JYP

They have to finish negotiating on utility relocation. The RFP on the streetcar vehicles have already been sent out so we may see who's building the vehicles in the next few months. Once the utility work starts things should pick up. To address the need for council support: It takes a super-majority to override the mayor. Basically, if a vote was held to stop the streetcar on a council level it would be split 4-4 with Bortz abstaining. If six opponents of the streetcar are elected next week, they can basically vote to stop it and there's not much that can be done about it. Edit: Yeah what LIG said! :laugh:

This isn't the place to be starting a Cincy vs. Cleveland debate... ...Or a debate about college students. Talk about that stuff in the urban bar!

This maybe? http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20111025/BIZ01/110260323/Studies-Should-CVG-terminals-come-down-?odyssey=nav%7Chead

Also, it looks like Carter-Dawson is gearing up to design Phase II (it's near the end of the article). 3 eateries in limbo at The Banks Written by Lisa Bernard-Kuhn DOWNTOWN – Three restaurants that were set to open at The Banks this summer have hit a financing snag. Openings for Huey’s 24/7 Diner, The Wine Loft and La Crepe Nanou have been delayed since their owner New Orleans-based Doyle Restaurant Group ran into issues with the costs of constructing the interior layout and finishes of each the restaurants, said Trent Germano, vice chair of Carter, the Atlanta-based firm that’s partnering with The Dawson Co. to develop The Banks. “They have run into some pricing gaps in their estimates of fit-out versus actual costs,” said Germano. “It was not anticipated. This is within their realm of financial responsibility.” Officials with The Doyle Group could not be reached early Wednesday.

The only thing that sucks about this move is that the building is going to be razed for parking. :(

Maybe they should cover all the wasted $$ the city spends on frivolous lawsuits from Finney & friends.

That was supposed to be two 13 story condo's a few years ago. It'd be a great place for apartments!

Building the second phase now would have allowed them to capture a lot of the remaining demand for high end rental housing in downtown. Now that Phase I has proven successful, don't be surprised if you something similar coming out of the ground in NKY sometime next year.

This is the one on the Banks Facebook page. It would be pretty easy to construct the northern block between Race & Vine because the garage is already built. The south block would take a bit longer but seems to be the most residential block of the next phase.

^ I looked at that report hoping that it would answer the very same question. I'm disappointed to see that they're stopping with the parking garage on phase 2 for now. I would hope with the buzz going on with phase 1 that phase 2 would be above ground by now.

Banks Monthly report is out! Highlights include: -Apartments 95% rented -Toby Keith's on target to open by the end of the year See more: http://www.thebankspublicpartnership.com/sites/default/files/IDMA%20September%20Monthly%20Report.pdf

Lack of diversity hinders Greater Cincinnati Bilingual scarcity hurts businesses, threatens loss of Chiquita 3:14 AM, Oct. 30, 2011 Written by Laura Baverman Doctors, nurses and administrators see patients from dozens of countries each year at internationally renowned Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. International business makes up more than half of General Cable Corp.'s revenues. The Kroger Co. just hired a store manager in Price Hill who is fluent in Spanish. As affairs of the region go global, so grows the need for workers to be fluent in the languages and customs of people they serve. But increasingly, that need is becoming harder to fill in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. According to U.S. Census data, just 5 percent of local residents speak a language other than English at home. That's among the lowest percentage of any major metropolitan area in the nation including Cleveland, Indianapolis, Lexington, Nashville, Charlotte and Detroit.

There's a rumor floating around that Sam Adams will be in Cincy tomorrow to talk streetcar. No not the beer, the Mayor of Portland!

I would hope that you would know that this forum is open to anyone who wants to view it. That includes groups that are either for or against the streetcar/ Issue 48 such as COAST, CFP, the media etc. I would HOPE that supporters the streetcar would refrain from giving the opposition ammunition especially in light of the recent charges against COAST. I deleted those posts just as I delete the trash that COAST randomly posts on this board. Not to say that some points raised are not valid but the analogies were out of line. That said this is not the place to vent your frustration with the mods or the board. If you have a problem please DM us instead of taking it out on the forum. Thanks.

Metro has released information on their new fare boxes which according to the bus driver on the #17 a few days ago will be installed around Nov. 14th! http://www.go-metro.com/2011fareboxes.html

An update on the Washington Park construction: Washington Park continues construction By: Jenny Kessler October 20, 2011 – 9:30 am The 47.3 million dollar renovation currently undergoing Washington Park is progressing at a fantastic clip. Though all the general public normally sees is a green construction fence, make no mistake: improvements are happening, and it is already amazing to see what 3CDC has accomplished since closing the park last year. UrbanCincy had the opportunity to join a private tour of the park with the ArchNATI 2011 week. The updated park includes classic elements of the original greenspace that opened in 1855 – the bandstand is being restored, the original monuments are still intact, and a majority of the old trees stand tall – two of which will be highlighted and decorated in the winter months instead of bringing in a new tree a la Fountain Square. There are several green features incorporated into the park. “We (3CDC and the Parks Department) wanted to be cutting edge with our sustainable elements of the space,” said Jeff Martin, project manager and the tour guide for the event. “These features will save us money over time, and help the city as well.” Located in four locations of the park are “dry wells” – storage containers for excess rain water that will keep two million gallons of storm runoff out of the MSD system. The public restrooms are spacious and incorporate natural lighting with solar tubes – circular skylights that go through the roof and use reflective metal to bring sunlight into the space. All the new buildings in the park will have green roofs.

Great article in Urban Cincy recently highlighting this very real problem: ‘Transportation poverty’ predicted for Cincinnati’s aging Baby Boomer population By: Randy A. Simes October 26, 2011 – 8:00 am A new report, Aging in Place, Stuck without Options: Fixing the Mobility Crisis Threatening the Baby Boom Generation, released by Transportation for America finds that more than 64 percent of Cincinnati’s population between the ages of 65 and 79 will have poor transit access by 2015. In the Cincinnati metropolitan area, that accounts for approximately 200,000 people. The Cincinnati region is not alone when it comes to providing adequate transit options to a growing aging population. Out of 48 regions studied with 1-3 million people, Cincinnati ranked as the 17th worst. Columbus and Cleveland, meanwhile, ranked as the 18th and 24th worst respectively. The lack of transit options provided in the regions studied is matched by an increasing number of seniors utilizing public transit. A 2011 report from the AARP Public Policy Institute found that the total number of trips by seniors on public transit grew 51 percent between 2001 and 2009, and that seniors now account for nearly 10 percent of all trips taken on public transit in the United States.

City Beat released their Council endorsements a few days ago. Also, the sidebar in the streetcar article also lists the current campaign contributions for Council. If the top 9 fundraisers get elected there will be a Republican majority on Council. FOP endorsements. And commentary from CincyBlog.

It looks amazing! Thanks for the updates!!!

^ Very cool picture!

Historic board:Parts of Mercer Commons don't meet guidelines Business Courier by Lucy May, Senior Staff Reporter/Associate Editor Date: Tuesday, October 25, 2011, 2:02pm EDT Two key elements of the $53.5 million Mercer Commons project in Over-the-Rhine don’t meet the city’s historic guidelines for development in the neighborhood. Cincinnati’s Historic Conservation Board on Monday afternoon voted unanimously that a large, new building on Vine Street that is part of the project does not conform to historic guidelines. The board also voted unanimously that town houses being built as part of the project also fail to meet the city’s historic guidelines. The board’s decision is important because the Cincinnati Planning Commission and Cincinnati City Council agreed earlier this year to let the project move forward on the condition that it would meet the city’s historic guidelines.

Had a great time meeting everyone! Hope to see everyone again at future meet ups and beyond!

^Instead of finding work, some people in the opposition seem to use their free time to vote the same way on every computer in every library. Classy.

So our code word is Irregular Cheese? Brilliant!

Things are getting heated. I know not everyone can count on the Enquirer to get it's facts right but it doesn't mean people should resort to personal insults... This is a public forum after all AND I know people from paper do read this page. So please be a bit more mindful. Thanks.