troeros

But the problem is that otr was ALWAYS a desirable place. Throughout its history, especially early on it was full of breweries, bars, beer gardens etc. Obviously the collapse had alot to do because of the West end being demolished and many of the poor people over taking otr. But even the 90s and early 2000s before the riots hit, otr was still very much a popular place.

Things indeed do change. I'm not arguing that Mt. Adams could never rebound. I am just echoing constant feedback I hear about Mt. Adams in which people complain about lack of parking, extremely narrow and confusing streets. People have always enjoyed convienence and simplicity. Going out to dinner or for drinks at the banks or otr is so much simpler. I'd also argue that for college kids who live in Clifton, they probably have cheaper Uber rates for otr versus Mt. Adams which I'm sure plays a small role as well.

Hasn't Main Street been a bar district since the 90s? And would have continued to be a successful bar district if it wasn't for the 2001 riots? That's almost 30 years as an entertainment district. I think OTR will always feature resturaunts and bars. Barring some major collapse, otr is equivelent to the french quarters. You want to live there, you want to stare at the archeticture, you want to party there. Its a vibe. People like otr because it's cool. No where else in cincinnati looks or feels like otr and that's why it's made people totally infatuated. Mt. Adams will never be back to where it once was. Mt. Adams parking situation sucks and is hard to traverse. Mt Adams was the party spot because the banks didn't exist, otr was the most dangerous neighborhood in America and downtown was filled with a few good places but alot of people had reservations about being downtown in general after midnight during those days because of safety concerns. Mt adams was like a little private Oasis, away from all the violence. So people flocked.

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2019/11/20/exclusive-new-real-estate-development-firm-has-big.html?iana=hpmvp_cinci_news_headline I'll believe it when I see it...

This is very specific to OTR Live and the particular audience it attracts. Galla Park, Mr. Pitiful, The Drinkery, Tokoyo Kitty, etc don't attract this problem. And yes, nothing wrong with Vine Street remaining a resturaunt corridor. My point was that a few more night time establishments scattered throughout Vine can help add additional foot traffic and pedestrians to Vine late at night...This can perhaps be a trickle down effect and allow for certain Vine Street resturaunts to stay open later for the bar crowd, perhaps allow more late night carry out options open (like say a boom box buns on main)... The problem we still face with otr is that many people who go out and party on main Street think that one street is OTR. The older crowds who only stick to Vine Street, think the resturaunts they eat at on Vine is all of otr. It's very divided and I think the more we can "blend" the 2 areas the more people can realize otr is more than just x -street or x -blocks.

I know an old brewery used to be on that lot. Does anyone know if there are any tunnels underneath?

Beer Garden in progress

Your talking in regards to fountain place? Are they tearing the structure down? That will be strange considering they are actively leasing the ground floor spaces?

Did anyone read the article? Some of these ideas that this, "club" will attempt will be quite weird...So they will have "free" performances of CSO classical music that is "modernized" along with consistently changing musical acts throughout the week....but you have to do reservations online or call ahead for 2, 4 or 6 tickets..So does this mean people wanting to go by themselves can't go to see events?

That's a good possibility..I was more referring to the potential of adding commercial retail on the ground floor. Seems strange that the developer wouldn't just choose to save money and leave the ground floor bricked off... rather they chose to spend money to remove the brick, and install storefront mullions which seems odd and cost ineffective if don't have any ground floor plans.

Interesting.... the improvements don't make much sense, especially the storefront mullions and revamped exterior if there weren't some larger plans for this site. I could be wrong, but it looks like alot of work and effort is being put forth towards refurbishing this parking garage. Just seems unusual since parking garages aren't usually something that most owners care about refurbishing and usually just let rot and deteriorate.

Hmm, it's interesting that it's owned by macys. Maybe they are interested in pursing a Macy Backstage concept store on the ground level? Those stores are usually off the rack, with huge discounts applied.

Agreed..I was just thinking along the notions of say the drinkey, or rose dales. Alot of bars in otr either have back patios for smokers, or side patios, with various exits versus being clumped together in one room with no windows and becoming sitting ducks.

Wow, I wasn't aware it used to look THAT bad. Huge improvement...Hopefully those are retail spots being built out on the ground floor!

What was the ground floor originally used as?

I feel like we were having this exact conversation a few years ago and now look? One of the sycamore lots are being developed. I think whenever you you have an out of town developer it's a good sign that otr has become an area that is of interest not just locally but nation wide as well. I think if it's not this developer, then another developer will purchase those lots in the near future. Granted, alot of this is probably unwarranted until we see how this project does in terms of leasing.

Isn't noise amplified when it's underground + brick walls + tight compact space? I feel like the dj music could become incredibly piercing on a packed Saturday night. And what about emergency exits? I know some people here have visited this space in the past so it would be nice if someone can chime and describe if this area feels claustrophobic or not? I hate that I even have to bring this up, unfortunately it's the day and age we live in, but these type of bars that are very compact make perfect targets for those who want to pursue terrorist attacks like in Dayton.

I'm just happy that we are getting a night club on Vine Street. The majority of the "dance" bars have been sort of bunched up along main Street, Walnut, east 13th Street, etc. Vine has always sort of been the "resturaunt" corridor, which is fine, but this creates a vacuum where you have major crowds one street over, but on Vine Street it's a ghost town because most of the resturaunts close around 11 at night. I'm actually a big supporter of community bars/night clubs in urban environments. These type of establishments are critical for creating pedestrian traffic and extra eyes on the street at a time in the night that criminals like to be active. The more entertainment venues you have, the more reason people are out downtown from midnight to 2:30 am, which I ultimately think does play a role in reducing/shying away potential criminals.

Finally confirmed, beer tunnel under brandery to become night club and music venue. https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2019/11/19/exclusive-historic-over-the-rhine-lagering-tunnels.html?iana=hpmvp_cinci_news_headline

The space reminded me of pins mechanical on Main Street minus the duckpin bowling. I think it might stay popular because it works pretty well as a "chill and hangout" bar for the Saturday night otr crowd because of the multiple levels and rooftop bar...but also works really well as a family friendly resturaunt/brewpub since the food is reasonably priced and the food is actually good.

I'm excited for that bar, but I'm genuinely not sure how many people will actually be walking versus using an uber to this bar. That area at night can be so dark and desolate, with a lot of people who loiter on the streets who are very aggressive to strangers walking in their, "hood". Did it once when I decided to walk to the fcc stadium because of free parking in north of liberty. It's fine during the day but at night it's just a very, very uncomfortable experience...

Yes it's a nice little boost for that corner. BrewDog attracted a diverse crowd from what I saw from families, to yuppies, hipsters and old folks. What I'm curious about is how late their kitchen stays open? The food was actually a surprising highlight and I wasn't actually expecting the dining experience to be that well done..so hopefully the kitchen operates late which would make it one of the few late night dining options in otr/CBD.

I heard before it's in connection with fountain place? Is this true? Curious about the reasoning for renovations as well considering there have been no articles written about this.

Checked out BrewDog today! Good amount of new pedestrian activity on that corner now. Food was really good, beer was solid and the space was really enjoyable. This should be a great fit for Pendelton!

Because life is boring without hobbies, and this is my hobby. I love urban discussion but at the end of the day investing in too much of something absolutely drains you mentally. It's not worth it.