5chw4r7z

I wish there was a way to get everyone to stay as far away from these nut jobs as possible. If they don't get any attention we'll never see them again. Maybe we could all gather for coffee on Fountain Square and do something really positve for the city by making it a non-news event.

Why should the people who are going to use the space be left out of the planning stage? That sounds like a recipe for a space that guaranties no one will even use. In the "cool cities" the trend seems to be to include as many people as possible. beta community

The BizJourrnal had a story last week about the prevailing wage issue and The Banks. Another bump on the road to Banks talked about how MED has thrown in the towel and agreed to pay prevailing wage. “Voss [of MED] said he doesn't want to jeopardize the 28 sale contracts he has signed on Parker Flats, so he'll pay the extra construction costs and find ways of covering an estimated $1 million funding gap.” At least all the road blocks are out of the way now and everything can move forward.

Just heard that the foundation crew should be on site doing concrete work next week.

Why don't you check out Towne Properties? If you like old buildings huge windows go with Groton or Shilito. If you want new construction go with Gramercy or Greenwich. They have a pool and monthly resident parties, you meet tons of people that way. All the properties border 7th and Elm except for the Groton which is at 7th and Race a block away. I know two people living in these buildings and working at that location. http://www.loftsatshillito.com/ Hey let us know where you wound up also. I hear you about suburbanites, everytime I bring up downtown at work the first remark I hear is "you'll get SHOT!" Yep lived there over two years and it happens every day ;-D

I think everyone is missing, or assuming and not stating the obvious. With bigger conventions on their way, and more residents on 4th the time is ripe for something big to happen in the 4th/5th Street area. Living at 7th and Race I have someone stop me almost daily and ask what there is to do and were there is to eat. If they wandered that far looking for something, why make them search? I think almost anything eating or entertainment wise would have a captive audience right there.

The Kroger parking garage is ugly? OK, so they are challenging your concept of what a parking garage should look like. Its better looking than most I've seen. Maybe its not sensitive to the neighborhood but thats a whole different story. I thought Gateway and the garage were awesome additions to the corner, they could have just thrown up a concrete slab garage and then were would we be.

I hope they wait for 4th and Plum until Parker Flats is done. I think they bit off more than they can chew here.

How do you know Ms. 5chw4r7z is my wife? LMAO, don't tell her I said that. Or my girlfriend. :-D

They're pouring concrete!! How long until they get around to building it.

Ms. 5chw4r7z and I went to an open house, they are going to be incredible I think, at least the model was. As far as downtown goes the available units aren't priced too bad, starting at 165k for lofts going up to the top of our price range at 220k for a 1 bed room. We may buy one and decide whether to stay at the Edge or Parker Flats depending which we like better. Course thats all crazy talk, but it would be cool to do.

Wow, I was wondering why the traffic to my blog quadrupled. That was interesting to see. Unfortunately MED is making it very challenging to update the website with new material on a regular basis. I purchased the southeast unit, on McFarland but opposite Central. it should have an awesome view of the Stadium when completed. I've met or talked to via email about a dozen people who have also purchased units and everyone is frustrated and wants this done. But, in talking to people from bigger cities, one guy who has a son in real estate in California who had one of these projects stretch out for 5 years I guess we should be happy its moving at all. I just can't figure out why they would shoulder the expense of bring equipment in for a couple days and hauling it back out. But I guess thats why I not in construction. I think this is going to be an incredible place once complete, and hopefully another 55 to 100 people plus the people from McAlpins will spur more development on 4th. The last I heard the union said if MED wanted to give the city its money back they wouldn't pursue the prevailing wage issue. So the judge gave MED more time to decide if they want to pay prevailing wage or give the money back. I also post about downtown Cincinnati in general here; http://5chw4r7z.com

For construction? I knew guys in Youngstown making $25 an hour before benefits. Who knows here in Cincy.

Damn, Damn, Double damn Damn that sucks. After all the waiting and other crap. If they wouldn't have goofed around so long it would be half done by now. They were originally aiming to start last Dec. Those were going to be the coolest Condo's in the city.

Does anyone have a subscription to the Cincinnati Business journal? Aug 11 they had a story about a local developer getting caught up in a prevailing wage dispute. Since I am not a subscriber I could only read the first two paragraphs. " A legal dispute over Ohio's prevailing-wage law could derail a downtown condo project and have a ripple effect on other city-funded development deals. "It's going to absolutely kill deals now and in the future," said Pete Witte, a Price Hill neighborhood activist who claims plans for a $12 million Kroger store are in limbo as the city waits for a resolution of the prevailing wage dispute. " http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2006/08/14/tidbits1.html :drunk:

You know, the Redfish squandered an opportunity with at least 7 good sized apartment buildings surrounding it. They chased anyone who would be a regular away with bad service. I don't know how many towne property residents I heard complain about it. We went in when we first moved to Cincinnati and in an hour and a half only saw a server once. Hopefully someone who understands this wwill locate there.

Holy Crap, I wish someone would have told me this before I bought a unit at Parker Flats. They brought in Vector Construction to do all the actual construction. Vector has done a bunch of construction around Cincinnati including the APT Tennis Stadium in Mason, 914 Main St. Building downtown and Columbia Square in Hyde park. I've talked to half a dozen people and it may be wishfull thinking on my part but they've told me that new construction usually has fewer problems than rehabs because there are fewer surprises during the construction process. I'm hoping since they offloaded the construction and are not taking an active part in it that things go a little smother for us. We'll see. I started blogging the construction also, http://pakerflats.info