JoeHarmon

That's a nice bit of Density. Those lots have been empty for a very long time. Will be really nice to have that filled in.

Zero percent chance they actually end up building these grass parking lots. It will be regular asphalt parking lots.

I still can't believe after all this they built condos that are only 5 stories tall. Seems crazy they didn't try to go taller.

I am really glad something is finally getting built here. I really like the 4th building on the west side of Scioto Ln. That fills the space and looks to me like it will fit well. The other 3 just seem, off, to me. I realize I am probably in the minority here. The odd angle of the middle building. What looks to be excessive green space in an area right next to busy roads. I doubt any students will ever spend any time hanging out there. The exterior cladding being different on all three buildings, but they are all connected. Like they are trying to pretend they are all distinct buildings with different uses or something. I would have thought one large building, mostly rectangular in shape, with a nice interior courtyard would have made more sense. Fill the space better, and then give students a green space that is sound protected from the roads. Towers on either end, 5 stories tall along Calhoun and McMillan. I realize this is adding a whole bunch of dorm rooms. But given that UC keeps adding more and more students each year, I would have though they would have wanted to fit in as many rooms as possible here.

Terrace Plaza especially, the first floor of that has been such an eyesore to walk past for so long now. Once renovated and back in use, that will make a big impact on the feel of that block.

That's too bad. Nice looking building. Looks like a lot of damage up on the roof though, probably would have cost a huge amount to save and rehabilitate.

Booooooooo. Single Family Detached homes, Booooooooooo

I like it. Filling in the "missing teeth" of the neighborhood will add to the overall appeal. Looks to me like it will fit nicely.

Time for some unwarranted optimism. Maybe, just maybe, if this is a parking lot, that might make it a bit easier for a developer to someday build something the triangle between Court, Reedy and Eggleston.

Just A+ all around. I love that Covington is acting as the master Developer. Meanwhile the Banks sits half developed...

Underwhelming. This design feels small. Such a prominent intersection. I expected more. Especially given the proposal from 5 or so years ago where someone was going to build a sky scrapper here to take advantage of the view. Building A does seem about right though.

I didn't do a good job explaining. I realize there are multiple doors that let you exit the arena. However, once you are outside, you are above street level, on exterior concrete pads that are relatively narrow, with only a few ways down to street level. The space between the arena and reds stadium is fairly large, so the majority of people end up there. What happened last Saturday was the concourse inside were jammed with people, those who had gotten outside were also just stuck standing there waiting for everyone in front to clear out. People started going back into the arena and sitting down to wait for the human traffic jam to clear up. So the problem is not just with the arena itself, in my humble opinion, but with the way it connects to the street level. Generally speaking, I have been against the idea of a new arena. Hard to see the ROI. I've been going to concerts and whatnot at that arena for about 28 years now, and always thought it was fine. But after this past weekend, and comparing it with the arena's in other midwest cities, I have to admit it does have its flaws.

I was at Heritage Bank arena this Saturday to see a comedian. It was sold out. The lines to get into the arena were very long, everyone standing outside freezing. Then when it was over, we all stood jammed up in the concourses for 10-15 mins waiting to get out. It is not only the narrow concourses, but all how everyone has to leave on just one side of the arena, and most people there all end up going over the little bridge and down the stairs. Everyone just get funneled down too much, rather than being able to exit in all directions. The whole experience was so frustrating, and honestly, my wife was kind of freaking out a bit when we couldn't get out at the end of the show. I'll admit, it did feel rather unsafe. My dad was a fireman, so I am maybe more concerned than most people about not being able to exit a building properly. At this point I have decided I will never go to another show there in the winter, maybe not in the summer either. Comparatively, we have been to shows in the Yum center in Louisville and Nationwide arena in Columbus, and had no issues. Those Arenas are wonderful places to attend events. Nationwide is especially nice. So I do fully agree we need a new arena. If some billionaires want to pony up the money for it, great. But the idea of build a new arena and still having "limited concourses" seems insane.

I always thought that was the just the nonsense they spouted to keep people off their backs about tearing down buildings. I have a hard time believe they ever actually thought they would get a new fortune 500 company to build there. Seems to me they have exactly what they want. A giant surface parking lot downtown. They are a car dealership group. It is in their best interest to make sure there is plenty of cheap parking downtown so everyone will keep driving their cars. If people actually had a hard time finding a place to park, then people would start taking public transit to work.

Oh don't get me wrong. As an environmentalist, I kills me every time some developer tears down a large build only to replace it with a similar building because that is somehow "cheaper", or there is no way you could possibly renovate the existing building to be nice enough, best to tear it down and start over. And yet, that happens over and over. For example, the convention center hotel we just tore down only so we can build a new one. I get everyone's arguments here as to why this is necessary. I'm just skeptical it will be worth the investment Also, from and urban planning perspective, I HATE how the current convention center blocks Plum street. Expanding it west and blocking Central will be more bad urban design. I'm looking at the new proposal from Bridge Forward, they have taken out the bridge connecting 4th since the grade would be to steep on 75. So it creates a large double wide open space from 3rd to 5th. Just dreaming from an urban planning perspective, that would be the perfect place for a large convention center. Because who cares if the convention center is bordered by highways on two sides (75 and FWW). Then reclaim the current space for residential/commercial, and reconnect plum. ah, we can dream

I still don't understand this. All the original complaints were that the Convention Center wasn't large enough. Slapping some lipstick on it isn't going to change that. The Bridge Forward proposal looks to be getting more traction with ODOT, they are going back and forth and revising their plan. Latest plans have a large block of open space. Seems to me it would make the most sense to just wait the 10 years or how ever long it is, and build a new larger convention center there. This update seems like a waste of Money.

The biggest problem with the current arena is the concourses are too small. Why would we build a new one with "Limited Concourses"?

There was an opportunity to really take advantage of the tight street grid there, but first the parking garage, and now this, they have destroyed what could have been a super cool area. All that talk in the beginning of the slides about making it feel like Cincinnati and fit with the neighborhood, and this is what they come up with. I really hate this layout. The tallest building should be on the corner of Liberty and Central. Am I the only one who thinks that? The Plaza area is wasted space being on Central like that. No one is going to want to be there next to a major road. Buildings should be to the lot lines, Buildings on Central and Liberty, keep the original street grid, plaza interior behind the buildings. Simple.

Seems very shortsighted to have nothing that integrates with the Wasson Way bike path. A cafe with outdoor seating. Or I dunno, maybe a Bike shop.

Rather disingenuous to call them "Long Vacant" buildings, considering the only reason TriState and the Ballet moved were because FC Cincy bought them out.

Agree, I lived on Moerlein back in college. The street is fine. The vast majority of houses are filled with college students. Which means everyone is mostly walking to campus each day. There was never much traffic.

I hear what you're saying. I believe in addition to reclaiming land, the narrative we need to get the local news talking about it how confusing the current set of ramps are. "Tonight on Channel 9, have you lived in Cincinnati your whole life and still get confused by the spiperweb of I-75 entrance and exit ramps downtown? I know I do. A new plan will streamline and simplify all that to create safer driving situations while opening new land for development." etc

Bridge Forward is game changing, and ODOT's response about the grade being too step seems wildly inaccurate to me. It is not as if 75 has to drop from Bridge height to below grade in one block. It could take as many blocks as it needs up to 7th. You just might have to eliminate a couple of the cross streets at 4th,5th. Maybe you would not ever be able to put caps over it. But you could still fit 75 in that amount of space, and open up more land. I highly doubt they looked at it in any serious manner. If you read this forum and you haven't already signed up with Bridge Forward, and used their forms to send emails to your city/state/fed elected representatives, Please do so. This is our one and only chance.

I hadn't heard about Pure Romance moving. Do they need more space, or are they clearing out to due to potential Convention center expansion/redevelopment?

Yeah, that is a big miss. I had long looked at that spot as being the ideal place for a Bike Trail Oriented Business. A cafe with a bunch of bike racks could've killed there.