^It still had a handwritten FSBO sign on it at the time we were told that it had been purchased by "some guys who are going to turn it into a bar". 

 

According to the auditor, its was under city ownership from 2010-2017, so that handwritten sign was probably left over from the time when it was owned by a certain "Ha Sook Ahn".  Also, according to the auditor, it has been under Asian ownership since the 1980s, so it was probably a restaurant up until the mid or late 2000s. 

 

Since 2017 it has been owned by "793 McMillan, LLC".  It is unclear if they paid even $1 to the city for the building. 

13 hours ago, jmecklenborg said:

^It still had a handwritten FSBO sign on it at the time we were told that it had been purchased by "some guys who are going to turn it into a bar". 

 

According to the auditor, its was under city ownership from 2010-2017, so that handwritten sign was probably left over from the time when it was owned by a certain "Ha Sook Ahn".  Also, according to the auditor, it has been under Asian ownership since the 1980s, so it was probably a restaurant up until the mid or late 2000s. 

 

Since 2017 it has been owned by "793 McMillan, LLC".  It is unclear if they paid even $1 to the city for the building. 

 

The hang-up with the bar had to do with a combination of delays getting the property transferred and getting funding secured to gap finance the bar. These things take time. I think the unfortunate thing is that most times developers rush to announce a new bar or restaurant to generate buzz or lure investors but the gap between announcement and opening is so long that it gives the impression everything is moving at a snail's pace.

The Alms Hill Apartments are going to get renovated, and will be preserved as affordable housing:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2018/12/07/affordable-housing-project-receives-87m.html

^Also, the Dairy Mart was finally demolished around Thanksgiving, so redevelopment of the Alms might include use of that space. 

 

-In other news, work continues on the small building on the south side of McMillan at Peeble's corner that we mentioned here last month.  I saw guys in there on Thursday.  But there is no finishing work going on, so it is still just bare walls inside.  

 

-the new brewery's windows have been completely replaced, but it still doesn't really "pop".  Still no finishing work going on in there either.  

 

-the two motley buildings on Wayne were demolished to make way for Firehouse Row, which is now undeniably under construction.

 

-no movement on the Anthem site

 

-Cafe Vivace seems to draw a consistent crowd on the weekends - more than any of the other new places.

 

-Myrtle's seems pretty dead.  I haven't seen a crowd in that place in over a year and it's usually completely empty by midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. 

 

 

 

This big house was torn down last week, shortly after the Dairy Mart:

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1264134,-84.4861947,3a,39.3y,129.31h,95.35t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sPhwjBf8DrOBGwljO1qq0eQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

A new restaurant is now open in the former bank at the corner of Woodburn and Madison, opposite Susie Wong's.  This building was built shortly after the Woodburn Ave. street wall was demolished to extend Madison to the then-new Victory Parkway.  Unfortunately, that move was the first of several that led to the demise of the business district.  First it was the Victory Parkway bypass, then the Columbia Parkway bypass, and then I-71 that left this former bustling strip as marooned as Short Vine. 

 

https://www.wcpo.com/entertainment/local-a-e/branch-and-night-drop-now-open-inside-former-east-walnut-hills-central-trust-bank

 

The article says that the owners put $1.2 million into the building renovation and restaurant build-out.  Ouch. 

 

 

Am I crazy for thinking that Walnut Hills will be fully gentrified before OTR is fully gentrified?

 

I just feel like that Walnut hills is not as large/dense per say, and have less abundance of historic stock. 

 

I just think that Firehouse Row will be a great accelator similar to Mercer Commons on Vine. But I think the turn around for Walnut Hills will be much quicker. 

On 12/27/2018 at 6:04 PM, troeros said:

Am I crazy for thinking that Walnut Hills will be fully gentrified before OTR is fully gentrified?

 

I just feel like that Walnut hills is not as large/dense per say, and have less abundance of historic stock. 

 

I just think that Firehouse Row will be a great accelator similar to Mercer Commons on Vine. But I think the turn around for Walnut Hills will be much quicker. 

Its not as dense as it used to be due to huge amounts of demos.

 

Here's what it was historically:

 

^That's not super-dense.  It looks pretty similar to a Detroit neighborhood at their peak. 

I'd say the commercial district is denser than anything in Detroit outside of its downtown or new city, the commercial district intact really reminds me of wicker park, and the housing nearby is pretty close to what an outer Chicago neighborhood is like like say old Irving Park.   Its not as dense as OTR by a long shot.

 

Here's a few closeups of the commercial district:

 

 

 

 

 

Shots of the neighborhood:

 

 

Edited December 30, 20186 yr by neilworms

The old Cincinnati Street Railway system was critical infrastructure that was needed to support neighborhoods of this density. Once that was gone, the density went with it. 

The commercial district was unusually dense compared to the surrounding neighborhood because McMillan was the crosstown streetcar route, and Peeble's Corner was the main transfer point.  All east side routes (East Walnut Hills, Evanston, Norwood, Pleasant Ridge, Kennedy Heights, Hyde Park, Oakley, Mt. Lookout, Madisonville, and the former Cincinnati, Milford & Blanchester to Milford; with the exception of East End, Columbia-Tusculum, and Linwood) went through Peeble's Corner.  At least 10 lines crossed McMillan (more if you count actual routes that branched farther out) so anyone needing to go from one neighborhood to another would be transferring somewhere along there and stopping by shops in the meantime.  It was more like an extension of downtown than a neighborhood business district.  When Columbia Parkway was built in 1938 it siphoned off so much traffic from those east side streetcar routes that Peeble's Corner started to collapse.  The dissolution of the streetcar system itself 10 years later made McMillan and Taft a crosstown automobile corridor, not conducive in the slightest to pedestrian-oriented shopping.  

Were it not for that crosstown streetcar route, McMillan would have been more nodal in its commercial development.  It wasn't a continuous commercial strip even in the past.  McMillan and Highland was another major transfer point, but until 10-15 years ago there were houses on that corner where CP Cincy is today.  Since Reading Road doesn't intersect McMillan directly, the stretch between there and I-71 was more of an industrial zone.  Near Ohio Avenue it used to be more residential, and even between I-71 and Gilbert it was never fully commercial.  Heck, major radial corridors  like Reading, Gilbert, Vine, Glenway/Warsaw, and Montgomery never had unbroken commercial development.  In the days of walking and transit the stores were small enough that the market could be saturated with a handful of commercial buildings along a single street.  Apartments and townhouses filled in the rest of the space and added customers and foot traffic while being convenient to the streetcar stops.  Now you need so much parking and only single-story buildings that it can take up a whole corridor because of the lower density, and nobody wants to live in the middle of that.   

This thing is for sale:

https://www.sibcycline.com/Listing/CIN/1607167/1037-E-McMillan-St-Walnut-Hills-OH-45206

Should be a Mexican restaurant.

That is a beautiful space. I love that interior courtyard/atrium. Would be great to see a well-designed restaurant go in there. 

It was built as the Jones the Florist HQ, hence the cooler.  They moved out in 2003 or 2004 after JoLynn Gustin sold the company to David Fisher and family.  https://www.jonestheflorist.com/about-us

 

Quote

While Jones The Florist is one of Cincinnati's oldest continuing businesses, it's antecedents reputedly go back to Holland 300 or more years, where the Jonaz family were probably horticulturists to the Court. When the family immigrated to the United States, the name was changed to "Jones." Jones The Florist was founded in the Cincinnati area in 1865, at the close of the Civil War. It seems to have been originally called Newport Fern & Floral and was located across the Ohio River from Cincinnati in Newport, Kentucky. The company moved across the river, probably to its former East McMillan Street location in the Walnut Hills area of Cincinnati around 1900. At this time, Walnut Hills was one of the fast developing and very "stylish" suburbs of the growing city. In the late 1920's, Jones The Florist had outgrown its Walnut Hills building and a new structure was designed and built on the same East McMillan site by Joseph Poetker, architect husband of Frances Jones Poetker, who was then the owner and granddaughter of the founder. The 3 story Spanish style atrium building was completed in 1929 and the company continued its growth.

 

29 minutes ago, jjakucyk said:

It was built as the Jones the Florist HQ, hence the cooler.  They moved out in 2003 or 2004 after JoLynn Gustin sold the company to David Fisher and family.  https://www.jonestheflorist.com/about-us

 

Cool history. Thanks for sharing.  

The Pickled Pig opened last weekend.  I saw a standing-room crowd in the place last Friday night:

https://www.facebook.com/smokedandpickled/

 

The apartments in the Paramount Square building are nearing completion but there has been little obvious progress in the brewery space. 

I saw a large group of people in the brewery space earlier this week in the evening. They were being led by Brian Jackson on what I could speculate was a project update tour for Model Group or Mortar or both, all and more.

Driving around Walnut Hills tonight in the snow:

 

Couple updates:

 

1.) Have seen no work done on the Athem site yet, wonder if anyone has heard anything?

 

2.) Urban Sites is redeveloping and adding more apts in the back in a new building on Woodburn in the EWH Biz district to this building:

 

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1290621,-84.4770494,3a,75y,96.71h,105.77t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sHV_vhoWhkNZILjJ2v8TL_Q!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo1.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DHV_vhoWhkNZILjJ2v8TL_Q%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D36.237114%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

 

3.) This row of houses are fenced off as a month ago not certain if they are rehabbing all on Woodburn?

 

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1320119,-84.4765349,3a,75y,63.12h,89.79t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s6h4L19Rc96143CMXGD2Z7A!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

 

4.) This building is under full rehab but I couldn't find any details anywhere, it's a Woodburn Ave address but saw it was sold last year

 

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1278177,-84.4783626,3a,75y,242.94h,93.41t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sPkw26tUTyCS4D4iadBd3zg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

 

5.) This building is humming along too w/full rehab, I saw at one point something like 20 market rate apts

 

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.127123,-84.4829576,3a,75y,305.66h,96.58t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sP-9DJah17AHvoK9ruadlIg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

 

6.) They are doing a lot of work on this building w/a for sale sign on it

 

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1271658,-84.4851096,3a,75y,256.61h,102.27t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sGqDRXQ914wLLOCJ32gQLPA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

 

7.) Eastern Hills YMCA is humming along, something like 60 market rate apts.

 

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1254802,-84.4833817,3a,75y,13.06h,97.43t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sQSquo32at5Qb2JBafNpuow!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

 

Molly Wellman just announced the permanent closure of Myrtle's, effective Feb 1. 

 

Also, the Woodburn Brewery is in trouble for sale. 

New news about the Anthem development from the East Walnut Hills Assembly last night. The Fortus + Neyer + Vandercar triumvirate is no more with Neyer and Vandercar backing out. Fortus is now partner with Indianapolis based Buckingham on the development. The change in development team has also, apparently, led to a potential change in design and use of the development with rumors that Buckingham wants to include far more retail than previously envisioned. There are no new public plans so it is just speculation, and the city hasn't had much contact with the developers either, so this project is still stuck in the mud a little bit and likely won't break ground for some time.

That's a bummer to hear about Myrtle's. ?

The husband and I went to Branch on Friday to celebrate 12 years of dating.  wonderful meal, and it's a really neat space. Thankfully the art deco ceiling tile borders were preserved!

 

The restaurant was packed too and apparently their reservations are quite full for the next several weeks during prime dinner hours. hopefully it adds some more traffic to the area.

Scaffolding at Woodburn and Madison fell over in the wind today and landed on the gazebo. Not sure how much damage has been done yet.

18 hours ago, Largue said:

Scaffolding at Woodburn and Madison fell over in the wind today and landed on the gazebo. Not sure how much damage has been done yet.

Welp..... at least it's clear whose insurance will have to cover the cost of any damages.

I drove by this morning and it looked like the Gazebo had little damage, nothing structural at least!

 

Anyways, bummer on the Anthem site. Sucks it's just sitting there now and will be nothing for a bit of time. East McMillan around Peebles Corner is really starting to rock more with a lot of construction going on.

Framing of the first Firehouse Row building has begun along Wayne St. 

Walnut Hills looking for grocery to fill gap left by Kroger

 

 

The Walnut Hills Redevelopment Foundation is looking for an operator to helm a grocery store that can fill the gap left when Kroger shuttered its store in the neighborhood.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2019/03/08/exclusive-walnut-hills-looking-for-grocery-to-fill.html

EXCLUSIVE: Developer buys Walnut Hills church with eye on event space

 

 

A developer with a history in Walnut Hills bought a historic church with hopes of seeing it transformed to fit the needs of that neighborhood.

 

Ami and Samir Kulkarni, whose Solica Construction has rehabbed historic buildings in Walnut Hills and is building five townhomes near the Poste development at Gilbery and Kenton, bought the former Church of the Assumption at 2622 Gilbert Ave. for $220,000.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2019/03/11/exclusive-developer-buys-walnut-hills-church-with.html

Jazz fuels resurgence of redevelopment in Walnut Hills

 

 

A jazz soundtrack plays behind the economic rejuvenation of Walnut Hills. The music comes from two venues – one old, one relatively new.

 

Caffé Vivace, which opened in the historical Trevarren Flats building on East McMillan Street in spring 2017, is attracting a new clientele to the neighborhood. It duets with the venerable Greenwich just up the block at Gilbert Avenue and McMillan, which has brought live music to the now-rebounding neighborhood for decades.

 

The two venues complement an ensemble of redevelopment projects along East McMillan, joined recently by the Model Group’s work on Paramount Square on the northeast corner of Gilbert and McMillan. The 1931 landmark former theater eventually will be home to the Esoteric Brewing, a Taste of Belgium restaurant, La Soupe retail space and teaching kitchen, which is moving there from Newtown, C’est Cheese and a First Financial Bank branch. 

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2019/03/15/jazz-fuels-resurgence-of-redevelopment-in-walnut.html

The quick turn around in Walnut hills is nuts. Lots of food options nowadays... Just need a little more night life options.

 

Investors buy East Walnut Hills building with eye on restaurant

 

 

A pair of brothers whose company has done extensive work in East Walnut Hills have purchased a building in the neighborhood with an eye toward rehabbing it into a restaurant.

 

Troy and Brendan McAndrews, whose McAndrews Glass has done work on Woodburn Brewery, Branch restaurant and the San Marco apartments at the corner of Woodburn Road and Madison Avenue, purchased the building at 2724 Woodburn Ave. for $50,000, with the hopes of renovating it into a new social space for the East Walnut Hills neighborhood.

 

"With the Anthem site being developed and beautiful homes being renovated, you can feel the upward trend in the area," Troy McAndrews told me. "You can feel the activity just by being on the sidewalk."

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2019/03/15/exclusive-investors-buy-east-walnut-hills-building.html

https://www.citybeat.com/food-drink/the-dish/blog/21060423/sundry-and-vice-team-opening-comfort-station-cocktail-bar-in-a-centuryold-walnut-hills-rest-areabathing-house?utm_source=feature&utm_medium=home&utm_campaign=hpfeatures

 

Sundry and Vice owner opening 2nd bar in Walnut hills.

 

Again, the amount of entertainment destinations are increasing tremendously year over year. I'm really pleased with the Walnut hills redevelop of their business district!

^ Oh that's awesome. A big get for Walnut Hills.

I snapped a few quick photos this past Sunday of Firehouse Row construction. 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 3, 20196 yr by jmecklenborg
posted photos of hot tubs by mistake

Is that historic building a part of the Firehouse Row project? Or is that seperate?

27 minutes ago, IAGuy39 said:

Is that historic building a part of the Firehouse Row project? Or is that seperate?

 

It's a separate project.

11 minutes ago, JYP said:

 

It's a separate project.

 

Thanks, is there any details out there about it? I must have missed, they've been working on it for a bit of time now.

12 minutes ago, IAGuy39 said:

 

Thanks, is there any details out there about it? I must have missed, they've been working on it for a bit of time now.

 

I think apartments on top and restoring the storefront on the bottom. The aim is to get a restaurant. I forget what time of the year they are aiming to finish but I would not be surprised if its Fall of this year.

$15 million mixed-use project moves ahead in Walnut Hills

 

 

A $15 million mixed-use development planned in Walnut Hills took a step forward last week.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2019/04/10/exclusive-15-million-mixed-use-project-moves-ahead.html

Details of that project are in the April 5, 2019 planning commision packet, beginning on page 32: https://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/planning/about-city-planning/city-planning-commission/apr-5-2019-packet/

Excellent NIMBYism in that packet.

I drove down McMillan from Clifton Heights through most of Walnut Hills this morning. To my eye there is more development/redevelopment happening in the stretch between 71 and Victory Parkway than in any other part of the city right now. It's pretty cool to see. And that's even without the Anthem site moving along yet.

Yes the area is really starting to pick up with tons of projects going on right now. Will be exciting to see where it sits in a year or two when all the current projects are wrapped up.

Lots of new eateries as well. Taste of Belgium opening their next location at the Paramount building along with the brewery will be a great 1-2 punch to bring, "outsiders" who are still wary of walnut hills past reputation to give the neighborhood a second chanc.

 

 

Is Taste of Belgium actually opening a restaurant there?  I thought it was just going to be their offices.  

7 minutes ago, Cincy513 said:

Is Taste of Belgium actually opening a restaurant there?  I thought it was just going to be their offices.  

 

I heard they will also have a resturaunt as well along with their office. I could be wrong but that's what I thought the plan was.

Careful, I don't think Taste of Belgium is opening any type of restaurant, only offices from what I read. Maybe I am wrong and they will make waffles and coffee there but I didn't think that was the case.

I heard that they were going to be prepping some of their food there for all of their restaurants. I also heard rumors you might be able to walk in and buy a to-go order of waffles like they sell in restaurants and Findlay Market, but I really don't think it's going to be a full restaurant.