ragerunner

I'm sure we have some developers behind this petition. What a shame that this developer or developers can't see the forest of opportunities in front of them because they are so busy looking at their own feet. Quality design brings higher value for square footage and attracts more shoppers. He my find that the zoning is the least of his concerns if he used fraudulent tactics to get his petition signed.

Pacific Place opened in 1997. So it has been around for almost 10 years already. Mall can succeed in downtown, but they must be done right. A good example is Charleston Town Center in WV. It was constructed in 1983 and still is thriving today.

Another example of a Corporation helping take their community to another level. "Mutual of Omaha will begin construction in early 2007 on one of the most significant development projects in Omaha’s recent history. The Fortune 500 company will invest $250 million on a 15-acre site immediately east of its headquarters. Known as Midtown Crossing at Turner Park, this redevelopment project will convert eight underutilized city blocks into a vibrant urban village with seven buildings, most of which will be nine stories high. The entire project will open at the same time, and will include 600 multifamily units and 200,000 square feet of retail space." http://www.heartlandrebusiness.com/articles/DEC06/cover1.html

I think the real difference is Indy has a vision of were they want to be today and in the future and the Government, most of its citizens and Corporate community agree on that vision. This allows them to all work on the same plan and get things done. Cincy doesn't have a vision that is supported by its government, citizens and corporations. There is a great Japanese proverb that say, "Vision without action is a daydream. Action without a vision is a nightmare." Lets hope Cincy finally understands it must have a true vision of its future and then everyone must work to make it happen.

Not at the level of some of the corporations in the communities I mentioned.

I was comparing it to what the corporate and university community has done in place like Columbus, Indianapolis and Charlotte. If you compare all the items listed to what has been done in Cincy I think you will find there is a noticable difference.

Yes, All those things are great and I am glad to see them take place, but I am talking about not only does the good corporate citizen do these things but they create spin-off companies, fund major research at the local universities that creates jobs, they actively take part in the development of your downtown (Nationwide - Columbus (arena district and downtown development), Lilly foundation in Indy (100 millions in research, university grants, and downtown development), Bank of America in Charlotte - downtown development and mixed use projects). What I am talking about is when a corporation actually changes the built environment and the business environment in a community above and beyond just being a company that employees people in town or gives to the museum, charity, theater, or festival. UncleRando has a point. The Banks development is very important to the future of downtown Cincy, if they need an extra 10 million to get the thing of the ground, I would think Krogers or P&G would see the value of this project to the community and to them as a company (helps to recruit talented people) and fill that financial gap.

This is consider in most communities standard practices for the corporate community. What we are talking about is going way above this kind of effort.

I completely agree with Mr. Anderson, you have corporate citizens in some communities that do enough to just make things OK, and then you have corporate citizens in other communities that have decided that OK is not enough, they really want to take there communities to the next level. This includes not just supporting the arts, museums, local charities, (this is standard practice across the country) but actually working to create a better built environment, a better downtown, spin-off companies that create jobs and actively working to assists in cultivating an entrepreneur spirit in high tech growth areas in their community. Place like Columbus (Nationwide, Ohio State with their downtown/arena developments and research facilities), Charlotte (Bank of American and Wachovia and research parks) and yes, Indy with Lilly and Wellpoint and the IU/Purdue Research parks (right along the canal). A great city and a great downtown are not just about populations, its about the built environment, business, cultural and social environments that make up that community. Right now Cincy and its corporate citizens are a long ways from cultivating these pieces of the puzzle that are required for communities that wish to successed on a global scale in the coming decades. The gap is starting to widen. As a citizen in the Cincy area I want to see this community succeed, but it must get its act together, or it will continue to only do OK and not find that next level.

I agree, Unigov has been a huge help to Indy. Maybe Cincy and Hamilton County should take a hint. Several other communities recently have taken this route as well, Louisville, Miami-Dade, etc... Its a shame that the politicans and residents of Hamilton County and Cincy can't put the fighting aside and work on issues that really could help the area grow - like Unigov. As far as it is the only major city in the state, I am sure this is a plus, as it has been a plus for many other one big city states (Denver, Salt Lake, Las Vegas, Portland, Minn/St. Paul, Atlanta, Seattle). But, this has not been as big of a plus as corporate caring from companies like Lilly (Lilly endowment), Simon, etc... who have invested 100 of millions of dollars into the city. This is another place were some of Cincy corporate citizens should be stepping up to really make a difference. Yes, I know their is 3CDC, but this is not even close to what the Lilly Endowment has done for the City of Indianapolis. All these things and many others have made Indy one of the fastest growing metro area in the midwest. Many of these items didn't become reality just out of luck though, they have been cultivated for decades. Lets hope that Cincy, its metro area and corporate citizens can figure out how to create such a good environment for its citizens future.

Those population figures are just for the downtown area, which is know as the inner loop. To my understanding it doesn't take in neighborhoods outside of that downtown inner loop area. I agree downtown Indy has a lot of chain restuarants. But, there are a lot of local places like, Dunaways, St. Elmos, Malibu on Maryland and dozens more in the theater district know as Mass Avenue. If you have never been to the Mass Avenue area, its about 4 blocks northeast of the circle and is home to many of the theaters in town, including the Murat (Indy's version of the Arnoff Center - except it a grand old building with middle eastern architecture - I know, some people on here think Indy has no good old architecture) and 1,000s of residential units in that area and Lockerbie Square.

The reason I ask LSAM is that I feel Cincy, aside from the very charmiong archetecture and overall feel, as very good restaurants. I tought the shopping lacked b/c people didn't want to park downtown whereas Indy has great downtown shopping and supposedly good mass transit. I made the connection in that way but it may be simplistic. I have said this multiple times. the ultimate key to a vibrant downtown is getting people to live there. Cincy seems to be addressing this issue and I think you will see more vibrancy as more living units are built. I think you answer your own question. Downtown Indy has 20,000 + living in its downtown. Cincy, depending on what stats you look at, have between 3,000 to 5,000 living in its downtown. If downtown Indy stopped adding residents and just stayed at that number it would probably take 10 to 15 years for Cincy to reach 20,000 residents at it current consumption rate. So, if that is the criteria you are looking at for a vibrant downtown, and I would agree that is one of the major things, Cincy has a long ways to go.

I would say more than anything else is that the streets have people on them after 5 o'clock. One of things that make people want to go to a place is because there are other people there. It creates a since of excitement, and safety. What gets people to live or play in downtown Indy is a very long list of theatres, shopping, dining, sidewalk cafes, 20,000 residents, museums, parks, sports facilities, etc... all within walking distance of each other and its very pedestrian oriented. This whole concept is going to get even better as they build their new cultural bike/pedestrian trail throughout downtown in the next few years. Indy's greatest challenge now is weather or not it can truly create a functioning mass transit system. (light rail, monorail, bus) This is a issue that most midwest and American cities are facing, and the ones that successfully achieve a good mass transit system will probably have a great economic future ahead of them, the ones that don't will continue to fall farther behind.

This is a very nice restaurant with some great design.

It would be nice for Mayors to do it though without mob assistance.

While I think both downtown have there pros and cons I really believe it comes down to, is the downtown alive after 5 o'clock and how many residents live in the downtown. If you go to downtown Indy on a normal evening (no major NCAA, NFL or event action in town) and then go to downtown Cincy on a normal evening (no major NFL, MLB, or event action in town) downtown Indy is still alive with people and downtown Cincy is almost vacant. I am a firm believer that this determines weather or not your downtown (or any project) has been successful. With that said, I am also a firm believer that Banks (done right) with the fountain square renovations can go a long way in create that after 5 crowd in Cincy. They have got to get the Banks built or downtown Cincy will continue to struggle.

Yeah...I would expect so. I would also think that this store will rule out any possible stores in IN, KY, or WV. This is just by the way that the map is drawn out, and the way that the population is distributed. As for it being West Chester IKEA...I am not surprised by this. Look at Chicago even, 2 stores and neither one is a 'Chicago' store. When people travel to the West Chester IKEA they are not going to pay attention to how the company designates their store names...they will call it what they are familiar with. Therefore, actual people traveling to this IKEA will refer to their trip as going to Cincinnati. The talk from the business community in Indianapolis is that IKEA will be coming to Indy, but it will be a few more years before they make that move. I think IKEA is focusing on getting stores into regionals, then they will create sub regions for their next building wave. Many retailers and restuarants have this strategy. Crate and Barrel, Nordstrom and Cheesecake Factory all do this. With that said, I am not trying to say that IKEA will be in every town of 1 million or more all across the US.

Cedar Fair is up to their eye balls in debt. This is a really bad time for them to have went into this much debt, since the US economy is going into a recession in 2007. Before 2010 I think Cedar Fair will be looking to unload two or three of the parks to stabilize the company financially.

Great Pics, Chicago is the best city in US. It really has all the good qualities of NYC, Boston, San Francisco and LA (yes even LA) all wrapped up into one place. The midwest really has some great cities, its a shame many of the coastal areas just see us as flyover country.

I have to admit that I am a little suprised at how small it is going to be. But, its still a big step forward for Kenwood and the Cincy area.

Good for Kenwood and good for Cincinnati. Better late than never. Cincy's shopping scene needed this.

I had also heard that they were looking at River's Crossing. They do seem to like to open more than one store (in major metro areas) so they may very well be interested in the Kenwood location. I still think Cincy needs a Norstrom more than its needs two Von Maurs.

Good luck in LA.

Great pics, this had to be an incredible trip.

I am just glad that in less than 30 days I (and my family) can breath a little easier in most public spaces in the state of Ohio.