PhattyNati

Im going to complian about the design just one more time. Even with the lower floor to floor height with the first level garage, there is no reason why they couldnt have made an attempt to pull more glass into the street level proportion. Would have been a lot better.

^ I went this year and i have to say that i completely disagree. If there is anything that i didnt like it was the cost. But i took the position that my 50 dollars was going to fund a great program that provides fantastic opportunities for the general public to experience parts of our city's history that other wise wouldnt be accessible. They said that you werent allowed to take pictures but my buddy brought a camera anyway. When we asked one of the chaperons below if we could take pictures, he looked at us as if we were crazy, then continued to say "take all the pictures you can". Unfortunately its just too dark and the spaces too vast for any photos to come out well without substantial supplemental lighting. You cant see much because frankly there isn't much to see. After all its an empty concrete tube. The guides took us close to a quarter mile down the tunnel...significantly further than i assumed they would be allowed to take us. To be walking the tunnels and the abandoned platforms sent shivers down my spine. At any moment i fully expected a train to go blazing by. You have to truly appreciate the subway for what it is and what it could have been to really appreciate the tour. Obviously not everybody can have that appreciation so perhaps that wasnt the case with whomever you hear that the tours werent all that good. I thought the opportunity to explore one of the city's greatest secretes was quite simply amazing and i suggest to anybody that might be interested to give it a shot.

I realize this post is from several months ago but...I disagree that this would be a bad location for a place like that. There are hundreds of people from P-Ridge that drive right past that location every day to and from work. If starbucks can be successful in a place like Evendale Commons, it can be successful anywhere.

^ Agreed. I know i have been nit-picking but im am a big fan of the building and the project overall.

There is nothing nice looking about the Humana buildings. With the exception of the original Baldwin tower which Coroporex still managed to muck up pretty bad with the circulations towers added on the west side and skylights thru the roof. This project sucks.

Interesting that that was an issue knowing that they have added height to the building anyway with the penthouse units. The 1/3 cornice treatment does make an attempt to rectify the goofy proportions...but i just can take my eyes off of that first band. This building might end up being quite brutal at street level, especially on fourth if they dont spend some money making the garage entrances look nice. The garage entrance on the McAlpin looks terrible. I have often thought the exact same thing. The concrete has actually been detailed quite nicely but it looks really REALLY bad when it gets wet. I hope at least they give it some kind of skim treatment to create a more consistant texture and color without losing the detail.

While the blending might seem successful, i think the craftsmanship and design on that facade leave much to be desired. For starters the proportioning seems to be off. Not that all buildings have to align, it would have been nice if some attempt was made to relate the pedestrian "storefront" proportion to that of the other buildings. The first horizontal band on masonry is too low and really mucks everything up. On top of that, if you look closely at some of the window sills, the coarsing immediate to these components was not very well thought out. Some of the masonry units right below these sills have been cut down to what appears to be only an inch. A near miss that just looks bad. Also, it looks like there are a number of tiny little white vents in no particular pattern. I like this building a lot but i think the efforts on the fourth street elevation came up short. I wish that hadn't felt compelled to make it "fit in" on that side.

^is that where the bengals used to practice?

It appears as though the park plan includes a realignment of Mehring way between Elm and Joe Nuxhall. Seems to me that the first phase of the park construction is dependant upon this realignment. Does anybody know if they are going to do all of that roadwork at once? It doesn't make sense to do that work in sections per each of the park phases...does it? You would end up with a road to nowhere. But at the same time that would eliminate quite a bit of that wonderful riverfront parking to the west of the suspension bridge.

I looked at 4th and Plum when considering a move to downtown and was very disappointed. I think there far better places to rent for that price. A friend of mine just leased a 1 bedroom for around 800 at Shillito and the units substantially more attractive than 4th and Plum.

^ Elaborate on "updates from the regarding construction". I would image they are most likely a vague reference to what we already know...it will begin when they have sold enough. I do hope that this project makes some progress in the near future. I think these buildings will be a great addition that that end of town. Anchoring the bridge and giving that section of the park a substantial boost in "big city" urban feel. Sort of on topic - Have they moved the banquet center operations to another location? I know that was in discussion but i dont know they ever come to a decision.

I think its safe to say that nobody really knows. Im going to take a stab and assume that given the current housing market they have yet to reach their presales mark. That is my guess.

"Rather than build square buildings that extend to the street, the company wanted to "do something beautiful, creative," for a public area." Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. Sorry, that was just funny.

Bill Butler has a riverfront? I never knew that. I fail to see why any expressed displeasure with Corporex and what is certain to be yet another terrible development project (with the exception of the ascent which still has a handful of fundamental "corporex flaws") is declared off topic. In this case its "Illuminations" and so far the only critiques i have seen have been related to this project. Untill that post by The Nati Life as i was writing this...ha. Its obvious that this idea is directly related to the success of fountain square and it will be marketed as a place for people to gather safe from the homeless people, drug dealers, prostitutes, and the rest of the out of control criminal activity that plagues Cincinnati...at least according to Butler Corporex has failed time and again to produce developments that create a sense of place and this project will be no different.

I just dont understand how these developers can expect those who have already shown their commitment to stick around. It seems to me that from their pricing list,with the number of their units under contract, they would presumabely be close to hitting their pre sales mark...whatever that that may be. But i suppose they know what they are doing.

They are beginning to raise the steel for the penthouse units today.

That is really Sad!

^ somewhat ironic then that cincinnati is the only city that built and owns its own railroad...right?

I hate it when developers try to to justify the crappy design of their buildings. This project, while potentially a friendly economic neighbor, completely turns its back on the neighborhood...physically. Not that Dana is the most pedestrian friendly street in the city, but there could have been at least SOME sort of attempt to address that side. This project is basically a corporate lifestyle center though i guess that is the new trend. Good ole classical cincy architecture. Thats one of the most innovative uses of windows that ive heard of.

I guess I'm asking you to put yourself in GA's shoes. obviously you werent talking to me but ill chime in anyway. just because you can doesnt mean that you should. personaly, i think a company shows substantialy more integrity when they refrain from plastering their name all over a building. take a look at P&G...dont tell me they dont understand the value of branding yet there is no blazing blue neon sign atop their towers. their building IS their logo and i wish more downtown companies would follow suite. let the architecture do the talking. i think qcs will be a great addition to the skyline and i cant wait to see it start construction. but if the portrayed size of the GA logo is accurate...it will be fricken huge. You bring up how a company like P&G won't brand their building, but I could also bring up how Company "A" would brand theirs ... we could go back and forth with this all night long. I agree....to each their own. I guess my issue is that the companies who choose to brand their buildings should do so in a more tactfull way. The previous posts with the P&G logo actually speaks to that point. Their icon was to be incorporated into the architecture of their building in a prominent YET subtle way. Where in contrast Great American at QCS has literally taken a sticker (albeit neon) and slapped in on the the face. Its an afterthought. Its as if Robby the Robot is sporting a Great American ball hat but for some reason he cut off the bill. Or better yet... when an Earnhardt Jr. fan tatoos the number 8 on their forehead. It just looks cheesy. Thats my only beef! That and i wish it were more edgy...but ive found a way to deal with that.

I guess I'm asking you to put yourself in GA's shoes. obviously you werent talking to me but ill chime in anyway. just because you can doesnt mean that you should. personaly, i think a company shows substantialy more integrity when they refrain from plastering their name all over a building. take a look at P&G...dont tell me they dont understand the value of branding yet there is no blazing blue neon sign atop their towers. their building IS their logo and i wish more downtown companies would follow suite. let the architecture do the talking. i think qcs will be a great addition to the skyline and i cant wait to see it start construction. but if the portrayed size of the GA logo is accurate...it will be fricken huge.

I HATE CORPORATE LOGOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have noticed a handful of workers nosing around the interior and performing a few exterior tasks. They were pressure washing the brick exterior and tuck pointing on the east side. Hopefully they plan on doing some repairs on the McFarland facade....the window lintels are in terrible shape. Not significant progress but progress non the less.

^that first "reader repsonse" on the enquirer blog page just makes me want to scream.

"The shape of the buildings hint of a sail as homage to the Ohio River, said Adam Lavey, an associate with the Chicago-based architectural firm Pappageorge/Haymes, which designed the building." Hahaha what a joke. I dont really see the sail and i fail to see any connection between the Ohio River and sail boats. Other than of course that sail boats are used on water and the Ohio River is also water. Im sure there are people who choose to use sail boats on the river but this is a stretch. Good looking project though and its nice to see that they continue to sell units even if all but four people are moving from Ohio.