincinnati?

well she shouldn't Hmm. I dunno. I can't say I'm a fan of the building either. For the record, the official name according to Emporis is Highland Towers.

While I think the building is interesting, I've never been a fan of cantilevered exterior balconies. I walys thought they looked like @#$%. Take the Celestial for example. My wife considers that building urban blight.

I wonder what the wait is for an announcement. Maybe they are waiting to close the deal for a big name so they can include it with the rest.

Holy Cow! That schedule is packed during the warm weather months!

It looks like you just missed it. According to the web site (http://www.myfountainsquare.com/icerink) Hours: Monday-Thursday: 11 am to 9 pm Special note: On Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays from January 8 through February 21, public skating will end at 5:30 so we can prepare the rink for broomball (last admission at 4:30). The rink may also close at 5:30 on certain Thursdays for makeup games. Friday: 11 am to 11 pm Saturday: 10 am to 11 pm Sunday: Noon to 6 pm Skate admission, skate rental, and concessions close half an hour before the rink closes. HOLIDAY HOURS: Presidents Day, February 19: 11 am to 5:30 pm (last admission 4:30)

It was great to see so many people skating yesterday. I went by the square later in the evening, and there were still quite a few skaters. :) I saw quite a few people on the web cam this evening as well. Not too shabby for a Sunday night.

Hat shop alone on top Batsakes has weathered changes in menswear BY JOHN ECKBERG | [email protected] When Gus Miller landed in Cincinnati from a small village in Greece 56 years ago, he was 17 years old and didn't know a Stetson 10-gallon hat from a Brooklyn porkpie. Soon, he was steaming and shaping hats of all types at Batsakes Hat Shop - a downtown Cincinnati institution owned by uncle Pete Batsakes. But his career didn't start out that way. The first thing Uncle Pete did was give Gus a broom. "He told me that I'd probably get the shop someday, but that you don't start out on the third floor of a company. You start in the basement," Gus said. "He told me to go sweep up. And that was the first thing I did every day. I still do it, too." Read full article here: http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070121/BIZ01/701210306/-1/CINCI

Editorial Streetcars: Is the desire there? Should Cincinnati travel "back to the future" by reviving streetcars in the city's core? Could a modest, three-mile downtown loop spur genuine economic development, help relieve traffic congestion and lead us toward a comprehensive regional transit system? Is this politically and economically feasible? http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070121/EDIT01/701210302/1090

Housing gap mars developers' efforts The Gap is a store in malls across the country. The gap is the outfield alleyway in Great American Ball Park, where Ryan Freel hurls his body after baseballs. The space produced Reds mascot Gapper, who can't even get a spot in that scoreboard race. There's the generation gap, which makes Harry Potter about a thousand times cooler than the Hardy Boys to your 11-year-old. But anybody trying to develop residential property here, particularly in urban areas, knows of a different kind of gap. It's the difference between high costs - usually either land or construction - and the revenue you can expect from property sales. Maybe you're trying to build 19 condominiums in the old Clyffside Brewery in Over-the-Rhine's Mohawk neighborhood. You want to attract graduate students, so you want to set prices as low as $85,000. But construction costs drive the project up to $3 million. A proposed $900,000 grant from the city of Cincinnati doesn't work because of restrictions, says developer Duane Donohoo, who tried it. The numbers don't add up, so you'd have to jack prices up sky-high to make money. Read full article here: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070121/COL01/701210305/1081/BIZ

I dont think that is what it is saying. Based on the web site, I think it s office space that is owned by the HOA (as opposed to being sold as a commercial condo unit). It's up to the owners to decide to lease it out or not.

Welcome to the neighborhood! Part of the time, I'm down the street in the building next to the Taft. We really like that end of downtown. How many people work at the call center? My sister-in-law works there.

Oh for crying out loud! That's an older crowd? I guess that puts me at senior citizen status!

Interesting. I just noticed that all of the "1 River Plaza" listings in the MLS are now filed under "601 E Pete Rose Way". I bet the Huff agents are hating that.

That's the kind of news that precedes other announcements like "closing for renovations". :-o

I remember aweeks mentioning he lived in an apartment Court street. I just assume that MrsAWeeks was married to aweeks. But maybe it's all just a coincidence. :-D

I absolutley love neon signs. Especially the large old ones that would sit on top of a building. I''ll need to go check it out. Update 9:24 am: I just saw a pictue of the sign over on urbanlife.net. I guess i missed kendall'ls "partial" comment about the sign.

Hey! It's MrsAWeeks!