March 6, 20187 yr Great stuff Jake. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
March 6, 20187 yr Thanks Jake. A lot of work happening in Walnut Hills / E. Walnut Hills for certain, but still a lot more to go to increase the vibrancy especially on McMillan, these bigger projects should help with the vibrancy quite a lot and hopefully spin off some more renovations.
March 6, 20187 yr Kevin Wright, the executive director at the Walnut Hills Redevelopment Foundation, is stepping down on April 6. He was largely responsible for steering the organization into it's current path, and I think deserves a lot of the credit for what has been happening in Walnut Hills. It will be interesting to see who replaces him and how the organization fares after his departure.
March 6, 20187 yr Kevin Wright, the executive director at the Walnut Hills Redevelopment Foundation, is stepping down on April 6. He was largely responsible for steering the organization into it's current path, and I think deserves a lot of the credit for what has been happening in Walnut Hills. It will be interesting to see who replaces him and how the organization fares after his departure. Hopefully it will be someone who is less happy to demolish buildings just because...
March 6, 20187 yr Hopefully it will be someone who is less happy to demolish buildings just because... I don't believe that anything was demolished while Kevin Wright was there. Previously, John Back (minority owner of Neon's and Wellman's Brands) resigned from the WHRF circa 2010 when a half dozen structures were demolished on the south side of McMillan west of what is now Fireside Pizza.
March 6, 20187 yr ^I'm pretty sure the Graeter's building was demolished on the south side of McMillan east of Gilbert. They also plan to demolish several building near Lincoln and Gilbert (though they bought those properties from a developer/speculator who wanted to demolish all of the buildings).
March 13, 20187 yr Well 2329 Kenton St. just failed to sell at auction -- starting bid $10,000. No bids. This is just 2 blocks south of the hot corner. So the thought that a Walnut Hills gold rush is on is obviously not the case.
March 13, 20187 yr Kenton Street got really bad press last year when Jamie Urton was pulled out of his car and murdered in the street in broad daylight. No surprise they can't give houses away there. One event like that can have a pretty big impact.
March 19, 20187 yr Same house is going up for auction again in April -- this time with a $2,500 minimum bid. https://www.auction.com/details/2329-kenton-street-cincinnati-oh-45206-2559417-o_1182l
April 10, 20187 yr Small renovated house on Wayne just listed for $270k: https://www.sibcycline.com/Listing/CIN/1574510/739-Wayne-St-Walnut-Hills-OH-45206
April 26, 20187 yr Developer building high-end townhomes in Walnut Hills A developer who has been involved in the revitalization of Walnut Hills since 2015 is building new high-end townhomes near the $13 million Firehouse Row project. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2018/04/26/exclusive-developer-building-high-end-townhomes-in.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
April 26, 20187 yr So... they're not only "faux historic", they're also not reflective of any Cincinnati vernacular style? But then again, it's also Samir Kulkarni, who just tore down that great mansion in Walnut Hills, so I guess I shouldn't expect much from him. “To an Ohio resident - wherever he lives - some other part of his state seems unreal.”
April 27, 20187 yr Exactly my thought. If you're going to do faux historic, at the very least make it faux historic of the correct styles. These look nothing like anything built historically in Cincy. I was also really hoping Firehouse Row would be joined by more buildings of a similar scale across the street. Not...these...
April 27, 20187 yr ^Well, according to the article, they're actually being built along Concord between Wayne and Morgan, not on McMillan. So I guess that's a consolation? Most of the housing on that block is really crappy, but I hope he didn't tear down the great Italianate at the corner of Concord and Morgan. “To an Ohio resident - wherever he lives - some other part of his state seems unreal.”
April 27, 20187 yr ^Poorly done Williamsburg.... very poorly done. If you just look at one unit by itself it looks like a cyclops with that random third story window
April 27, 20187 yr It looks a lot like old working class British terraced housing. It's a strange look for something being marketed as "high end."
April 27, 20187 yr Walnut Hills is a wild patchwork of one-off housing styles. You can do anything and it will fit in.
April 27, 20187 yr Speaking of one-off housing styles.... get a load of this bizarre shotgun house that appears to have been converted into a duplex at some point (and presumably has been/will be razed for the above project). It looks more Mississippi than Cincinnati. “To an Ohio resident - wherever he lives - some other part of his state seems unreal.”
April 27, 20187 yr Yeah there is something ridiculous on each side of every block in that neighborhood. Like this $800 conversion of a 1-bedroom shotgun into a 2-bedroom:
April 27, 20187 yr Speaking of one-off housing styles.... get a load of this bizarre shotgun house that appears to have been converted into a duplex at some point (and presumably has been/will be razed for the above project). It looks more Mississippi than Cincinnati. I doubt it was turned into a duplex. I bet this was just so that the living room could be a bedroom, and/or so the back bedroom could have outdoor access without needing to walk through the front room.
April 27, 20187 yr Yeah there is something ridiculous on each side of every block in that neighborhood. It might have the most bizarre collection of houses in Cincinnati. I came across this once - from the front it looks like a normal 50s style ranch (which is in and of itself strange for Walnut Hills), but from the back? https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1241713,-84.4958244,3a,90y,106.39h,95.28t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1skjUSlOqLVdqxPLEYV_TpGQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
May 7, 20187 yr 793 E. McMillan is slated to be rehabbed into a bar restaurant. WHRF will do the remodel and they claim to have "an experienced bar/restaurant owner to lease the property and operate a bar/restaurant." http://city-egov.cincinnati-oh.gov/Webtop/ws/council/public/child/Blob/50271.pdf?rpp=-10&m=1&w=doc_no%3D%27201800766%27
May 7, 20187 yr Also, looks like they are full go on the Eastern Hills YMCA in East Walnut Hills close to the Anthem site. I had a thought the other day with all the new construction in Corryville: Do you think it is possible for new apartments to keep springing up between Walnut Hills NBD ending at 71 on ramp on McMillan and the Corryville area where it looks like the next big project is at the SW corner of Auburn and McMillan, and eventually connect these two areas? It isn't really unfeasible to think in the next 10 years that whole corridor could be filled with apartments, then you might start seeing some students living in actually the Walnut Hills NBD and commuting by bike to UC. It's got be right at 1 mile between 71 and UC Campus, and maybe the last new development from Auburn/McMillan to 71 only about 0.5 miles.
May 7, 20187 yr ^Yeah, things appear to be headed in that direction. But what's crazy is the extent to which the area empties out when the students leave. So it's still a tough environment for retail, despite the construction of these new complexes.
May 7, 20187 yr Yeah I didn't think too much on that but maybe they could get a mix of permanent residents mixed with students. That said, they got to fix McMillan to be two way to make it more hospitable, it's a dang freeway most of the time traveling back from UC to Walnut Hills, then slows down considerably after you cross 71
May 7, 20187 yr Yeah I didn't think too much on that but maybe they could get a mix of permanent residents mixed with students. That said, they got to fix McMillan to be two way to make it more hospitable, it's a dang freeway most of the time traveling back from UC to Walnut Hills, then slows down considerably after you cross 71 If the former Prime Time lot and the combined CVS/PNC Bank/Superior Credit Union block is redeveloped into general housing (and actually U Square is open to anyone, not just students) that would help the existing McMillan/Calhoun retailers. As John Schneider and others have pointed out, if we had a light rail line in a tunnel from OTR to UC with an underground station right by the CVS & Walgreen's, that area could turn into a hub of activity far beyond what it is now. In other cities like Boston and Philadelphia, "regular people" often live right next to colleges. There isn't a stigma against living near "the students".
May 7, 20187 yr ^But things get a little tough when imagining how a Walnut Hills transit line could also serve UC/Hospitals. Doing a streetcar line across from Hughes Corner to Woodburn wouldn't work without protected lanes, and I doubt that business owners would accept the loss of on-street parking between Vine and Clifton avenues. The time to reserve those lanes in Walnut Hills is now, but there is absolutely no political will for this.
May 7, 20187 yr Yeah I guess if you jogged it from McMillan onto Gilbert then to Taft then to Victoria then to Madison, or cut across underground in there somehow
May 21, 20187 yr The bicycle shop on Woodburn appears to have closed, but I can't find any news on it. https://www.cincinnatibicycle.com/
May 21, 20187 yr The bicycle shop on Woodburn appears to have closed, but I can't find any news on it. https://www.cincinnatibicycle.com/ Been closed and the space emptied out for at least a month. Don't know why yet or what the plan is.
May 30, 20187 yr Hotel Alms to remain low-income housing: https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/hamilton-county/cincinnati/the-alms-and-six-other-low-income-complexes-may-be-sold-to-out-of-town-buyers-next-week
May 30, 20187 yr Hotel Alms to remain low-income housing: https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/hamilton-county/cincinnati/the-alms-and-six-other-low-income-complexes-may-be-sold-to-out-of-town-buyers-next-week From what I understand, that location gets ALOT of police activity and crime. It's unfortunate. I'm all about low income housing, but how do you revive an area, when the low income housing is the source for constant criminal activity?
May 31, 20187 yr Item 4 of the 6/1 planning packet: Model group is proposing a 5 story building with 45 units of housing and ~4,000 sq. ft. of commercial space on McMillan between Gilbert and Curtis. Called 'Scholar House', the development will be low-income housing for single parents who are enrolled in a full time degree program. 9,4000 sq. ft. of child care and supportive services to be included. Sounds like a great development, and it will fill in one of the missing teeth in the WH business district. https://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/planning/about-city-planning/city-planning-commission/jun-1-2018-packet/
June 4, 20187 yr The bicycle shop on Woodburn appears to have closed, but I can't find any news on it. https://www.cincinnatibicycle.com/ Been closed and the space emptied out for at least a month. Don't know why yet or what the plan is. There was a sign for this space that a fashion/clothing store will be opening on June 15th. Didn't catch the name.
June 4, 20187 yr Subway in general is in trouble since the whole Jared fiasco and the chicken/soy scandal. They're also squeezing their franchisees more, so the dumpier ones seem to be folding. The one on Court Street closed a couple weeks ago too.
June 4, 20187 yr To be fair Subway's are closing everywhere. They just announced they're closing up to 500 locations this year after closing hundreds in previous years. Jared Fogle, yoga mat bread and the rise of places like Jimmy Johns, Firehouse and Jersey Mikes are really cutting into their bottom line. I was surprised the remodeled Shell at Highland and Ridge kept their Subway while adding a Dunkin Donuts.
June 4, 20187 yr Subway's biggest problem is that they have been a listless ship after the death of their founder a few years back.
June 4, 20187 yr ^Also, the Subway on McMillan has closed, but the McDonald's was just renovated. Is that the old Skyline? What took that building?
June 4, 20187 yr The McDonald's has always been the McDonald's. The old Skyline is now Taco Casa with the new Skyline next to it.
June 4, 20187 yr Taco Casa was formerly located in a building in an alley downtown. They built a parking garage around it back in 2002, but then they demolished Taco Casa. So there is just an empty spot in an alley for no reason now. https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1039552,-84.507809,3a,75y,31.78h,100.15t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s-QLf974BPFsZOFJb396_kA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
June 4, 20187 yr Taco Casa was formerly located in a building in an alley downtown. They built a parking garage around it back in 2002, but then they demolished Taco Casa. So there is just an empty spot in an alley for no reason now. https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1039552,-84.507809,3a,75y,31.78h,100.15t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s-QLf974BPFsZOFJb396_kA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656 “All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.” -Friedrich Nietzsche
June 5, 20187 yr The bicycle shop on Woodburn appears to have closed, but I can't find any news on it. https://www.cincinnatibicycle.com/ Been closed and the space emptied out for at least a month. Don't know why yet or what the plan is. There was a sign for this space that a fashion/clothing store will be opening on June 15th. Didn't catch the name. The name is Chapeau Couture. https://www.facebook.com/chapeaucouture/
June 18, 20186 yr The Anthem building & parking lot has been completely demo'd and almost no equipment remains on site. Unfortunately there are no signs that construction of the apartment complex are imminent.
June 18, 20186 yr Yeah, they got it all leveled out basically and a big hole, but nothing yet. Everything slowed down recently. It does seem they are full go at the Eastern Hills YMCA building on East McMillan, though.
June 18, 20186 yr I've seen scenarios where a large chunk of financing is contingent upon a site being shovel ready and sometimes that transition can take a little bit. Hopefully it's something along those lines or they just had a secured start date with the construction company and they're just waiting for that date to begin. Everyone is busy nationwide so sometimes you just can't get someone to start when you want to which isn't a huge deal or a sign of anything bad but can look like a stalled project to us, the outsiders.
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