northsider

^^ Probably! But that would have been a LOT for 3CDC to be handling at once, and methinks that cries of "SOCIALISM!!1!!1!" would have been more likely to occur if for-profit developers weren't involved in the mix.

Found this on the Banks site, it's a .pdf brochure for the office tower (called 180 Walnut) for potential tenants: http://thebankscincy.com/files/files/TheBanks_Brochure_FINAL_FINAL.pdf Carter's the developer and it looks like they have a pretty finalized look for the building - just no word on when they actually plan to start building the sucker!

So I'm seeing stuff about them starting Phase 2 construction west of the Freedom Center in the next few months - has anyone heard anything on when Phases 1B and 1C will happen? The big gap at the southeast corner of Walnut and Second where Phase 1B is supposed to go always makes my eye twitch every time I see it.

Yeah, I haven't been a fan of the style of some of the new buildings which have been built (or are being built) in the basin and uptown, but all of the public space design and building that's gone into place in the past eight years has been just top-notch. Fountain Square, Smale Riverfront, and now Washington Square. Thank god that the people planning and making these spaces have used really good materials and presented some really thoughtful design that also has all sorts of little grace notes that you can discover. The spaces feel contemporary but in a sturdy, unfussy way. They're going to age well!

Right. I can see the retail spaces being (eventually) filled on Vine and Main, since those are the arterial streets, as well as the storefront space that abuts Washington Square park. But Elm, Race north of the park, Walnut, Sycamore, Broadway, etc.? the only thing I can think is the idea of focusing on offices more than retail. Walked a bunch around OTR this morning before it got too hot. You can't walk 40 feet without running into a dude with a hard hat!

Absolutely agree with this. Went to MICA 12/V today to do some gift shoppin' and had a nice talk with the owner about how big the changes have been in the past year. Interesting to hear from a retailer how much of a sea change he's seen.

Right, and counselors will tell you that a teen mother from circumstances like that getting an actual full-time minimum-wage job and keeping it would be a success story, relatively speaking. look, I agree that more market-rate housing needs to happen in OTR, and in fact, that's exactly what's going to happen. It'd just be nice if some of the subsidized housing was actually non-shitty housing.

Sure, but the completion of new subsidized housing units does not preclude new market-rate units being created. By the logic you stated above, we shouldn't be building any subsidized housing in OTR until the demand for market-rate housing subsides in the neighborhood. Also, the Model Group did these north of Liberty where there's been very little redevelopment so far. It's almost like parallel tracks of development. now if 3CDC said that they were going to halt market-rate expansion for a while to concentrate on subsidized housing, that'd be different and way more concerning. This is the first group of subsidized units that I can remember being brought online in OTR in a while, but maybe I'm not remembering other examples - feel free to correct me! I'd be curious to know how this is going too!

Ohio minimum wage = 7.70/hour at 40 hours a week, that's $308 a week, averaging out to $1,334.67 a month. Before tax, of course. After tax you're looking at maybe $1050. Maybe. Fair market rate for Hamilton County for an efficiency is $471. You now have under $600/month to pay utilities, buy clothes, feed yourself, pay for medical expenses, try to save, et cetera. Now try to imagine raising a kid on minimum wage, where the fair market rent for a 1BR is about $560 a month and for a 2BR is about $720 a month. I'm not saying that there haven't been problems with the way subsidized housing has been handled, but that fact doesn't change the very real need for subsidized housing. Subsidized housing is better for our city than increased amounts of homeless folks, no? Moreover, the dream for OTR for a very long time has been a mixed-income neighborhood. I think you can't currently have that without subsidized housing if you want the exterior quality of the buildings to be up to snuff across the neighborhood.

YES. god, that lot is infuriating because it's just so... junky and you know that the building that was turn down to make it was undoubtedly beautiful. Anyway, can't wait for some possible renderings!

Fortunately, as downtown gets more and more busy, I can imagine some of the other surface lots getting bought out and built on, simply because the money's going to be too good to pass up for current surface lot companies. I would *really* love to see the ones around Court & Walnut and Vine & Eighth built on. And anyway, I did note with some amusement that the two ladies who they found to complain about the surface lot going away at 5th & Vine are, uh, of a certain age. I really do wonder how widespread these complaints will actually be for people who actually go downtown on a regular basis.

good report, but man, local media does seem like they need to throw in clueless people bemoaning the impending lack of a surface parking lot for "balance." At least they made sure to mention that the garage in the project will actually have more public parking than the current lot. :-D

And it turns out there's already a waiting list! http://www.building-cincinnati.com/2012/06/north-rhine-heights-open-for-business.html

You might try contacting the developers, the Model Group: Model Group 2170 Gilbert Avenue Cincinnati, Ohio 45206 513.559.0048

^^ Hooray! It doesn't get the press that 3CDC projects tend to, but affordable quality housing is also really important for a quality city, and can help keep OTR from becoming just a yuppie playground.

Well, it'd also be easier to understand if renderings of what's coming were posted in the Banks and the park. Heck, I spent a little bit of time at work trying to find out what gets built next (or when) for the Banks and came up blank. (The website for Smale on the other hand is really informative and awesome.)

no, the faux-mansard roof is what makes the ones that jjakucyk linked in Mt. Adams not-Italianate. Italianate buildings don't have that kind of slope-back to their frontage. If you can see a building's shingles looking up at it from the front, it's certainly not typical Italiaante. :-P If you read the City;s page on Second Empire styles thoroughly you can see how those houses fit into the style.

Ugh. I know that Northside was successful in turning back a CVS or Walgreens that was proposed for the corner of Blue Rock and Hamilton where the lumberyard was. And there wasn't even a structure there in the way, let alone long-running businesses that are citywide institutions - it's just a big mud pit now. If Northside was able to successfully do it, I'm hoping that Pleasant Ridge will be able to do so as well.

My ankle's finally recovering after a nasty sprain, so at lunch today I walked from work (on Court) down to the park. The Walnut Street fountain steps area with all of the water elements is just really, really well done. There's all sorts of little details you can appreciate when it's not crowded, like the little mushroom lights in some of the planting beds and the glass floor/ceiling. Unfortunately, crossing Mehring Way right now is really awkward - I think cars aren't used to pedestrians yet, and they come whipping around the curve from under the Roebling. I'm trying to imagine using this crosswalk with small kids and it's a bit scary. Moreover, the portion of the park south of Mehring dosn't really align with what's north of Mehring - once you cross the road you still have to walk to Mehring & Nuxhall to actually get into the southern portion of the park. This will be remedied once they finish Phase II, then the crosswalk would lead to the Women's Committee Garden and the play area. Overall I'm really excited about the level of design I'm seeing in the park, and when the stuff south of Mehring actually grows in and is surrounded by more park, it's going to be pretty special!

Or calling green peppers "mangoes"!

Dogs and cats living together! Mass hysteria! Hope this makes celebrating urban progress less of a political identity issue in Cincy. The city's supposed to be for everybody!

It's also good news because the developer is correctly recognizing that the Beaux Arts architectural details of the building are a real selling point and they're putting that front and center when talking about the renovation. Website's also great. It'll be interesting to see what other Banks-inspired construction/renovations start to happen!

I'm also wondering how much plans changed because of the Great Recession. I know that it caused Phase I to go from condos to apartments, right? Did the initial renderings look more sophisticated?

While I agree that the architetcture is not good, I'm still having trouble understanding when you say it "undermines the stated goal of the riverfront development". What are the criteria of success for the Banks? If the Banks is fully leased and it's looked at as an exciting place to live with lively streets that gets people excited about living downtown, then isn't that successful? I mean, I would prefer that the Banks have all that and be more architecturally sophisticated. But the success of the Banks so far seems to indicate that the public is responding to the urban form that the Banks represents and doesn't care so much about the architectural aesthetic.

Oh, I'd be shocked if TKILTBAG were still around in 15 years - heck, I'd be suprised if it lasted more than six or seven years! But that's okay - retailer churn is part of how cities naturally work. Not every business can or should be Arnold's. Once the Banks has been around for a while, the changes in retailers will be part of what keeps people's interest and continually give non-Banks residents to come back. Back to OTR's point... we'll really know that the Banks is taking hold when a Pottery Barn or Crate&Barrel arrive. ;)