atlas

The policy is not discriminatory; anyone who gets housing assistance would have to simply meet one more requirement. People demand to see results when they spend money on something. Tax dollars aren't exempt from that concept, so I see no problem with the general public requesting to see some results from their collective investments in low income housing. Low income housing is going to continue to be an experiment by definition because nothing has worked to date in the US. It seems like some people are content building and tearing down English Woods' in perpetuity. So why only low income housing? We have to apply these rules to all who benefit from government investment. All elected officials should have to take a drug test. We really could take this rule to new heights. It's discriminatory because it only targets a certain group of people for no real reason other than an assumption that people who get housing assistance are disproportionately doing illegal drugs. I am honestly unaware of a study that has found this to be true, so if you could point me in that direction I'd appreciate it. And until the same people who advocate these drug tests come out and demand an across the board drug test for any individual who benefits from government help, like college students who are getting government subsidized loans - talk about a group of people disproportionately doing drugs, then in my opinion, it is discriminatory.

I'd assume that they provided that rendering to give us an idea of what the building will look like. So expect something like that.

From the report, it looks like an Asian inspired restaurant is opening at 14th and Vine in the Trinity Flats space called Hapa. New news to me.

The Banks is not a bad place for this type of use. The more diverse the uses, the better off the area will be. In Philly, Rittenhouse Square - one of the most touristy parts of town, has a college right on it - a music conservatory. Although you would never know because it is tucked into a high rise and there are a million other uses fronting the square as well, such as office, residential, cafe's, etc etc etc. Each injects vitality at different parts of the day making it a great urban space at all hours. The Banks could use more diverse uses. I think this is a good idea.

No one knows the difference. You're asking too much.

Ok fine. Then what was the point of comparing the city's? We all know throwing those numbers up for Cincy is not a good comparison to Lexington's consolidated numbers. A better point of reference would've been what percent of the region earns over XXXX number of dollars. Gives you a better rep. of certain types of buying power. I have seen this referenced numerous times when discussing/figuring out why boutique chains are/aren't opening in the various East Coast cities.

Sherman, you know better than to compare Cincinnati stats with Lexington stats! We both know the city limits are so vastly different for these two places that it isn't worth comparing.

5 stories of office. 1 story of retail. and probably 3-4 of parking. so off the bat, probably 10 stories. with the option of 5 more.

Of course its good news. Assuming Kasich is involved - he isn't going to be if it's bad.

Why not? Has it nearly reached it's potential? IMO, it is a rather sleepy district that could use a lot of life injection. In an ideal world, the old IGA would be completely replaced with a mixed-use, 5 story building that takes up the entire block and gets rid of the surface lot to the south. Ambar and Habanero/Amol are one story - 'who gives a crap' structures with a surface lot in the middle. I'd love to see those torn down, replaced with a great 4-5 story mixed-use. It would also be nice if the Roanoke apartments could be reworked to interact better with the street. The suburban banks towards the west end of Ludlow could all also go. There is a lot that COULD be done. To simply say..."it shouldn't be tampered with" is foolish. The district is far from ideal or perfect. Improving it should be the goal, not keeping the status quo.

There was a proposal a few years back for a large (six-seven story I think) residential proposal on the merchants lot that met with a considerable amount of community resistance. I remember that. Clearly there needs to be a voice to fight off the NIMBY's and make them realize the benefits of density. It's unfortunate - that lot is still vacant correct?

Ludlow seems so tired and stuck in another time, even with the streetscape upgrades. I hope this new Hookah bar improves the facade and features floor to ground windows - something more inviting, make it feel a bit more modern. The area also needs an influx of serious density.

With the first opening of The Banks, it's now over 6,000. 300 new units, mostly leased up, even assuming a very low household size of ~1.15. It's amazing what one project can do to a rebounding downtown. That goes for any of Ohio's cities. Do you know this for a fact? Are you assuming all the new Banks residents were formerly living outside the CBD?

I don't really see the Philly comparison. First off, Cincy isn't a very row-y city where Philly is nothing BUT rows. Also, Philly's historic areas are fluent in scale and typology whereas OTR offers more contrast from building to building. Parts of Old City in Philly might be a decent comp. for OTR, etc.

DT Indy lost population in every sector except the NE sector where Mass Ave is. And even then the growth was minimal. DT Indy still has a TON of surface lots with very few infill projects going on. There has been one project built in the last 5 years that has any density - 3 Mass. And I believe Trailside is being built now. But everything else that has been built down there is suburban townhome type development with no density. Within the mile square there is still quite a bit of surface lots as well. Even Mass Ave still has a number of surface lots. I honestly think you are living in some sort of fantasy world when it comes to Indy. Their model of urbanism is akin to most southern cities and has nothing in comparison to Cincy's urban areas. My friend just bought a beautiful restored home in St. Clair Place, about 1.5 miles east of downtown Indy - for a very very reasonable price. That area is just now starting to see some investment so there is still a lot of room to grow. Indy's core is surrounded by wood frame single family housing and to the NW of the city there is still a ton of opportunity for redevelopment; certainly that area has not even begun to gentrify. And Fountain Square is very hit or miss. There are a few nice streets, but most of the area is still kind of rough/weird. Indy does well in terms of providing a downtown for conentioneers and visitors, but having lived there for 2 years, I can say it has low quality of life for residents due to it being built for the out-of-towner (thus the reason for all of the chain restaurants and stores). Thank God O'Malia's was there or I wouldn't have lasted a minute down there.

Whaaa? What statistic? I didn't quote statistics. Its a simply study of human geography/sociology. There has been countless studies on this. I'm not talking murder or rape - I am talking about how transient and inpersonal people become after certain densities are met. I recently watched something on this - there was a waitress loudly refusing to serve a gay couple in middle of nowhere Texas and a waitress loudly refusing to serve a gay couple in Midtown Manhattan. The other restaurant patrons in the Texas restaurant were muuuch more likely to speak up than those in Manhattan - not because of opinions on the GLBT, but because people in the rural community function differently than do people living in high densities.

Yea it just comes with the territory. The more dense and urban a place is, the more passive and transient a place can become. At extremes look at NYC and SF. They have done studies on this....they go something like this: the same act of crime or bigotry happens in a small town restaurant and in a NYC restaurant. In the small town ppl are much more likely to speak up or do something about the situation while in NYC ppl are less likely to get involved. OTR can't function like a small town/tight knit group of people forever, not in the middle of urban Cincinnati.

Signage for that wall is beginning to go up. I'd expect there to be lighting too. Awesome. good to see. Thanks for sharing.

The place looks great. I still wish they wouldn't have created such a wall to Main Street but instead tried to interact with the street instead of turned its back to it. Some lighting improvements up the side of the building could still help.

There is more than one Willie's correct? There is definitely one in Hidden Valley, IN. Isn't there still one in Western Hills? A quick google search says there are still 6. Have all of these shut down except the one in Hidden Valley or are we talking different businesses here?

Cincy really needs to get Zipcar in the basin. I live in Center City Philly and still here 44% of people have a car. But more and more I hear people ditching their car for Zipcar or Philly Car Share. The cost to have a car down here is just so cost prohibitive. Plus, it is completely socially acceptable and even celebrated to have a Zipcar account. When I lived in Indy and was car free, it was seen as such a socially unacceptable thing to not have a car. There seemed to still be such a social significance to what you drove. People regularly said things to me like: "when are you going to grow up and get a car?" In Indy, I think people assumed I was broke because I didn't have a car. In Philly, many people would assume I am stupid if I had a car in CC.

^this comment cracks me up. I am just picturing DT and OTR running rampant with 'strange' men. Seems to sound eerily similar to my Saturday nights at gay bars in Cincinnati: lots of handsy old creepers.

Still, the French Quarter in New Orleans is also extremely urban and that's commonly perceived as a safe neighborhood. OTR is changing daily, and it's undoubtedly becoming more comfortable to walk in. There is also a lot more people out and about. I said the urban aspect, couple with no one on the streets. More suburban areas by nature have no one on the streets but the built environment doesn't have the same affect on your psyche. IMO.

I think one of the issues OTR faces is its built environment. It feels extremely urban - no way around it. This, coupled with few people out and about, leaves an impression of being unsafe, true or not.

I actually appreciate those types of comments It gives me an idea of who is frequenting a place like Toby Keith's. Seeing half my graduating high school class post facebook pictures of themselves at Toby Keith's also gave me a clear understanding of who is frequenting this bar. It's the West side.