Haynesm007

I stopped in at Fifth/Third's loan office in Fountain Square the other day. They had several downtown properties advertised on the wall, one of which was the Inwood Condo project. So, at least they're still marketing the things. But no, it's not looking good, considering they've undergone absolutely no improvements in the past year.

In driving up Broadway the other day, I noticed the garage on the east side of Broadway had a piece of the facade tacked up on it. Has anyone heard of plans to cover that garage?

^Maximillian, where exactly did you get that article? It's good to see some development in that area.

Check out the 3-D tour of the project: http://www.artacademy.edu/whatsnew/newbldg/video2/video1_426x320.html

For once, I'm speechless.

Speaking of the news, maybe we can get Target 5 to investigate this travesty. Seriously, it looks like the architect took a dump in his hand, wiped it on the plans, and said "Boys, she ain't pretty but we're gonna build it proud." I really don't know if they planned this one at all. I knew it was going to happen but never saw a single concept drawing or project descrpition. At least it's not done yet, maybe the final additions will make it look better.

The same problems pester Cincinnati. About 2 or 3 entities own 90% of the surface lots downtown. And, those guys would rather hold onto the cash cow parking lots than see something positive done with the land. For instance, the guy who rehabbed my apartment building tried to buy the ugly surface lot across the street in hopes of converting it to greenspace, but the guy who owns it refused to sell. He's holding onto the lot in hopes that he can sell it to Chichita at a high premium. I guess he thinks they're gonna build a second tower one day. Translation, the lot will continue to be a surface lot for many many years.

I would love to see the Academy sponsor art projects throughout the neighborhood such as murals, sculptures, or maybe even painting some buildings. So many little things could be done to enliven the neighborhood. Hey Kendall, got a paintbrush?

It's not my idea; it's a proposal by the university and CHCURC. Whether or not it has a snowball's chance in hell I can't say. But I don't know that it's completely out of the question. Those storefronts in University Park are pretty big. There's plenty of room for small boutiques a la O'bryonville.

The renderings shown are really just massing and master plan studies. The project is nowhere close to getting into architectural design, and would not look remotely like that. I agree. And, if you look closely, the Ohio river looks oddly similar to the Atlantic Ocean.

I haven't seen anything that would suggest CHCURC is thinking about demolishing Old St. George. In fact, if I recall, their plans make reference to saving specific buildings of historic value including Old St. George.

Something not shown in the rendering above is the possibility of infilling the gap between the road and Calhoun Hall on the north side of Calhoun and adding even more storefront.

I am interested to see if newer office space will go. I wonder how much of a draw smart-wired office space with auto-flush toilets will be.

The news this morning said they removed the liquor because the place lacked the proper permission to serve it. Basically, they were serving liquor without a license.

Hey Kendall, while you're at get 'em to close down the Dennison Hotel as well. That's where most of the Bay Horse bums rest up between their binges. Get rid of Bay Horse and the Dennison and you might make it to work without being bummed for a dollar.

The site had been market-rate apartments but at some point in the past year the owner decided to go condo. I don't know if they did much to improve them aside from tearing down some walls to increase their size. I would like to see them fix up the exterior a bit. It wouldn't hurt to clean up the roof and masonry work.

Though it's leaps and bounds over what was there previously, I'm still not entirely sold on the concept of City West. Personally, I think you'd have to be crazy to buy a home in the middle of a rental-dominated development. At least, go 50/50. You're just not going to see the investment and care put into a neighborhood with a 75%(+/-) rental rate. That's going to drive property values down. I wish it the best but only time will tell on this one.

I'm a little underwhelmed considering many of the renderings I've seen at the Niehoff studio. I had see one possibility that used futuristic arches (think Air Force Academy chapel) and integrated them with the subway to create some kind of community space, an art gallery perhaps. Also, don't big trees have big roots? Are we going to allow them to invade the subway?

That's the exact area (Schiller) I was talking about and I think your last comment helps prove my point.

Developers and landlords "waste money" on section 8 housing because they get a guaranteed return on their investment, assuming they attract tenants. Therefore, it's more appealing to a low-income rental provider to serve section 8 renters rather than low-income renters who might not pay their rent every month. My understanding of section 8 doesn't go beyond this basic premise. But, I hope to goodness the government would come up with a system that requires some accountability and prevents both parties from abusing the system. Also, it was my understanding 31 W. 13th was not section 8 housing. It is geared more towards working families who must show proof of employment and income to live there. I doubt 3CDC or Washington Park Housing would be involved in bringing more section 8 housing into that neigborhood. Although, I've been wrong before.

I know it's risky territory but I would really like to see someone develop the block of buildings bounded by Sycamore, Liberty, and Mulberry, essentially that block just north from where Main street ends. There aren't a terrible amount of buildings there and for the most part I think they're vacant. It would just be a huge piece of the puzzle if you could connect the Mulberry, Prospect Hill, and North Sycamore areas to the Main Street Area, instead of leaving this gaping hole. The continuity, in my opinion, would take what really are 3 or 4 separate areas and combine them into one.

Are those rental properties on Vine going to be market-rate? It would seem they would be in a good locatation to rent to Art Academy students or even young professionals, although that area still has a ways to go. I hope at least it's not being developed for more section 8 housing because the area could really benefit from the synergystic effect of the Kroger condos, Art Academy, and some market-rate rental units, in addition to many other projects planned in the vicinity. I'm excited to see how that area's doing a year from now.

I can't say for sure but I don't think so. I remember one was from the Cincinnati Preservation Society.

Late last night I happened to catch the council hearing on TV and they discussed the Kaufman brewery. One group, I didn't catch their name, claimed it would take $135,000 to preserve the place and they wanted another $100,000 to build some kind of complimentary building behind it. They also requested, at the very least, the city preserve the facade and the intricate stonework so that it might be resurrected at some point in the future. The hearing must've been old because they mentioned the final hearing would be on January 28 which was last Friday. Anyone know what happened?

I would say the progess at Queen City Square has been fairly comparable to the progress at the Vine Street Garage. Given the fact that the two were similarly situated (both sites had to be excavated, primarily involve concrete, and began construction at roughly the same time), I feel they provide good analogies for each other. Whether that means they're both moving too slow is still up for debate.