RiverViewer

You should read back thru this whole thread. I think most folks love the development - well, love that such development is happening in Norwood, rather than far from the city. But like it or not, Eminent Domain was abused here. Just because I'm pleased with the results doesn't mean I can justify the means. Here's two of my earlier posts on this. I'm definitely no lawyer, and I have little knowledge of Eminent Domain, so please correct me if I'm off on anything here - but I think this whole thing tastes a bit foul, despite how much I'm happy for the development. From this, it looks like the only place Rookwood might fit is under Local Government: "Municipalities and their boards or commissions may exercise the power of eminent domain for any public purpose." Those purposes have meet the definition of Public Use, and "the Ohio Supreme Court has loosely defined "public use" as a use that is required for the public’s safety, health, interest, or convenience." The paper then lists examples: "Examples of uses deemed valid public uses by Ohio courts include streets, roads, highways, scenic and recreational uses, public buildings, water improvements, correctional facilities, airports, cemeteries, waste-disposal plants, utilities, urban-renewal projects, and railroads." I guess we need to add "lifestyle shopping centers" to the list... Anyway, I assume it's probably more nuanced than this, and I'll try to go back and read up on how this particular case interfaced with Eminent Domain law, but if anyone else has something to throw in, I'd love to learn from folks who know how this stuff works! So an Interstate constructed in the 1970's is suddenly deteriorating the area...and then you develop around the area, which deteriorates it...I took 30 feet of your front lawn, so therefore your property is deteriorating. Let me take the rest of it now! I love what Rookwood does for the neighborhood - upscale retail and dining and office space in a blue collar neighborhood helps home values, roots the community, builds the tax base, diversifies the economy...not all of it is upscale, either - Rookwood Pavilion has a TJ Maxx and a Steinmart and a BW3's and a Boston Market and a SuperCuts, lots of places for every budget...it's not out in Sprawlville, and it's an asset to Cincinnati and Norwood both. And Rookwood Exchange is a natural extention. However, it does seem like an abuse of Eminent Domain. The only reason the area's blighted is because there's been business built around it. That just doesn't seem fair. Eminent Domain, by its very nature, isn't fair - but when it's a road or a utility, that's a lot different than when it's a shopping mall...

That's exactly why there's Eminent Domain. I think everyone agrees that Eminent Domain is a necessary and good thing. The only question is how it should be applied. This neighborhood did not fit the statute definitions, in my (uneducated) opinion. Neither did it fit the spirit of the law, again in my (uneducated) opinion. ED was used to shift ownership from one private entity to another. We can certainly debate these opinions - was Eminent Domain abused here, or was it appropriate? But painting the opposite side as advocating "people thinking they are entitled to sit on a piece of property they own for as long as they want, come hell or high water" isn't helpful. Nobody's arguing that.

I definitely think some folks are milking it for all it's worth - they can take their payouts and buy two or three comparable houses anywhere in Norwood (hell, probably four or five) - but that doesn't impact the fact that their rights were pretty well trampled here. You can't force someone to sell you their property except in certain circumstances, even if you're offering them a gold mine. I think Norwood played pretty fast and loose with things here, best I can tell, and the developer is definitely paying the price for it now. Interestingly, the houses north of Gold Star on that last little triangle of Edwards are all for sale, zoned for business, according to the yard signs. I'd always assumed they were part of the Exchange development, but I was obviously quite wrong.

...and decent coffee, and goetta for those emergency breakfasts!!!

Wow...thanks for culling the data for this update, grasscat!

I see it as common sense prevailing. Allow individual restaurants to choose if they want to go completely smoke-free, or else require that they adequately provide for non-smokers. I don't see how one can reasonably disagree with that solution, unless the goal is something other than serving the public.

I'll try to keep the 830 Lincoln project documented as it goes...if we're in town, I normally hit Giminetti's every Saturday morning for some breakfast sandwiches and some bread, then I tool around thru Walnut Hills on the way home...

What's the source of the one you posted?

A barbeque pit! Mmm...

Yeah, it seems like you only have so many quads to go around - you ought to take advantage of it, make it quaddy. I also agree, this seems to me like a good example of what Rob was talking about regarding trees blocking buildings...

Thanks for the update - definitely looks promising!

I agree completely, without reservation. However, I would add that it's a shit-ton better than the Old Suburbanism...

I've gotta take issue here on a number of points. I think you're probably more right than me when you talk about "big cities", because other than Ft. Wayne, I think the cities I mention are probably pretty small...and I'm completely with you about how great Ohio is. Nonetheless, I've gotta defend our neighbors here - I'd live in any of the states you mentioned, if I didn't love Cincinnati so much... Ft. Wayne is a quite beautiful river town with a skyline and some very nice houses. Muncie is a pretty small, but the downtown is very walkable, there's a number of nice restaurants, and lots of great architecture. Bloomington is a college town, but it's a gorgeous college town with lots to do and see and places to eat and a fantastic town square. One could do far worse than living in Indiana. Well, Louisville is pretty damn big...and Lexington isn't tiny. Northern Kentucky may feed off Cincinnati, but they are great places too. Maysville may not be big, but its downtown is fantastic. Indeed...but actually, I'd love to live in Charleston - I love river cities, and that's about as river city as you get - nestled into the valley, with those beautiful hills on the sides...I'd hate to live there if there were an industrial accident, of course, but I could definitely see living in Charleston. Wheeling is a lot bigger than I'd always thought it was, with some cool bridges and some very nice neighborhoods...and being somewhere so close to the West Virginia mountain parks and lodges would be great - it's hard to find somewhere more beautiful than all that in the summer. Erie's no slouch - not huge, but a manageable lake town. I've always loved Butler - the hills, the downtown, the houses and neighborhoods - I could definitely live there. Always seemed like a lot of young people in that city too. And yes, you mentioned it, but Pittsburgh is pretty damn amazing. Rivers, inclines, a skyline, hilltop views, lots of life, great people - any state with Pittsburgh in it is alright in my book. Ya got me there - I don't know anything about Michigan, except a couple weekends in Ann Arbor. But I'm sure some other forumers may object! I don't know if I'd call that a good thing - that means there's little demand. Amen on that. You could be describing Cleveland, Columbus or Cincinnati with that - and I've been to Dayton Opera - those folks are damn good. All in all, I agree that Ohio is a fantastic place to be, one that's way underrated - but I'd say the same thing about the region as a whole.

Oh yeah, that would rock out...

Regarding the real quad: That space was used to house some cafeteria bubble or something during the rest of the construction, and from what I've heard, it will be turned back into quad-like parky green space at some point. This is just from talking with students, and I can't find anything in a quick google-fest, but it does sound promising.

Amen on that. Surprising to see from the Enquirer - I've always been appalled at their math illiteracy...

I don't have anything to add to this, except my condolences to you and yours...

Not this guy!

Just ran by there over lunch (I had to run home, so I just detoured a bit). I took a little movie as I drove down Edwards towards Madison. Here's the link - probably best to right-click and "Save As". I may remove the file after a while because it's pretty big, but if it's gone and you want to see it, just PM me for it. Sorry for the bumpiness - I'm definitely not a cinematographer! Anyway, everything's fenced off, and it looks like a little utility digging has happened so far, but nothing else, at least that I could see from the road:

Very nice. My wife and I go out to Mariemont for an evening away in the city now and then - dinner at the National Exemplar (I could never remember the name, but I knew it sounded like some British government position, so I started calling it the "Ministry of Weights and Measures"), then a room overlooking the square, and a big breakfast in the morning...we did that for our anniversary last September. Very pretty area...

That's called the Beethoven Building: Here's the company's website: http://www.gatesofedenpark.com/ - lots of pictures, floor plans, and square footage - the smallest units are around 600 square feet! I haven't found anything else on the building's history.

^Amen. Lots of businesses around, easy access to downtown and the freeways, and some great housing stock. I lived on Hackberry for a while, and it was definitely a street on the upswing - lots of rehabs, some new construction, lots of stuff going right. I was renting a floor sander at Schulhoff Tool Rental on Friday and saw some guys on the roof of the Krug building, just across the street (just north of Burdett on Woodburn) - just look at this place: guy on the roof: ...that's just one building of many. That neighborhood is just itching to revitalize.

This will replace the Windsor School and the Hoffman School. Here's some pictures of those buildings: Windsor School: Picture from the CPS Facilities Master Plan - the school includes the red brick building: Hoffman School, again from the CPS Master Plan - I'll try to run by there and get a picture:

Why not just close the first quarter or half block of Telford off to traffic? Convert it to a large pedestrian gathering area...most of the worst traffic comes from folks turning either right or left off Ludlow onto Telford - folks who live on Telford could get there just going up Clifton to Bryant or down Ludlow to Middleton, where there's already a light...

Excuse me? When it comes to public networking innovation, Cleveland has some history of which to boast: