CincyIntheKnow

My view of Atherton is he is quite possibly the fluffiest interview in Cincinnati history. There is a reason he was picked for the job.

I know, I'm stoked! lol They're also getting a Cantini Redelo...I don't really get why they put that one in there. It's not like many people in Cincy would recognize the Cantina Laredo logo. The only location is at Polaris in Columbus. Often those who do renderings copy/ modify restaurant names for subtle name recognition, for ease of constructing the actual rendering, or this can be a teaser of a possible (signed) tenant. While very few could recognize the Cantina Laredo name, using the real name would open a floodgate for possible lawsuits.

It depends on what all is being designed... the term "caps" is fluid enough to include the parks that would temporarily occupy the space until Banks completion and downtown land prices justify building on them.

Do you think it will be GBBN or FRCH? Not sure if the question is genuine, but I would put my money on FRCH.

This makes no sense to me. But I could be missing something. My guess is the casino owners requested this as part of their land lease. IF true, this could bode very well for the future of that area.

Awesome. This has needed to happen for some time.

I would take Crocker Park in Westlake over these renderings. Arena District is nice, having actual different uses and building types contribute to a natural "form follows function" even though it is contemporary. Havent been to or seen the others, but just because someone else has possibly committed a mistake doent mean it is ok for me or my city.

Economies of scale gained from having one designer and one contractor, not to mention the incredibly quick schedule, deemed the multiple designer model difficult. That being said, this is not what it has to look like if just one designer is used. This is disappointing, to say the least.

Am I the only one that feels it went from bad to worse? This was following the UBRD's recommendations? Wow. Its like a contemporary superblock of yuck. Atleast the first design tried to break up the mass. And what is with the ridiculously outdated canted parapets? I guess that is one way to justify the stereotype about Cincinnati being a constant anacronysm.

Huge news if true! And its nice to hear something reasonably quantifiable compared to the oft-used "coming soon."

Please explain.

292 pages of it. What would you suggest we discuss? I happened to find it valuable.

Unless all riders live directly along the streetcar route, the argument is moot... at one point or another someone is going to have to carry groceries more than one block, otherwise the streetcar isn't nearly the successful development tool we champion it as. Three blocks should hardly discourage someone from taking the streetcar, that from a guy who walks/ carries groceries to Hyde Park Kroger and back a mile each way. Also, they could walk one block across Findlay to Vine and get the NB car there.

The more I think about it, I would want to extend the southbound Race route all the way to fifth, then cross over past fountain square and turn right onto southbound walnut. It makes the one block wide footprint virtually non-existant, but for arguement's sake if development is proven to mostly occur within one block of the streetcar wouldn't the best way to maximize ROI be to extend the route to 2-3 blocks wide?

Rudimentary Photoshopped map added for discussion purposes...

The route looks cleaner and would be easier for both residents and nonresidents alike to figure out, but I think leaving out findlay market and music hall/SCPA is a big mistake. Could the southbound streetcar turn right onto Findlay, left onto Race and stay southbound on Race until 12th or Central Parkway? The major downside is the loss of one block spacing through OTR north of the GQ, but with current momentum is the one block spacing still considered a "necessity"?

Last year before the holidays I asked the owner of MICA how they were doing, and he said something along the lines of better than they expected. I would think business has improved with the surrounding area.

Weedrose, this is a particularly dangerous attitude. We shouldn't be designing and building structures ESPECIALLY AT THIS SCALE, to last for only 25 years! This project will be successful if it attains LASTING SIGNIFICANCE. If it does not, it will be viewed as another failure for Cincinnati, and it will be a huge zit on the face of our city, which other cities will laugh at for the next however long it takes to get the political will to spend another vast amount of money to demolish and rebuild. I've said this several times on this forum, and I'm glad to see that Council member Qualls agrees with me, and that the design review board is doing their job. Civik: Cole+Russel MAY be capable of good designs, but they sure as heck have not been demonstrating that for a long time. They are the Walmart of Cincinnati architectural firms. How the exact team that produced the unorganized fiasco of a building that is the new SCPA in historic OTR got the largest, most publicized commission of the decade is an f-ing mystery to me. The design review board needs to keep the leash tight here, or we'll end up with a Gateway Condos project X 10. :drunk: Also, thanks Enquirer for providing us with one image of the actual design...sheesh! :x John, Let's get together at your wonderful place and we can talk about the it in depth over beers. I was privy to some of the process, and I can tell you politics, minority inclusion (Moody Nolan), and previous work were huge determining factors. Regarding having a competition, there was a surprisingly extensive interview process to get to a short list of firms, but economies of scale and tackling coordination in what amounts to be a ridiculous schedule made this phase (retail and apartments only) a one firm job. The office portion is being done by a firm out of Atlanta, and the hotel portion is being done by yet another firm. Cole Russel has been and is capable of good design, but none of us are aware of all the factors weighing in on decisions. They may have been told to go in different directions a dozen times, and all while hitting a bottom line sweet spot the developer dangles. We should have high expectations, and we should be disappointed if they are not met, but we should not be surprised. The only way this develpoment could have worked is if a city founded group was willing to take on this project and knowingly lose tens of millions of dollars for the betterment of the city. Wouldn't be the first time. But a good question is whether they could handle a project so huge.

Ok, sorry for the delay. It has been a hectic week for me, but the Segway tour was an amazing highlight. Michael asked us to outline some key points/ observations... -I really liked 14th and Vine on the interior. The floating clouds are a cool touch, and the space and amenities for the price are unbeatable. It is quite obvious why they are selling so well. I still have gripes with the exterior, but the interior is top notch. It belongs in the Gateway Quarter for sure. -The old character in buildings like Goodfellows stole the show. In ram's picture you can see that unit that had something like 5 fireplaces in it. (not all functional, but still awesome) I am still buzzing about the curved piers in Falling Wall. If I were going to renovate a building myself <wink,wink> I would try like hell to maintain these bits of charm. Urban sites did a great job of this on the whole, although themes like the canted walls in Falling Wall tend to be a bit distracting to me. (Granted I may not be their target demographic, but I digress.) -City Home is turning out better than the renderings (at least from the exterior), and the character of the streetscaping is really going to transform that neighborhood. I am curious to see how successful the competition with the suburbs will go, although I know that they are targeting SCPA families more than anything. -Lackman is a gem. Between the awesome balconies, gorgeous staircase, and building ornament. Wow. I really, really dug the funky conduit vertical lamp thingy you can see in ram's pic. I think the balance of modern and historic is really struck well in this building. Having house shopped recently with my fiance, my only gripe would be the size of kitchen, but for a single person who wouldn't cook that much it works out very well. -Mottanai=awesome. It just really appealed to my taste: heavy horizontals, a balance of exposed brick and gypsum for contrast, and an amazing kitchen. I really dug the concrete trough sinks, and the cork floors were an interesting change. Kudos, and I hope they sell well so a few more units like them get built. General: -Diversity of developers is a must. By the end of the tour we could figure out who the developer was by how the buildings were done. -I liked the travertine bathrooms, but am glad not everyone does them, they could get old quick. For the most part the bathrooms were very contemporary and the materiality was very attractive, good call. -Wood floors are a definite plus. -Lofted spaces and mezzanines are cool when they work well for a layout or space, but I wouldn't force them everywhere. -I think Main St could gain a lot in the short term if some of the empty storefronts were turned into lobby spaces for the residents above, or into indoor/ outdoor party rooms that could be rented. It would be a cool amenity for the tenants, and it would help with the street character greatly. -I wonder how people would feel about shared large rooftop balconies rather than smaller private ones. They felt a bit claustrophobic and separated from the street at times. **Special thanks to Michael, Holly and Stacy for making the tour happen. And a crazy thanks to the guys at Segway... I am addicted. I absolutely loved meeting everyone. Maybe we can have a UO get together so we can put more faces with names?

While there are some buildings many wouldn't batt an eye at, there are a few that would be a shame to lose, mostly because thy actually have been well-maintained over time. The cost and benefit of this new development is likely to be very controversial, but knowing the weakness of the Corryville community council in the past, this project won't meet much if any opposition.

When i suggested the same thing to the agent in charge of leasing, I was told that the million dollar condos above prevented any retrofit. It is a shame, because there is tons of interest in the space, just not boutique retail.

Agreed on Mottainai, we shall see on the other. Does the bottom floor of 14th & Vine remind anyone else of the Thai Cafe on Ludlow?

Last I had heard #4 is slated to be offices, and 3CDC will occupy the top floor.

This is a guest editorial piece from a Brad Thomas. Which Brad Thomas? :)

I thought UC shut down its power plant a few years ago due to inefficiency and the relative cost to purchasing. Is it up and running again? Would the relatively little electricity the Streetcar would require to run be nearly enough to justify using it again?