I think it is good to experience life elsewhere, especially when you are young. But there is nothing wrong with settling down in your home town, especially when it's awesome.

Please excuse my extreme naivety, but if the demand in OTR is at such a high demand, why isn't 3CDC doing more to strike when the iron is hot? I understand they've done a ton, but can't they do more at once?  Or are they already at max operating capacity?  Is there any possibility that they are doing enough to change the neighborhood but purposely keep supply low and demand high?

^They're currently working on a total of around 250 units between Mercer Commons and Gateway Phase V. Between those and the recent completion of Washington Park, I'd say they are moving about as quickly as they can really. Although we'd all love to see OTR filled up as soon as possible, there's also no need to rush it and risk saturating the market to the point of problems.

^actually they aren't. They're currently working on a total of 60 units because they can't get any banks to finance all of their announced projects. Banks have been EXTREMELY resistant to financing 3CDC projects as thrive been told that this urban development is a phase due to the weak economy and that after the economy returns to full swing banks will return to suburban development financing.

 

I've also been told by a close friend the Banks didn't start on their next phase this summer because their financing gap is massive and Banks won't give them anything.

I have no inside information, but I'm guessing some of it has to do with historic tax credits.  Only so many credits are awarded during each go-around, and they make the financing of a rehab project much more doable. 

Not sure of the best place to put this, so I'll just put this here:

 

A few days ago I started a twitter account called @OTRApartments that automatically tweets new apartments listed for rent in OTR on Craig's List. I mostly just did this for my own personal reference, to keep track of what was becoming available. Thanks to people spreading the word, the account now has about 40 followers in just a few days. Pretty good for something I didn't really intend to promote. And it's one more check mark in the "there's high demand for living downtown" column.

 

Without any real promotion, this account is now up to 140 followers.

^thanks for making that, taestell

US Bank is opening a full service Banking Center on Main and 12th. I know this is not the most exciting development that OTR has seen but I think it is significant.  We have all been calling for more service businesses to open as a compliemtn to all the entertainment venues and hopefully other banks/ service companies follow their lead.  Obviously more  businesses means more foot-traffic which means more need for additioanl business = vibrant community.  Kudos to US bank who took the lead here.

US Bank is opening a full service Banking Center on Main and 12th. I know this is not the most exciting development that OTR has seen but I think it is significant.  We have all been calling for more service businesses to open as a compliemtn to all the entertainment venues and hopefully other banks/ service companies follow their lead.  Obviously more  businesses means more foot-traffic which means more need for additioanl business = vibrant community.  Kudos to US bank who took the lead here.

 

Is that what's going into the Hanke Building?  I'm a little surprised by this since US Bank already has a branch at Liberty and Sycamore, and another at Court near Main - I'm wondering if this means they'd be closing their Court Street location?  I'm delighted to hear of more services opening in OTR though!

 

ETA: looks like people mentioned this in the OTR Projects thread back in July.  It is the Hanke Building and the former plasma place next door I believe, and this location will replace the two US Bank branches on Court and on Sycamore.  I guess US Bank is thinking that office workers will be comfortable with venturing at least a block into OTR now, since that's who frequented the Court branch.

US Bank is opening a full service Banking Center on Main and 12th. I know this is not the most exciting development that OTR has seen but I think it is significant.  We have all been calling for more service businesses to open as a compliemtn to all the entertainment venues and hopefully other banks/ service companies follow their lead.  Obviously more  businesses means more foot-traffic which means more need for additioanl business = vibrant community.  Kudos to US bank who took the lead here.

 

Is that what's going into the Hanke Building?  I'm a little surprised by this since US Bank already has a branch at Liberty and Sycamore, and another at Court near Main - I'm wondering if this means they'd be closing their Court Street location?  I'm delighted to hear of more services opening in OTR though!

 

ETA: looks like people mentioned this in the OTR Projects thread back in July.  It is the Hanke Building and the former plasma place next door I believe, and this location will replace the two US Bank branches on Court and on Sycamore.  I guess US Bank is thinking that office workers will be comfortable with venturing at least a block into OTR now, since that's who frequented the Court branch.

 

Good point about downtowners venturing a block into OTR. Bank branches are one of "essential services" we keep talking about OTR needing, so it's great to see this on Main. The Sycamore location was on the fringe of OTR and oriented toward people driving by (with their ATM on Liberty).

 

It would be nice to see Nicola's expand into the former USBank space on Sycamore, or open up a new sister restaurant there.

While "Gateway Quarter" and "Northern Liberties" are popular nicknames for various chunks of OTR, anyone who has seen the crowds at places link Neon's and Japp's lately should appreciate the new moniker for that area, BroTR.

While "Gateway Quarter" and "Northern Liberties" are popular nicknames for various chunks of OTR, anyone who has seen the crowds at places link Neon's and Japp's lately should appreciate the new moniker for that area, BroTR.

It's like a mini-mt. adams... how many douchebag bros are there in Cincinnati?

Don't they know we built the Banks for them?

iknowright?!

The Banks and Bakersfield were supposed to be enough of a douchebag honeypot, but I think that the closure of Cadillac Ranch and Lodge have meant that we're still getting Bro Spillover. :(

Are there any serious downsides to this "bro spillover" other than places being busier? If so, what are they?

^Of course not. I don't know if this specific conversation is serious or not, but I know I've heard quite a few in a similar vein which have been quite serious and I find it immensely annoying and narrow-minded. The fact that a more diverse population is visiting these bars and inhabiting these neighborhoods will result in a better place than if it was a bunch of the same people. I know people like to believe that OTR is too cool for the 'bros' but the fact of the matter is that it isn't since these bros are just as inclined to have a good time in a great urban location as any of us. Expecting only one particular group to exist in any one place is exactly the cause of the problems that exist throughout OTR and various other neighborhoods in the city.

What's not to love about all your favorite neighborhood bars being taken over by these people?

 

I think atlas said it best.

 

OTR can't function like a small town/tight knit group of people forever, not in the middle of urban Cincinnati.

My only beef with this crowd is their disrespect for the space. With each passing month the amount of disgusting trash/garbage/litter all over the streets and sidewalks on Sat & Sun mornings is growing. Cigarette butts everywhere. THe alley behind my apartment smells like piss all weekend. I can deal with the noise and traffic, but not other peoples' disgusting habits.

My only beef with this crowd is their disrespect for the space. With each passing month the amount of disgusting trash/garbage/litter all over the streets and sidewalks on Sat & Sun mornings is growing. Cigarette butts everywhere. THe alley behind my apartment smells like piss all weekend. I can deal with the noise and traffic, but not other peoples' disgusting habits.

 

Thanks, Rob. That's exactly the sort of response I was looking for. As a place becomes destination, its transient visitors tend not to care as much for it as locals would. So as OTR's bars become more popular (and profitable), steps need to be taken to ensure the neighborhood is respected. These are growing pains and need to be addressed before the character of the area changes and everybody loses.

What's not to love about all your favorite neighborhood bars being taken over by these people?

 

 

I think I see nipple.

The Anchor just opened up, going to go eat there right after work tonight.  This is the start of Race Street between 14th and 15th becoming one of the most coveted addresses in Cincinnati.

Definitely.  Quieter than Vine but more attractive than Elm St. 

What I like most about Race is that it still has a lot of the mature street trees intact, which Vine and Main more-or-less lack. They give the street a very Brooklyn feel, and go a long way toward muffling street noise.

It'll be very interesting to see what happens north of 15th...

 

 

Pics of The Anchor:

 

http://www.blogotr.com/otr/the-anchor-otr-now-open/

 

While "Gateway Quarter" and "Northern Liberties" are popular nicknames for various chunks of OTR, anyone who has seen the crowds at places link Neon's and Japp's lately should appreciate the new moniker for that area, BroTR.

It's like a mini-mt. adams... how many douchebag bros are there in Cincinnati?

 

Hundreds of square miles of quaint, provincial little suburbs cranking out kids into fairly conservative parochial and public high schools. I would respectfully argue that Cincinnati is one of the most efficient producers of bro's in the country.

My only beef with this crowd is their disrespect for the space. With each passing month the amount of disgusting trash/garbage/litter all over the streets and sidewalks on Sat & Sun mornings is growing. Cigarette butts everywhere. THe alley behind my apartment smells like piss all weekend. I can deal with the noise and traffic, but not other peoples' disgusting habits.

 

That's true big-city life you're detailing.  People wake up in London and other European major cities and see/smell the same things.  Difference is, they walk outside and stroll to the subway while Cincinnatians catch a bus to a town hall forum to argue about a 3 mile streetcar.

My only beef with this crowd is their disrespect for the space. With each passing month the amount of disgusting trash/garbage/litter all over the streets and sidewalks on Sat & Sun mornings is growing. Cigarette butts everywhere. THe alley behind my apartment smells like piss all weekend. I can deal with the noise and traffic, but not other peoples' disgusting habits.

 

I agree. Last night at MPMF was pretty bad in several locations. You know I don't care if there is a bro spillover or whatever...but leave the douche behavior at home. I've seen more fights down there and just general disrespect of the area lately. Last night all I wanted to do was see a band play at Japp's and the people that were there acted like we didn't belong. I am always about everyone being included but there are definitely groups of people who act like certain bars are there for them and their frat brethren. Anyways, just because you don't live there doesn't give yiu any right to disrespect it.

Does anyone have any photos of the Emery theater shows?  I wasn't able to be there and I haven't physically set foot in the theater in about 20 years.

Jake, there are some photos on our FB page (https://www.facebook.com/TheEmeryTheatre) and if you look on for tweets tagged with @theemerycincy on Twitter there are some. We'll have a bunch more on our FB page and website soon, I'm sure. And if you're interested in a tour, let me know. I can help you out there, since I a member of the core company. We offered a free blogger tour about a year ago, perhaps we should do another soon.

so i was there for midpoint on friday, went to the emery for port st willow and the antlers, it was my first time there and it was straight out amazing! me and my friend were talking about all of the different bands we dream of seeing there sometime once they restore it and fully reopen it, the sound is perfect there and it was packed for the antlers!

 

its too bad that some had bad experiences during the festival, but my experience was incredible, i couldn't believe how many people were in otr friday night, it was good planning to have the festival the same weekend as final friday, it felt like a critical mass, there were so many people and so much energy and vibrancy, i felt like i was in like chicago without the traffic

 

went to neons and there was a good vibe there, that place is awesome! then got food at some of the food trucks over by the midway, it just felt like what i imagine a big city feels like on a friday night, lots of things to do, lots of places to go, lots of people, it was great, and i hope a lot of the people there had good experiences like that and will keep coming back

I was only down there Thursday and it was pretty crowded on the streets.  Reminded me of MacDougel St.(sp?) in NYC.  Lots of people walking down side streets they shouldn't have, though.  I hope nobody got mugged. 

I was only down there Thursday and it was pretty crowded on the streets.  Reminded me of MacDougel St.(sp?) in NYC.  Lots of people walking down side streets they shouldn't have, though.  I hope nobody got mugged.

 

Wow... just..wow.

 

More people walking down those "streets they shouldn't have" prevent crime from happening.

There are certain streets that have no permanent residents (15th in places, for example) and it isn’t a good idea to walk down them, even in groups.  It probably wasn’t a problem this weekend as everything was so crowded it’d be tough to hide anywhere, but on a regular night at 1:30AM, there absolutely are streets you shouldn’t walk down.

I gotta add one pet peeve relating to OTR and urban Cincinnati in general.

 

When an event like Midpoint Music Festival happens, I hear a lot of people saying, "Cincinnati's finally on the right track."

 

We have been "on the right track" for a long time. I'm not sure when the turning point was (Gateway Quarter Phase I and the new Washington Park were major ones), but MPMF has been getting bigger each year... more businesses have been opening up each year... more people have been moving downtown each year... etc.

 

I'm glad more and more people are discovering the urban core, but it would be nice to occasionally hear things like, "Wow, I didn't realize so much was going on down here," instead of, "Cincinnati's finally gotten it's act together." I think some people just don't want to admit that they've been missing out on the cool things that have been happening don't here, and instead pretend like they're getting in on the cusp of it becoming cool.

 

To be clear: I love the fact that new people are discovering these neighborhoods. I'm not trying to say that new members of the community are less valid than older ones. I know that things were turning around long before I started spending time and living here, so I'm not trying to claim that I liked it "before it was cool". On the contrary, I love hearing from people like Steve Hampton and Michael Redmond (who have been involved in OTR for a very long time) about some of the turning points over the years.

Just to add my .02.  The trappings of family life find me firmly entrenched in a suburban lifestyle.  But taking the wife and the kids in the hulk wagon down to WashPark, FS or the Banks is quickly becoming a pastime.  My boys love the city just like their dad did when he was that age.  I got a chuckle out of my 7 year old asking about the age of the buildings...Music Hall in particular and then asking how old our house in the 'burbs is.

 

OTR was beautiful this past Saturday as we spent most of the afternoon in WP.  OTR still has a ways to go as evidenced in at least on comment on my FB page in response to my posting a pic of my kids in WP.  But I sure love the vibe.

What I like most about Race is that it still has a lot of the mature street trees intact, which Vine and Main more-or-less lack. They give the street a very Brooklyn feel, and go a long way toward muffling street noise.

 

Yes I agree, the mature trees really add a great feel to those few blocks. I am surprised that so many parts of downtown and OTR don't in fact have mature trees.  What happened, did they all die and get re-planted?  For an older city, this surprises me. 

While "Gateway Quarter" and "Northern Liberties" are popular nicknames for various chunks of OTR, anyone who has seen the crowds at places link Neon's and Japp's lately should appreciate the new moniker for that area, BroTR.

I get the pleasure of hearing all sides complain about one another.  From "hipster central" to "brOTR"- Neons, Japps and the Annex are simply OTR bars.  I do not advertise to any group to bring in one or the other (I dont advertise at all) I'm extatic that we have places that attract Mt Adams to Northside and Clifton to Mason all down to an area, that when I first pitched the idea, people said was dead and could not be brought back.  No one should lament the fact they are popular now, These were all empty store fronts just a very short time ago.  The fact is, that bro or that hipster is here in OTR and giving the next person the confidence to open the next Neons, Anchor or Park & Vine. 

The new moniker for OTR is- Home of One ofTravel+Leisures top 30 Outdoor Bars in the United States. 

http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/americas-best-outdoor-bars/24

Be proud of the direction OTR is going because neither it, nor we, are done yet.

went to neons and there was a good vibe there, that place is awesome! then got food at some of the food trucks over by the midway, it just felt like what i imagine a big city feels like on a friday night, lots of things to do, lots of places to go, lots of people, it was great, and i hope a lot of the people there had good experiences like that and will keep coming back

 

Living in Chicago and going down there for a weekend, I'd say yes it is :)! (on a smaller scale of course)  Its part of why I love Midpoint so much, though this year was even better than in years past because there are quite a bit more places in OTR to begin with and there were nice additions like the Night Owl Market where you could continue listening to music until 3 am if you felt like it on Friday and Saturday night.  Plus Chicago doesn't have as good a food truck scene and nor do they have food carts other than ones that sell premade tamales - both due to excessive regulations lobbied by the restaurants. (So in one way it exceeded what you see on a typical weekend in Chicago) ;)

 

A couple observations about this year:

 

1) Most cabs I've ever seen in Downtown Cincy - probably due to MPMF and changes in the laws so you could hail them anywhere.

2) I actually heard horns honking and the traffic was really heavy all through downtown

3) The food trucks were so successful it seems actually ran out of materials to make food (I'm not used to trucks where you can prepare stuff on board being out - happens all the time in Chicago because regulations don't allow them to make food on board).

4) All the buskers seemed like long time neighborhood residents and not unplugged bands like they were in years past - this was awesome too, there was a drum and bugle core walking down the street, an old man on a guitar and a man playing a saxophone (probably more that I missed too).

5) Music Hall is an amazing backdrop for a band to play in front of, I'm really glad MPMF didn't use the stage on the north side of the park and instead setup their own.

6) Why the heck was the Skyline Chili at Court Street and Vine closed and not open late this weekend - I saw so many people walk past it but not go in?

 

While taking a taxi back to my brother's in Covington I saw 3 different night life areas that were buzzing with activity OTR where I got on, 6th/7th Street full of bros, and the Banks, where I think Tin Roof had just opened (sorry hadn't been reading that closely about them).  Its a shame their are still gaps between these districts but hopefully things are going to slowly fill in nicely.

 

-----

 

When an event like Midpoint Music Festival happens, I hear a lot of people saying, "Cincinnati's finally on the right track."... "Cincinnati's finally gotten it's act together."

 

I may have been guilty of saying something like this to you.  I realize this has been going on in a long time, and there always has been stuff going on downtown, but I've never seen it at quite this scale before for Cincy and I'm really impressed particularly compared to the dark days of the 5/6 years after the riots.  In 2007 the city was a very different place and not for the better even though in the background the ball had really already begun to roll in the right direction.

The bro factor seems to be an almost inevitable part of downtown revitalization whether Mpls or Cbus, Chi-town or NYC. In the case of OTR, however, that just means entrepreneurs have a more compelling reason to move on to an unloved quarter in a big, dense neighborhood and offer an alternative that attracts (a) different crowd(s). Certainly a silver lining, since it would be nice for the overall character of the neighborhood not to be college students stumbling around, throwing up on the street (hopefully you're not in the way) and getting into fights for someone looking at someone else the "wrong way". It seems that distance, whether it's the University of Cincinnati, OSU, or UM to their respective downtowns is not an obstacle: they'll always find their way downtown and with high predictability, so it's no wonder some places cater to this crowd who otherwise wouldn't be going downtown. Collateral damage, I suppose.

 

 

Collective Espresso to open on Woodward Street:

 

http://www.blogotr.com/otr/collective-espresso-coming-soon-to-woodward-street/

 

 

 

 

 

No one should lament the fact they are popular now, These were all empty store fronts just a very short time ago.  The fact is, that bro or that hipster is here in OTR and giving the next person the confidence to open the next Neons, Anchor or Park & Vine. 

The new moniker for OTR is- Home of One of Travel+Leisures top 30 Outdoor Bars in the United States. 

http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/americas-best-outdoor-bars/24

Be proud of the direction OTR is going because neither it, nor we, are done yet.

 

Thanks Michael and congrats on the recognition! Love the #THISISOTR banner :)

To be clear: I love the fact that new people are discovering these neighborhoods. I'm not trying to say that new members of the community are less valid than older ones. I know that things were turning around long before I started spending time and living here, so I'm not trying to claim that I liked it "before it was cool". On the contrary, I love hearing from people like Steve Hampton and Michael Redmond (who have been involved in OTR for a very long time) about some of the turning points over the years.

 

There are lots of people who have nurtured Over-the-Rhine along in many different ways over the years.  Most of them you'll never hear about as progress continues and is attributed to a small handful of organizations and people.  We just lost one of these special people to cancer this weekend.  Bob Ketterer was an Over-the-Rhine supporter for decades.  As a realtor he knew this neighborhood backwards and forwards, and was always working to get good people to make an investment in Over-the-Rhine.  As one of the founders of St. Peter Claver Latin School for Boys, he worked tirelessly to help the boys in the neighborhood better themselves. I hope many of the new people in Over-the-Rhine learn about people like Bob, and can carry on some of his spirit as the neighborhood continues to grow.

 

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/cincinnati/obituary.aspx?n=robert-frank-ketterer&pid=160322812

I didn't know Bob but I knew of him. A number of friends are grieving his passing and would like to do something to remember him. It's stories like his that I'm most interested in highlighting because they most accurately reflect the spirit of OTR.

Just heard this from my girlfriend. [backstory: She is an Americorps volunteer at the Cincy Zoo and as part of her program, they have monthly in-services with everyone in the local Americorps program, which is lead by the Americorps volunteer from one of the participating sites. This month's was lead by the volunteers from the Peaslee Center and OTRCH.]:

 

Today's in-service included a tour of OTR (where Peaslee & OTRCH operate). As they drove through the neighborhood, the "tour" leaders continuously harped about how terrible the development going on in OTR is and how 3CDC is horrible for the neighborhood. They also "explained" how Washington Park only caters to the rich.

 

This whole thing pisses me off. Both of these groups are there to work to improve the community. Instead, they bitch and moan about improvements in the community. Rather that work against the change that is occurring, they should work to be a part of the change, and help remediate what they see as negative consequences of the development through involvement in the process. It's groups doing shit like this that holds our city back.

Today's in-service included a tour of OTR (where Peaslee & OTRCH operate). As they drove through the neighborhood, the "tour" leaders continuously harped about how terrible the development going on in OTR is and how 3CDC is horrible for the neighborhood. They also "explained" how Washington Park only caters to the rich.

 

In their minds projects like parks improve the neighborhood, increases property values, and pushes out the poor and elderly.  Apparently, the fact that there are so many empty buildings in OTR has nothing to do with their efforts.  :roll:  Luckily, groups like 3CDC have thwarted their efforts to make OTR the Crack Alley of the Midwest.

Update: Apparently these were actual employees of Peaslee and OTRCH leading what was just supposed to be an OTR tour, but which turned in to "which buildings did 3CDC throw people out of on which street" tour.

>make OTR the Crack Alley of the Midwest

 

They did, for 20-30 years.  For many of them it was Buddy Gray this, Buddy Gray that.  My high school did mission trips to Peru, Dominican Republic, and...Over-the-Rhine.

Just heard this from my girlfriend. [backstory: She is an Americorps volunteer at the Cincy Zoo and as part of her program, they have monthly in-services with everyone in the local Americorps program, which is lead by the Americorps volunteer from one of the participating sites. This month's was lead by the volunteers from the Peaslee Center and OTRCH.]:

 

Today's in-service included a tour of OTR (where Peaslee & OTRCH operate). As they drove through the neighborhood, the "tour" leaders continuously harped about how terrible the development going on in OTR is and how 3CDC is horrible for the neighborhood. They also "explained" how Washington Park only caters to the rich.

 

This whole thing pisses me off. Both of these groups are there to work to improve the community. Instead, they bitch and moan about improvements in the community. Rather that work against the change that is occurring, they should work to be a part of the change, and help remediate what they see as negative consequences of the development through involvement in the process. It's groups doing sh!t like this that holds our city back.

 

Here we have the actual, tiny, fringe minority of ultra liberals. These are the people that the FOX News movement has somehow scared America into thinking make up half the population. In reality I've met maybe three of them in my lifetime. Meanwhile, the "heartless rich people" redeveloping the neighborhood are probably 90% Obama supporters. Sad, frustrating, fascinating all at once.

^ Agreed. The Justin Jeffre / Homeless Coalition types are the teabaggers of the left.