küshner

A lot of European cities like Paris and Amsterdam are doing historic revival architecture very very well... it is possible, but in Cinci we're only exposed to Towne Properties design on a dime HisRev like the polished turd on 15/Elm. High quality historic revival in OTR and CUF/Corryville would be incredible, but we have too many developers that would rather line their pockets than enrich the city.

in 2020 Zara announced that they were closing over 1000 stores and focusing more on online sales. I'm sure they've reneged on some of the store closings since then, but I doubt Cincinnati is as desirable when the company is struggling. Large fast-fashion companies (H&M, Forever 21) and fast-fashion adjacent companies like Zara or Urban have struggled to keep up with online fast fashion companies like Ali Express and Shein (which is a disgusting, evil company). It's a very strange time for retail (what else is new) but if your company is dirt cheap or expensive as hell, you're in the clear; if you're somewhere in the middle, you're on thin ice.

Not thrilled to lose that one historic building, had a friend who lived there in college. Wish it could be integrated into the new project... Super excited about extending life east of Vine, however. Just hope we're not stuck with some value engineered Towne Properties behemoth that doesn't engage with the neighborhood or have street level retail space.

I preferred the old, more incognito location for Cincinnati's only pyramid scheme-- sorry, MLM...

I appreciate the desire to keep lower end chains out of the neighborhood. They still allow upper-scale chains, we've seen several come and go, Bonobos, Kit and Ace, Warby Parker, etc. I wouldn't mind seeing more of those smaller boutique style stores, in the vein of Byredo, Shinola, Theory, Le Labo-- high-end companies that prioritize emerging neighborhoods as opposed to established malls. I think larger footprint chains like Shakeshack would work well at the banks, but would compromise the quaintness and individuality of OTR... Although to contradict myself a bit, I wouldn't mind seeing RH come in and renovate a larger, historic building for a showroom, as they've done in Boston, NYC, Greenwich. But overall, I support the ambition to keep OTR unique for the most part, sans the bar conglomerates saturating the city.

I'm pretty sure it's just more expensive than it was in 2015-19. A lot of the renaissance was spurred by young people taking advantage of the affordable commercial rents to open boutiques and bars, now it costs a lot more to rent those spaces out. Just a thought.

This development really is compromised in almost every way... Like an Urban development designed by people who've never left the suburbs.

The old Mitchell Gold space? That would be the world's smallest location, and IDK if what is essentially a glorified strip mall with a gym and a grocery store gives the exclusive vibe they're going for. That being said, these new smaller footprint department stores (Fred Segal, The Webster, Dover St. Market, Just One Eye, etc.) seem to be much more popular with affluent younger shoppers-- the same way Trader Joe's is more popular with young people over say, Kroger (when available). It's quality over quantity. Maybe the Forever 21 space or even vacating adjacent upper and lower level spaces-- Saks could fit in there and connect with an escalator. I doubt any of this would happen because Saks is financially struggling and rent at Kenwood is not cheap, but it would be nice to keep them in the region in some capacity.

You're right! This is exactly why we need to invest in self cleaning, public toilets throughout the city.

Would look better with a streetcar ;)

I would hope that, when the day comes that Cincinnati can sustain an ultra expensive, luxury store like Hermes, it opens somewhere in OTR or downtown. Would love to see a luxury shopping district blossom in the city, even if they're independently owned boutiques.

It's weird how, and this goes for Easton too, the more luxurious the mall stores are, the lower in quality the Nordstrom gets. I used to work there in college-- when it opened, they sold Valentino and Prada shoes, Chloe Bags, St. John, etc. Now half the mens department is missing and the most expensive shoe brand they have is like, Tory Burch (which also just opened a stand alone store in Kenwood). Every time I visit Nordstrom it feels like the only thing its missing are big, red and yellow "STORE CLOSING EVERYTHING 50% OFF" signs.

The brick looks phenomenal

Better than falling into an Elder game

Sounds like the LAification of OTR. Anyone selling sausages?

Unrelated to UC but... Is the size of college football programs not somewhat... disturbing to some people? Colleges feel like football/entertainment conglomerates that get their talent for free and teach classes on the side for passive income. Regardless I'm excited to see the renderings lol

Thank you so much for posting these pics! As someone who now lives on the other side of the country but is still very much invested in the success and development in Cincinnati, I greatly appreciate posts like these <3

What a gross, Nimby take.

The brick and corrugated metal looks great and high quality. Wish the Banks used this aesthetic from the beginning.

And this is still better than Radius at The Banks...

So pleased with the quality of this building. It's gorgeous. Above and beyond expectation. Do we know what or who will occupy the ground floor? Will it be retail or a lobby for the units upstairs? Edit: thank you so much for posting these photos, I live in LA now and only visit Cincinnati every couple of years, these updates are greatly appreciated.

If there's one thing you can rely on a church to do, it's lie.

It looks like they're working off design plans from 1994

God, I cannot believe what a flop this development is. I never had high hopes, but it's truly a mess. Cheap construction materials- disconnected layout, value engineered to hell... It will be a ghost town in 5 years.

The flat walls facing the main drag are kind of disappointing, they should at least have windows if not balconies.