JYP

This quote encapsulates the most important issue relating to the growth and future potential of Cincinnati. I spent all of yesterday at an event where Source Cincinnati presented progress of the city and region across the country. Afterwards we talked about talent attention and attraction. The business class knows that something needs to be done but because they are not experts in the field they may support "solutions" that have already proven failures in other markets. We need frequent and convenient transit based on real-world action, not an app. We need better than bus modes (this includes BRT). We need better stops/stations, more bus-only lanes (painted!!). Without good and affordable transportation alternatives connecting neighborhoods we are at best limited to creating walkable pockets and drive-to urbanism. Better mass transit is what will differentiate the success and failure of cities in the 21st century.

I have a picture and a link to a public website where information on this can be reviewed at your leisure:

This is correct. The current crop of leadership with FC and this region are intent on applying their suburban principals to the urban core. Exclusion, car-oriented, pedestrian unfriendly and monolithic. Yay...

Lot 28 will probably be the west section version of the Moerlein Lager House.

Lots 1 and 13 are the ones just west of Phase II, they were going to be mixed-use, office and hotel: This agreement is great. I'll be a bit more relieved when its formally adopted and things start moving forward again. One weird thing about this deal is the "potential" development of the third and central lot. My impression this is the former dunhumby HQ that was demo'd a few years back. If so, it's not the first place I'd select to build anything due to all the highway ramps. It was a peculiar bargaining chip but the Mayor played it well. It does seem like DCED and the rest of the city administration has plans/developer interest for other parts of the Banks. If this accelerates good mixed-use at the site its a huge win. We'll see!

Okay. I see what you are saying. This picture may illustrate the loading dock ramp better (lower left): Also just noticed the venue wall in relation to the trees implies some height off the ground. Not sure how much though.

I was basically about to write 90% of this. These are great programs and the market is the perfect vehicle to develop this but a "food hall" as a commercial endeavor by itself is challenging. Concepts and chefs need to be managed and curated. There needs to be a balance on day parts, etc. Systems have to be organized as to who owns what, does what, etc. It's not impossible but its tricky to pull off. Good food halls are unique, authentic and hip. Bad ones are empty and stale and I've seen plenty of the latter and not enough of the former in doing research on these. The good news is that food halls come in different flavors and I definitely don't think the two we have in the basin are it. Out of what we have, one is very corporate and relies on established Cincinnati brands. The other is oriented around an old market that is positioning itself to be an incubator space for restaurant and retail. There are plenty of food hall concepts in between, it's just going to take more creativity, good recruiting, and financing to pull off.

Here's a site plan from Corporex's website. If I am looking at this correctly, the new music venue will sit above the street. So this basically is a parking garage fronting the street. Sounds like a huge win for urban design...not.

Food halls are hard. And in Cincinnati where its hard to find/harness food talent that outside of the established chefs and restaurant operators, even harder.

30 workers sounds like they would take up a lot of real estate in that space. I think the food hall idea is probably dead.

The group that opposed the removal of the trees is suing the park board and the W&S Foundation. Heard it on the news this morning.

So the timeline on this is that the County submitted a PD Plan amendment that changed the use of Lots 23,27 and 28 for the music venue. At the Pre-hearing conference this week, the city advanced a completely alternative request related to the PD request from the county. An initial story on this referenced the Department of Community and Economic Development being involved in advancing the alternate scheme to remove residential from Lot 24 which was not addressed in the submission at all. If you want to read the submission, knock yourself out, its 209 pages long! When the Planning Commission meets on this (either the 8th or the 15th) they will make a recommendation to City Council on whether the amendment should be approved or not. City Council will ultimately make the final decision. It will be sent to the Economic Growth and Zoning Subcommittee before being brought before the full council for a vote. There are a few points were change can occur. 1.) Staff changes their recommendation prior to the Planning Commission meeting. 2.) Planning Commission can recommend with conditions for change. 3.) Council can make changes but may need to override a Mayoral veto if possible/necessary. What is weird is that this not typical zoning practice. Typically the proposal is judged on the merits of the application. This level of horse trading with uses on the staff end is highly unusual and not typically done unless there is some solid foundational backing (i.e. a plan or report showing conditions or public will has changed). Removing Residential as a permitted use has nothing to do with the market. It's usually not the city's prerogative to take a use off the table becuase of vacancy. That's typically the market making that call. Finally I firmly believe this is legally flimsy (although I am not a lawyer) for a few reasons. 1.) Who initiated the zone change? Typically an applicant, city council, or the Planning Commission can initiate a zone change. I think the city could use the PD application from the county as a cover but its pretty weak. As I stated above. 2.) Is this is a regulatory takings? Eliminating residential is a takings within the PD. Typically the applicant makes changes to PD's or a zone change for applicable property, not adjacent property. It would be like if I rezone my house multi-family so the city randomly decides to rezone adjacent properties commercial. They have the power to do that, but it's outside of my initial application so there is no standing to do that. The way the city's zoning code treats amendments to final PD's is the same as a zone change so these rules apply. TLDR: The Mayor is making a hail mary pass to stop the music venue, punishing the rest of the Banks in the process. It's designed to punish the county at the expense of the overall development and/or engulf the music venue in a legal and political quagmire thus further delaying construction start and costs all around. Sounds like a win/win to me. ?

Tactic #6: Use Zoning to Get Your Way New proposed zoning at The Banks eliminates some housing; stuns county lawyer https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2019/10/30/surprise-move-city-proposes-rezoning-banks-less-housing/4103348002/

This could ease your confusion, or enhance it. Not sure.

It's amazing how with this administration everyone from the Chamber to the BBC and beyond are just ignoring rail as an option because "Streetcar." It's pathetic.

This is language from Article 8, Section 6c of the Cincinnati City Charter: "In the event that at the general election on November 6, 1979, the electors of the county of Hamilton, state of Ohio approve the levy of a 1% sales and use tax to provide general revenues for the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority, so long as such levy or successor levies to it remain in effect the three-tenths of one percent (.3%) earned income tax levied for public transit purposes generally shall not be levied. If the sales and use tax levy is approved, the levy of the .3% earnings tax shall be discontinued as of the first day following the certification of the election result by the Hamilton County Board of Elections." There is already authority to eliminate the earnings tax in the event of a sales tax passing but it looks like it has to be 1% or more.

The "road infrastructure" portion of the tax will be handled by the local branch district of the Ohio Public Works Commission. The people on this board: https://www.pwc.ohio.gov/District/DistrictMembers/DistrictTwoMembers On page 5 of this document, the process for the transit levy and the roads fund allocations are spelled out as per the enabling legislation passed earlier this year: https://ccao.org/wp-content/uploads/CAB2019-04-07-25-19.pdf If the county sales tax passes, Metro would have to submit road infrastructure investments to the OPWC District 2 and will need at least 6 (out of 9) votes to move a project forward. I'm pretty sure the Western Hills Viaduct will be the first big project they try to push with this fund. I am concerned about the next funding asks. Infrastructure upgrades on roads to create safer streets for everything that's not a car and transit infrastructure improvements is what should be funded. But with current leadership calling the shots, I can see this funding being used to widen roads for more cars with some transit thrown in for cover.

According to this slide from the September Re-inventing Metro SORTA packet, they were anticipating a .07% sales tax which has now gone down to .06%. The problem is that I think there is still assumptions that this will be the revenue forecast.

The City is in the process of adding up to 15 new districts this year: https://choosecincy.com/2019TIFDistricts/#iLightbox[16e56cb82cea2666740]/0

Walkable = there is a sidewalk so you can walk if you want to but why would you because we have no idea how to make things actually good for pedestrians.

RedBike is by far the best mobility deal in the urban core of Cincinnati.

Walked by that spot this morning and it was empty. 3CDC started working on the utilities for the old Weilert's building next to the old Kroger. I think shutting down the street plus parts of the sidewalk has dispersed them for now. But then again, maybe I was there too early.

A few years ago somebody mentioned an interesting concept in a discussion about downtown Cincinnati development. He said there has always been "a hole" of temporary surface parking or empty land that moves around the core. In the 90's it was Fountain Place, then it was 5th and Race, then it was 4th and Race, and now it appears it could be the Millennium, post demolition.

Why can’t there be two jazz clubs in OTR? Walnut Hills has two...

Empower made it. They moved to OTR from Mt. Adams a few years ago and are a pretty big firm with big corporate clients.