somewhereOTR

I think you guys may be better statesmen than I am. :-) For me, I think the way he has conducted himself in his first few weeks speaks volumes. The intellectual dishonesty and outright lies in the span of several days have caused me to write him off. For me he has dug himself a VERY big hole. Ive lost total respect for the man.

I'm very pleased with the outcome, but still up for a recall. Cranley has proven himself an unfit leader IMHO.

^ Thanks! Figuring out the school thing is tough! :-) There are some great options but logistically only the SCPA and Fairview work without moving (we are in OTR) (which is an option) to the east side for Kilgore/Sands. Thanks for the heads up about Arlitt. That may be an option while trying to get into Fairview or move to the SCPA as well at K

Does anyone out there have experience getting their child into a CPS magnet school? Im particularly interested in Fairview German as a possibility for her elementary school years. However, my daughter wont be 3 until March and we are on the fence as to whether to put her in pre-school at 3 or 4. But from what I understand. Fairview is pretty tough to get into. Is it worth going ahead and attempting to enroll her at 3 to maybe have a better chance at getting her in? Is it easier to get a child in at pre-school? Will I have to set up camp for 3 days :-) Thanks!

^ urban sites condos I believe...

^ 3CDC was not the organization that was going to tear down the properties. Cincinnati Public Schools wanted to tear them down to build a new school. That plan changed (build a new school there) and now 3CDC wants to step in and develop them.

CPS was going to demo the block for a new Washington Park Elem. Now that they appear to be agreeing to sell, they will likely be rehabbed. This is good news

3CDC buying OTR block BY LISA BERNARD-KUHN | [email protected] OVER-THE-RHINE – A plan that could deliver new commercial space and rehabbed apartments to Mercer Commons – a site long targeted for redevelopment – is inching forward. Cincinnati Center City Development Corp. (3CDC), the city of Cincinnati and Cincinnati Public Schools are working out the details of a purchase agreement for the property – which is bound by 13th, 14th, Vine and Walnut streets, said Steve Leeper, 3CDC executive director. The site, which is now owned by CPS, was the 2003 target for a $25 million housing redevelopment planned by Western & Southern Financial Group. That plan was sidelined after the school district asked Western & Southern to sell it the property in 2005 as a potential site to replace Washington Park School. However, a declining population of school children in the neighborhood led CPS to cancel that plan. Leeper wouldn’t give a sale price, although officials at the non-profit development group said in the spring they had offered $4.2 million for the property. The new proposal calls for the city of Cincinnati to purchase the property, then sell the site to 3CDC. “The city has the ability to implement development strategies, which makes them much more flexible,” versus buying directly from the schools, Leeper said. ... Preliminary plans for the site would include market rate and affordable rental units, along with some commercial space, Leeper said. “Ideally, we would like to begin in the early part of the next calendar year,” he said. Meanwhile, 3CDC and other developers in Cincinnati recently learned that a tool for financing historic rehab projects has been placed back on the books in Ohio. Read more here: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080610/BIZ01/306100062

On another note, forgot to mention this here. About a month ago, I saw an email regarding a liquor permit application for the old Cooper's on Main space. Looked into the applicants and they are the owners of Martino's on Short Vine. A real estate agent I ran into this summer during one of the home tours mentioned this was in the works and the email suggests that its true. Would be a nice addition. I hope its a more down to earth restaurant and not another upscale spot.

Last rumor I heard (as of last week) is that there will be 4-5 new venues opening on Main in the next few months. One of which I heard was Lucy Blue moving into the Harry's space - maybe thats the Pizza Bar.

Thanks for the input guys. I found a couple of lots over the weekend that I am interested in. Steve, I appreciate your offer for advice. I just may take you up on it. :-)

Not sure if this is the right section for this, but I have a question that I am hoping somewhat out there can help with. I am looking into building a new home on an urban lot in OTR. While I am considering looking into getting an architect to start from scratch, I am wondering if there might be existing house plans for urban development out there. (to help keep the cost down). I've done a little bit of searching online, but most of the stuff I have found thus far is surburban in nature. Anybody know of any place (or architects) that sell pre-existing plans for an urban setting? Thanks.

^ Cash flow. If its a hit, they burn fast - but bright. 500 people a night @ $5 cover (or more) that $5000 over two nights. Put in drinks at ~$10/person average thats another $10,000. $15,000/week at least. I wouldn't be surprised if CLAU brought in more than that. Its my understanding that a strong performing club should pay for itself in 12-18mths. After that its gravy until you reconcept. Its a risk, but if works, its hard to beat the ROI.

^ That would be an excellent fit for downtown, but unfortunately the rumor I have heard is that they are headed to Kenwood... :x That place is getting a number of good retail outlets, but the congestion the is nuts. People usually talk about finding parking downtown as hard, but Kenwood is getting to be aweful - especially during the holidays.

I think he may be referring to gap finanacing from the city. For example 3CDC had to get a subsidy from the city to do the Gateway buildings at 12th & Vine. Basically the economics were such that banks wouldn't underwrite loans for the project based on the expected market income streams (rentals/condos sales/ commercial spaces), so the city provided funds to bridge the gap. But this is typical in transitional neighborhoods and is why funds like Community Development Block Grants and Hope VI exist. And to be fair its not much different than federal funds available to fill gap required to build roads out to home in the suburbs. They wouldn't financially stand on their own either.