OllyTransit

Man, I know this is a month late, but you cannot compare a development that has Saks, Macys, and Dillards as anchors to one that has.... Dillards. Heck, my hometown, Sandusky, OH has a more exciting tenant list than this place so far: www.sandusky-mall.com

I'm surprised, though, that they didn't even ask a single question about rail transit choices. It's a perfect opportunity to at least gauge your constituents.

Welp. Kiss that parking permit goodbye? It got a pretty lukewarm reception from council as well. ​EXCLUSIVE: $300-a-year parking permits for Over-the-Rhine might be illegal A 2012 Ohio Supreme Court case may bar the city of Cincinnati from imposing a $300-a-year residential parking permit fee on Over-the-Rhine residents and using the proceeds to pay to operate the streetcar. The case, Drees v. Hamilton Township, centers on the Warren County community's attempts to impose impact fees on developers building new residential or commercial property. http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2014/10/23/exclusive-300-a-year-parking-permits-for-over-the.html?ana=twt

Yeah it's appalling what they're doing to those parcels. I don't understand how the planning board and council sign off on projects like these. Grow a spine and stick up for the city's legacy.

Good design on that poster. One problem though... you only see the "Hell is Real" sign going south on I-71. Nice try though, Buckeyes.

During Oktoberfest and the UC Homecoming Game (only around 2 PM, mind you) we took an Uber downtown from Clifton and it was 5.5x surge. We waited for the 17 bus for almost 45 minutes and bit the bullet.

That's actually pretty perfect for the space. I hope they make into a quality bar / bowling alley though.

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2014/09/05/developers-make-changes-to-design-of-criticized-ge.html Decently nicer. Groundbreaking? No, but nicer.

I can go into more detail on this, but I sat on Student Government when UC abandoned its old partnership with Metro. The old deal gave somewhere between $250-$300k to SORTA in exchange for free student ridership on the bus system. At that time, student ridership was something like 45,000 rides per month (really need to investigate that number...). Was maybe 10% of that after they did away with the system. The reason I bring this up is the deal was killed in the midst of economic turmoil. With the economy back and UC doing better than ever, it may be worth pursuing a similar partnership for the streetcar (and maybe buses again too) when the time is right.

The press briefing was to highlight the start of track work moving into downtown. Flynn also made a statement saying that he is not going to give up on federal dollars for operating funds. Glad to see him remaining somewhat optimistic on that source of funding.

John Deatrick tweeted that there is a press briefing at 9 this morning with Flynn and Mann. Any idea what this is about? EDIT: Sorry, David Ginsburg. Not Mann.

Having worked in commercial real estate for a big box department store in the past, I can say with certainty that the lack of additional anchor stores in the Kenwood Collection had to make their team nervous. Very few stores like that can succeed without at least two, usually three anchors. Wouldn't be surprised if this means KC was asking for a high premium on rent and CAM charges that didn't fit with the current ecosystem of tenants.

Exactly. And don't forget that once you've established your 'go to guy' on a subject, there's not a whole lot of incentive for a radio host to find a lot of other speakers Also probably not enough clout, even in the WLW studios, to start throwing BS at a guy like John Deatrick with such a calm demeanor. That would blow up in their faces.

The ARE investing in the OTR Kroger. I honestly believe the OTR Kroger works harder to please their customers more than any other store in the city. I've been shopping there for 8 years and yes, it USED to be terrible. It definitely earned its reputation. But the past three years they've been updating their offerings constantly. It seems like every two weeks there are new shelves, or updated registers, or new produce sections. They've got a whole wall of health food options now. They've chipped away at their collection of 40s and added craft beer selections. I get the impression from those of you who are complaining about the store that you've never actually made it beyond the parking lot. Yes...the parking lot is an issue. But as you mention, fixing that issue is a big ticket upgrade. One they can't actually invest in until the local residents start shopping there more. I haven't personally seen their books, but I have heard from a few legitimate sources that the past two years that store has actually turned a profit. There's a chance the store will survive and potential it could expand in the future. Companies like Kroger don't build small urban store like that anymore, so yes...WE ARE LUCKY to have that store still around after 40 years of perpetually losing business. The only way it will expand though, is if the neighborhood gets behind and supports it. GO IN THERE and talk to the manager. They are working VERY hard to cater to the neighborhood. Meh, that attitude is just too sentimental for me. Really. You're talking about supporting this store like its run by a struggling family grocer. This is Kroger. This is Kroger's global headquarters. If Harris Teeter can build a store in uptown Charlotte and Publix can build a store in downtown Orlando, Kroger can sure as hell build a modern urban format store in the basin. As for made it beyond the parking lot. Well, I feel it's a bit beneath me to bite on that one and vouch for my credentials as an urbanist. Getting back to the topic, this whole issue of grocer vs no grocer at 4th and Race strikes me as the same shenanigans that have been going on with a downtown grocery for a decade. It's just too fishy that Kroger is based here, has a lot of influence, and it's 2014 and there's no downtown grocery. Well apparently Kroger is considering building a new downtown store at Central Parkway & Walnut. (This conversation is spanning multiple threads so I'm not sure what was posted where.) I read that as the developer was wooing Kroger, and that Kroger wouldn't comment. Do you read into that as Kroger is interested? You would have a better sense than I would. Not sure they could not be interested. That parcel is literally their back yard. How embarrassing would it be if the flagship downtown grocery store was say, a Giant Eagle, and it was literally next door to the Kroger headquarters?

Hasn't Liberty Center had a pretty rough time finding good (read: high-end) tenants anyway?

Right on, I'm with you on that. I'm guess I'm just nervous that if Flynn doesn't see guaranteed operating dollars pop up sooner than later he's going to get impatient. I'm probably just paranoid.

While I know Chris has a tendancy to talk out of his :behind:, there's no chance that Flynn is feeling overly angry about the operating funds not being secured yet, right?

Right on the money. I don't believe I've contributed to this thread yet, but both of you echo my thoughts. It wouldn't matter if the clientele in OTR demands a better store/selection from Kroger. Why? Because those same people have the means to drive to another, superior store and Kroger knows that. Why would they invest in a new store that serves customers they already serve elsewhere? Not saying it's right or I agree with it, but I understand the business reasoning behind it.

Getting behind Feeney is throwing away your vote. The guy is not stable and has absolutely 0 chance of winning. 0. Not, "well if we all supported him he would win", he has zero chance. It's not because he's a no body, it's because, if you follow his facebook or twitter or have read anything about him he says and does all of the opposite things he should do. He didn't go to a single Save Our Icons meeting. NOT ONE. All you have to do is go there, sign up to speak, say, My name is Feeney and as County Commissioner I would let the people vote!" He would instantly have gotten several hundred votes. He should have signed up volunteers at those meetings, he should have done a million things. It's mid-august and he hasn't done a thing. The ONLY chance, and it's a long shot, is for people to get involved NOW and volunteer for Tarbell. Feeney's ship has sailed. Tarbell has a chance, but people would need to volunteer and not just say, good luck! So Tarbell did all that? No. But Tarbell also wasn't campaigning. I think the point is, Feeney has no chance in hell of winning this election and Tarbell has almost as low prospects as a write-in.

Wow. Can you imagine what we could do with a fund like that?

Oddly enough, I just spoke with the owner of that property yesterday. They are quite aware of what is happening around them. There are other factors which will play into the development of that site. I mean the market rent for that property has to be far higher now than what the cell store is paying. No wonder the owner of that store was complaining about streetcar construction at Liberty & Elm. He's got to feel the pressure.

So where do you sign up?

We have never had this scenario happen before so it's hard to predict what will happen. Will we have a dozen people running for the one open city council seat? If so, what happens if there are 11 Seelbach/Simpson/Young type candidates and 1 Smitherman-type candidate running for that one seat? The good candidates will split the vote and the wacko candidate will win. Have the same fear. But at least there are some growing powers within the progressive movement in Cincy (like Believe, and existing councilors), that could do some back-door pressuring to keep the field small.

This entire situation is a joke. Even the people who put together this "plan" don't know what they'll be able to do with it. They just figured, "Hey, let's use 3rd grade arithmetic, divide by 2, and call it a day. Now someone give me my juice box."

How much of it is really up to the city government though? Unless Millennium Hotels wants to step up with a bunch of capital, how do the renovations take place? But I'm in total agreement. The hotel is an embarrassment.