November 21, 20195 yr 12 minutes ago, jmecklenborg said: I was on a walking tour that was mooned by an obese woman who wasn't wearing any underwear. I was also on a tour in OTR and we walked onto a guy peeing on a building and then a driver starting yelling profanely at a woman who was slightly in his way on the road.
December 12, 20195 yr These photos are from last Sunday, 12/7/19. This renovation is on the market for $409,000: https://www.sibcycline.com/Listing/CIN/1641259/749-Wayne-St-Walnut-Hills-OH-45206 Before the circa-2010 demolitions, there was another nearly identical Paramount Vodka sign on the same block, facing the same direction.
December 16, 20195 yr Former Walnut Hills Kroger building back on the market A planned hub for manufacturing, product innovation and job training is no longer coming to the former Kroger building in Walnut Hills, putting that large, shuttered space back on the market. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2019/12/16/former-walnut-hills-kroger-building-back-on-the.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
December 16, 20195 yr 14 minutes ago, ColDayMan said: Former Walnut Hills Kroger building back on the market Quote "We're looking for something with a positive community impact, and that can look like a lot of different things," Reeves said. Yeah, it's going to look like 200 yuppie apartments.
December 17, 20195 yr 2 hours ago, jmecklenborg said: Yeah, it's going to look like 200 yuppie apartments. 200 yuppie apartments could mean something like $150,000-200,000 in new income taxes per year (200 apts, 1.5 residents per apt, $60k per resident, 50% already paying city taxes)
December 17, 20195 yr CoMade was an interesting way to reuse the existing building, but honestly, it's going to be much better for the neighborhood if they can knock it down and replace it with a building that actually faces McMillan instead of presenting a blank wall to it.
December 17, 20195 yr This flew under this thread's radar but earlier this year the public library system bought the grass lot just south of the Walnut Hills branch. No doubt this will become a parking lot. Several fairly large row buildings stood in this spot until about 2015, totaling about 20~ units.
December 17, 20195 yr 45 minutes ago, jmecklenborg said: This flew under this thread's radar but earlier this year the public library system bought the grass lot just south of the Walnut Hills branch. No doubt this will become a parking lot. Several fairly large row buildings stood in this spot until about 2015, totaling about 20~ units. Quote The Walnut Hills branch will also be among the first to undergo major changes after the library purchased an adjacent lot for a major expansion that will be based on community feedback. from: https://www-bizjournals-com.research.cincinnatilibrary.org/cincinnati/news/2019/12/11/library-unveils-first-phase-of-300m-facilities.html
January 7, 20205 yr Walnut Hills Redevelopment Foundation plans to renovate building, move HQ Walnut Hills Redevelopment Foundation is planning a more than $2.8 million renovation of a building in the Peebles Corner Historic District that is expected to become the nonprofit community development corporation’s offices. The Durner Building, located at 2453 Gilbert Ave., is planned to be completely renovated into nine apartments, with WHRF moving its offices to the ground floor, along with a neighborhood coworking space. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2020/01/07/exclusive-walnut-hills-redevelopment-foundation.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
January 9, 20205 yr The mansion at 1901 Madison Ave. is for sale for $899,000. This house was built in 1901 (kind of like how I-74 opened in 1974) and sits on a bit more than an acre. The property tax is $30k per year. Hopefully this area is zoned to prevent a developer from tearing it down. Per the county auditor, the house has been in the same family since the early 1960s and as you can see the house hasn't been renovated since that time. The listing is definitely worth looking at to see what 1965 looked like. https://www.sibcycline.com/Listing/CIN/1646901/1901-Madison-Rd-Walnut-Hills-OH-45206
January 9, 20205 yr 29 minutes ago, jmecklenborg said: Hopefully this area is zoned to prevent a developer from tearing it down. It is in the local East Walnut Hills Historic District, so it has as much protection it can get outside of a deed restriction.
January 9, 20205 yr Oh my, that's Sally Wilson's house. I did schematic plans for redoing that kitchen and family room at my last job, but obviously she never pursued it. There's a massive chimney between the two rooms, and although it's at the back of the house, removing it was a red flag for the historic conservation board, since it is an important contributing structure to the East Walnut Hills historic district. I think her husband's grandfather built the house, designed by Elzner & Anderson who also designed the Ingalls Building. The original blue prints from back then say "Wilson Residence." The house was in a trust for maintenance and to try to keep the family from selling it off, as is my recollection, so I'm surprised to see this. It looks like they found a way to dump it, but Sally died five years ago, so it's probably taken this long to get it lawyered. Yeah that kitchen and adjacent room are awful, but the rest of the bathrooms and laundry were completely remodeled in the last 10-15 years, and the house in general is impeccably maintained. There's a pool in back, but it blocks access to the detached garage in the rear, which is kind of weird. If the kitchen/family room situation can be resolved, it's an outstanding house.
January 9, 20205 yr 3 minutes ago, jjakucyk said: Oh my, that's Sally Wilson's house. I did schematic plans for redoing that kitchen and family room at my last job, but obviously she never pursued it. There's a massive chimney between the two rooms, and although it's at the back of the house, removing it was a red flag for the historic conservation board, since it is an important contributing structure to the East Walnut Hills historic district. I think her husband's grandfather built the house, designed by Elzner & Anderson who also designed the Ingalls Building. The original blue prints from back then say "Wilson Residence." The house was in a trust for maintenance and to try to keep the family from selling it off, as is my recollection, so I'm surprised to see this. It looks like they found a way to dump it, but Sally died five years ago, so it's probably taken this long to get it lawyered. Yeah that kitchen and adjacent room are awful, but the rest of the bathrooms and laundry were completely remodeled in the last 10-15 years, and the house in general is impeccably maintained. There's a pool in back, but it blocks access to the detached garage in the rear, which is kind of weird. If the kitchen/family room situation can be resolved, it's an outstanding house. I can't tell for sure but we might be looking at a house full of knob & tube wiring or even gas lines for those lights. Getting an ordinary 1,500 sq foot house rewired costs $10,000~ so no telling how much of a task it would be for this place, especially since you can't run conduit along the baseboards, which is what they did in my not-fancy house.
January 9, 20205 yr I would not be surprised if it's been mostly rewired over time. Houses like this have lots of sub-panels scattered around so you don't have to do so many home-runs of wires. With the various bathroom and other remodels, that's probably been corrected to some extent. There's also tons of empty wall cavities that make pulling wire easier. Sally had a foreman from Dallman & Bohl General Contractors there on a nearly daily basis fixing up stuff, and they don't do anything shoddy. Still, I do see some ungrounded outlets scattered around so it's probably not comprehensive. At this time period, houses were built with both electric and gas light fixtures, sometimes (but rarely) both combined into a single fixture. This ensured that if one went out, the other could still light the space. Those old gas lines aren't too difficult to cap off, but sometimes they're just left live but unused. Edited January 9, 20205 yr by jjakucyk
January 9, 20205 yr I love it. I congratulate the past owner(s) for their restraint. A lot of bored people would have just painted all the trim white and the walls medium gray.
January 9, 20205 yr 4 minutes ago, jjakucyk said: Those old gas lines aren't too difficult to cap off, but sometimes they're just left live but unused. Mine had them capped. I had a guy get shot in the face by one of them in 2013 or 2014. I had a plumber come in and cut off all the gas. He swore it was cool. Then last year I had trouble with a ceiling fan, called another electrician in the face, and he got shot in the face with gas. So he refused to work until I had yet another plumber come out to shut it off once and for all.
January 10, 20205 yr 20 hours ago, jmecklenborg said: The mansion at 1901 Madison Ave. is for sale for $899,000. This house was built in 1901 (kind of like how I-74 opened in 1974) and sits on a bit more than an acre. The property tax is $30k per year. Hopefully this area is zoned to prevent a developer from tearing it down. Per the county auditor, the house has been in the same family since the early 1960s and as you can see the house hasn't been renovated since that time. The listing is definitely worth looking at to see what 1965 looked like. https://www.sibcycline.com/Listing/CIN/1646901/1901-Madison-Rd-Walnut-Hills-OH-45206 Thanks for sharing, that house is fascinating. It seems perfectly preserved in the traditional entertaining areas, awful 1960s era kitchen and bathrooms, and then it appears they recently remodeled a bathroom or two to modern design standards. I was really curious about the inscription on the fireplace mantle and found this: ‘Welcome the coming and speed the parting guest’: hospitality in twelfth-century England Julie Kerr The twelfth century saw a renewed interest in outward display and has been described as ‘a new era in the history of manners’. The importance of exercising courtesy, and of controlling one's gestures and emotions in public would have had a bearing on the administration of hospitality. This was particularly important upon the guest's arrival and also on his departure, for it was important to make a first and lasting impression. It gave the guest and host a chance to demonstrate their courtliness and foster good relations, and for the host to exhibit his generosity and largesse of spirit. The prescriptive texts suggest that there was a clear concept of how these proceedings should be conducted, and that hospitality in Anglo-Norman England might be conducted with some formality.1
January 10, 20205 yr 2 minutes ago, nicker66 said: It seems perfectly preserved in the traditional entertaining areas, awful 1960s era kitchen and bathrooms, and then it appears they recently remodeled a bathroom or two to modern design standards. Did you even read what I wrote?
January 10, 20205 yr 17 minutes ago, jjakucyk said: Did you even read what I wrote? No, sorry, I missed it. Thanks for the additional information!
January 10, 20205 yr Thanks @jmecklenborg for posting all the pics, I missed them until now. The area is really changing quick but still a lot of things needed to really increase activity. I keep thinking in my mind, they absolutely have to do re-do the intersection of Gilbert and E. McMillan. Terrible intersection for pedestrians and traffic. Curious to see how things keep moving forward in the area in the next few years. It seems to me it will really change a lot too once the Anthem site gets going. These are the same developers as the Liberty and Elm site in OTR, so not holding my breathe anything gets moving soon though.
January 10, 20205 yr 47 minutes ago, IAGuy39 said: Curious to see how things keep moving forward in the area in the next few years. It seems to me it will really change a lot too once the Anthem site gets going. These are the same developers as the Liberty and Elm site in OTR, so not holding my breathe anything gets moving soon though. My issue is that everything went from dirt cheap to too expensive in an instant. People couldn't sell a vacant lot for $5,000 5 years ago but now people are trying to get $75,000. Fewer than 10 new homes have been built but there are hundreds of vacant lots.
January 10, 20205 yr Hopefully that will keep people from being so trigger-happy about demo. At the same time though, move-in ready > empty lot > needs major reno now?
January 10, 20205 yr ^the crazy thing is that there is at least as much, if not more renovation activity happening in Evanston, but we don't hear about it because there is no WHRF handing things to the press every 2-3 weeks. The big difference is that Walnut Hills has many commercial buildings whereas Evanston does not. But we're all kidding ourselves if we think even one person with money moving into Walnut Hills is going to live car-free. Our public transportation is nowhere close to where it needs to be for people who can afford a car to not own one in walkable but not super-dense city neighborhoods. So the Walnut Hills business district is not really going to function as one for day-to-day needs for the new residents but rather a decoration like O'Bryonville or Hyde Park Square.
January 10, 20205 yr With Universal Couchlock and Amazon you almost can't re-activate a traditional business district if there are significant number of single-familys around.
January 10, 20205 yr 15 minutes ago, jmecklenborg said: ^the crazy thing is that there is at least as much, if not more renovation activity happening in Evanston, but we don't hear about it because there is no WHRF handing things to the press every 2-3 weeks. The big difference is that Walnut Hills has many commercial buildings whereas Evanston does not. But we're all kidding ourselves if we think even one person with money moving into Walnut Hills is going to live car-free. Our public transportation is nowhere close to where it needs to be for people who can afford a car to not own one in walkable but not super-dense city neighborhoods. So the Walnut Hills business district is not really going to function as one for day-to-day needs for the new residents but rather a decoration like O'Bryonville or Hyde Park Square. It takes time and density and people with money living there. The restaurants and bars will come first, but over time it'll attract more daily needs type stuff.
January 10, 20205 yr 1 hour ago, GCrites80s said: With Universal Couchlock and Amazon you almost can't re-activate a traditional business district if there are significant number of single-familys around. Delete dog walking and jogging and there would be zero pedestrian activity in upper class "walkable" neighborhoods. And incredible number of UC students who live within easy walking distance of the campus take...Uber. Every day. 4-5 times. I'm sure it's the same at OSU and everywhere around the country. You don't see big packs of college students walking from party to party very often around UC. They take rideshare amazingly short distances - several times per day. Mommy and daddy pay for it.
January 10, 20205 yr 7 minutes ago, jmecklenborg said: Mommy and daddy pay for it. "You gotta be careful walking around in those, um, city areas, why don't you just take an Uber?" --boomer parents
January 10, 20205 yr 35 minutes ago, jmecklenborg said: Delete dog walking and jogging and there would be zero pedestrian activity in upper class "walkable" neighborhoods. And incredible number of UC students who live within easy walking distance of the campus take...Uber. Every day. 4-5 times. I'm sure it's the same at OSU and everywhere around the country. You don't see big packs of college students walking from party to party very often around UC. They take rideshare amazingly short distances - several times per day. Mommy and daddy pay for it. If I have kids in the future, if they aren't palying sports in high school or college, they are working. If they are playing sports, they have a small monthly allowance by check, no credit card. They would need to budget themselves or by SOL. I would honestly be fuming if I heard one of my kids was taking Uber. When I went to college, I couldn't pay for damn parking, so I parked over a mile away and walked every day to class. That was in North Iowa when it was 0 degrees with windchill in the negatives, not kidding, probably 30 days out of every school year. It's not that hard to not be lazy. I sound like a get off my lawn, I didn't walk 5 miles to school in 5 feet of snow, but I sure as heck wasn't parking right next to class. I parked for free and walked and stayed on campus studying all day. Edit: OK, it wasn't 1 mile, it was 0.7 miles, but it was uphill going in!!! https://www.google.com/maps/dir/UNI+Business+-+University+of+Northern+Iowa+College+of+Business+Administration/2004+Olive+St,+Cedar+Falls,+IA+50613/@42.5166195,-92.460786,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x87effff793cd1501:0x6db2acee5eb616fa!2m2!1d-92.4618382!2d42.5136382!1m5!1m1!1s0x87e555515ea242cd:0xf4096db2cf94f7bd!2m2!1d-92.4545041!2d42.5195914!3e2 Edited January 10, 20205 yr by IAGuy39
January 10, 20205 yr 8 minutes ago, IAGuy39 said: Edit: OK, it wasn't 1 mile, it was 0.7 miles, but it was uphill going in!!! One reason why streetcar ridership was so massive back in the early 1900s is because people really, really, really don't like to walk. I don't know if it's the actual walking so much as the class insinuation that comes from not walking. One of my favorite things to do is walk/hike so I don't get it and I'll never get it. If I'm ever confined to a wheel chair I'm going to flip out.
January 10, 20205 yr 39 minutes ago, jmecklenborg said: Delete dog walking and jogging and there would be zero pedestrian activity in upper class "walkable" neighborhoods. That's quite the blanket statement. Do you mean universally? Or in Cincinnati? Lots of upper class neighborhoods in big cities across the country have tons of pedestrian activity. This is especially true in the Northeast. We don't really have a dense, walkable upper class neighborhood in Cincinnati. But go to Rittenhouse Square, Beacon Hill, or the Upper East Side and you'll see tons of people walking. 41 minutes ago, jmecklenborg said: And incredible number of UC students who live within easy walking distance of the campus take...Uber. Every day. 4-5 times. I'm sure it's the same at OSU and everywhere around the country. You don't see big packs of college students walking from party to party very often around UC. They take rideshare amazingly short distances - several times per day. Mommy and daddy pay for it. This isn't true. I run in CUF often and see tons of college students walking places. If so many of them were taking Ubers to campus it would be gridlock at all hours of the day with lines of cars waiting to drop people off. I was running there on a Friday night in the fall and I saw all the kids walking to parties. Took me back to my days at OU. Likewise, I go to Athens to visit a lot and the kids walk everywhere. This feels like something where you heard a story a couple times and are just applying it generally to every college kid.
January 10, 20205 yr 5 minutes ago, jmecklenborg said: One reason why streetcar ridership was so massive back in the early 1900s is because people really, really, really don't like to walk. I don't know if it's the actual walking so much as the class insinuation that comes from not walking. One of my favorite things to do is walk/hike so I don't get it and I'll never get it. If I'm ever confined to a wheel chair I'm going to flip out. Yeah, that makes complete sense. I just remember at the time, I never thought much of it, and I liked to walk, though it happened more than once where it poured rain on my walk and I had to skip a class and go home and change. I wish I actually was close enough to walk to work or that I had enough balls to ride a bike to work but I would be nervous on the city streets. I am lucky because my wife loves to walk / hike and so do I so we do lot of "urban" hikes in around Mt. Lookout / Columbia Tusculum, so I don't understand the unwillingness to walk either. The only times where it would be a burden though would be wearing a suit and tie in the middle of summer and being worried about sweating through it on your way to work.
January 10, 20205 yr 1 hour ago, jmecklenborg said: Delete dog walking and jogging and there would be zero pedestrian activity in upper class "walkable" neighborhoods. And incredible number of UC students who live within easy walking distance of the campus take...Uber. Every day. 4-5 times. I'm sure it's the same at OSU and everywhere around the country. You don't see big packs of college students walking from party to party very often around UC. They take rideshare amazingly short distances - several times per day. Mommy and daddy pay for it. A lot of these kids have grown up in areas where there is literally nothing to walk to. They have never walked anywhere ever. They don't know that walking 1/4 mile takes only 5 minutes. If you pulled a Jay Leno and asked them on the street (OK bad example) they'd say it takes an hour. Walking on actual campus doesn't count since it's a curated area and a different headspace.
January 10, 20205 yr 52 minutes ago, DEPACincy said: That's quite the blanket statement. Do you mean universally? Or in Cincinnati? It's everywhere. Cincinnati's population is a lot lower today than it was when I was a kid. Downtown was a lot more active in the 1980s than it was by 2000. Much of that was shopping. There was a lot more walking around UC during the fast food era than there is now that UPA has filled in that area. What percentage of UC students who live on or near campus own cars in 2020 as compared to 1990? I'm certain it's significantly higher. Plus, everyone has a "car" available to them instantly via their phone. I know I sound like an old-timer but when I was a kid it was rare for families to own two cars. My mom used to drive my dad to the bus stop and back when I was a kid, as did many other people. Metro bus ridership was way higher 30 years ago as compared to now.
January 10, 20205 yr 1 hour ago, jmecklenborg said: One reason why streetcar ridership was so massive back in the early 1900s is because people really, really, really don't like to walk. I don't know if it's the actual walking so much as the class insinuation that comes from not walking. One of my favorite things to do is walk/hike so I don't get it and I'll never get it. If I'm ever confined to a wheel chair I'm going to flip out. Because we built our cities with massively wide streets, even before automobiles, which is not conducive to high density and walking, even with tall buildings. https://newworldeconomics.com/toledo-spain-or-toledo-ohio/
January 10, 20205 yr 45 minutes ago, jmecklenborg said: I know I sound like an old-timer but when I was a kid it was rare for families to own two cars. My mom used to drive my dad to the bus stop and back when I was a kid, as did many other people. Metro bus ridership was way higher 30 years ago as compared to now. I don't think that was as true in Columbus, or at least in the outer 'burbs it wasn't. Most families had two cars. NOBODY had trucks that didn't need them though. Stuff was a lot further apart in Columbus as compared to the other 2Cs and Appalachian Ohio just like today. Sure you didn't have to go to Polaris but you still had to go to Morse. Edited January 10, 20205 yr by GCrites80s
January 22, 20205 yr EXCLUSIVE: $29 million apartment project planned in Walnut Hills By Tom Demeropolis – Senior Staff Reporter, Cincinnati Business Courier A pair of development companies is working on plans for a large apartment project in Walnut Hills. MORE Edited January 22, 20205 yr by The_Cincinnati_Kid
January 22, 20205 yr 1 hour ago, The_Cincinnati_Kid said: EXCLUSIVE: $29 million apartment project planned in Walnut Hills By Tom Demeropolis – Senior Staff Reporter, Cincinnati Business Courier A pair of development companies is working on plans for a large apartment project in Walnut Hills. MORE For those who can't read it, here are some important details: Quote While Satzger said rental rates have not been finalized, documents from the city of Cincinnati provide a monthly rent range of $1,250 to $1,300 for one-bedroom units, $1,600 to $1,650 for two-bedroom units and the studio units would be priced less than $950. The idea for this development is that many potential residents would not qualify for affordable housing but cannot afford many market-rate apartments. Sample floor plans for the apartments show studios that are about 370 square feet, one-bedroom apartments that are 580 square feet and two-bedroom apartments that are 865 square feet. It will be located at the NE corner of Park and McMillan. This is catty/caddy/kitty corner from Brew House, and will occupy the vacant lot most recently housing the "dairy mkt" convenience store that was torn down last year.
January 22, 20205 yr All good stuff for Walnut Hills! I think the Eastern Hills YMCA just opened in the last month. The big one is going to be the redevelopment of the Old Kroger site. I could see a large mixed use development there with a lot of parking, it really is a huge site. It seems a lot of the rest of the area is redeveloping pretty quick now along the old business district on E. McMillan. South of E. McMillan on Gilbert, there are a lot of empty buildings it seems and missing teeth, maybe where the next wave of development moves besides the missing teeth on E. McMillan
January 23, 20205 yr A vacant 27x120 lot on Moorman just listed for $80k. Witness how vacant lots explode in value after the construction of just a handful of new infill homes: https://www.sibcycline.com/Listing/CIN/1649089/2634-Moorman-Ave-Walnut-Hills-OH-45206
January 28, 20205 yr On 1/22/2020 at 9:28 AM, ryanlammi said: While Satzger said rental rates have not been finalized, documents from the city of Cincinnati provide a monthly rent range of $1,250 to $1,300 for one-bedroom units, $1,600 to $1,650 for two-bedroom units and the studio units would be priced less than $950. The idea for this development is that many potential residents would not qualify for affordable housing but cannot afford many market-rate apartments. I think/hope we are approaching a point where developers have built about as many "luxury" apartments in our urban core as the market will support, and they will start aiming for this more moderate price point. For the past few years, community councils have pushed back on developers and tried to get them to incorporate more subsidized units (which definitely is needed in some neighborhoods and can be part of the solution) but have not said much about the middle class that is increasingly being left out. I think the market is now starting to correct itself and solve that problem.
February 4, 20205 yr https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2020/02/03/heres-the-latest-on-walnut-hills-first-craft.html Esoteric Brewing is scheduled to open in the Paramount Building in May.
February 4, 20205 yr On 1/29/2020 at 8:25 PM, Pdrome513 said: Groundbreaking for the new Ballet academy will be Feb. 4. There was already equipment on-site this past weekend.
February 19, 20205 yr Un-believable, Andy Mac. The dreadful row building in the dead-end of Ashland Ave. near MLK has...gone condo.
February 19, 20205 yr They renovated it so that there are two units on the first floor (each 1 bed, 1 bath) and then the whole second floor got combined into a single unit (2 bed, 2 bath). 1 bedroom unit listed at $135k: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2815-Ashland-Ave-APT-B-Cincinnati-OH-45206/2103961782_zpid/? 2 bedroom unit listed at $225k: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2815-Ashland-Ave-APT-C-Cincinnati-OH-45206/2101770690_zpid/? The same owner is renovating the rest of that complex. I assume they'll use the same configuration for the other small building, since it has the same layout. I wonder though how they'll configure the units in the larger building, especially since they have a "garden/basement" level with windows: https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1304278,-84.4819833,3a,72y,277.4h,89.57t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sZuRxfP0indlr_Pzjxo7IQA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
February 19, 20205 yr 7 hours ago, jmecklenborg said: Un-believable, Andy Mac. The dreadful row building in the dead-end of Ashland Ave. near MLK has...gone condo. Good. They took a rundown but serviceable old building that was a blight on the neighborhood and turned it into something nice (except for the lick-n-stick stone, sigh). Better than demolishing and leaving an empty lot, or building some new cheap crap.
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