BDRUF

Hopefully that can SPCA can be sold as condos in the 150K range. That would really stimulate that area immensely.

Does anybody know what is the SPCA building going to be used for after they move to their new site? It sounded like condos, but they should be done with that school after this school year, and i haven't heard any definite plans yet. I'm assuming that CPS needs the money from the sale of this building to help pay for the new building. Someone please enlighten me

Tuesday, February 5, 2008 - 12:45 PM EST Minority consultants to vie for Banks contract Business Courier of Cincinnati - by Dan Monk Senior Staff Reporter More than a dozen companies are formulating bids to become the economic inclusion consultant for the Banks riverfront development project, but confusion over bid documents resulted in changes to the county-led selection process. Cincinnati and Hamilton County officials answered the questions of prospective bidders in a selection process that is expected to result in the hiring of an inclusion consultant by March 5. City and county officials issued a "Request for Qualifications" from companies willing to recruit small and minority-owned companies to build more than $50 million in garages, street grids and other public improvements planned in the Banks..

^ well put. I am also about to be a young professional in May after graduation. I am looking at other cities, but i really want to be in Cincinnati provided that things like the streetcar happen. I want the Streetcar, The Banks, The revitalization of Over The Rhine, a great entertainment district on Main St., redevelopment of Broadway Commons, a new Arena, and other thing that keep Cincinnati from being an elite place to live.

Does anyone else feel that no matter what downtown does the Enquirer is always going to give them negative press? To me what they are saying is downtown has had to much success in the past year with restaurants. A positive article would have shown how much progress fountain square has caused in bringing new restaurants downtown. I'm not saying that they don't make a good point, that maybe this has been too much too quick, but it would have been nice to see some positive press rather than the negative.

^ I've often thought the same thing. Pretty much every time i drive down Calhoun I think that if i was rich i would make this into a bar, similar to J-Hall. You see this type of thing in Europe and it works well. I think Pittsburgh even has a couple. These old churches have the best acoustics and great atmosphere. It would be great if the community pulled together and paid to get this building restored. I think from the outside it is probably the best looking church in the city.

I dont understand why the city didn't foresee this happening and start shopping for other developers to help put pressure on Eagle. Was there something in the contract about city doing that type of thing?

CVG fares stay highest BY ALEXANDER COOLIDGE | [email protected] At a average $576 per roundtrip, airline tickets in and out of the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport were once again the nation’s most expensive and fastest growing in the third quarter of 2007, a new government report said. Local air fares were more than $100 more than the nation’s No. 2 costliest airport in Anchorage, Alaska, which averaged $467 per ticket. Airfares at CVG increased 12.6 percent from the same quarter in 2006. Nationally, average airfares dipped 0.8 percent for the quarter to $328, according to a survey released today by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Local passengers departing the Hebron airport have long decried sky-high airplane tickets that are blamed on its status as a hub for Delta Air Lines. Average fares at nearby airports, although they offer considerably less service and fewer direct flights, were lower, the new report showed. One or more low-cost carriers serve the four airports. The averages for the third quarter were: * Dayton – $333 * Columbus – $277 * Louisville – $315 * Indianapolis – $306

I stopped by the site this weekend and did a little inventory on the site, and every time i'm there i just dream about the potential of this site. Unfortunately i think that the best thing would have been to have the stadium there, but it's over and we need to come up with a new idea. On a side not i went with the guy that i'm working on the project with. He had never seen the site or been to cincy for that mater. He really felt the same way; that the site has tremendous potential. He did however feel uncomfortable when we were over by the drop-in center, not that I blame him. We saw some guys shooting up drugs behind the YMCA, probably some of the dropin's regulars. If this area is ever going to succeed this needs to be removed. It is not good when two large males in broad daylight feel uncomfortable walking down a street. I am in Over-The-Rhine quite often when I'm home, and I knew that I wasnt in danger, but if I wasn't there all the time its not a comfortable place to be. With the SPCA going right next to this the City really needs to wake up and move the dropin center. Despite what many of the people will say it would be a lot better to move this now and endure some criticism rather than have a young girl get sexually violated or something of that nature. On a side note: I've been looking at some projects to use for case studies for the mixed use portion of this site, and I'm not finding a whole lot that really speaks to me. The Third Ward in Charlotte is a similar project, but it is still in it's planning phase. Columbus has the arena district, but it's a fairly different situation because of the arena. If anybody has an suggestions i would greatly appreciate it.

I like the building in pic 2. Classic architecture with a subtle modern flare. Done very tastefully. MyTwoSense is right that graffiti is amazing.

Will Oakley's Millworks ever happen? BY JANE PRENDERGAST | [email protected] OAKLEY – The stalled $200 million Millworks development project must move ahead soon, or the city could lose a $3 million state grant that was supposed to help pay to clean up the former Cincinnati Milling Machine site. Cincinnati City Council votes today on whether to let City Manager Milton Dohoney enter into a development agreement for the site, which at 67 acres is second only to the Banks riverfront project in size of city projects. Past councils have voted similar approvals three prior times since 2005, but changes in developers, market conditions and other factors have kept construction from starting on the project, which officials expect to include retail, office, condos, rental housing and a hotel.

speaking of Christian Moerlien.... I was home this weekend and had the opportunity to pick up some Christian Moerlien Emancipator doppel bock. I highly recommend it. It might be better than the OTR Ale. It's a shame it is a seasonal beer.

Wow! how different would Cincy be if Union Terminal was on the East side?

1) Potential --- Thinking about what it could be like in 2010+ 2) Affordability 3) Architecture 4) History 5) OTR - has the potential to be the most dynamic place in the US at least that I've seen 5) Sports Teams Pro through High school 6)Local Foods 7) Small Town Feel 8 ) Good Park's System 9) Because it's a small town you feel excitement about little things like a new bar, restaurant, or store downtown. if that makes any sense 10) and I have to throw potential in there again because it has so much 11) Midwestern feel 12) Geography- with the hills and the river all right there 13) The skyline is amazing 14) the fact that a small city has so many fortune 500 companies just proves how great the city is 15) The diversity among neighborhoods (OTR, Walnut Hills, Hyde Park, Oakley, Price Hill, Columbia Tusclum)

Here is a question for you guys. What is the historic significance of Broadway Commons? It use to be right next to the canal, but what made it such a large parking lot? Was it the construction for I-71?

More time for Banks money BY KEITH T. REED | [email protected] The developers of The Banks now have an extra month to secure financing for the $74 million first phase of the central riverfront project, even though they already received funding promises from three lenders. Carter & Associates Commercial Services LLC and the Dawson Co. have until Feb. 29 to raise the cash under a deal reached between the developers, Cincinnati and Hamilton County leaders late today... www.enquirer.com

it was torn down in 1955 and it sat on Vine St. between 6th and 7th

I think she was at the AIA design charette for 'Greening The Gap", and she was talking about her design ideas for the Banks. Pretty much everyone thinking she was a little off her rocker. That design that took three years is pretty comical. I don't think she was kidding either. Her ideas are way too extreme especially in a conservative city like Cincinnati.

^ The nice thing with having a park at broadway commons is that it would be in the basin and people could walk to it, where as eden park is a drive or away. As we move more towards a downtown that supports more residents, parks are the type of things taht will attract people to the area.

Freedom Center gives land BY JESSICA BROWN | [email protected] The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center will give up development rights to a disputed piece of land - for free. The non-profit Freedom Center had earlier asked Cincinnati and Hamilton County governments for $500,000 each for the land, which developers want to use for restaurants in the Banks riverfront development. The request generated a firestorm of criticism and resentment toward the Freedom Center from some elected officials and some members of the public... www.enquirer.com

^ both good points. My thoughts as far as the greyhound station goes --> it would be nice to be able to establish a multi-modal transit hub (Regional rail, local rail, and regional and local bus services). This is what Charlotte is in the process of doing, and i think that is the best option. Relocating the greyhound station near Union Terminal is what i see as the best option for long term planning. As far as not adding any new development i agree that OTR might feel strain. With that being said I don't think that the city could afford to create a large scale park like that with out it being somewhat subsidized by developers. When i look at this area i don't see there being an enormous amount of any one type of development. It will truly be a mixed use development. I also think that with the streetcar eventually being here, the rise of gas prices, and the ecological strain that cities like Phoenix are going to see in the near future, we are going to see an urban boom and I hope and believe that the city will rise again and be able to support it all. Maybe I'm just a dreamer and ignorant, but like they say ignorance is bliss

RIght. I agree, but I am looking at this project in two ways. Ideally and realistically. It would be ideal if we were able to attract a large corporate company to this area, but it's not highly likely. Realistically this site with a park can help spur development on the east side which is a little neglected when compared to what we are seeing going right down the center North and south of central parkway. I think to really make an area successful you need all types of development commercial, residential, retail, ect. This is the concept behind the banks project. I also realistically don't see a project like this happening for another 7-10 years once OTR and the CBD are booming again. When I am looking at this design and my project I am not looking at it as though it is being built tomorrow or next year, but from the stand point of a long term plan. Maybe my project is just wishful thinking, and a lot of things would have to go right for it to happen, but once again like Rando said this area has the potential to be the site for the next banks project in cincy, but much easier do to the fact that it is well out of the flood plain.

^ Learn something new everyday

^ Yeah but that is the much smaller city jail the large county jail that DanB was talking about

^ I dont know how P&G and Kroger would feel about having the jail a stones throw away from their world headquarters