7generations

Regardless of the development (developers of Center for Tomorrow, Oakley Station, DOTE, ODOT, Morelia Group [Madison Rd across from MadTree & just east of Kennedy], Hill [Arcadia?], OCC, City Council, Planning Commission etc), it seems that none of the “deciders'' give a darn about pedestrians,walkability and sustainability, except maybe for a few raised crosswalks or flashers(non-red). Heck, some developments dont even care about ease of vehicle movement. Sigh. I had great hopes some yrs ago, but my hopes have been quashed repeatedly. So it goes….

Totally agree. Morelia Group is so uncreative and wasteful of land use. Just look at what they created between Madison Rd and Crossroads Church. Parking in front (instead of in back) and only one story tall. Higher stories could have been added easily. And they are gonna do the same on the NE corner of Madison and Kennedy. Sadly, the Oakley Community Council Board of Trustees does not advocate for smarter development that would be a much better use of this space. S.N.A.F.U.

The OCC (Oakley Community Council) Bd of Trustees periodically emails a newsletter to all "members" of the OCC. Any resident or business owner or worker in Oakley can join for a $10? annual fee. The July 29 news letter contained the following: "At the July 6 OCC meeting, OCC Trustee Troy McAndrews brought up a request by Rob Smyjunas of Vandercar Holdings to gauge interest in them constructing a building with 2 hockey rinks for youth & recreational use in Oakley Station. Vandercar is looking to possibly fill one of the last open parcels in this long-standing development near the Cinemark Theaters. The two hockey rinks and concessions would operate as a non-profit entity, built primarily to support the hotel and restaurants in Oakley Station and beyond, plus provide a hockey outlet in the city. This is very preliminary at this time, and we plan to invite Vandercar to a future OCC meeting to provide more details to the board and community."

I live in Oakley. There are TWO Kroger stores in Oakley. One in the far north section (in shopping area called Oakley Station, I think). The other is on the south edge in shopping area called Hyde Park Plaza between Paxton Ave and Wasson Rd (even though the plaza's name is HPP, it is within the Oakley neighborhood boundaries). The one in HPP was significantly remodeled late 2020/early 2021. Which Kroger are you talking about?

2729 Hyde Park Ave. south side of street, about 6 houses from Edwards. I’ve heard it was referred to as “the Gentlemen!s Club” back in the day.

All I have found is the following from the FaceBook page "Oakley Ohio" a few days after Christmas... Joe Groh I suspect the property owner going to build apartments - under current zoning, he can build a building with up to 9 units and not need to get any approval from the community. I say “suspect” because nothing new has been presented. Owner had presented plan to build 7 townhomes, in 2 buildings, that required several variances. Andrew residents voiced opposition, OCC voted against it in a split vote (1 vote difference). Cautionary tale that as much as we (the collective we) don’t like one idea, the other option may be one we like even less. Kerry Devery 2853 Madison Road is the actual address for the parcel. Permit says 6-unit condos but that may not be updated. Also asking for a retaining wall and a parking lot. DOTE pushed back on their driveway for being too narrow. Current minimum is 18 feet, for two-way traffic. The gas light on Andrew will also have to be moved, which sounds expensive.

There is no trustee on the OCC Board who advocates for more density. Developer of this block between Kennedy and Little Duck Creek originally offered 3 proposals for this block, one of which had a significant quantity of apartments (density) - 50 or so, I think. The trustees showed no interest in supporting that option. The Oakley Master Plan (finished in 2018 or was it 19) states no interest in increasing multi-family residences. The preference is owner-occupied SFHs. No renter, not even renters of single fam houses. Somewhat related, the trustees also never advocate for affordable housing. There was also no trustee opposition to Swenson’s which will definitely increase vehicle traffic and will decrease walkability because you won’t be able to walk up to Swensons and eat there on site, although there’s some talk about a picnic table being provided, which will work only on Goldilocks weather days. Sheesh. To be clear, the attitude is not just of the members of the Board of Trustees - there are very very few residents or business owners who actively, politically advocate for greater density and certainly not for renters nor for affordable housing in Oakley.

Haven’t heard complaints about those lines at any of the community council meetings I’ve been attending for past 5 yrs. The lines were not mentioned in the recently completed Oakley Master Plan.

The quote above about the total lack of connectivity between Oakley Station/CenterOfCincinnati area and the part of Oakley to the south and west of the railroad tracks is now (late 2019 and Jan-Feb 2020) getting some "serious" consideration. This is being spurred in part by Neyer Properties who owns the old Kenner toy factory site immediately on south side of tracks from I-71 eastward to 34th & south to Robertson. Neyer is planning that area to become residential incl single fam all the way to senior apts. Fall 2019 Neyer paid for some very prelim conceptual drawings of 6 different ways to build a ped-bike tunnel or bridge over/under the tracks connecting 34th & Disney. There have been some talks with Neyer, the City and Oakley Community Council with tunnel getting more favor than bridge. More detailed talks scheduled for the Feb OCC public meeting. OCC is even considering spending >$1M of Oakley TIF monies toward such a project.

[NOTE: I got all of the following info from regularly attending the twice-a-month meetings of the Oakley Community Council (OCC) (open to the public)] The development scene in Oakley is currently largely residential focused: the building of single-fam homes after tearing down an older home on the lot; or, tearing down some formerly commercial or institutional old structure, or older homes and building somewhat dense 2-3-story 20-ft wide townhomes (some owner occupied, some rented). Examples: 2 separate 1-acre lots that will each have twenty 2-3-story townhomes with 2-car garages on the ground level with 2 living stories above - these 20 units will be spread over 3 separate buildings. One of the developments will have a roof-top level also. Another separate-location smaller lot is gonna have 7 such units, split over 2 separate buildings - at SE corner Madison and Andrew. Yet another similar residential development on SE corner of Edwards & HydePark Ave - 3 (I think) homes were raised in last week or so - 8 "landominiums" will be built. A many-acre area is gonna have a mix of 70-80 single fam homes and some hundreds of apartments - it's being called Oakley Yard. One of the Neyer companies bought it from the person who owned it and was somehow connected (I think) to the long-ago company that occupied the main building there - The Kenner Toy Factory - it abuts the south side of the railroad tracks that bisect Oakley from NW to SE. There is some commercial development, mainly currently along Madison opposite MadTree. Sadly, it's only one-story buildings (what a waste of vertical space, IMO). The tenets are a mix of local chains and a few national ones - restaurants, credit union, Starbucks with (yet another) drive-thru; also a local "upscale" daycare. Some other longer-term large project is in planning stage near the super-suburban Oakley Station car-centric eysore on the north side of Oakley (north of those railroad tracks) - where the CastFab factory was. There's also a bit of commercial development being discussed, to be built by an undisclosed bank, at the NE corner of Paxton & Isabella - would replace the now-closed Mio's Pizza, the house immediately north of Mio's, the Taco Casa abutting Mio's to the east AND a 4-unit apartment bldg farther north on that east side of Isabella. The OCC also sends a "newsletter" to the members of the OCC - membership is $10/yr and is open to any resident of Oakley, any owner of land in Oakley, any owner or staff of a business in Oakley. Here are some articles from the latest edition (NOV 26, 2019) of that newsletter that are about development: ANDREW & MADISON PROPOSED TOWNHOMES: At the November 5 OCC meeting, Jeff Lane of Prodigy Properties and Greg Dale from McBride Dale Clarion made their first presentation of their interest to build 7 townhomes at the corner of Andrew & Madison where there is currently an old Masonic building. The current zoning allows for up to 9 units to be built there, but they would need 4 zoning variances to proceed. They have not determined their price point yet for these condos, and hope to begin construction by the spring. The units would be owner-occupied, 2 story single family homes, with a garage underground to the rear. The final design is not complete. The OCC asked this group to come back to our December meeting for a vote on their requested letter of support, plus provide a landscaping plan. URBAN PARKING OVERLAY DISTRICT COMMITTEE: At the November 5 OCC meeting, Gio Rocco and Brian Ogawa of the Department of Community & Economic Development educated our OCC trustees and members on what is an Urban Parking Overlay District, the pros and cons of having one, and how to move forward if Oakley is interested in pursuing one. Because of the city zoning codes for parking being a barrier at times to businesses coming into Oakley, the Oakley Master Plan encouraged research on the arbitrary zoning parking requirements for businesses in the business district. The board decided at our November 21 meeting to set up a committee in early 2020 to investigate and determine whether we would want to pursue this avenue. If any of you are interested in becoming part of this committee, please let Colleen Reynolds (OCC Pres) know at [email protected]. OTHER DEVELOPMENT NEWS: 1. Camden Homes Townhomes Update - The 3 homes along Edwards Rd at Hyde Park Ave have now been sold, and the new owner is the Camden Homes. As they presented in May 2019, Camden is planning to build 8 owner-occupied townhomes called "Rookwood Place". The demolition process of those homes took place the week of 11/18, & Camden is looking to start construction in February. 2. Romana & Madison Townhomes Update - According to developer Angelo Pusateri, demolition of the vacant church should begin very shortly. They are waiting for Duke Energy to remove the current gas lines before demolition can begin. (@ NW corner Madison & Romana)

I've lived in Oakley for 5 yrs now. I do not know Oakley-ites who are in like this 24-yr-old YouTuber. I run in a different demographic within Oakley. Sadly, I suspect her view of the world is closer to the average Oakley-ite and my view is much more in a fringe demo that exists in Oakley. Bottom line - there are lots of ways to "live" in Oakley. Oakley is freakin' incredibly walkable. (I walk 1,000 miles a year in Oakley - clearly fringe.) I enjoy not driving whenever possible - instead, walk or bus.

Outer suburbanites, indeed! In fact, a non-trivial percentage of current Oakley residents prefer, and implement a largely suburban lifestyle, even tho they live in Oakley. I’ve lived here 4 1/2 yrs (previously in Columbus suburb) and have actively engaged the powers that be here in Oakley and theirs is not a progressive urban-lite attitude. Very little leadership that’s pushing for more sustainable living.

Update: I called the owner of this development - Climb Time - at their existing branch in Blue Ash. Currently, they plan to open the Oakley Branch in 3 months (Sept 2019).

I was told a few weeks ago that it will be a retail lighting company, the kind with tons of chandeliers in a big showroom setting.

Pic attached shows status of construction on Jan 24, 2019. The open-air structure on the site was removed before the new construction commenced. The construction supervisor (in the pic) said construction is "behind schedule", due in part to the subcontractor for preparing the grounds around the new bldg progressing slower than expected. When I asked him, he did not offer a completion date.