BDRUF

^ $850 for that location really isn't that bad. It would be nice to see some other people follow suit and get on renovating old office space into apartments. Downtown really is lacking in the apartment market.

^ That's really a shame. They have great burritos. Very similar to Chipotle, but they have a free salsa bar. They probably would have done a lot better in downtown with all the business workers. It's a lot better than burrito Joe's and they are expanding in downtown.

Moe's at Levee closes BY SCOTT WARTMAN | [email protected] NEWPORT- Moe's Southwest Grill's location at Newport on The Levee closed today after almost two years in business. The grill closed after it failed to attract enough business to justify keeping the location open, said Jennifer Dempsey, director for Focus Brand, the parent company of Moe's Southwest Grill. See link above for article.

Im okay with the rendered design, but i really dont like the civic green. i think it lacks functionality. The Strolling garden looks good in plan view and is very similar to one of my previous designs, but those flanking sidewalks seems to create too much paved surface.

^ while sitting in my last class i was thinking to myself what the banks would have been like, had it happened in a more timely manner. I thought that we would probably have the aquarium, hofbarugh house, FC, GABP, and PBS plus residential, retail, and a lot of restaurants and bars. We have the FC, GABP, and PBS, but if we had the aquarium right there, the FC would probably do a lot better. Maybe not, just an idea. Also i think the hofbarough house would have done great after reds games. I think that the biggest loss to newport was defiantly the aquarium, because i think that once we revitalize OTR there will be a bar that will rival the Hofbarough house.

I thought the FC was a good experience, but once you've seen it there is really no reason to go back. I think they may already do this, but I'm not 100% - They need exhibits that are temporary like breaking the color barrier in baseball or sports, the creation and culture of Jazz, and other things that will keep people coming back. In Cincinnati the amount of museum goers is somewhat limited, and if i have a choice between the art museum for free or $9 dollars for the FC im taking the art museum. Back to the matter at hand, the negativity about the banks really pisses me off, because i know that a lot of people would have rather spent the money on the infrastructure for the garage than paying for the museum. If we would have just gone ahead with the infrastructure in the first place instead of the museum i'd probably be watching movies at the banks. Maybe i'm wrong how that was paid for i was only in like 7th grade when it was proposed.

$500K to transform Taft Elementary BY CLIFF PEALE | [email protected] Cincinnati Public Schools and the Strive education partnership will get about $500,000 in state money to help transform William H. Taft Elementary School in Mount Auburn into a school specializing in math and science. The Ohio Partnership for Continued Learning on Wednesday sent back a similar proposal for the Hughes Center for more work. The tweaked applications are due later this spring and a decision should come in May. High-school proposals for Cleveland and Dayton were funded. I believe the state is being cautious, said Larry Johnson, dean of the College of Education, Criminal Justice and Human Services at the University of Cincinnati, a supporter of the application. I believe they should be, because this is substantial money that the state would be putting out.

Freedom Center wants 'front door' BY JESSICA BROWN | [email protected] The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center wants to turn its back on the Banks – sort of. Doubtful that the project will get done, the non-profit organization is seeking $1.4 million in state capital money to reconfigure its first floor to put a main entrance on the north side of the building facing downtown... www.enquirer.com

^ Rando thanks for the help Just thought i would share this with you guys. This is a parking regulation for any property in the Downtown Development District DD which stretches from the riverfront all the way reading road and then up to 12th street above Central Parkway. It might just be me, but i have seen very few lots that have any type of landscaping. § 1411-51. Landscaping. Any lot within the DD District kept vacant for more than 180 days following the demolition of any buildings thereon shall be landscaped and thereafter maintained in good order. Landscaping shall be in accordance with a plan approved by the hearing examiner following the procedures and standards set forth in Chapter 1443. The landscaping shall be appropriate to an urban park or garden. The lot shall be fenced as appropriate for public safety and aesthetics. All plant material shown on the approved plan shallbe watered, fertilized, pruned, kept free from weeds and litter and replaced if diseased, injured or dead, consistent with good horticultural practices. Such lots shall not be used for storage. Another interesting thing is that the zoning for parking prohibits surface lots in "Parking Subdistrict X" and that goes up to about 12th above Central Parkway as well, and central parkway is primarily dominated on the south side by parking lots

^ I am getting really excited for this phase. Phase one can feel like an island, but as this surge continues we will see the community take a new shape and become a great sense of pride in cincinnati. I really like the building on the corner with the round turret, for lack of a better term, and those protruding balconies on the other side will create a greater environment with activity happening at different levels. Does anyone know the time frame for this phase?

Michael, I think you and i are really agreeing I'm just looking at them the way things are, and you are looking at them the way they should be. By the was i usually voice my opinion on this subject the same way as you, but i believe what Moeller is doing is trying to help. Whether they are or not i guess that's yet to be seen.

No i'm not saying that you were bad mouthing the kids, but rather the way charity works. Do a lot of people from the suburbs do a day of charity here and there and feel like they are good people? Yeah, maybe. But isnt that better than doing nothing. If these things are ever going to change it is going to take the government's hand. Which there hands are tied, because a lot of their voting public are the people in the suburb. I'm not disagreeing with you that the only way the people are going to really get better is to remove them from the environment where they failed, but is the person paying 600k for their home in Montgomery going to want them living next door to them?? I doubt it. Is that wrong of them? Yeah, but it is their right to chose to live in a place that lacks diversity, and if they don't care about their city that is also their right. Yeah it pisses me off how so many people care so little about their city, but this is America and it is their right. Not that if feel that it is right, but it is the state of our city at the moment, if you are going to choose to live in the city you are probably going to have questionable characters around. Will it change? I hope so and believe it will. Sorry if my statements seemed heated i just had a great experience at Moeller and don't like people questioning the motives of the school getting the kids involved in charity. Regardless of the terms it is important to get the youth involved in charity, because that will last through their lives. Charity project like habitat for humanity or restoc only work when the land and structures are donated or sold for really cheap. I don't know of any properties near Moeller selling for really cheap.

I think it is ridiculous that you guys are bad mouthing good deeds. I agree with your points that maybe it is not enough and its merely a "band-aid", but isn't it better that these kids are getting involved in charity at a young age? I can speak for Moeller, because i did go there. They do all different types of charity work. They offer a mentoring program at Corryville Catholic, they go on mission trips into Appalachia, Mexico, Guatemala, and many other places. There were also underprivileged kids that went to Moeller. Mike Moroski, the teacher leader, is a great guy, and just because you don't agree with his effort to expose the kids to OTR, I don't believe it gives you the right to judge him. He is not from Cincinnati and has no ties here, but he has chosen to donate his time to helping people here. Even if it is not the way that you would do it don't spoil his good deed. I personally was involved through Moeller in the Corryville program as well as a habitat house in OTR, and even though at the time i never thought that i would want to have anything else to do with these areas in the future I have become a big fan and support of these areas because what i learned at Moeller. I'm not trying to be a dick, and i do agree with many of your points. Maybe they should build organizations like this next to Moeller, but unfortunately our society isn't at a point were this kind of thing would happen. Even if they tried to do something like this financially it wouldn't work.

Great Pics! I cant wait until this area is completely revitalized.

I saw that a few of you guys attended this but i figured I'd share it anyways. New Store Opens Its Doors On Vine Street The revitalization of Over-the-Rhine brought cowboys on their horses to Vine Street Saturday afternoon. It was all part of the grand opening of Angelita Jones' furniture store, "A Lucky Step." Jones says her store has lots of company. http://www.wcpo.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=b11b629a-608a-4acc-b951-62a7c78b97cd

^ Thats great i really like the blending of the old with the new, and having balconies will really add character and life to the neighborhood. Is this the project that is projected to be finished in the fall?

BJ's opens in Tri-County BY STEPFANIE ROMINE | [email protected] BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse opens today in Tri-County Mall. The restaurant will offer free food and drinks all day, with proceeds going to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. The restaurant, at 11700 Princeton Pike, will be open 11 a.m. until 1 a.m. today. See link above for article.

great pics thanks

I've been making some really good progress on the project and i have almost finished up all the inventory and analysis. I'm working on the land use and zoning right now and I've been having trouble finding the descriptions for the zoning. The areas that I'm dealing with are in CC-A (Commercial Community Auto) SF-20 (Residential Single Family) RM-1.2 (Residential Muti-Family District) CC-M (Comercial Community Mixed) CC-P (Comercial District - Pedestrian) DD- (Planed Retail District) does anyone know where i would be able to find more detailed descriptions of what these are? I know how much we all like maps and pictures on here so here is the cagis map

^ Looks good when can we get started! I think that the red line would be much more utilized, obviously because there is much more, and it serves much more of the uptown area. I vote red line.

^ I hope we can land him. One more solid pitcher in our lineup would really move us up in the Central Division. With him and Harang we could really do some damage.

^ How long would that line take? It seems like a pretty long ride

I think that this shows that the city is in dire need of alternative modes of transportation. Everything in the red are surface lots. I didn't even include the surface lot in washington park or music hall's because I'm hoping they wont stay like that for a whole lot longer. If you add the other land uses in on this map surface lots easily outweigh any other one type of land use. Thats sad.

I love this idea. Surface lots are the biggest sign of urban decay in my opinion. I am working on creating an existing land-use map for my senior project of this area, and it is embarrassing how many surface lots are surrounding it. The Broadway Commons lot looks like it belongs in front of a walmart. The only good thing about all these surface lots is they offer a ton of design freedom for later development. I'm really surprised that 3CDC is opposing this. I guess i understand they think that they are going to lose a lot of their resources, but i would think they would see this as a positive for their revitalization efforts.

It's people like WIlliam Herbert Smith who keep Cincinnati from being a great city. I don't understand why these people are so against this. He says there is nothing to do in Downtown at night! Haha that's damn near comical. I've every time i go out I head strait downtown; despite the fact that it is a 45 minute drive from my house, and i have to sleep on my buddy's couch. As soon as I graduate and can rub two nickels together, I'm investing in either OTR or Downtown, and plan on using the streetcar quite a bit. These ignorant people ruin everything for everyone, by smearing bad press about these initiatives. None of them have actual evidence, they just say it wont work. Just because he doesn't call downtown, Over-The-Rhine, The West End, or any other urban neighborhood home he doesn't want any investment in these areas.