Alabama ExPat

I find this to be rather suprising news. One of my usually reliable sources told me last month he was just going to hold that property for a while.

This is totally off topic, but I've been meaning to ask for quite a while now: What are those? What are they for? I have never seen them in ANY other city I have ever been in. could someone post a picture? I do believe these are what everyone is referring to (pic provided by ColDayMan). If I am not mistaken, these are some of the few remaining gas powered lamps in the U.S. are they not?? I think he means thetype discussed (and shown) in this thread. http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=2817.0

I vote "Blanket Party".

I guess I probably have a card waiting for me in the mailbox as well. It could be a cool building for condos, but I hate to see a business like that leave downtown. We've bought a couple of pieces there over the past couple of years. Places like Contemporary Galleries and Bromwell's remind me of the west 4th used to be in the 70's: Full of various high end art and furniture galleries.

I don't think that's it. I usually visit daily.

I walk over for a movie or to get a Dewey's pizza. Otherwise, that's about it. (I know. I know. Back on Topic!)

If I recall correctly, call mixed drinks (Johhny Walker Red and soda, etc) were running around $7.50. I do remember that the Remy Martin V.S.O.P. Cognac was $7.50. Hey! That's me you're referring to! :-P

Over the last 24 hours, this option seems to be broken. I only get a few threads listed when I click on it. If I check the index, I see many more updates since my last visit. I first noticed this yestersay evening (1/3/08). :?

Twist Lounge I spent a little over two weeks in Cincinnati for the holiday's. Stopped by Twist a few times. It doesn't look like it at first glance, but it's a pretty laid back place. The drink prices are on par with other places around the CBD, maybe a bit less than some. All of the appetizers I tried were unique and tasty (although not the place to go if you are planning on a dinner of bar appetizers, go to Palomino's happy hour for that). They have around three or four different menus: Appetizers, Wines, Drinks and Liquors, and maybe one more. Sometimes I had to ask for one of the other menus after the wait person came by the table the first time. If you don't see something on the menu(s) they hand you, as if they have one for whatever you're interested in (personally, I'd prefer one of those drink/appetizer menus that list everything. Sometime I don't now what I want until I see it). The setting reminds me a lot of a hotel bar/lounge hotel. Other than the very long bar, the seating is living room style, with several seating ares set up around ottomans which double as coffee tables, and small side tables to hold drinks or plates. They don't seem to mind if you move the furniture around. The crowd size varied from visit to visit, but I really couldn't predict a pattern. The first night (a Tuesday), we stopped in after the upstairs bar at Via Vite close. JeanRo Bistro was already closed when we walked by. There were a handful of people at Twist when we arrived, but I think we were the last to leave around 2:00 am (hey, I was on vacation). The second night was a Thursday and earlier in the evening. Not too busy when we arrived, but got busy fast. Saw a few neighbors, and I think I spotted a couple of forum members. The final visit was a Sunday evening an hour or two after the Cleveland/Cincinnati game. Not too many people there. A few people at the bar that had obviously been to the game. I never made it in on a Friday or Saturday, so I don't know what that's like. I suspect it's just a busier version of the other evenings. Jean Robert walked through on two of my visits. I guess he stays actively involved in what's going on next door at Pigal's (which is nice to see for someone as busy as he must be). Over all, I think it makes a great addition to the downtown scene. It's a great place to stop in before or after dinner, or after a show. They don't have a fixed closing time, but they appear to be interested in catching the crowd after many of the other places close. Especially during the week.

The OTR Kroger is 30,000 square feet

That's a great start! Okay folks, let's kick in here. I don't want to sound all public broadcasting like, but I now some of us spend a lot of time on the site. Think back about how isolated, out of touch and alone you felt while the forum was down earlier this week. Think of the money you probably spent shopping on-line because you didn't have anything else to do with your computer while the forum was down. Now imagine the possibility of Christmas without Urban Ohio! Why it would be just like coming down to the tree and finding out Santa skipped your house! :-)

I was going into serious forum withdraw. I'm glad to see it back online this morning. Donation on the way.

Both towers are planned to be 15 stories high? I must have missed that somewhere along the line. I thought it was just one tower going up to 15.

Your recollection about the light strands from the hands matches mine.

We can limit the dates to earlier than 1949 since the Terrace Plaza Hotel isn't in the picture yet.

One River Plaza, Cincinnati Condo Project Heads For Construction Posted Nov 13th 2007 8:02AM by Deidre Woollard For a while the Cincinnati, Ohio market was hot, with projects by several name architects being created. Then, in 2006 as condo developments faced problems, we heard news of a slowdown. But perhaps things are set to look up with the imminent construction of One River Plaza, a nearly $150 million project. The Enquirer reports that preconstruction sales on the project have been strong with 28 condos of the potential 150 available already having been sold. The condos sell in the $550,000 to $2 million range. The project will be built in two phases, a 14-story tower with at least 80 condos and a nine or 10-story condo with 70 condos. The first tower was originally only set to be 12 stories but demands for the penthouses with river and city views prompted an expansion. The towers will include two riverview restaurants, a shared outdoor terrace and amenities that include guest suites, a party room, a doorman and a fitness center. Construction will take 18 months and will start once the project meets a pre-sell mark of $35 million to $36 million. http://www.luxist.com/2007/11/13/one-river-plaza/

Actually, I'm pretty sure that's the same report published in August of this year. The names and dates on the files have changed due to the reorganization of the DCI web site.

Shopping for a downtown grocery Ah, a grocery store downtown... That's a dream many downtown residents - including myself - have been pining for for quite some time. It may still be a dream, but at least there is a group of some Cincinnati movers and shakers actually working on just such a project. Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory's "downtown grocery store task force" met for the first time Friday, beginning a process that just might turn into a place to shop for groceries. Holly Childs, who started this summer as Cincinnati's economic development director, sits on that task force - and she knows a thing or two about attracting the likes of retail stores to an urban core. Before coming here, she was economic developer chief in Phoenix, where city tax revenues are driven by a sales tax. "I think there is an opportunity for two or three 10,000 square-foot or 15,000 square-foot stores, not one 25,000 square-foot store" downtown, she said. "Everybody who is doing condos downtown wants a grocery store, of course." She said there are several places downtown that are being touted as possible locations for such a store, the old Broadway Commons site among them. "We have spots all over town," she said. Members of Mallory's Young Professionals Kitchen Cabinet are also working on the task force, suggesting grocery chains such as Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Kroger and Bigg's. Chipotle lovers and downtown dwellers: good news. Childs said the super-yummy Mexican fast food eatery with burritos as big as footballs has been eyeing and re-eyeing a location on Fountain Square. She believes a deal is near. Other city economic development employees said more deals are in the works to finish out all the shops on the square. And in the dog-bites-man category - the huge deer population is no big secret for anyone living in this area. So, cars hitting deer are not uncommon and a big problem for city workers who have to go clean the carcasses off of city roadways. Cincinnati Public Services Director Andrew Glenn Jr. said that there were 274 instances of that in October in the city. A dead animal collection worker driving his city truck hit a large buck on Election Day evening along River Road in Riverside. He had to call police to come and shoot the buck, according to an aide in Councilman Chris Monzel's office, who saw the accident. Joe Wessels covers Cincinnati and Hamilton County politics for The Post. You can reach at (513) 352-2703 or by e-mail at [email protected]. http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071117/EDIT01/711170350/1003/EDIT

Jean Robert's TWIST Lounge is opening 27 November 2007. I received the following via email today. Introducing Twist Lounge at Pigall’s Downtown Cincinnati nightlife welcomes an exciting new hot spot this winter. Twist Lounge at Pigall’s will open November 27th on West Fourth Street. The new bar will feature live music, a champagne and cocktail bar and a limited menu from early evening to late-night. The contemporary lounge is the perfect place to wind down or treat yourself to a night out on the town, any day of the week. Stop on by after the 27th for a little holiday bubbly and experience the new Twist Lounge at Pigall’s. For more information, call 513.721.1345.

I think I know which waiter you're talking about. He was working the table behind us at lunch one day. Rather annoying, and he wasn't even our waiter. :-)

Hmm. So why don't we have a sensationalized headline that reads "Suburbs in Rapid Decline: 4 Encore Cafes Close!". It only seems fair after all the doom and gloom headlines we get whenever a downtown restaurant closes.

^ Not really. From the perspective of Park Place, it's only becoming more slender in depth, not width.

I'm sure some of my neighbors on the river side of Park Place will be less than excited about those additional three two floors.

Banks plan addresses concerns By Joe Wessels Post staff report Downtown building owners said they are now happy with the development plan for The Banks riverfront project. Joe Trauth, a lawyer representing the owners of several downtown buildings, said that he feels his clients have been heard and does not foresee that they will file legal challenges to the long-delayed 18-acre, nearly $1 billion development between Great American Ball Park and Paul Brown Stadium... http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071031/NEWS01/710310364

So what you're saying is he needs a handout like he needs a hole in his head? That's what you're saying, right? I hope you meant that to be funny, beause I'm LMAO on that one.