JYP

Does anyone know if Duke reached a similar deal with the Charlotte streetcar project?

Yeah it was part of the whole "Revive I-75" plan. They had a restored park for Union Terminal and mixed commercial buildings all around. The caps would have extended the park. Obviously this has no chance of being implemented with the current funding setback. I wonder if the city is moving on the FWW caps though or is that still on hold?

There was talk of capping I-75 at Ezzard Charles to help reconnect the Museum Center to the rest of the West End.

^Yes and it is confirmed in the Business Courier.

This forum is for rational discussion and well reasoned debate based on information and facts, not perceptions and observations based on racial or social undercurrents although those can be addressed in a more rational, respectful and objective way than displayed in this topic thus far. With that said, I've removed the offending discussion in hopes that some of the newer members get the message and return to informed debate of the topic of the thread.

Suburban development is also a lot easier to finance because banks don't like to take risks with complex loans. This is part of the problem where zoning mandated separate uses for so long that banks don't know what to do when use mixing is required or desired. And developers/investors won't go along with it unless theirs a demand or they are required to. Also please knock it off with the urbanite vs. suburbanite discussion. Thanks.

Agreed!

You only have to read back 1 page to see the status of this project:

There's nothing significant to report. Buildings were demolished but no significant construction has started.

If it is developed similar to QCS, the city will likely retain ownership of the land, the Port Authority may fund the garage and 3CDC will develop the building and manage it. We'll probably see two levels of retail and the possible utilization of the "skywalk to nowhere." I really hope this tower (or these towers) are taller than the 14 story building that used to be there.

Yeah it sounded like contractors are chomping at the bit for this thing to get started.

Walnut Hills was at one time the 2nd largest employment center in the city after downtown, hence the great historic fabric along McMillan and Taft. I'm kinda upset about losing some of these buildings to prospectors thinking it would become workforce housing for the casino. However; there's plenty of opportunity in the neighborhood, especially with the reintroduction of 2-way traffic.

The "personal stories" about life with this PRT in 2015 are classic. Here are some highlights: "Tom doesn't park in downtown Cincinnati anymore. He parks, on a monthly basis, at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center garage, then uses his Sky Loop card (he could use Visa or Mastercard) to open the front car in the Sky Loop line at the garage. He punches in Station 26, which takes him directly to the Atrium Two station, in the lobby." "Plans are in the works to extend a branch of the Sky Loop to the Party Source and Bellevue shopping area, paid for by the retailers, of course. It should be completed in a year or two." "Jack and Merry live in Newport at 6th & Saratoga, within a block of the Sky Loop station at the Millennium Monument." And I love the operating plan: "The second problem was the annual operating cost, including debt service. It was recognized that the public was used to cheap, subsidized public transit, and the goal of the Sky Loop would be to make it a profitable enterprise. So a public campaign, designed to demonstrate that using the Sky Loop would save everyone time and money over using your auto, was funded by the stakeholders, starting a year before the Sky Loop was finished. As a result, the public accepted the idea that spending $50.00 per month on a Sky Loop card was well worth it, as more than half this amount was saved just on cheaper parking, and the Sky Loop offered unlimited access to the entire downtown area." Remember this entertaining side show the next time some "skeptic" questions the streetcar project.

By way of Mt. Auburn Tunnel: http://www.cincinnati-transit.net/mtauburn-tunnel.html

There's a lot of volunteer hours in these 533 pages! And the equivalency rate is somewhere around $20 an hour!!

Done and almost fully leased up. Last I heard they had 3 units left!

Sounds like they may know something we don't and don't want to tip their hand or sound desperate. Regardless, I plan on taking a late lunch and showing up for the meeting tomorrow in support of the project.

How often is tomorrow's meeting being mentioned in these broadcasts?

I wonder who the two council members are!? Council duo feeling dissed Democratic majority likened to bullies Written by Jane Prendergast he clash between Democrats with all the power at Cincinnati City Hall and two fiery, hyperbolic councilmen who have none, went down like this Wednesday: The majority passed a new rule that means committee chairs have to agree before any new item can be discussed in their committee. Charlie Winburn, council’s lone Republican, and Christopher Smitherman, who won without a party endorsement, missed the council meeting because of “scheduling conflicts.” Winburn, a pastor, said something came up at his church. Smitherman couldn’t be reached about why he couldn’t come. Without them, P.G. Sittenfeld cast the only no vote on the extra committee chair power.

^No, you can do that all you want to here: http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,3762.0.html Please stay on the topic of the streetcar. Thanks! Edit: I'm talking about the technical comments regarding the commenting on their website. Letter to the Editor & etc. pertaining to the streetcar are relevant and should be here. That is all.

Drove past the site today. They got the tent up for the groundbreaking tomorrow. Also there is a giant gravel pit in the middle of the site. Looks like utility work is in progress along McMillian still.

Cross-post from City Council discussion:

Cross-posted from the Banks thread. Could 5th & Race be a better site? City, county spar over dunnhumby site Written by Sharon Coolidge and Lisa Bernard-Kuhn DOWNTOWN — Dunnhumby USA's plans to move its headquarters has pitted the city of Cincinnati and Hamilton County against each other in a bid to lure the firm to one of two downtown sites. County officials want the consumer research and insights firm at The Banks, a move officials say will help spur more development at the riverfront community. But city officials have offered a site at the corner of Fifth and Race streets, a prime slice of city-owned real estate long eyed for redevelopment.

And the site selection battle has begun! City, county spar over dunnhumby site Written by Sharon Coolidge and Lisa Bernard-Kuhn DOWNTOWN — Dunnhumby USA's plans to move its headquarters has pitted the city of Cincinnati and Hamilton County against each other in a bid to lure the firm to one of two downtown sites. County officials want the consumer research and insights firm at The Banks, a move officials say will help spur more development at the riverfront community. But city officials have offered a site at the corner of Fifth and Race streets, a prime slice of city-owned real estate long eyed for redevelopment.

You could almost fit a baseball field in that triangle!