el double u

^ Unfortunate.

Really, please share your vast amount of information with us that proves he is a nasty SOB! Obviously there is no agree-upon definition of what constitutes an SOB (or nasty SOB, or whatever) so this is a stupid argument in many ways. But the number one thing Cranley does that is really awful is his willingness to impugn the integrity of people who work for the City. I'm not going to look up these quotes for you, but we all know they are there. The reason why this is so bad is because he's using the prominence of his office to malign people who aren't as prominent and consequently can't fight back in the same manner. It's one thing if one politician talks shit about another politician, because they both have basically equal access to the press. But a regular civil servant doesn't. So that's the number one reason. And if anyone has seen how he often uses his chairmanship of City meetings to make little digs at people who come up during the public comment period, that's another. Finally, this guy complains about personal attacks, but as I just noted, he engages in them all the time. So there you go. I'll provide you with a quote.... http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2014/12/10/cranley-to-streetcar-bosses-put-up-or-shut-up/20209159/ "We need to have a team that will bring it in on time and under budget, or we need a new team," Cranley said Wednesday. "It's put up or shut up."

How about V3PO, C3PO's long lost cousin? :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

It actually stands for Vine Phase 3, referring to Vine Street Flats and Views on Vine as the first two phases. The development along Taft will be Vine Phase 4. They're adding something like 1,000 residents to the area.

I must have missed this story a year and a half ago: http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2013/10/21/new-restaurant-bar-project-planned.html?page=all I wonder why Uptown is dragging their feet with this? They made some improvements to the attached parking garage and with VP3 opening this fall and another development getting started on Taft, seems like the area would be ripe for new bars/restaurants. Especially when you consider Kroghetto's redevelopment getting underway.

Dodger Stadium is the 3rd oldest in MLB, Angel Stadium is 4th. :wink:

Somewhat off topic, but 23 MLB stadiums have been constructed since 1992. The Reds themselves have built 2 parks just since 1970. GABP and PBS are both now over 11 years old and could be through almost a third of the average lifespan of pro stadiums. The slow pace of development at the Banks has taken that much time just to really get started/move into a second phase. Does it seem to anyone else that by the time the area is fully developed the Reds/Bengals could be looking to build a new stadium? I'm assuming both teams would have ample opportunity to renovate/expand before that happens but in the ever-increasing world of sports revenues, could this be something to keep in mind going forward? Would be a shame to see all of this new investment just to have one of the teams move away right after it's all 100% complete (including capping FWW).

The concrete sidewalk pads were not finished around the telephone poles as smoothly as the sidewalk itself, like the concrete they poured around the old poles is just a placeholder or something. It definitely doesn't appear that this concrete is permanent around the old poles. It's kind of hard to explain, I'll try to get over there to take a picture this week. Maybe they'll be torn out at a later date? I know the Consortium was looking for funding to streetscape the rest of Short Vine.

The northern-most retail spaces on Walnut in Mercer Commons at 1349-55 are looking for a laundromat tenant. The space has been outfitted with a huge exhaust duct for dryers. Not sure if they have a tenant lined up or not yet. Also, the retail space at 1339 Walnut is already occupied (temporarily?) by Bill Donabedian who co-founded the MidPoint Music Festival.

Which building? Mercer One? That's the new construction condo building facing Vine. I've heard the 1st floor retail space will be occupied by a restaurant operated by the owner of Kaze.

I'm pretty sure the city was going to own the 4th and Race garage. I think it was mentioned in the parking lease deal discussion but not 100%.

From what I've heard, the owner was having trouble finalizing financing. Not sure where that stands now. All that's going on the inside the building is minor framing and carpentry work.

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/money/2014/06/25/downtown-holiday-inn-advances/11353019/ "About $11 million would go toward the project. Before year's end, the city is expected to complete demolition of the 58-year-old garage." ... "Previously, Rolling Hills announced the project would be cut nearly in half, scaling down from a $14 million development with more than 200 rooms." So let me get this straight..... Cranley is supporting $11 million city dollars for a new 725 space garage and a $14 million (less ?) Holiday Inn, but wouldn't support $12 million city dollars for a larger garage and $82 million, 300 unit luxury apartment tower with a grocery at 4th and Race? Am I missing something here?

Heard on WCPO tonight that 60% of the new tenants so far are relocating from outside Cincinnati, so at least new projects like this are bringing in new residents to contribute to the city's tax base.

I'm a co-op with HGC Construction, the GC on the project. I've been in classes this semester so I'm not 100% up to date, but framing has started on the top two floors and from everything my buddy has told me who is on site down there, the project is running smoothly and on schedule. Looking forward to visiting the project on Thursday when I go back to work for HGC after exams are over.

I'm a co-op with HGC, although I'm in classes on campus this semester. But I worked with the PM on this project, Todd Christman, almost every day last semester. He's a great guy and I'm really excited for him to see this get started. The plans have been finalized since at least November. I'm not exactly sure where they are on the permitting process, but I would be shocked if they had held the groundbreaking yesterday without being ready to get started right away. I'm really looking forward to following this project next semester.

Does anyone know if a lot has been selected for development after Phase 2? Or is a a phasing plan available somewhere online? It seems Phase 2 will finally get underway this spring with the post below, and I was wondering what the next steps are moving forward. Will the developers look to finish earlier phases like the office tower, hotel, townhouses first before moving to another lot?

not sure if anyone is familiar with angels on McMillan, but they never have anything in stock. Rumor on the streets is they're laundering money. Any idea how they're still in business even though they never really sell anything?

UC to start designing Nippert expansion From the Enquirer: The University of Cincinnati is about to spend its first $2 million on design for a new pavilion at Nippert Stadium, a project it’s actively pitching to other athletic conferences. In January, UC sent a video description of the $70 million project to all of the Atlantic Coast Conference presidents, the latest sign that it’s still campaigning for a spot in that league. Read more: http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20130218/NEWS01/302180097/UC-start-designing-Nippert-expansion

What college did YOU go to lol

^ lol now hold on a sec I'm one of those "modern" kids!!! We don't all play WoW!! Just like 75% of us.....

This is a very interesting discussion. I'd like to invite you all to walk around the site if you get a chance on the first 60 degree day of the year and tell me what you think about how U Square fits with UPA. The EIFS has an interesting dark brown color on that side, which I honestly think looks pretty good considering it is EIFS we're talking about. It's a nice contrast to UPA's brick. I walked around the block yesterday and I think the entire development will be a huge success. It almost feels like a new neighborhood has been built within CUF. The McMillan side of the street just feels kind of awkward because of the lack of storefront on the south side. The energy is really in the air around the site though, especially on warmer days when more pedestrians are outside. The next big step, for me, will be when the traffic cones are taken out of the streets and traffic can flow naturally and the sidewalks are opened. Hopefully coming soon. The area will be much less congested with traffic. I do not see the architecture in any way deterring anyone from living, shopping or working at U Square, even though it leaves something more to be desired. Hell, if the facade at 65W didn't deter people, I'm not sure what will....

LMAO

I think you mean architecturally horrible? They certainly fill the needs of the neighborhood, from a functionality standpoint. Wouldn't you agree? Um... I wouldn't say building a pretty building "benefits the public good." The public good depends more on how functional and efficient the building is. It would be nice if the developers in the area could find a "sweetspot" maximizing both the functionality of a building and its aesthetic qualities, but this hasn't exactly happened yet. Must be the engineer in me typing this.

Hearing from a source in City Hall that the city is looking at two options: 1. Ask the federal government for additional funds. According to my source, the city is "very, very unlikely to get more federal money." (I think for pretty obvious reasons) 2. Rebid the entire project with changes to its scope of work. My source says this would probably cause bid prices to stay the same, if not increase because now all the developers interested in the project know that the city has its back against the wall. Again, not sure how accurate this is, but the same source told me that the 3 bids that came in were 30% higher than expected which turned out to be true.