thebillshark

Re: Kroger Block, I just hope they bring back Wielert's Beer Garden where Boss Cox, Rudolph Hynicka, and August Herrmann used to run the city from. It looks like there's room back there for a beer garden. Maybe it could be like Doc Maynard's in Seattle and be the starting place for American Legacy Tours.

A huge glass panel on the Washington Park Garage entrance at Race and 14th was broken this week. It's the second such incident in the past few weeks.

This tangentially touches on a point I was trying to make earlier about why it's important to preserve almost every single historical building that's left and how they don't build 'em like they used to. I'm glad for the new development, but those six houses are going to look the same because they are all designed and built at the same time. If they were historical from back in the day there'd be maybe two houses, a tenement building, and maybe a commercial/workshop building all on that same plot and they'd all look different. This variety is what makes OTR appealing and interesting to walk around and draws the tourism. Nowadays most everything new that's built is going to be scaled up and built in chunks with parking included to satisfy banks and regulations.

Be thankful there's even that much. With all the neglect that was put upon these buildings throughout the years its surprising there's as many as there are still standing today. Also, lets not pretend that every building is worthy so to speak. There are some ugly ass old buildings in OTR that I would be more than happy to be demolished and replaced with something better in design. Don't get me wrong there is alot of great designed italian archeticture in OTR, but for every one beautifully designed building in OTR, I can't help but feel there's 2 than just look plain as can be and could be replaced with something better looking and newer. 1. It's Italianate not Italian 2. Almost every building IS worthy because they were built on a human size and scale that creates the kind of special place that we're all talking about on this board. They literally don't build them like they used to because zoning prohibits it across the country and banks don't lend to anything that doesn't fit a suburban model. Almost every old building lost for something new (or even worse, a parking lot) is an example of the "Tragedy of the Commons" that diminishes the whole neighborhood. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commons

I agree with what you say here but I do think a revamped pedestrian oriented Pleasant Street would make a hell of an exclamation point to the other things you mentioned. It's maybe not the first priority in the area but definitely an opportunity for something unique for the city to show off. All the pieces are there.

I'm with you, but will people take urbanists seriously if we're going around asking for a Woonerf? But then again most people will probably think he plays offensive line for the Bengals.

I'm sure others will wiegh in, but in general a pedestrian bridge would be difficult to maintain, inaccessible to elderly and handicapped, unsightly, and underused (it'd be easier at most times to make a dash across street than climb up and down a flight of stairs.) Over and beyond that it would not address the root cause of the problem of Liberty Stret being inhospitable to pedestrians along its entire length. Like taking an aspirin for a broken bone but doing nothing to help the injury heal. Crossing Liberty Street is obviously an issue but I think the first step is developing the empty lots and redeveloping the cell phone store and of course complete the 15th and Race project. That would go a long way to making Pleasant Street feel more connected between the Park and the Market.

I'd love to run the track in the tunnels, because subways are cool. But if rail did run on the surface of Central Parkway, you could move the bike lane over to the wide sidewalk area between Central Parkway and I-75, and dedicate transit only lanes on the Parkway for streetcar and buses. At least for a portion of the route. (I'm assuming if you got the $ for light rail you have the $ to redo the sidewalk into a wide bike path.) I am a huge bike lane supporter... just kicking around ideas is all. I read somewhere where if you could put in all the complete street stuff that's possible onto one street it would become too wide for pedestrians.

I actually pieced this together after my girlfriend said Republic St. was blocked off by police on Friday. News article: http://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/hamilton-county/cincinnati/over-the-rhine/over-the-rhine-building-partially-collapses The news article said the building was undergoing demolition but it could be wrong. Did it collapse while they were digging the foundation for the new townhomes?

Morning walk observations: 1. They've torn down the front half of 1321 Republic on the new townhouses construction site. I'm really confused by this as I thought the site plan didn't call for any demolition: http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2014/12/09/exclusive-5-single-family-homes-to-be-built-in.html 2. When oh when are they going to replace the plywood with real windows above Rookwood Pottery store at 1209 Jackson? The plywood looks terrible as that is at the heart of the redeveloped area and really conspicuous from the Krueger's rooftop patio.

There are tons of huge surface parking lots. Around City Hall for example and around Walnut and Central and east of P&G. Look for it next time you're walking around downtown.

But seriously the single story two car garages look like an egregious waste of space. At least put a patio up there on top of those or a granny flat. Or better yet a just do multi-unit building- this is a big lot almost right across from a streetcar stop.

Holy cow jmicha's head is going to explode when he sees those.

I don't know the history of who set the priorites for 3CDC but OTR as it existed in 2001 was a threat to downtown's survival. If nothing had changed I think Kroger, Macy's and maybe eventually P&G would have departed for the suburbs or elsewhere. Plus any delay in revitalizing OTR would have resulted in historic building stock deteriorating past the point of no return.

This Enquirer article contains an error I think. Says rail advocates want the existing tracks for commuter rail. What they want is the possiblity to share the ROW in future for light rail. http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2015/06/01/city-norfolk-southern-agree-to-trail-sale/28293887/ I'm really exicited for this project! I think it's the #2 project in the city with most interesting possibilities behind the streetcar. Would there be room for two sets of light rail tracks (trains in both directions) and the trail?

Sounds cool but also sounds like a lot of work for them to be switching up inventory and keeping people aware of what they have in the store all the time. Although may be easier nowadays with social media. Wish them the best!

I agree with this, but then what do you do for infill at high profile sites like the lot at 12th and Vine that will demand a distinctive high quality design? (as well as some of the sites along Liberty)

To follow up on this point would it really be a terrible thing to put a traditional style cornice on a John Hueber home for example? Would it really confuse people as to what's historical and what's not or detract from the significance of what's already there? And is it that big of a deal that it must be regulated? ( I am making the assumption that the "don't imitate" clause is why more new buildings don't have elaborate cornices, although cost is a factor as well I realize.)

Total layman's opinion but... What bothers me about the "keep in context and pay homage but don't imitate" mantra is that my favorite parts of OTR buidlings are the elaborate and ornate details. Things like the cornice carvings and all the way up to things like leaves & vines, animals, cherubs, and human figures built into the facades. It seems like by saying "don't imitate" in new construction we are saying that those kinds of things are now forbidden for all time. (and maybe by extension there is some homage must be paid to modernism in all new construction as well.)

I wanted to separate this out for the streetcar discussion and get some informed opinions on bus circulator routes… Here is my plan for Uptown high frequency "Cinculators": http://bit.ly/1L8RCnp On one hand, services like this seem to have good ridership numbers in other cities and it seems like the "providing access to a dense diverse mix of land uses along the route" argument we use in favor of the streetcar would apply to a bus circulator as well. On the other hand, it seems like most of the national press I read is more in favor of creating rapid and express bus routes all the way up to and including BRT rather than this type of service. While my circulator plan would compete with normal bus service along portions of some routes, I think it would expand the options of total trips that are possible without passing through Downtown and it would be eliminating the need to check schedules over a large portion of the city. Thoughts?

The Mercer Commons 16 Bit barcade has a large garage door type opening on Mercer St. which I assume would be helpful in getting arcade games in and out. However it looks like they are putting up some wood fencing for a little patio on the sidewalk that would prevent them from using this door?

Yeah, it's the backside of the old canal, where a lot of industrial buildings were located. A lot of them are still in use! As far of as "distillery district" goes, I've heard local historian/man about town John Funcheon is working on Stadt Distillery in the Apex building across from the Streetcar MOF. What I would do with this area is keep everything historical or anything still in use, then go in and replace some of the underutilized one story non historical buildings with new multi story residential.

I rode my bike down around where they were setting up for Taste of Cincinnati this year and it really hit home how impractical and stupid it is to be having these festivals on Fifth Street. First you completely shut down the region's largest transit hub (try getting away with that in any other city.) Second you are cramming all these people onto Fifth Street making the festival itself a really uncomfortable experience. Third downtown businesses actually report a drop in business festival weekends so your not helping anyone by doing that. There is absolutely no reason not to move these festivals down to the Banks other than the tired old Cincinnati "But we've always done it this way." And Cranley has learned to play those sentiments like a stradivarius.

BTW Branch St. where this is located has a really cool industrial feel: This will be also be right around the corner from Rhinegeist and a streetcar stop and I assume will have a Central Parkway entrance as well.