thebillshark

Same old discussion every time. You guys want density and infill and population growth but then you always complain about the architecture, in this case sight unseen. Do you guys really think someone is going to build Versailles and rent it out to Millenials at $900 a month? A little cognitive dissonance going on here I think. This proposal even puts the parking underground which is a cut above what we're used to when it comes to respecting the urban form.

90 units. Great news for the neighborhood and city!!!

IMO we need to be unabashedly cramming as much residential space as possible into the remaining area at the Banks : https://cincinnatiideas.wordpress.com/the-banks-phase-3/ I really like this idea. What if the law school "campus" was built on the Joseph's parking lot and we got a rehabbed Dennison out of the deal (as office space or housing.) it would be near the courthouse and businesses downtown, and if the streetcar goes through the Mt Auburn Tunnel it would get up to Main Campus from there in like 5-10 minutes.

Don't know if that means on the building or not. Maybe it could go to the American Sign Museum

They will at least be running all 5 streetcars instead of the normal 3 that weekend, correct?

A few thoughts. 1. I can't get over how good of a deal this is for Cincinnati Bell. At $340,000 per year, they are paying $910 per day. I am thinking that 5,000 people per day will ride our streetcar (official estimate from years ago was 3.7k per day.) If I am right about the 5k that means Cincinnati Bell is paying 18 cents to have an extended, minutes-long audio/visual interaction per rider in an era when most people are fast forwarding through the commercials on their DVR. To say nothing of the 60k downtown workers this thing will be passing by every 12 minutes. 2. We are also getting free wifi from the deal, which I might be personally underestimating the value of because I'll just be using my phone, but may be really important for some people. 3. The 38% fee paid to Advertising Vehicles is simply exorbitant. That leaves the streetcar people with about $211,000 per year, I wonder how many employees that actually is figuring in pension and benefits. 4. Regarding "steelers colors." This was concieved as a whisper campaign by the project opponents, a small group of internet trolls. It is beyond stupid and it is the opinion of an immature child. I've been watching these streetcars go by for almost a year now, and the current color scheme and yes, branding of the system is pitch perfect. The way they stand out as a unique feature in our city and yet compliment our famous landmarks and urban fabric is incredible. Anyone who honestly doesn't like the streetcar because of "Steelers colors" has probably either never actually seen the streetcar or is true simpleton and ignoramus. Or both. The possibility that the "Steelers colors" meme may have played a role in the real life decision to change the colors or may have been seriously considered by people with decision making authority makes me physically sick to my stomach. Thank you.

I just hope having big sponsors like this doesn't affect the expansion debate (where it goes next and how) in any way (other than improving the operating budget picture.)

To be clear I don't know if their renaming the stations, all the press release says is "Streetcar stations will be rebranded as Cincinnati Bell stations." That could just mean the circle signs with the "C".

I think once the ridership numbers come in it will be shown that Cincinnati Bell got a very good deal... My biggest concern is if they rename the stations- right now they have descriptive names that let people know where they are like "12th and Main, "Liberty and Race", "Washington Park" or "the Banks." I'd hate to see them get renamed to goofy things that don't mean anything. Maybe this can prolong the number of years we can keep fares at $1 for 2 hours and $2 all day as well. That's really cheap right now and will be ridiculously low five years from now.

If this is correct I wonder if Nick Lachey will come back to emcee the grand opening.

The 2016 (data year 2015)DCI report gives an estimate for the 45202 zip code (not aligned with neighborhood boundaries) of 15,933 people. http://www.downtowncincinnati.com/docs/default-source/Stakeholder-Docs/2016-state-of-downtown.pdf The 2014 (data year 2013) report breaks it down by neighborhood (perhaps extrapolating from the last census) CBD - 5,598 OTR - 7,023 Pendleton - 900. http://www.downtowncincinnati.com/docs/default-source/20th-anniversary-docs/2014_sod.pdf?sfvrsn=2 To follow up on the above would "the Basin" include Queensgate or Lower Price Hill by anyone's definition? What about Camp Washington? Northside? (stretching it, but it did get flooded during the great flood of 1937...)

^i think what you describe as "Center City" is already known as "the basin." Not too well known, but known. Plus I think "Center City" is already associated with Philadelphia. I use Travis's definition of downtown a lot, especially if I am talking to a suburbanite and don't want any questions/commentary about OTR, I just say I live downtown.

Totally agree about how the Convention Center throws off the "flow" of that side of the CBD. Any massive, two block super structure will be challenging to incorporate into the downtown grid of one-way streets. The current configuration of 4-lanes (during rush hour) of one-way traffic on 5th and 6th Streets makes it feel like a highway on both sides... and it makes it awkward to navigate around by car (or even by bike, unless you bike on the sidewalks). 5th and 6th Streets are designed as on/exit ramps for I-75, so I'm not optimistic that ODOT would allow any modifications to reduce capacity. Which is unfortunate since I'll often see huge groups of convention goers waiting on the sidewalk watch as cars whiz by at ~40 mph. Not a good pedestrian experience. As a cheap traffic calming measure, I'd like to see on-street parking allowed all day to guarantee the sidewalks have a buffer. With a bit of money, adding curb bumpouts at crosswalks would help even more. Also, we need to get out of this idea that the convention center needs to be expanded. That's what is keeping development from happening on the lots to its south. The city isn't "missing out" on anything by not having a gigantic convention center. What if the NKY Convention Center expanded onto the IRS site so that it was the same size as Cincinnati's? Then our core could host double the amount of events, or the two convention centers could coordinate on a large event.

I don't mean to be a hater but... Does it seem like some of this year's Artworks murals are going up next to lots that could see development within the next five years? For example Rosemary Clooney mural in OTR is facing a prominent lot on Liberty right next to streetcar stops. The 80's Kenner toy mural on Court could see development next door as well.

In terms of the power station affecting the hypothetical grocery store, the station is set back enough from Walnut that an entrance on the SW corner of Court and Walnut would still be highly visible from all angles. The parking spots that would have been directly in front of the store aren't there, but that might actually be a good thing for pedestrian flow. Maybe the store could hang some advertising banners on the substation or even put up video boards on the brick ends of the station that rotate through store specials. Another thing a hypothetical grocery at that location could do is team up with Avril Bleh meats to sell their product in the grocery store, extending Avril Bleh's sales past the operating hours of their shop because the grocery would probably remain open later.

If this happens & contains a grocery store, I hope the grocery store faces Court Street. The pedestrian traffic generated by a grocery facing Court could do wonders to rejuvenate Court Street retail, but the pedestrian traffic generated by one facing Central Parkway really wouldn't have much of an affect on anything. https://cincinnatiideas.wordpress.com/2016/07/04/a-solution-to-downtowns-game-of-groceries/

I think something's gotta change in the low risk, low maintenance, high liquidity cash reward equation of lots before we see widespread development on the revenue generating surface parking lots downtown. To make matters worse several of the parking lot companies are political donors to the mayor as well. My suggestion would be to offer additional years of tax abatement for developments that replace properties that were surface lots as of Jan 1st 2016 (a date in the past so no one tries to demolish their building and convert the property into a parking lot just to be eligible for additional abatement.) Until then at the rate we're going Travis's "outside-the-box" suggestion of a development on the library property could be just as likely to happen as development on a parking lot. A related note- it's funny how parking distorts the market. For example in Over-the-Rhine the two condos built in top of the garage on 14th street at first glance would seem like a "quirky" project or getting creative to make more use of a marginal space. But the ability to provide the off street parking without lobbying for additional new curb cuts (which should be avoided because they do hurt walkability) probably let them charge more for the final product which actually made the site highly desirable. we see the same thing over on the Wade St. townhomes where garages in even much worse shape are being preserved to be built upon. To bring that back to downtown developments I think we'll see additional "strange" or "creative" deals made vs. the "meat and potatoes" approach of putting up buildings on parking lots. (the condos on top of the 7th and Broadway garage being an example of the former.) I hope said deals don't involve the further demolition of historic buildings though (like the Donatos building, even though I understand that one would be challenging to redevelop to a modern productive use.)

I tend to agree UNLESS naming rights could generate so much revenue it would completely neutralize political opponents (not likely they'll listen to anything at this point though) or provide funding for planning the next phase.

I think Cincinnati would be wise if they could find areas in the basin to add "raw numbers" of housing units like this project would do for Covington without getting hung up on architecture and other neighborhood turf wars.

I can show up closer to noon- I have a wedding shower to make an appearance at later in the day

The litter situation on Vine St. North of Liberty MUST be addressed. The amount of broken glass alone makes the sidewalks nearly impassable, especially when walking a dog or wearing sandals/flip flops.

Here's the updated plan for 15th and Race: "3" is a 34 space surface parking lot. "2" is the single story addition on the corner that jmicha[/member] hated so much, and"4" is the amount of density we'll be getting on the Pleasant Street side (10-11 townhomes, tell me those will be less than a half million dollars each.) We need a garage as I describe above (built underneath "6" extending to the left of this picture under the street) so that 3CDC has the confidence to build taller on the 15th and Race corner and replace some of the townhomes and parking lot with a larger apartment/condo structure. Density = affordability!

Hey, if you can get Cranley-minded folks in city government and neighborhood NiMBYs in community council meetings to agree to do away with parking minimums, more power to you.

Not really. I live in Westfalen which has 42 condo units plus ground floor retail with no parking included. Does that mean everyone is living here car-free? No, many of us rent monthly spaces in Washington Park garage.

It's way too simplistic, and actually counterproductive to the goal of densifying the neighborhood, to say there should be no more structured parking built in OTR. The alternative to concentrating parking in key locations is having individual rehab and infill developments add off street parking as part of the development or on vacant lots, limiting the amount of residences that can be built as well as perpetuating broken street walls. While the proposed garage at 15th and Race was too big and out of scale for that block (it demolished the rear of historic buildings and left the proposed new wrap-around construction with really shallow depths,) there should be structured parking added near that location to enable density. Washington Park garage is filling up to capacity fast. Here is my proposal for an underground garage to be built that would extend underneath Pleasant Street: https://cincinnatiideas.wordpress.com/liberty-and-race-underground-garage/