neilworms

^-- There is a huge rental shortage nationally, and I'm sure Cincinnati is in that list, espicially because so much of the developmennt in the region is single family and suburban oriented. I wouldn't be surprised given that fact that this place would be pretty easy to fill in spite of its issues... Though 1300/mo for a 2 bedroom loft in Cincy in a not very developed part of town, that seems a tad expensive, unless rental rates have really gone up that much :-o To contrast in a desirable (but not really hot) part of Chicago that same price will get you a 1 - 2 bedroom place - un-remodeled but nice, though lofts are always more expensive...

That sucks, I liked that location because it was literally right next to where the megabus stop is, and was great for grabbing a meal just before the 6:30 would leave back to Chicago...

When you see the old pictures of the charming and vibrant neighborhood it replaced, that's when you don't like it. It could be an oasis but way smaller.

Very interesting. I wonder how much of it is cultural, an expectation of mediocrity in an area that could aspire to do more?

:-o http://overtherhine.wordpress.com/2012/05/30/bill-cunningham-praises-progress-in-otr/ :-o !

^Even if its ugly, I'm really glad SOMETHING is filling up that large grassy field after so long. Still a big shame that they had to get rid of all those beautiful row houses to put this in :P.

^-Your right, there is a gap where 220 should be, its probably 222 though I don't know the exact number. The one being rehabbed, is a green house (or was one I think they stripped off the paint, but haven't been down in a few months) that they tore the gables off to put on a roof top deck, its a pretty high end rehab. I have mixed opinions on it but at the very least the building which sat abandoned for like 5 or 6 years didn't get torn down.

I can say with 100% certainty that block of Rochelle is not coming down. In fact one of the buildings (220 I believe) is being completely remodeled.

^- I rented one of these electric bikes when I was in San Francisco last Jan. Since my legs aren't as in good a shape as they would be in the summer and SF is quiet hilly (and you use different muscles for hills than flatlands - like I'm used to in Chicago) they were really nice for getting around. The only issue was the weight of the battery was annoying when I was on flatter areas, but it was worth it for being able to conquer the hills in such a compact walkable city.

Highly doubt it, particularly since Springboro didn't want a Rec center to be built by the government as RTA service was something rumored and highly disliked in that town :P

I did the same ride, but did it on a nice summer day at around 70 degrees so I wound up going all the way to Milwaukee. Racine has pretty cool old buildings for a city its size in the midwest. Next time I do it I might just go to Kenosha by train then bike the rest. I was so sore I needed a day to recover btw, its a pretty intense trip, though pretty easy given the amount of paths. :)

^-As stated before, Corryville's Community Council IS the Developers, not Corryville.

The downside is if the bus is late, there's no way of knowing. You're left to stand out in the elements, waiting for lord knows how long. Megabus should be equipped with GPS (I would be surprised if they already aren't) and their website should display where their buses are located. And how hard is it to provide an expanded bus shelter like one of the pre-fab shelters with a next-bus display? Actually megabus now has a smartphone app at least for Android all they need to do is locate in areas that are sheltered like the riverfront transit center in Cincy.

^^ I rode it once very early on, it was early enough that I didn't really have to deal with the standard crowd outside of the station in Chicago. I liked the seats, very comfy and the wifi worked for me (though even on megabus the wifi is spotty) if not for the stations and the already bad reputation Greyhound has the right idea. If a competitor to Megabus would start focusing on offering better customer service and more comfort then it could really fill a missing niche - Megabus' model isn't IMO what it wound up attracting it was quite literally a bottom rung bus operator in Europe offering the same service to the US. Sad thing is bottom rung intercity buses in Europe still beat Greyhound in the US by miles er kilometers :P.

-^ Cincinnati sort of has one with the Riddle Road Market off of Marshall next to campus though its not as upscale. Chicago really has embraced this concept, there are 3 of these in my neighborhood and when I was walking through the S. Loop which IMO is finally starting to form a cohesive neighborhood I found 3 or 4 of them just in the area I walked. They come in handy on winter days for me because the grocery is far to walk to and if I need something quick that isn't a basic staple I can go there. I was kind of hoping Mayberry Foodstuffs would be this kind of concept but the store was too small to match the service these places provide.

Philly tends to be more lowrise, I'd say a good chunk of Newport KY screams South Philly in terms of urban typology. Cincy is closer to Hoboken or Brooklyn minus a few unique to NYC area building types like the 6 story late 1890s-1930s tenement buildings, though there is one in Coryville off Jefferson that everytime I pass it I think NYC Apartment Building (though I wouldn't be surprised if Cincy continue to grow like it did 1840-1870 in 1880-1930 that we'd see much more of those).

^- The article: http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20120311/NEWS/303100097/ Comments section, there appears to be an official affiliated with the symphony or this non-profit talking responding to the poor reporting: http://news.cincinnati.com/comments/article/20120311/NEWS/303100097/Enquirer-Exclusive-Music-your-name-here-Hall-rings-sour-some

I think he's going more for utilization than what's there. Cincinnati has tons and tons of amazing architecture that is completely underutilized, you go to this amazing space like Court Street Marketplace for instance and look at the tops of the buildings and see empty spaces instead of apartments and all too many empty storefronts whereas Indianapolis has very little interesting architecture, but what's there is fully utilized even if too much of it is Chain stores there still is a vibrant district filled with people and shops. I'm going to add that even though Columbus' downtown itself still needs work, there is an unbroken chain of amazingly vibrant neighborhoods from the Arena District up to Clintonville on High Street that IMO Cincinnati should work to do, but leveraging the basis of what they already have (which IMO is so far beyond Columbus its not even funny) to create something similar with Centered but not exclusive to Vine going from the Banks to Uptown. Don't get me started on how advanced Chicago is in this department, some 20 years ago Chicago was where Cincinnati is at now to give you an idea from what I've discussed with a friend of mine that went to undergrad at DAAP and grew up in Chicago and currently lives here. I took a tour offered by an older urban pioneer on Victorian architecture in San Francisco, and its probably 30 years ahead of Cincy in terms of revitalization. I'm using these bigger cities because they have the architectural and historic assets that Cincy does (abet more of them), where as Indianapolis and Columbus should be "me too" type places not Cincy. Something has to be up that has prevented Cincy from getting to the level these other places in terms of utilizing its assets.

What really needs to happen down there is more signature restaurants of Cincinnati icons, a flagship Skyline, a flagship Montgomery Inn and a LaRosas, that would be Awesome and tie into what Moerlein is doing to promote the region's uniqueness.

Lavo isn't bad, and the rooftop deck is really awesome, you get this very European feel up there but for the price the food and service could be a lot better.

Ditto. I guess your right it is for historic preservation, and as you know I'm pretty strong for historic preservation, but IMO this is too far, as long as the signs don't block a significant part of the facade I'm okay with it. Also, didn't they have large signs on Main Street back in its 90s entertainment district years is this regulation a new thing? If they were smart they'd either fund extra Southbank Shuttle runs during lunch (15 min headways is a bit much) or have their own shuttles between the Southbank runs to encourage downtown business. Might even be in their best interest to run these late at night on Friday and Saturday to enhance nightlife.

Something new for NOTL to try to attract customers, I wonder if the success of the venues at the Banks is what's diving this: Levee hopes flashy signs will draw visitors Mike Rutledge Cincinnati Enquirer 03/01/12 NEWPORT — If Newport on the Levee splashes its outside walls with giant illuminated signs, customers will flutter toward it like moths, operators of the 10-year-old entertainment and shopping complex hope. Huge ad messages, biggie-sized like signs in Las Vegas and Times Square – without the flashing neon – also can attract coveted retailers like the Apple Store or Dick’s Sporting Goods to the riverfront venue.... For more read: http://nky.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20120301/NEWS0103/303010217/ ---- This is reminding me of an earlier discussion we had regarding signs/lighting in OTR, remembering the old pic of OTR from the 1970s where there were flashy signs as far as the eye could see versus today where they have these almost unreadable small tab signs really makes me wonder why the suburban style ordinances that prevent anything more urban still exist over there. While it may be a mixed bag for NOTL with it not really being urban, I really think this same type of thinking should be applied to certain key areas in Cincinnati to really capitalize on its intense urban built form. As a side note, one of the things I really like about Chicago are the sheer number of bright light, neon and even digital LED signs around town, they do a ton to increase perceptions that a city is lively and add to the local character. I wish Cincy would do the same, and maybe NOTL is the first step?

^-I would think with the sheer amount of students now going to UC that things would be good all over the campus area.

Right now at least this massive influx of student housing is improving the safety of Corryville which in turn is causing some remodels. There is an apartment on Rochelle even where they are adding a rooftop deck and gutting a long abandoned and poorly rehabbed building.

I'm talking about the crap at the SW corner - which I saw the houses get demolished and it get built. Setson Square is ok, but I've seen better ;). I fixed the link above btw.