The Last Don

Awesome! It looks great. :cool2:

Hopefully the condo development will lead to new retail in the city. If the retail comes back, you'll see a pretty good balance between commercial retail, office, residential, and cultural amenities.

I really hope that they keep this plan intact. It will turn out to be an even greater addition to the riverfront than the Banks.

Here is a PDF document that outlines the plans for the park with colorful renderings: http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/cityparks/downloads/cityparks_pdf14004.pdf

They really should call the restaurant "Bootsy's" to differentiate it from Ruby's Steakhouse on the corner.

Quim, the reason that streetcars were abandoned in the United States was because G.M. bought up the systems and shut them down. It is highly doubtful that this would happen again. If a streetcar system was put in place, you would see development pop up all along the line, and it would increase the quality of life for everyone in the downtown area.

I don't think it's really called that. The website says "Gateway Quarter: Urban Living" as a slogan. People are being sarcastic about this, but don't underestimate the importance of this project. If Vine Street is rejuvenated, it make development throughout the urban center so much easier. From The Banks, Mulberry Hill, Corryville, and Clifton Heights: all of these areas will see the benefit.

Perhaps, but I think 3cdc is specifying the area centered around the Gateway Condominiums. And I may be wrong, but I think they are calling it simply "The Gateway Quarter."

Great pics! I'm really excited about the work 3cdc is doing in Over-the-Rhine. Here is a map of The Gateway Quarter:

These are great! Thanks, Pigboy. It's awesome to see photos of the old neighborhoods along the river and at the bottom of Mt. Adams. Also, that building under construction was the Terrace Hilton, a major modern landmark when it was built in the late forties.

40,000 square feet of the facility will be used as a homeless shelter and housing for people coming out of prison. So the people in the neighborhood should expect more drug-related crime and violent offenses. The tragic thing is that this area is Cincinnati's traditional manufacturing zone. Many of the city's businesses have historic roots in this area, which runs along the path of the old canal. I think that this situation is indicative of the status of our city as we see jobs leaving and we're seeing private investment not in capital-building enterprises, but in paying people who are irresponsible and criminally inclined.

That's a pretty good article from the Times. Here are the photos from the story:

Yeah, he's being sarcastic...that health center is hideous. :laugh:

For the first time, concertgoers will be able to drive into a parking garage and walk directly into Music Hall or Memorial Hall without ever stepping outside. :roll: The whole idea is to revitalize the area, but all of these measures such as parking garages and changing the seating configuration in Music Hall are missing the target. Groups of junkies pour out of the Drop Inn Center like a bunch of zombies. They spend all day drinking and using drugs in Washington Park, yelling at people and committing crimes. In fact, during the crime initiative by the Cincinnati Police, hundreds of crimes were traced to residents of the Drop Inn Center. If the Drop Inn Center was relocated to Queensgate, Washington Park would change overnight. It would become livable again. Don't take my word for it...go down to Washington Park and walk around for an hour or two.

From what I understand, the restaurants are still negotiating leases with 5/3rd. They've signed letters of intent, but haven't signed a lease agreement. Look for announcements in the coming weeks. Expect the square to be completed in stages, with all of the restaurants open in the Spring.

That's a really good point, Ink. My hope is that Third Street development is pedestrian-oriented whichever way it is built.

Interesting point, edale. I think that architecture may have a big impact on how alive an area becomes. Certain areas are designed better than others for cultural life. For instance, compare the amazing built environment of South Beach to that of Fifth Street in downtown Cincinnati. We've got bank complexes, Procter & Gamble, the Chiquita Center, and several government buildings. Those blocks are going to be as dead as a doornail no matter what... But Cincinnati still has enough to work with to have a lively downtown. That's why I think that it's vitally important that the Banks is integrated into the riverfront park and into the urban streetlife of downtown. The renderings produced by the Port Authority were almost perfect for this project to spark new life into the area. The one thing that needs to happen is for there to be a connection between The Banks and downtown. That means building over Fort Washington Way, and constructing condos north of Third Street with street level retail. It is of the utmost importance that Third Street is lined with shops and cafes, so that it attracts life day and night. For downtown to succeed as a livable environment, Third Street cannot become another Fifth Street.

At one time there was an Incline that climbed the hill from downtown. Today, the fastest route is by walking along Columbia Parkway from Fifth Street where you can access the steps that climb to the Immaculata Church. The Incline: Image via Cincinnati-Transit.net

Condos downtown will bring a tremendous amount of benefits to the whole region, including to the other urban neighborhoods. It makes downtown safer, and the people living there help support more local businesses, which can stay open at night. A vibrant downtown such as Chicago makes the entire region more attractive to people and businesses that are looking at the area. Covington and Newport are both focusing on condo development on the riverfront because they know that this will boost their stagnating populations while invigorating the urban core.

Various Cincinnati officials have been saying since the 1970s that too much development on the riverfront will hurt the CBD. It's rather funny when you look across the river at Newport and Covington, where they've built hotels, residential (both apartments and condos), and office space....with more on the way. The key to The Banks is integrating it into the new Central Riverfront Park and into Downtown. It would combine true urban living with all the amenities along the riverfront, something that other projects can't offer to the same extent.

MPMF is the MidPoint Music Festival. It's held in the Main Street District every year, and is considered one of the best music festivals in the United States for unsigned artists. I was down on Main Street on Thursday night as the festival was getting underway. The vibe was very cool.

Well...McDonald's at one time had plans for a huge restaurant at Sycamore and Central Parkway across from the Alms and Doepke building. Their was opposition to that project, which was in the early 1990s and thankfully it never got off the ground. The fact of the matter is that the Main Street Entertainment District had over 1 million customers per year during the late 1990s, and had a full service restaurant in the Sycamore Gardens complex, as well as the Diner, and as well as Nicola's Ristorante. In fact, Nicola's is still going strong and is poised to open a second location. It is a top-notch Italian restaurant by a family from Tuscany. So could a cool sushi place thrive on Main Street? Absolutely.

The merchants and property owners on Main will want nothing to do with a strip club complex. They want to increase the value of their investments, and they are looking for more upscale clientele.

Weedrose, Hopefully your "ideas" never come to fruition. You want a strip club and a MCDONALD'S for God's sake? Aren't you the same guy that wants to tear down the historic buildings in Over-the-Rhine...and now you want to fill the neighborhood with low-brow, Philistine foolishness. I love kendall's ideas...I would just add that I'd love to see some nice restaurants and street cafes, with tables right out on the sidewalk. In addition, I think that the city needs to capitalize on the design talent coming out of U.C. and to create an entire district centered around the design arts. For the long term, the main thing is to get more residential in OTR, which will provide a market for commerce.

That prediction was for Monday, December 3rd, 1990. I remember that day because the 49ers and the Giants were both undefeated (13-0) and played each other on Monday Night Football. I think Channel 5 was particularly responsible for the hype...trying to manufacture the news when none happened! Here are some fascinating facts about magnitude of the New Madrid earthquakes: --Survivors reported that the earthquakes caused cracks to open in the earth's surface, the ground to roll in visible waves, and large areas of land to sink or rise. The crew of the New Orleans (the first steamboat on the Mississippi, which was on her maiden voyage) reported mooring to an island only to awake in the morning and find that the island had disappeared below the waters of the Mississippi River. Damage was reported as far away as Charleston, South Carolina, and Washington, D.C. http://www.cusec.org/S_zones/NMSZ/nmsz_home.htm --Earthquakes in the central or eastern United States affect much larger areas than earthquakes of similar magnitude in the western United States. For example, the San Francisco, California, earthquake of 1906 (magnitude 7.8) was felt 350 miles away in the middle of Nevada, whereas the New Madrid earthquake of December 1811 (magnitude 8.0) rang church bells in Boston, Massachusetts, 1,000 miles away. http://quake.wr.usgs.gov/prepare/factsheets/NewMadrid --The course of the Mississippi River was changed, and forests were destroyed over an area of 150,000 acres. http://hsv.com/genlintr/newmadrd