1400 Sycamore

^^ You don't get this. The BOR Complaint can only be filed when the property is revalued which it will not be until construction is complete. The purchase price of the land will be the initial valuation and that will not be challenged because it is the value per statute. When the construction is done, the cost will be the value for tax purposes. And, it won't be reduced despite your experience in HP. And, the team's revenues will not matter whatsoever in the calculation of value. There are endless cases on this issue of the business value vs. the real estate value. More likely, there will be a lease by the team from an entity which will impute the value as a multiple of net rental revenues and the School Board may get even more than the cost of construction. Take a look at the Hertz Center in the CBD which I think cost $44,000,000 and they are paying $825,000 per year.

My point above is that $750,000 per year translates to $37,000,000 FMV. And, understanding how the Auditor values property is essential to understanding that the construction cost will be the FMV until the next revaluation. Finally, a BOR complaint as referred to above cannot be filed until 2021 and then it will fail because there will be no comparable sales and the burden is on the owner not the School Board. So, the offer is only about $3,500,000 per year short.

So our tax rate is about $60/1000 on 35% of fair market value, right? So $750,000 of tax equates to $37,500,000 fair market value, right?

There are some paths downtown where the 4-6 and 7-9 parking is not strictly enforced. I note 7th Street, Race Street, And Plum. I am all over town all day, every day. We know where to park and it is no problem. When 4-6 takes over the lots empty out and spaces are available all over the CBD. But the 4-6 southbound from Central Parkway are always open and assisting greatly. They tow the parkers out of there like it was a contest. And drivers are on 911 every time a car is interfering. Without 4-6 and to a lesser extent 7-9 it would be a complete mess downtown. As it is, things run smoothly when the bell rings. It doesn't just double volume, its more than that. No morons trying to parallel park or hunting for a space. I'd bet Sycamore and Walnut process three times the volume at 4-6.

" . . . And now? Take that fanciful trip along the Delaware and you’ll find the Riverwalk, carved from an easement of the prime riverfront property, that terminates in two empty plots of land. In between, there’s a stadium that stands empty more than 300 days per year, whose only interaction with Chester is the quarter-mile stretch of Route 291 between ramps to Route 322 and Interstate 95. Parking lots have been turned into fields (that the Union exclusively use), and the club has revitalized a storage annex into a team facility (that is closed to the public). . . . " But, that can't happen here because the West End or Oakley will love and support the new stadium. And, its certain to be open to the public.

Berding has repeated this bluff before. I recall when Oakley had to cave or the entire MLS bid was said to be lost. I see this as a strategy to keep the other side (in this case CPS) from having adequate time to consider the deal and obtain input. Its why negotiators often ignore all artificial deadlines driven by others in the deal.

CPS did not like being chiseled by an Indian Hill billionaire and his tody. My guess. And, with what $600-700 million in annual revenues, its not like CPS is shaking the tin cup.

I doubt you will see UDF there. A successful retailer at Liberty and Walnut will be charging 1.5 times normal for everything (which UDF will not do for PR reasons), will have an armed security guard on hand (which UDF will not do for liability reasons), will prosecute shoplifters (which would be a full time job there), and will carry what the people want (diluted vodka, rolling papers and Swisher Sweets (which UDF might do).

Liberty Shell is a menace. Easily the most dangerous place in OTR. Every desperado knows one thing for sure: every visitor there has a credit card and a car. Two things you can be jacked for. Our neighborhood operations officers just hang out around the corner to arrest the perps. I can't imagine how many service calls the CPD has had there. If anything it has increased with the disappearance of other bodegas. A couple of years ago, it was reported that the police had 2000 calls to the Shell in a 24 month period. That's about 3 a day. I'd push my car to Newport instead of pulling in there.

Geez. i hope that you guys read plans and drawings better than text. I said two things in my post above. 1. "On a good night in the 70's two 2nd street bars had more patrons than the entire Banks does today." Most of you are too young to remember, but that was the heyday of 2nd Street. Every weekend night the crowds spilled out of the many bars. Live music, food, but mostly alcohol fueled. And, it was like Main St. at its peak. Lines formed outside the Spaghetti Factory and other food places. Sleeepout Louie's Caddys, 2nd St. Saloon, etc. And, during the daytime, hundreds of employees of the produce houses swarmed all over the place. One could never find a place to park or a bar or restaurant without a line. 2. The second thing I said was that it took 25 years after PBs to get the Riverfront where it is today. The land owners on Second Street started clearing out the produce industry to make way for Riverfront development in the mid 90's. By 1997 (20 years ago), they were all being displaced. Many of the saloons were gone well before that. I point this out, not because I think we would be better off with a raw, gritty riverfront of the 70's but because I am pretty sure that the location of FC stadium in the West End will not bring with it the economic boom that FC is claiming.

On a good night in the 70's two 2nd street bars had more patrons than the entire Banks does today. PB Stadium ruined the Riverfront and it has taken 25 years to come back.

Actually, it was quite well used up until the two hulking empty stadiums were built. Before that there was nightlife and the thriving produce center.

I thought the reference to Wrigley Field was a joke. Actually, it was a joke, but maybe unintentional. Not only does Wrigley host 85 Cubs games but about 50 concerts each year and since Mike Brown is not involved it is used frequently for high school and civic activities. Not anything like the hulking vacant soccer facility and parking being proposed for the West End, used 15 times per year.

I guess you are right. It depends entirely upon what the alternatives are. Yours would be different from mine. But, if I make a list of the things that could be put in the back yard and the stadium is on that list, it is somewhat below many of the things I think of as desirable.

No one would want that hideous, hulking, empty, guarded structure in their back yard. Or the associated asphalt parking. Or the pay to park garage. NIMBY or Not, structures like this should be built in low density areas where major, unburdened highways intersect. Northern Kentucky Speedway is perfectly located. Ross Ohio near the Rumpke Dump would be a nice spot.

It is unfair to describe these poor folks as "sitting on derelict property" and waiting to "cash in." These folks are as poor as poor gets. They lived in that little house probably without the first ability to fix the most basic of problems. And when they moved to the tiny property in Mudville, in 2003 that was an upgrade to a lesser slum property. Now some savvy real estate lady has come along and listed the property for all of $55,000. I'm glad they didn't sell when $10,000 would have bought that house.

Actually, it is quite lovely, but for the crapola around it.

Slow down there Jake. I'm betting that "Jimmie and Ruby Jamison" now of Mudville, who appear to have acquired the property by gift or inheritance, lived there from 1988 until years later. I would say that accusing them of "sitting on derelict property" is a little harsh since that was their family home until they hit the big time and moved to that castle in Madisonville with the junk cars out in front. I'd guess these are some very low income folks who are trying to get out from under the burden of a house they once lived in and, until now, could not hope to sell. Let's give them a hand for not demolishing this cute little urban cottage.

Berding is jumping around like a junkie in a holding cell. I've never seen a serious person with so many changes of plans on the fly. Hard to know what to make of it. If he didn't have the Linders on the other end of this fire drill I would think he had no plan at all.

This is the time to buy West End property.

ODOT acquired The Dock at 603 W. Pete Rose Way. Perfect place for a stadium. Parking already done. And, who needs more off ramps down there?

A big hulking stadium and 4000 parking spaces used a couple dozen times a year. And Jeff Berding as the promoter for "associated housing and retail." I would have thought Fisher Homes putting in cul d' sac's and McMansions would be more warmly received by this crowd. A great place for the soccer stadium would be 8th Street . . . in Sacramento.

^^^ This reality is now occurring all the way up to McMicken. Lead time on current transactions is a little longer than one might think, but I think Uber's observation will be shown more correct than we now know. A buildable lot south of McMicken at historical valuations would be a prize.

Of course, painting Chicago to be an egalitarian City and Cincinnati to be mired down in Blue Blood elitism is spoken from a person who obviously does not know much about either City and even less about Chicago elitism. Chicago is far richer and more exclusive than Cincinnati could ever try to be. Its just that the dozens of Chicago billionaires do not have their offspring scrapping around in local politics. Actually, Cincinnati is the model for egalitarianism. A person with new money can easily join the top golf clubs, business clubs or try out the latest entertainment venue without having to play the VIP card. Want to serve on the Board of the CAM, CAC, Opera, the Playhouse, Junior League? Join the Triple C Ranch, The QCC? Just pull out your wallet or check book. Try that in Chicago.

I think the streetcar connects with an incline car at Rhinegeist up the abandoned platted Race Street, (to the immediate Easst of Jackson Brewery) through Bellevue Park and then onto Clifton Ave and up to UC.