Caseyc

um. so the City owns Grammer's parking lot?

...ahem....correction--"Person Mover."

They have been drilling there for a while (south lot between Paul Brown and Race). I think they are done with the major drilling and have begun assembling the support columns which you see over at the main dig of Phase I. The drilling at Phase I seems to be continuing, unabated....

I hadn't either until someone said it was the "World Market", and then I remember seeing them in multiple locations. Here in CA the news was reporting that a ton of the stores out here are also closing, so it's not just the Cincinnati/Ohio locations, nor does it mean these stores were necessarily under performing. It's clear from the article that the only thing preventing them from going into chapter 11 (if only temporarily) is the additional equity infusion, which they will then deploy to restructure around the most profitable stores.

The WCPO blurb makes my head hurt. Using words like "revive" and giving credence to the NAACP "under fire" agitating just demonstrates how easily the debate can be skewed.

I look at this site every day from 28 stories up. It is pretty amazing how much steel has been put down already on the sublevel pad, much of it in the past few weeks Just a grid of endless steel rods, woven like an intricate mesh floor on top of the base concrete pad. There's even a port-o-san sitting on top of this meshwork...they mapped out the plumbing and sewer and other infrastructure which was installed earlier just below this grid (it all runs to the southwest corner of the site where the water and sewer mains come in)....just endless loads of steel rods are continually being delivered and laid down. Can also see the space that has been reserved for the sub-level elevator.

Agreed, but perhaps even better than rebuttals would be if streetcar proponents simply wrote letters praising the plan and all of its various benefits, ignoring negative articles altogether. That way we stand a better chance of seeming to support a program that will obviously work, as opposed to appearing to defend a system that is doomed to fail. I'd rather see streetcar opponents on the defensive side of this battle. right, right....frame the debate on our terms.

Look, it's obvious that streetcar proponents (including me) consider this a really bad and potentially damaging alternative, and even a cursory reading of the "Book of Streetcar" will explain why. I don't need to get into that because most people on this thread are preaching to the same choir (and hint, it aint Charley Winburn's choir). The robber-tire trolley trucks are just a weak substitute, and ultimately can threaten to permanently kill any prospects of a streetcar if they fail miserably (which is highly likely if they are just going to follow the path of Phase I). It's a dimwitted apples and oranges type proposal, designed to appeal to a lowest common denominator (and, by the way, since when did "it won't tear up our streets" (to use a pet phrase of Winburn) become a policy-driving imperative?....does that mean we need to do away with below ground utilities as well??) My problem is that we are all preaching to the choir. There was a typical ignorant rube letter in the Enquirer this past weekend. Those are the people that need to be reached (if at all possible). And...moreover....those letters should never be allowed to pass without a rebuttal from streetcar proponents (I can only hope one is in the works). What might be more useful is if we find out how other cities may have fared with trolley trucks. To that end, I recall that Detroit once purchased a fleet of these vehicles, as a low cost alternative to a rail line down Woodward. They were an abject failure and pretty much consigned to a storage lot other than being used for special events. I asked a friend who is now involved in the Charlotte rail issues for some feedback on the issue. Here is his response: Now I disagree that what translates as success in Charlotte will translate to success here, and nobody is proposing that these things will be complimentary (as far as I know), but it is important to know what examples are out there as far as anecdotal evidence is concerned, particularly if the detractors are going to lean heavily on this proposal. But in thinking this through even further...why not try and co-opt their proposal? Suggest that the trolleys service Phase II and feed into the Phase I streetcar system. This would also undercut the detratctors who argue "if it doesn't go to Clifton/Pill Hill why do it at all?"). Slap Wiburn on the back and send him on his way up the hill, hat in hand, to get that minimal funding necessary for his rubber-tired Phase II.....and we can all meet in the middle. Now I am not necessarily suggesting this as a matter of course. I simply find it frustrating that the streetcar proponents (myself included) tend to engage in theoretical in-breeding to an extent. We all join the same groups and exchange the same notes.....while the opponents are out their rolling around in ignorant, ill-advised rhetorical flourishes. The war of public opinion is at hands, people....to the barricades!

the new art museum downtown (the "GRAM") is quite good.Was there over Thanksgiving. GR still retains a lot of its traditional, conservative sleepy-town characteristics, but downtown has really advanced the ball in the past 10 years or so.

I would second the above.

take a look now....the framing for the second level platform is being built, moving west from the Reds HOF...and moving more rapidly I might add. Adds a more tangible sign of progress than drillig 2,000 holes in the ground (not that those holes aren't necessary, but it's just difficult for the typical Channel 5 "ignorant rube on the street" to grasp the significance of structural support in a 20 second soundbite interview.

I don't know where you were or when, or what you mean by the size of Detroit, but it is a very widely spaced city (if that makes sense). Downtown has GM, Compuware, many law firms, accounting firms, etc. Comerica recently moved their headquarters from there, but i believe they still have a large group in the downtown area. Many of the suburbs are also more self-sufficient than other cities i know. Southfield has developed into a pretty big financial area and many other suburbs exist around the auto plants. as for bars and restaurants, well, i know of quite a few. might have to go down to mexican town or cork town for some of them, campus martius has a bit of stuff (which is near the stadiums and Foxtown) Yep, i'm a transplant from Detroit-metro and still spend significant amounts of time there. It is still substandard, and does not fare well in comparison to Cincinnati by any means. For example, I wouldn't break Detroit downtown out into Foxtown, C-Mart, RenCen--those are all CBD. Compared to the amount of businesses in Cinci's CBD, detroit fares poorly. Other than Greektown, the bars and restaurants have difficulty generating any type of critical mass, other than listing from one "event" to another. To another point, while detroit area law firms have traditionally wanted a "presence" downtown, that has eroded a lot in the past decade as they have migrated outward. Likewise, Comerica's departure was a huge blow. But this is not new news. Corktown is great, with Slows and Mercury, and a few other businesses sporadiaclly scattered about (Lager House, nemo's, LJ's etc.), and a vibrant residential community. But it is pretty scattered about (Zeitgeist gallery recently closed). Mexicantown has always been overrated in my eyes, other than Los Galanes and Evie's and a few hole in the wall taqueria's. Lots of suburbanites hit the mediocre Xochi's et al. venues and don't blink twice before speeding home on a nearby freeway. But its an apples and oranges thing. Cinci has a wealth of neighborhoods with critical mass districts, replete with bars/restaurants etc., all within the city limits. In Detroit, many of those neighborhoods are scattered outside the city limits. Sad but true. In detroit you need to know where to go...and when you find it...but when you do, it's like an amazing discovery on a post-industrial frontier...there's a real spirit that thrives in the most unusual places and spaces, and in the most difficult of times. But it's not always visible whilst strolling down Woodward...and you often need a car to get to it. Hence...um...the nickname. Anywho, I could say a lot more on this but taht's not the point. welcome Detroit transplant.

Hey...not all media. http://www.soapboxmedia.com/features/47soapdish.aspx

so true. I was struck by how bad the photos were on cincinnati.com. Looked like the photographer/writer went down there around 6, during setup, and couldn't be bothered to wait for the larger crowds to arrive.

this is not surprising. Smitherman has been consistently posturing in public against the streetcars for quite some time now.

they are beginning to build the support columns for the two east/west streets between Main and Walnut....

I say it here at 3:51....it comes out there at 4:33..... http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20081217/BIZ01/312170043

my understanding is that the guys from Pavilion and the Stand were planning to go in. In talking to Tarbell at Market Wine tasting on Sunday, he mentioned that the old Phoenix Cafe actually had some nice historical aspects, including an interesting backroom that was never used. After walking by and seeing the entire floor gone, I think it's safe to say the place has been pretty much fully gutted.

the Banks tower crane is getting substantially bigger (if you can see it through the snow). Also, I can see concrete poured in a large SW quadrant of the QCSII site.

re Bootsy's...looks like Friday it is: WHAT: Media tour of the new Bootsy’s produced by Jeff Ruby restaurant, now open to the public WHEN: 3 p.m., Friday, December 12 WHERE: Bootsy’s restaurant site, across from Aronoff Center on Walnut Street, downtown Cincinnati WHO: Cincinnati restaurateur Jeff Ruby will lead a tour of his new restaurant project MEDIA NOTES: The restaurant is now open to the public beginning Friday, Dec. 12 with dinner reservations. Jeff Ruby will be available for interviews during the tour.

Cinci holiday beer tasting at Market Wines in Findlay Market tonight:

The fixed tower crane at the Banks is now beginning to rise.

let's go....stoppin' in on the way home from work tonight!

December 5 is downtown opening date.

looks like this venture has re-located to Court Street, and the 4th street space has a "For Lease" sign back in the window.