Rabbit Hash

Cincinnati to get Hard Rock Hotel By Andy Brownfield – Staff Reporter, Cincinnati Business Courier The downtown casino is in the midst of its rebranding to the Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati, and as that is underway its parent company is planning for a hotel to complement the facility. https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2021/03/08/cincinnati-to-get-hard-rock-hotel.html

This stupid project. The infrastructure has been done for months and no construction. It is and was a zoning debacle. I wouldn't be surprised to see it with zero progress in 2024. Which means it will be reduced to something very crappy and completely out of character with the horsefarms and $300-$1,000k homes in Francisville. Nobody is touching this and the Toebben development across the street will eat Pfill Dreeze lunch on this. He had to concede several things to the nearby HOA. He was even beaten on the name...it only became Hamlet on the Bend (dumb) because he was going to be sued by the nearby HOA (Thornwilde) for trying to steal the name recognition.

Is it safe to assume this project will be phased down profoundly from what we had talked about. And then in 10 years (when Covid is a distant memory try) it will be inadequate again.

That's crazy. Something form 1996 that looks like it could be from 1966. A typed form with handwritten feedback.

The back of this/these buildings are accessible (as we all know) from College Street. There's a really cool vibe back there. Not sure why. Maybe it's the old signs or the sense that you've transported out of downtown Cincinnati. Also the building just to the south of Chong has this interest curve on the back side of it that I am sure has an interesting story.

Am I the only one that thought there were two ominous holes in the building when I first looked at that?

Speaking of that. There is an odd acoustic anomaly at The Kenwood Collection. If you are in the retail parking lot you can hear the noise loudly from I-71 on the opposite side. It bounces perfectly off the underside of the roof feature of the building.

OT but related. Hard Rock Cafe in Louisville closed.

I like this plan. What is everyone's thoughts?

Your post here along with @troeros post a few replies up describes where my head is in all of this. It's hard to decide what is best. Long term for me I see it becoming a hybrid of what it was in January 2020 (5 days in the office) and what it was in April 2020 (o day in the office). Like right now...I do 3-4 days in the office but have weeks where I do 0-2 days. One thing I would note on this specific part is that much of the working world are parents. With schools being closed, those folks seek refuge in an office for productivity, often sharing the teaching duties with their spouse.

#RIPTCM

Do any shuttles use Columbia Road? I didn't realize until I looked on Google Maps how much of that old street still exists right into the footprint of the park itself.

I hadn't thought of the option of sending I-71 across DCB Bridge. Interesting. That would only involved changing ramps (even if it is just striping) at the east end of FWW, no? Separate from that, let's see if I can add or pass this test of simplifying the issue... NB: Kyles Lane merge lane is too short. It creates an AM slowdown at the top of the hill. It needs to be extended .5 mile or all the way to the 12th Street exit. 5th Street on ramp needs to be eliminated. As noted earlier, it would be replaced by a Texas turnaround that utilizes a fourth lane which is added where the 5th Street ramp is. This would only require a lane to be added between the current 12th Street entrance ramp and the 5th Street entrance ramp. I'm sure there are other ways to eliminate some of the on bridge weaving. The NB weaving? I feel like it is primarily caused by those with NB71 intent trying to use left lanes to avoid the merge delay in the right lanes from 12th and 5th.

Here is an extensive document of the new I-275/Graves Road Interchange Study. Completed with recommendations on site, architecture, signage, etc. The scope is huge! I'd love to hear some of your professional opinions of it. Fun fact: Graves Road with be designated and signed as KY495. https://www.boonecountyky.org/document_center/PlanningCommission/I275GravesRdInterchangeStudy.pdf

Was the actual launch of the station not included in that? I thought The Buggles had the first video. Also, how did the station sticker work. Was the music simulcast on FM? Never saw that before.

@jmecklenborg That is 4 Mile Road. @ucgrady Unfortunately, I have not been tracking those projects. I will see what I can do about getting pix of the hub. The thing is, I just don't know how to approach it. I have no special access to the contractor site and it's true that it sits pretty far back from Aero Parkway which is to the left in the picture @Pdrome513 posted.

Thanks for the kudos @jmecklenborg. That's an impressive route you biked there! Especially pulling up that hill from KY8 on North Bend (KY237). And that route out to the end of KY8 is surreal. The roundabouts are weird about the bike lane. You have to make that weird turn up the ramps to use the side walks. I will say that Boone County continues to build a very good infrastructure for bikes. Many, if not all, of the road projects they have started in the past 10 years have included bike lanes or separated paths.

I know the Graves Road interchange is probably a boring one for most but I figure since I started chronicling it, I need to carry through. Since the last update, crews have constructed a new Worldwide Blvd extension to access a new Williams Road (done) and a New Graves Road (UC). This allows them to close the old sections as well as dismantle the Graves Road overpass. This shot is looking east and is the new connection of Worldwide Blvd. to New Graves Road and Williams Road. You can see the top of one of the warehouses in the business park which gives an idea of how close development, despite some of these picture looking rural. This is from same spot as previous and is looking along the ROW for New Graves. New Williams can be seen to the right and will serve as a frontage road for new development. We will go there coming up in the following pics. Same spot again but looking further to the right (SW) at Worldwide extension to New Williams. Note the stubs already in place for future development. Looking further to the right, you would see residential development/construction through the trees...in the Tree Tops subdivision. We have moved west here to align with the New Williams ROW. Looking south. Same spot as previous photo but looking back east along the Worldwide extension. The houses on the right will not survive. The building on the left is a Hebron Fire Station. We have traveled south on New Williams now and are looking SE at the new overpass construction. New Graves will parallel Williams to this vantage point as it approaches the overpass. Further along the New Williams as we have curved to the SW where the new road joins back with the old road. Lookin back (NE) the opposite direction of the previous photo. New road meets old and new overpass is in distance. With the new alignment and resulting new access to Old Williams, crews have begun dismantling the original overpass built in the 1970s. It's just beyond the new overpass. Now we are looking (west) the opposite direction of the previous photo, but we have moved to the approach of the old Graves overpass and stand in the intersection of Old Graves and Old Williams, which are now completely closed. We are looking along the ROW of Old Williams. Same view but looking more to the SW. Turning to our left we are now looking south at Old Graves overpass. I-275 passes in front of us, obscured by the berm. Looking (north) opposite of previous. Alignment of Old Graves. Notice the water tower. We started this tour to the left of it. New Graves will run several hundred feet to the left (west) of this old potion of Graves, which will be gone at some point. This area has all been rezoned commercial/industrial and will be redeveloped. Turning left from the previous pic, this house has sat ambiguously vacant for years. Not for much longer...

Progress on the new Graves Road interchange on I-275 as of August 1, 2020. SW toward new overpass. East toward new alignment of Williams Road which will function as frontage road for new Graves Road and then connect to the original alignment for access to residential areas to north and west. East toward overpass and new alignment of Williams Road which will function as frontage road for new Graves Road and then connect to the original alignment for access to residential areas to north and west. New WB entrance ramp will run just to right of new Williams Road and roughly in alignment with existing Williams Road. Note?: This road surface and alignment dates back to original construction of I-275 here. It served as a new access to what a section of Watts Road that was cutoff by I-275. Looking East. Closer view of fill that will raise new Graves Road and the DCD to the level of the overpass. This section will close once the new Williams connector is finished. I have no authority but I would bet this will happen mid-August that old Williams will be permanently closed and as a result the access to the old Graves overpass that has been "closed" (locals are still using it) since early 2020, will be scheduled for demolition.

Here are some photos of the back of the building at the bottom of this post. Cincinnati CBD: Off the Beaten Path

It's beautiful now, if not antiseptic. All that rock is the design out of someone's head and not Mother Nature. Can't imagine it won't look like crap in 5 years.

They put some cheap lettering up on the overpass fence over 71 this week. ?

Yeah. That stone wall in the second pic looks kind wild...almost like it is part of the construction.

Makes me think of Gatlinburg.