Civvik

From the Business Courier: I love this woman already.

I think in the end the city is doing things the right way now, even if they didn't plan it this way 20 years ago. They are starting to think about infrastructure and actual city building, rather than chasing marquee projects like department stores. To clarify, in my mind there are smart pursuits: Transportation policy and infrastructure Correct zoning Parks and greenspace Tax policy TIF and Empowerment Zones Financing assistance, block grants, bridge loans, etc ...and the not-so-smart: Stadiums Department stores Downtown malls Skyscrapers Big corporate tax breaks "Identity," theming, slogans, etc

My sense is that they aren't going to muster a more serious attempt at blocking this project than they already have. Whether this handful of men tries something on their own is another story, but I just don't see yet another big move against this thing. Why? No good reason, sorry. I don't get the sense that Cincinnatians are infused with hatred of the streetcar, or they wouldn't have voted in the council candidates that they did. It's just not a wedge issue. It doesn't obsess and define the city population like it does Miller and Finney. That, and the slow and inexorable march of time is moving forward, and people are going to start focusing on other issues.

Smitherman is quoted today as saying he will not work on another petition drive.

This issue was certainly the most intriguing outcome of this election. I follow Cincinnati politics and issues as close as anyone can, for not living in the city anymore, and the only thing I know about this guy is that his family is exceptionally rich. It is extremely odd in Cincinnati to catapult to #2 as a nobody. The only angle that makes sense for me with this is that he's simply climbing the ladder towards national politics and this was a test of how far his family's considerable connections and resources could propel him. In an age of increasing anxiety that our nation isbecoming a corporate oligarchy, this outcome just doesn't sit right with me.

Congrats!

Is the final precinct really only 1% of the remaining votes?

You crack me up, Prok.

Also, too, I think that even if Cincinnati never had a fixed rail system (which would be a shame), it could do 1,000 times better simply by creating high-frequency busways along a few major corridors and developing zoning overlays that promoted TOD on them. The bus system now, of course, just kind of wanders through town as a public service, but clearly the population patterns aren't any kind of mass-transit conducive. I'm kind of rambling, this has been talked about before in more appropriate threads.

This is quantifiable. Over 50% of Charlotte's LRT riders, for example, report never to have ridden a city bus.

In 30 years I hope to eat breakfast over 10,000 times. It's amazing what you can do with math.

First of all, 3CDC doesn't actually pay for anything. They are simply a non-profit that puts together various financing sources for developers and is stockpiling property in the basin. Second, Model Group and most of the other OTR developers have been redeveloping urban properties around these parts for several decades. For the most part it's been a labor of love. If you need to point veiled cynicism anywhere, do it at the people building strip malls in Butler county. Seriously, that kind of comment is just baffling.

It's easy to forget in 2011 that the original intent of The Banks in the 1990's was to redevelop the riverfront in conjunction with the new stadiums, since a critical mass of land was being created as a result of rebuilding Fort Washington Way. Waterfront urban redevelopment was a big thing in the 90's; for instance Cincinnati often cited Baltimore's Inner Harbor as a model. The realization of everything they planned has obviously taken much longer than anyone anticipated in 1999. Then the riots happened and 3CDC was born, and the port authority was refined, and the concept of developing everything in the river basin under one cohesive vision came out of that.

This sounds suspiciously like "Let's expand real fast to make it look like we have net revenue and worry about it later," and then later came. I'd guess that's the situation rather than "Oh my, we somehow vastly underestimated the price of that hardwood floor." Abigail Street just opened a glorious space in OTR and somehow didn't fumble their estimates.

Dots...connected.

The economy has been at a fucking standstill for nigh-on four years and they lease up almost 100% of their residential units as soon as these projects are finished. It's got to be something other than the economy.

Tried out the Johnny Rockets tonight. (Ironically, we managed to time our meal during Seattle's offensive coup, and left right before the Bengals came back to score all those 4th quarter points.) It was about 1/4 full. The food was unremarkable. I couldn't quite decide what kind of vibe they were going for. Polished burger joint chrome booths and overzealous waitresses, but with a full bar of men drinking and muttering at the football game. That was the first time we'd used the (ENOMROUS) main garage, though, so that was interesting. I think next time we'll just go to Holy Grail.

Fascinating. Issue 48, not surprising. But the council list...that wasn't expected. I guess they really were just spinning the Streetcar issue for reader interest.

Where can one find details of their decision?

Well, Carew is beige brick, but I think it's a horrid detail on an otherwise nicely designed art deco tower. Otherwise, I can think of a lot of granite downtown (at least at street level) but not a lot of yellow and beige brick. Hopefully the Casino is granite or stone, but I still think it would have been much classier, and fit into OTR better, as a more classically designed red brick building.

See I think that glass building in Prague is wonderful. It says "Look at my beautiful neighbors" instead of "Look at me." The important things are good quality, a nice active street, etc, etc. Cities that are treated like museums will eventually become them. The preservation people have done their very important job already -ensuring that a significant portion of OTR is not demolished- and now they are just in the way. They need to get out of the way.

That's not exactly the answer, because that's capital funds, like COAST is saying, not general funds. A better and more obvious answer is that "an asset" could include an object lasting more than five years and its related components which may or may not last that long. It's ridiculous and nonsensical nit-picking. The streetcar project is clearly a capital investment, which might include the ink and paper in the paperwork to get permits, pieces that wear out on the tools that are used to lay the tracks, the light bulbs in the vehicle that is built, etc, etc.

It perhaps referred to the article in the Enquirer about how Cincinnatians for Progress out-raised COAST $100,000 to $100. Ballpark numbers. PG and Macy's are on the record donating to CFP. If only they would donate to the Streetcar project!

Just in case you were referring to my analogy, I wasn't talking about actual pimps and whores lol, but rather the "We'll probably approve anything you want to build" attitude that exists in certain parts of city government in a struggling city like Cincinnati. The new office building in Columbia Tusculum that has zero facade articulation comes to mind. As does Center of Cincinnati in Oakley. And those were just your average johns! (Okay, Vandercar at this point might be a high-paying john, or a minor pimp.) At any rate, it shouldn't be a surprise or huge disappointment to anyone at this point. One question I have though, is why are we suddenly getting this deluge of beige brick in Cincinnati? I've always considered this a red brick kind of town. The Banks, the Casino, that horrible orange-y brick up at University Heights...

I rather like the contrast between neutral glass curtain building facades and well-maintained historic brick buildings. A poorly executed brick facade in this neighborhood could look much worse than the modern glass. But, it will be interesting to see what else they come up with. I'm sure they have some alternative concepts already done.