thebillshark

The Hyperloop is a dumb, dumb, stupid, dumb idea. It is a chimera that distracts us from what really is a simple and modest goal: dependable daily rail service between neighboring cities. An 85 mph daily train from Cincinnati to Cleveland or Chicago equipped with wifi would be an incredible asset. We as a society tend to design overly complicated technical solutions to problems when a political or social solution makes far more sense. In this case we just need leaders with the wherewithal to reform our passenger rail system into a dependable and affordable service. Rail service should work in the Midwest which has a similar population density and city spacing as many areas of Europe where rail service thrives.

In the east, why not stretch it all the way to Xavier to revitalize Evanston, serve Walnut Hills High School, Xavier, University Station, and hook up with Wasson Way? In the west, why not stretch it up Clifton to serve Good Sam, Hebrew Union, the Gaslight district, and a redone Burnett Woods? Also getting Taft and McMillan converted to two-way east of Vine all the way up to and including Woodburn is vital to the NBD comeback. No excuse for not doing that with MLK exit opening and all the data we have showing two way streets are better for business. Except for good old Cincinnati fear of change of course.

One would think economies of scale would play out in favor of a taller building? I wonder what technical trade-off they tan into that caused them to limit the height of the building.

^any chance Saks does a deal to go into the Pogues Garage 4th and Race tower? Then they can demolish the Saks building and put a new residential tower there as well. I don't think the city should be knocking itself out doing tax deals to keep department stores like they have in the past though.

Looked through the most recent one, I like that they're redoing the building on Republic with the really cool large recessed entrance. Also the infill over by Wade/Kemp looked pretty creative. The Broadway project looked like an efficient way to add an elevator and decks to that building. Onto the next packet!

^I recall seeing a TV program in '94 that used a computer that predicted the Reds to win that year. (20/20 or Dateline or something.) I remember because that was the first year I really followed baseball when I was 12 and I loved that team. http://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/mlb/reds/2014/07/26/cincinnati-reds-baseball-strike/13217505/

^ yeah I try to say something like "Sorry man don't have anything on me" because no acknowledgement at all may drive further comments prolonging the situation and making it more awkward.

From wikipedia: "CAF has developed an option to build supercapacitors into the Urbos 3, allowing brief operation without an external electrical supply." Don't know if that applies to ours though.

So.. the little Rothchild Law building and surrounding lots on the corner of Race and Central Parkway. Tear that down and put a mid rise with 100-200 apartment units there. One block form Washington Park and a streetcar stop. Heck, with a VIEW of Washington Park! So close to Vine Street bars and restaurants. In what UNIVERSE is that not filled up from Day 1 and make a boatload of cash. What are these Cincy developers waiting on? Are these people still waiting to see how the Internet is going to turn out before they sign that contract with AOL? Jeesh.

I think that these are going to be a game changer for Cincinnati's hill neighborhoods. They could allow a car free commute into the basin whereas today it is hard to bike up to even to the lower hillside streets like lower Klotter, Peete, Mulberry, Milton etc. But I agree that theft is a HUGE concern given the price tag. You would almost need a secured place to put it wherever you went.

^ I agree with this. I think student attendance would probably be better against low profile opponents in an on campus arena than in an off campus one. However, I think a downtown arena might actually attract more fans of all ages for games against higher profile opponents like Louisville. Personally (perhaps selfishly) as a not so young anymore alumni living in OTR I think I would be more likely to attend a game at a renovated US Bank arena than on campus. (Easier to get to, wouldn't feel like an old man, more likely to pick up some free tickets from friends just cause they know I live downtown and can use them easily.)

I only know this from a taestell[/member] tweet but Cincinnati IA has a Vine St., Race St., Liberty St., and Walnut St.

^ http://m.wamu.org/#/news/15/07/09/long_delayed_dc_streetcar_months_from_opening_says_ddot_chief

I hope someone on our project is looking at the start up problems in Seattle and DC and looking at lessons learned. I think the DC streetcar has a 20-something point list of issues they need to address before they can open.

#ParkingLotsof3rdStreet A structure built on any one of these lots has the chance to significantly alter the face of our city skyline. They would also be highly valuable buildings too given they are directly facing the Banks, with proximity to Smale Riverfront Park and streetcar. I would tend to think that something would be built on these before Fort Washington Way is capped and built upon but I could be wrong. I think the most prime locations ready for new development are the Olympic Auto Park 2 story garages. west side of 3rd and Race looks really buildable too. Thoughts? 3rd and Elm 3rd and Race 3rd and Race 3rd and Vine- right across from planned 309 Vine redevelopment 3rd and Walnut 3rd and Main- a more substantial garage 3rd and Hammond Alley

Relegation sounds like fun, but if it's not feasible for some reason, is there any way MLS can just be twice the size of a typical North American sports league? It seems there shouldn't be so many vested interests standing in the way of that for such a young league.

Might be a savvy move for the Browns be involved with this. Companies in other industries have R&D departments developing the next big thing and this is analogous. The NFL is peaking right now in popularity and who knows how sustainable that is given both in-sport issues like concussions and external factors.

You revitalize a neighborhood by replacing the payday loan places. A grocery store is a neighborhood amenity that cuts across social and economic divides. Especially a good quality yet affordable brand like Kroger. If the grocery store was replaced with another store selling high end knick knacks the neighborhood will have lost something valuable. I, and a lot of neighborhood residents, find the Kroger on Vine to be really personally convenient. That being said I would be open to one of the following instead: 1. A supplementary grocery store up at Findlay Market where you could buy things like toilet paper etc. not available at the market currently with longer hours of operation than the Market currently. 2. A larger Kroger at Walnut and Central Parkway double the size of the one on Vine with better selection. For example I'd love if I could find some free range chicken. Perhaps a location like that could have more deli and bistro options for a quick affordable lunch too. Also it should be part of a residential or office tower. 3. A combination of #1 and a grocery at Toby Keith's space at the Banks once the streetcar is up and running. But jmicha is right about trips to the grocery being smaller and quicker so convenience is key. Maybe a good model would be a few small groceries spread across the basin mixed with specialty stores like Picnic and Pantry. Your walkable radius kind of shrinks when you're carrying bags of groceries.

^this is still the best source for that data I think, even though it is five years old. http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/planning/reports-data/census-demographics/ Edit: "There were over 15,500 residents estimated to live in zip code 45202 in 2014, according to CBRE." http://www.downtowncincinnati.com/docs/default-source/Stakeholder-Docs/2015_dci-report_lr.pdf?sfvrsn=4 Edit edit: 13,521 in Downtown/OTR/Pendleton (2013 DCI Estimate) http://www.downtowncincinnati.com/docs/default-source/20th-anniversary-docs/2014_sod.pdf?sfvrsn=2

Taft's sells 6 packs of Nellie's to go for $9.99 and is open late. Complete game-changer for me!

OCtoCincy it sounds like you're working on some kind of project. Have you read "Human Transit" by Jarrett Walker? It's a clear, highly readable, insightful book about the principles behind transit systems. I really enjoyed it.

I listed out the potential pros and cons of new arena locations. Also I listed the possible effects of relocating UC Bearcat basketball to the new arena options. Of these options, I like a renovated US Bank the best, closely followed by a downtown arena directly south of the convention center. (1 and 3 below) 1. Renovated US Bank Arena Pros - Existing site, structure and experienced arena owner partners- saves $ - Existing Parking Infrastructure - The Riverfront is really shaping up to be one of the crown jewels of the city. Smale Park, Yeatman's Cove and Sawyer Point are Cincinnati at its best. - It's close to the streetcar line, about a quarter mile to the east of the Banks stop. We could extend Cincinnati streetcar to the east so the Arena is the last Cincinnati stop, and/or the Arena could be an Ohio side stop on a Newport streetcar line Cons - Not strongly connected to the convention center by streetcar or other means (the RNC wanted to use both Convention Center and Arena) - A residential Tower/mixed use development in the arena's place may provide more vibrancy at times when there wouldn’t be an Arena event going on UC Bearcat Basketball effect - Off campus basketball may hurt student attendance (but may attract new fans) - An Uptown streetcar could help bring students down to arena 2. Horseshoe Casino Arena Pros - Could partner with casino owners- save $ - Casino could help offer programming - Could do a mega deal moving Greyhound to the Riverfront Transit Center Cons - Not strongly connected to convention center - Arena is tied to Casino which may be a negative for attracting some events (not family friendly enough) UC Bearcat Basketball effect - Casino is a possible issue with NCAA events - Off campus basketball may hurt student attendance (but may attract new fans) - An Uptown streetcar could help bring students down to arena 3. Downtown Arena directly south of Convention Center Pros - Strongly tied to convention center which is great for huge conventions like the RNC. Would be right in the middle of convention-hotel complex. - Redevelop a surface parking lot Cons - May have acquire and demolish existing parking garage to fit the arena footprint - May require additional parking UC Bearcat Basketball effect - Off campus basketball may hurt student attendance (but may attract new fans) - An Uptown streetcar could help bring students down to arena 4. West End Arena (my idea for new arena on the NW corner of Linn and Ezzard Charles) Pros - Could help spur redevelopment in the West End. An "Arena District" could develop in vacant Linn St. storefronts. Could complete City West project with higher density mixed use infill. - Close to I-75 and another Cincinnati icon, Union Terminal - Could connect directly to convention center with a new streetcar line- see below. The new line would serve a lot of landmarks geared towards tourism (Convention Center, Paul Brown Stadium, Hotels, Music Hall and Union Terminal, new Arena.) Cons - Sports and arenas are not as good at sustaining redevelopment as previously thought- difficult to maintain business when there is no event happening (see early years of the Banks) - May require some demolition of existing buildings at arena site - Streetcar line shown below would be a new line almost as big as the existing line which means high cost UC Bearcat Basketball effect - Off campus basketball may hurt student attendance (but may attract new fans) - Close to campus (quickly accessible via Ravine and Linn) - An Uptown streetcar plus a West End streetcar could help bring students down to arena

Here's what we should do re: Fort Washington Way caps: a Gondola Air Tram. Line begins in Price Hill Incline District. Station at Queen City Barrel site in Lower Price Hill.The line swings over to align itself with FWW and a Sky Station is built in a building atop one of the highway caps. Line continues on to end on top of Mt. Adams. Here's a video from Turkey:

I like it, but if I were them I would want an opening from the conference/event center portion out onto Schmidlapp event lawn. EDIT: Some kind of integration there could earn $ for the parks by people using the hotel and reserving the event lawn.

Yeah that lot just seems like a ball set up on a tee ready for an infill project. Would be neat to have a new building edge form an alley abutting the Mercer garage with the alley extending from Vine St. back into the rest of the Mercer development. It looks like this lot could fit a building a lot more logically than the lot down the street by the Trideca lofts for example.