TroyEros

Apologies for how random this is, but what do you guys suggest to do with the land that is currently situated in north liberty on republic street (the giant building that looks like a prison and still has the old church steeple remaining)? I imagine down the road that land will become available for development. Their was discussion in another thread about how Cincinnati doesn't have a real true plaza, and I was curious if you guys though this land would perhaps make an interesting location for a European esque plaza? Plant some benches, some trees, maybe a nice center piece fountain? Especially since it borders Findley market I thought it would perhaps be an interesting alternative use for that prison look alike building that currently sits there. That said I'm not sure if their is a need for a plaza in OTR..and would probably prefer more density and mixed use development...That said, in my mind it potentially works.

http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/buildings/historic-conservation/historic-conservation-board/november-7-2016-staff-report-and-attachments/ 1706 & 1708 Elm Street is getting a new facade, as well as new front and rear decks!

Your an architecture by trade, no? I think that's where the gap exists. Your able to see beyond what the average person see's when it comes to architecture and design. I cannot. I only have eyes that are capable of judging a building by its facade, and the details that encompass the facade. I don't have that higher level of knowledge to appreciate archechiture of this nature because I don't understand the design process. Unfortunately there are very few people with your knowledge and your set of eyes, and alot of people like me who can only judge a building by the feelings and emotions the facade and the overall design evokes (a grey modern house, vs an 1800 Victorian mansion).

I was talking more of intricate details. The older architecture that you see in Europe for instance. It's almost as if the building was made by a sculptor who was possessed with details. I'm not saying create faux anything. I just want to see buildings with attention to details again that just grabs your attention and drops your jaw. 3d printing should allow that to happen because of lower production costs. Very few modern development has done that for me. But I will admit the Milwaukee art museum is flat out stunning.

Its great that detroit is experiencing all of this development. I just wish all of this infill wasn't so ugly. Truly wonder how long it'll take to get 3d printing to become a main staple so we can have developers build classic, detailed buildings for very cheap. 3d printing is definitely the future of architecture and development, and will make developing of any style of building dirt cheap like it was in the late 1800's/early 1900's. I just hope that developers will use it for good and bring upon a wave of rebirth of classical type buildings again.

http://www.soapboxmedia.com/devnews/110116-kunsthous-community-living.aspx

The curb cuts for garages are a non-starter for OTR. Plus town homes in OTR are already going between a half million to a million dollars. How much wealthier do you need? That's nothing in other cities. I'm not even talking Chicago/NYC, I'm talking nearby like Nashville. I'm just pointing out that a lower income neighborhood usually equates to trash infill (it's not always the case, but more times than not the developers care less about making that is quality.) The more wealthier the neighborhood becomes the higher quality the infill becomes. I hate it's like that, but you see it again and again. The level of wealth translates directly to the level of quality of infill.

I hate to point this out, but aside from lunch times for the CBD, and the weekends (bar hopping crowds) I don't really see a practical use for this street car. It reconnects 2 neighborhoods in The Banks, and OTR which is awesome in itself. But I'd hardly call either neighborhood bustling. Both are still struggling, but will continue to increase in population over the years. I still feel that the residences that use the street car on the OTR/CBD side on a daily basis is still a very slim number of riders. I feel it's mostly used for outside surburban tourists to experience OTR/Findley Market, and a quicker way to reach the stadiums at the Banks on gamedays. I feel that the weekdays its going to struggle because our urban neighborhoods are still not their yet in terms of population, and we still struggle with this issue that so many employees who work in the CBD are people who would rather live in the comfortable suburbs than live in downtown. I ultimately feel its incredibly imperative to connect this to Uptown, because at its current state it's essentially a tourist sight seeing bus on a track for suburban weekenders.

I'm crossing my fingers that this is the type of infill OTR will see in the near future as the area becomes more affluent and wealthier.

But regarding the lack of big chains at the Banks, why do you guys hypothesize as to why this is the case? Is it just general skepticism about Cincinnati? Or are could the blame be put on the developer group/leasing Agent for the Banks (the carter group)

On an unrelated note, just wanted to give a heads up that Panino's and Please are 2 restaurants that should be opening up on Vine and Clay St in the next coming few weeks. It seems like Revel wine bar on 12th St isn't to far behind either. Currently there's 9 restaurant/cafes/bars that I know of that should be open in the next 3-6 months (who the hell knows when Hen of the Woods will open. The owners are so focused on promoting their chip company first it seems like) Genius-Cafe/Bar on Republic St Please-Fine Dining Resturaunt by Ryan Santos on Clay St Panino's-Old Fashioned Deli on Vine St Revel-Wine Bar on 12th St Peace Maker-Cafe/Bar on Clay St Grind on the Rhine-Cheese cafe with a Wine Bar on Elm St Hen of the Woods-Restaurant with a Small Grocery Store in an adjacent building on Main St Mecca-Bar from the owner of Cheapside Cafe on Walnut St (this is a really strange bar, and I mean REALLY strange. Look on their instagram account and you'll see how truly artsy and just straight weird this bar looks on the inside and it's backdoor patio area) Cheapside Corner-Ice Cream Shop from the owner of Cheapside on Main St It's a good lineup IMO. Also, totally random thought, but that church on the 1500 block of Republic would really make a nice mini taft ale house....

Generally curious, I know it was announced GE has said that they have currently hired 900 employees at the Global Operations Center, and are hoping to bring the final total to 1800 employees within the coming months ahead. I feel like Taste of Belgium will be crazy busy, but it seems mind boggling that there are at least a dozen + options currently at the banks in terms of a star bucks/panera/chipotle etc that cater to these employees. I mean, sure they can travel to the banks and the rest of the CBD to find these options, but the fact that the banks was built as an entertainment hub that would host all these type of places is what gets me. You have a crap ton of employees with no where to eat without walking up to the CBD/OTR or taking the street car. Are these chains just extremely blind to the Cincinnati retail landscape and are in fear of settling more roots? It just seems when you have nearly 2,000 employees in one spot and not to have a starbucks or even a chipotle nearby seems like an extremely illogical choice. It just makes me feel like these giant restaurant/retail staples still look at Cincinnati with extremes amount of skepticism with how healthy the inner city economy is.

Does anyone why the HCB hasn't been posted for this weeks hearing date? It was supposed to be on 10/24, but there has still yet to be anything posted, which is odd since it's usually posted the day of.

Was it approved by the planning commission?

Hypothetically if rheingeist wanted to demolish that building for their trucks, how would they be able to? If it's a registered building of the otr historic district it would seem strange that the HCB would alow a piece of otr fabric can be so easily demolished, especially if it's still structuraly sound.

How the hell did we end up spending so much money on building the transit center, only for it to be used once a year during music festivals. Mind boggling wastefulness.

I could've sworn I read there was a fire that caused the 2nd floor to be demolished

I feel like that's such a large space for a low cost, independent craft brewery. I'm wondering if that space could be divided out. Also, I know this defeats the purpose of a brewery district, but a part of me wonders if this building has enough sf where it could perhaps be converted into a boutique hotel? It's such a lovely building, and I think if more breweries continue to pop up around OTR (especially in the norther liberties), it would make sense to have a small botique hotel or 2 for tourists who just want to walk around and take in the night life without having to stay all the way in the CBD. A ground floor restaurant with a similar setup to Taft Ale House, with a microbrewery in the back, and with lodging above would be pretty cool.

Yeah but what OTR has the benfit of is being sandwhiched between the old West end/Pendleton/Mt.Auburn/CBD. If we add density to any of these surrounding areas then I don't see why this wouldn't flow back into otr. Especially since it's no more than a 3-5 minute walk from these areas. That's not even including nearby districts like Mohawk or Brighton.

Yeah because this city was a dump just 5 years ago. There was pretty much nothing to do and otr was a complete wasteland for the most part. Revitalizing OTR and the banks has done wonders for the perception of this city. Seeing the buildings in otr be restored to their former beauty allowed people to see how special we have it here.

I think people need to realize times change and so do places. OtR will never be this cramped high density area like it was in the early 20th century. If anything its the Mt auburn of yesterday were the wealthy had individual homes to retreat from the urban core (to a certain extent). The cbd should be high density, no excuses there.

I'm not going to lie, the negativity on this board gets to me sometimes. I know many of you have high expectations and have high standards (which you have every right to), but the negativity around here from some of you just absolutely drain me. If it's not density then it's the design, if it's not the design then it's something else. I feel like there's rarely anything positive coming from these boards and alot of negative feedback. Everyone is entitled to their own thoughts and opinions, but I feel at the very least we should be grateful that an empty lot is being redeveloped, and that new families will once again be a part of the urban cores fabric. OTR in itself is in the infancy stages of redevelopment. There are still so many vacant buildings, there are still so many empty lots. I'm sure over time we will see better infill, and higher density projects. Lets not forget guys that OTR just 5 years ago was a waste land (with only some newly redeveloped buildings on Vine to show for it), and look how much it has blossomed today. Yes, the density issue sucks. But at the very least lets raise a toast that this means that this block of republic might be salvaged due to reinvestment before any of these historic buildings come crumbling down, and that new families will be occupying a space that was once just an empty patch of dirt.

Hope this adds more fuel to the fire for the Josephs and the Dennison. It's clear there is interest in bringing development to old historic buildings in the CBD. It's also clear the Josephs are greedy as hell, and want to widen there pocket books with an expanded parking lot for more parking revenue.

Sorry if asked before, but what is the timeline date for this project to be completed? Is Spring 2018 an optimistic outlook?

That's a little bit much no? Kids want to have fun, and playing basketball, or any sport can relieve that. Being in a edgy neighborhood shouldn't have any reflection of your negativity towards kids wanting to enjoy a pick up game of basketball. I hate to come off as rude, as I know OTR is still a predominately African American community, and basketball is an incredibly popular sport, but why the hell do they need so many basketball courts? Their is literally a large court right on East Mickmicken Ave by that park there and it's literally a 2 minute walk from the school. I feel like there is a slight obsession over these basketball courts, and I can't help but feel it's due to OTR having a large African american community. I'm really not trying to turn this into a race matter, it's just an observation more than anything else, because I do feel like there is a large obsession over basketball courts even though there abundant throughout OTR. In regards back to North Pointe, I do feel like they have some valid arguments. Community input isn't a bad thing, and having affordable housing is also a plus. If I was North Pointe I'd just readjust the project with the courts in tact, rather than go through all this BS.