RockyMountainHigh

At least Kuhl dressed up to address Council so to present a professional appearance and be taken seriously. :roll:

Does anyone know if there are plans for the upper floors of this building? According to reports, the new bar/club will take up the first three floors, which leaves the top three. Any plans to renovate those into apartments/condos? The same goes for the neighboring green building.

It seems like Tower Place Mall - if the plan is to try to revitalize it with retail - is going to be in direct competition with the next phase of The Banks, which is going to certainly have to be more than just restaurants. That market is nearing the saturation point as is. It's time to add some real retail heft to downtown like Apple Store, a book store (Joseph Beth?), a Nike Town, etc., if we're going to take the next step. Would City Target be a possibility for Tower Place? Or perhaps for that mammoth corner building across from TPM at Fourth and Race that's seemingly been empty since the Stone Age? Heck, even the stores that TPM used to have - Victoria's Secret, GAP, Banana Republic, Express, Williams-Sonoma, Foot Locker, fye - would be pretty sweet to have back downtown, but at street level somewhere.

Nice to win a couple of games in Philly's House of Horrors. Lets go Reds! :clap:

Not to mention the riverfront park should be extended west, the boat dock should be in place and maybe - maybe - The Banks hotel will be open.

This sign (and another just like it) is now posted at the surface parking lot on the northeast corner of Ninth and Walnut, across from the library and the YWCA building. I walk by there all the time and have never noticed them before today. A development on that surface lot would be most welcome, but what's with the 14-story limit? Regardless, that ugly lot would be a nice one to rid downtown of once and for all.

Is that Barry Horstman or Justin Bieber's dad?

I was there after the Reds-Mets game on Wednesday night. I don't really know how to do reviews so I'll just post a few reactions/observations: - The game was over relatively early so we got there well before 10 p.m. - Holy Grail was slam-packed with people shoulder-to-shoulder on the patio - Mahogany's patio had about 15 people sitting at the tables - There was only one couple sitting at an inside table - The bar area looks really chill and they had two TV's, both playing the Reds post-game show - I asked our waitress what beers they had on tap and was told that their taps weren't working that night - Disappointed, I ordered a bottle of Coors Light (there was no beer menu on the table) - I ordered another bottle of Coors Light after that - Got food - the fish and chips, which was breaded tilapia and steak fries; the girl I went with didn't get anything to eat but had a Bud Light - I hate ketchup so I asked for a side of honey mustard, which, after the waitress went to get it, I was told they don't have (a first for me) - The fish was very good but wasn't served with tartar sauce or anything else. - I ordered another Coors Light (Don't give me grief ... If I was at Arnold's or Lackman I'd certainly get something better. Coors Light is my go-to "pound" beer :)) - I got the feeling they were closing up, so we finished up and left - I'll also point out that the men's restroom was a small room with a door lock and just one toilet in it, and one urinal. It was akin to a small gas station restroom as opposed to a high-volume restaurant at The Banks. The girls bathroom, I was told, was only slightly bigger. This oversight will be an unwelcome reality for some people in the months to come. In short, I understand this was a soft opening. In fact, the menu, which was rather limited, said "Mahogany's Soft Opening" at the top. I don't at all blame them for their glitches, like the beer taps being out. Still, there were only two total taps, which is certainly an oddity at The Banks. I'll reiterate how chill the interior is and how inviting the bar looks - a nice post-game alternative to the "thump-thump" 20-something free-for-all at Holy Grail. I'll certainly check it out again once it's up and running fully. But, honestly, I'd put it ahead of only Johnny Rockets at this point as a place I'd choose to go to have a few drinks at The Banks.

I completely agree. But visitors - especially those staying downtown - are never going to find their way to the Precinct.

Except for one in suburban DC, the overwhelming majority of these stores are in the Deep South. I have no idea what their market research told them about UC/Clifton/urban Cincinnati that lead to their interest in U-Square. Edit: I just looked at their online catalog and their clothes are pretty cool and look highly directed toward the college crowd. They could do well. Better than another sub shop.

There used to be a Gold Star on Race Street directly across from Findlay Market. Bill Clinton visited there once as president, IIRC.

The new sports bar slated to open in the former BlackFinn space on Seventh Street this fall will have Cincinnati food - including Cincinnati chili ... dip. Whatever that entails. http://cincinnati.com/blogs/newintown/2012/08/17/locals-sport-bar-and-grill-to-open-downtown-this-fall/

I'd rather go to Pleasant Ridge Chili late night. A PRC at U-Square would be quite popular. Heck, I'd take one at The Banks/downtown too.

Meanwhile, Blue Ash gets the ball rolling on park design ... http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/blog/2012/08/blue-ash-selects-architect-for.html

Check out this gem from the Enquirer tonight on the Reds' off day yesterday: http://cincinnati.com/blogs/reds/2012/08/14/day-of-rest-good-for-reds/ Since I'm sure it'll be deleted/fixed, I'll copy and paste the following paragraphs as they appear at 1:20 a.m. Wednesday: The three players hurting — third baseman Scott Rolen and relievers Sam LeCure and Jonathan Broxton — are better tonigh for the opener on the three-game series with the New York Mets. ... LeCure and weren’t available because of shoulder soreness. “We hope Sam’s better,” Baker said. “Big Broxton said he’s better. He said he’ll sore from time to time. When he was in Kansas City, he was closing. He didn’t have as many opportunities to pitch as here in a setup role.” It would be funny if it wasn't so sad. Cincinnati is too big of a city to settle for this crap in its daily newspaper.

Maybe the "Stealers" should put a giant asterisk by their 2006 trophy after their cheap-shot on Carson Palmer certainly changed the outcome of that playoff game?

I can only hope that was a joke... cause downtown needs another lot like I need a hole in my head. I'm hoping for an Applebee's I'm hoping for a one-story, drive-through Walgreen's set back from the street with parking in front. :roll:

What do you mean he wants a card to play with P&G? What site would P&G look at for a tower?

Work is well under way on the interior on what looks to be a two-story restaurant. And the signs on the glass walls say a fall opening. What's the status of the wine bistro place? That had the wood boards up earlier this summer indicating work but they've long since been removed and nothing seems to be going on inside.

Losers.

I hate talk radio in this city. So now, above everything else, Mahogany's waitresses are too cute? Good God ...

The Banks site has to be one of the locations, as that is certainly targeted for a hotel. As for existing empty buildings that could be converted, you'd have to think the Terrace Plaza and Bartlett Building would be at the top of any list. And wasn't the old Pogue's warehouse building at Race Street and Ogden Place (315 Race?) just south of the old McAlpin's once targeted for a possible hotel? I've really not heard anything about that building - rumors or otherwise - for years. The Pogues building be a huge hotel, if developed as one. But it would have extremely high visibility (imagine a giant W at the top overlooking The Banks and riverfront). Or possibly it could go residential: http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&safe=off&rlz=1G1TSNDCENUS488&biw=1366&bih=600&tbm=isch&tbnid=DmvMC8JdZ_9mwM:&imgrefurl=http://www.emporis.com/building/310racebuilding-cincinnati-oh-usa&docid=Um8nDf3IrnEn2M&imgurl=http://www.emporis.com/images/show/312073-Large.jpg&w=602&h=800&ei=pY8hUMGwOKnb0QHRi4GADg&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=466&sig=102973470042781514701&page=2&tbnh=135&tbnw=102&start=21&ndsp=28&ved=1t:429,r:16,s:21,i:191&tx=66&ty=42

I think the addition of the hotel on JNW will really take an already dynamic scene to the next level entirely. Then, hopefully, you add even more out-of-town visitors into the daily mix. And then we'll get rid of that ugly wooden wall that's now blocking off the hotel pad. And I'd love to see those handful of vacant old buildings on the NE corner of Third and Main be redeveloped to help ease the transition between downtown and The Banks. The corner building there has one of the highest visibility locations in this entire region.

We know, but Rock Gaming promised this one would be urban-friendly. Remember the charettes and all that? Well it's a heck of a lot more urban friendly than a surface parking lot. The wall fronting Reading is a concern, but hopefully the streetscape improvements and the buildings across the street will be redeveloped in a way to steal the spotlight from the Horseshoe's side.

What casino has windows? They're purposely devoid of windows and clocks so their customers don't pay attention to the time. The gaming floors are also designed in ways to draw you further away from the doors and to make it a little harder to get out.