el double u

I'm not sure if anyone has walked the site lately, but I think U Square fits into the neighborhood pretty well on the Calhoun side with UPA right across the street. The McMillan side kind of has a dominating feeling because of the surface lots on the south side of McMillan. Projects like the one at the corner of McMillan and West Clifton should ease that feeling, if they come to fruition. Also, there are other possibilities to create a sort of transition zone into the old housing stock on that side of the street. Sites like Pomodori's Pizza, Stab 'N Grab (Stop 'N Go), and the Adriatico's parking lot all provide opportunities for development in the future.

Well said. Most bids do initially come in at least somewhat overpriced, and then adjustments are made to the scope of work in order to accomplish the general goal of the project, in this case, the streetcar tracks and shelters. Things such as the automated ticket machines at every shelter could be changed to ticket machines on each streetcar itself, eliminating 13 machines if there is one placed on all five streetcars. Edit: Although there are some items that can be value-engineered out of the project, it will be difficult to reduce the cost $30 million. Not saying it can't be done, but I guess that's why they pay Dohoney the big bucks.

March 9th, 2013 will be "Clifton Fest" on Stratford. Check it out on facebook.

Does anyone know anything about the planned hotel at USquare? Is there a timetable for construction to start or are the developers waiting to find the right partner?

And this is exactly what will likely happen. Even over the years, CUF has seen students shift to living closer to campus. Many landlords shifted to Section 8 in the past when this happened. There are too many slum lords around here to compete with new apartments close to campus, where students are less likely to be robbed. I think there will always be a market for the rental houses in CUF simply because not all UC students can afford the $600+ per month to live in these new developments. If students can't afford one of these new apartments there's really nowhere else for them to go except to the houses or possibly an older apartment building.

Not sure, my friend didn't get to actually check them out. But if the low bid was 34% higher than what the City thought the project would cost...................

I have a friend that works in City Hall telling me that the lowest bid is 34% over the projected cost. Also was told the bid meeting is still going on and it looks like "a room full of unhappy people." Not saying this is 100% accurate, but that's what I was told.

Correct. They were more or less just planning on giving it a face lift until they found mold EVERYWHERE. It was turned into a total gut job. Ok so let's say they find no mold in Scioto (which I'm assuming there isn't because there is occupied offices on the first few floors), wouldn't UC still want to gut Scioto as well? I mean, if Morgens turns out really great and totally redone, it doesn't really make sense to not match the quality in the building right next door.

Took this picture of Morgens Hall yesterday while I was on campus enjoying the weather. IMO, it really does look great. And when you're looking at Morgens from over near the Sheakley Athletic Center, you can see the Views on Vine slowly climbing to full height. Can't wait to see what both projects will look like together when they are completed. My little brother will be a freshman at UC this coming fall and I'm trying to talk him into getting one of those 8 person rooms in Morgens. He says he wants the "college experience" of Daniels (also where I lived in 2010). Whatever.... Anyway, I was wondering if anyone knew if UC has any plans to renovate Scioto Hall as well? I think I read somewhere that the Morgens Hall project cost something like $30 million so I'm not sure if Scioto is in line for the same treatment or not. It almost sounds like the university bit off more than they could chew when they found the asbestos in Morgens and had to tear it down to its skeleton. Does anyone know if they same procedure would need to be done at Scioto?

I currently shop in the Corryville Kroger or at a Kroger close to where I work in Montgomery. Once this new store opens, I don't plan on going anywhere else. From where I live, I have to drive to Kroger anyways and would be more than willing to add three minutes to the trip to go to a nice grocery store. Kroghetto just doesn't cut it.

People as in 65 West is 100% leased and USquare is over 50% leased 6 months before it opens. Businesses as in UPA having one open space and USquare being something like 90% leased. These apartments aren't like the dorms. People don't pack up and leave for every long weekend or break. I lived in 65 West this past summer and there were people everywhere. I'm not sure that 10,000 staff ever visited daily, but UC's offices and the eventual hotel should bring plenty of people to the area as well as all of the residents living above.

But, given all the people/businesses all that crap has brought to CUF, we have reason to believe this project will probably happen with or without tearing down Lenhardt's.

Does anyone know the timeframe for those two projects? I know they've been looking for a hotel partner.

I noticed that urbancincy is reporting that there will be 245 parking spaces and wcpo is reporting only 50. Who's right?

Future as in Phase II? Anywhere you can find a breakdown of each phase of U Square? I haven't seen that rendering before, but it looks really cool. Can't imagine how congested that intersection will be during construction.

Does anyone know anything about plans for the site at the corner of McMillan and Vine across the street from CVS?

Maybe as current projects progress it will encourage developers to spend more money on future projects like the one on McMillan at W Clifton? Or maybe give better developers an incentive to bid on projects in the area? I guess here's to hoping, right?

It actually wouldn't be terrible if people would actually go out on their balconies facing the street. The balconies inside 65W always have activity, but I've never seen anyone on the balconies facing the streets. Maybe this is because all of the units facing the streets are single units.... But I think the intention is to give Ohio Ave. a residential feel, meaning no storefronts just outdoor balconies and new streetscapes. Plus the hill running along 65W on the McMillan side makes storefront pretty difficult to achieve. Look earlier in this thread I believe, and you'll find some pics of some of the cooler historic buildings that were lost - not everything was fast food, though the pr campaign made it sound that way. The only building I've seen is the Friar's Club, which I understand would have been very challenging to rehab and was worse than 65W in terms of abutting to the sidewalk. I liked the landscaping, but the clubhouse at 65W also has a public gathering space with a garage door opening that was pretty sweet to pregame UC games with neighbors. Not all classic buildings are being targeted for demo. Like the Urban Outfitters/Verizon across from Shell. But some of these classic buildings are taking up space, like Old St. George Church and the school next to it. Is that hotel ever going to happen? Anyway, not saying tear them down, just do something with them. The bottom line is these new developments are providing better places for people to live, bringing new retail to the area, and adding parking. It's also amazing how much more walkable Calhoun St. already is and McMillan St. will be this spring. Complete change from my freshman year when walking from Siddall to "Stab n Grab" (Stop n Go) was sketchy.

I live across the street on Ohio Avenue in the 65 West apartment complex. The EIFS/brick facade on U Square may not be ideal, but it's vastly superior to the bluish-turquoise portions of facade on 65W. What was the dude smoking when he picked the color schemes back in 2009/10? Anyway, the atmosphere in CUF, especially when we've been lucky enough to experience habitable weather outside, is unbelievable. There is a genuine excitement among UC students/CUF residents who live close enough to the site to see progress on the project each day. I think all CUF residents are looking for the weather to break this spring, as this will signal the near completion of the project. While the architecture may be boring, dull and/or unoriginal, it's still extremely exciting to see this site finally being occupied. When I first came to UC, the site was a field with random areas of tiled floors and gravel that people tailgated on for UC FB games. I didn't even know there used to be fast food restaurants and retail between McMillan and Calhoun until last week..... So compared to that empty field, I am more than thrilled with U Square.

The lack of quality bars in Clifton is unreal. With the location of the building and all the activity around U Square, a bar serving local brews, like the Lager House, would do really well here. U Square has Keystone Bar and Grill moving in, but the outdoor space at this building is very unique to Clifton. And considering how packed Woody's is for happy hour, I think the neighborhood would support another drinking hole. However, I think Lendhart's and Christy's would need to be cosmetically touched-up to be successful.

Christy's is a very interesting building. It's been closed since I turned 21 in December and haven't had a chance to enjoy the biergarten, but it's always looked like a pretty cool place to enjoy a drink. Does anyone know if people still live above the bar/restaurant? And if Christy really does want to sell the lot, that probably doesn't bode well for saving the structure.

For all of you worried about saving the old buildings: What will come of them? I appreciate the historic architecture as much as the next guy, but why save the building if it's going to sit vacant and/or in rough condition?

Noticed on the way to work this morning, crews seemed to be preparing to pour the streetscape concrete just past Shell on the McMillan Street side. Exciting stuff.

DAAP exists to educate the next generation of architects and designers, not to provide free labor on civic projects because some internet troll arbitrarily thinks a project costs too much without offering a shred of evidence. How is providing "free labor on civic projects" different than "educating the next generation of architects and designers"? You can't tell me that DAAP students wouldn't learn anything by designing these restrooms. Using DAAP students to help design civic projects not only allows students to gain experience on a variety of types of projects, but it also gives a local sense of pride knowing that UC students are working to improve our city. I would think that DAAP students would be proud to design the first freestanding public restroom in Cincinnati because of the possibility that the design could end up being used in any and/or all future freestanding restrooms. More local input and design can help ensure the project's success in its intended environment. As in, freestanding restrooms in Cincinnati would work out better for the city if they were designed in and for Cincinnati. Furthermore, a large portion of the design is civil engineering/urban planning related as in utility hook-ups, streetscaping, etc.