Posted May 4, 201213 yr http://communitypress.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/C2/20120503/NEWS/305030035/ Oakley apartment complex proposed 10:53 AM, May. 3, 2012 Forrest Sellers OAKLEY — A new apartment complex has been proposed for Oakley. Developers presented a plan for Oakley Lofts, which will consist of 60 one- and two-bedroom apartments at Madison Road and Appleton Street, during the May Oakley Community Council meeting. The five-story building will have a commercial component on the first floor. The upper floors will be residential.
May 4, 201213 yr If I'm reading this correctly, they're planning this for the corner where Hotheads Burritos and Loesch Hardware currently sit. Both of those are thriving businesses that are not, to my knowledge, for sale. Loesch has been there for decades. I guess I'm not surprised this is coming from the architecture firm just across the street. I bet they can get the Courtesy lot easily enough - Courtesy has at least four properties on that intersection, most of which are underutilized. That's not to say an apartment complex there would be a bad fit. I think it would work. The stretch from Baba India almost to Brazee street seems sort of lower-end, including Courtesy's lots. This would help bridge the gap between Oakley Square and Oakley Station. Plus it would help anchor the newer stretch of storefronts from Brazee eastward, whose tenants seem to be tenuous.
May 4, 201213 yr Your guess on the site looks about right. But how would you know that the businesses wanted to sell or not? This would be a great anchor building on that corner. And of course the apartments will sell out in 8 seconds like everything else being built in walkable neighborhoods these days.
May 5, 201213 yr Your guess on the site looks about right. But how would you know that the businesses wanted to sell or not? I guess I don't know for sure, of course. But as I said, Loesch has been there for ages and seems to do fine. Hotheads has only been there a year or two and has built up a nice business. Everyone's got a price, obviously, but since I don't see for sale signs on the buildings my hypothesis is that they're happy with their current locations. It just seems strange for these plans to be unveiled when I see no street-level evidence that these thriving businesses want to sell.
May 5, 201213 yr According to the Business Courier they are looking at the parking lot on the other side of Appleton from the burrito place. It's tiny but 60 units at 5 stories makes sense there. http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2012/05/04/towne-properties-planning-oakley.html “All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.” -Friedrich Nietzsche
May 5, 201213 yr Looking at the auditor's site and based on the owner name mentioned in the Biz Courier article, the land is the three parcels that make up the auto lot mentioned above, plus the two adjacent lots further up Appleton (i.e. the NE corner of Madison and Appleton).
May 9, 201213 yr It would be nice to get some more residences at that corner, especially to get rid of the parking lot. Ultimately the burrito place needs to go, or at least be replaced with a better urban building. To me it looks like a gas/service station that got re-purposed (note that also happened with Courtesy's building at the south corner, you can see what's left of a tiny gas station poking up out of the roof). Anyway, that's a very interesting little block of businesses, with Voltage and the Appliance Loft along with some of the other funky furniture and antique stores, the tea shop, etc. There's a great mix of commercial and pseudo-industrial buildings, like the aforementioned Appliance Loft and Stewart and Jervis' office on Brazee Street. It actually has the feel of a Chicago street in that area more than Cincinnati, but it can definitely use some more people.
May 10, 201213 yr It would be nice to get some more residences at that corner, especially to get rid of the parking lot. Ultimately the burrito place needs to go, or at least be replaced with a better urban building. To me it looks like a gas/service station that got re-purposed (note that also happened with Courtesy's building at the south corner, you can see what's left of a tiny gas station poking up out of the roof). Anyway, that's a very interesting little block of businesses, with Voltage and the Appliance Loft along with some of the other funky furniture and antique stores, the tea shop, etc. There's a great mix of commercial and pseudo-industrial buildings, like the aforementioned Appliance Loft and Stewart and Jervis' office on Brazee Street. It actually has the feel of a Chicago street in that area more than Cincinnati, but it can definitely use some more people. From the auditor's website, it appears the building the burrito place is in has been a restaurant since 1972. It was called The Chili Company up until about five years ago, then the ill-fated Fatburger. The Loesch family owns the property. I get what you're saying, though - it's auto-centric in a community that's gravitating towards walkability. But one could argue that a place that's been a series of restaurants for forty years shows there's demand for that at present. And it's not as though it's got acres of parking like a Red Robin or something - it still fits the fabric of the neighborhood pretty well (better than partly-empty used car lots, at least). Heck, even in the older Chicago suburbs like you mention there are IHOPs and McDonald's. Interestingly, the Heflin name also owns the empty lot just west of Loesch Hardware, which is also an old under-utilized Courtesy lot. I'd like to see that get redeveloped. It's 65x235, which could easily contain a narrow deep apartment building. At two or three stories it would fit in with other buildings on that stretch. I like this development. Now if someone would just buy out that eyesore of Baba India. It does a great business but they do not plow much back into maintenance or landscaping. The Hardees that preceded it probably looked nicer.
August 5, 20168 yr Preliminary info was presented to the Oakley Community Council at their most recent meeting about a new development across from Robertson on the former Kenner Toys manufacturing site. ( https://goo.gl/maps/mCQ64hBcpax ). Details included were that the project includes mixed use with a focus on medical office and traditional office users, residential, and little or no retail. It sounds as if connecting Edwards road to Robertson would be needed for access. I believe the property is owned through an affiliate of the Cincinnati based Ackerman Group. More people may know additional information, as I saw info posted about the development on Nextdoor. I cannot find the minutes to the Oakley Community Council meeting posted online yet.
August 5, 20168 yr Why do I have a feeling this is going to be another prime urban location squandered on big suburban office buildings surrounded by a sea of parking?
August 5, 20168 yr Why do I have a feeling this is going to be another prime urban location squandered on big suburban office buildings surrounded by a sea of parking? Because that is what happened at Oakley Station, Rookwood Commons, Rookwood Pavilion, Center of Cincinnati, etc...
August 5, 20168 yr Your forgot the original! "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
August 5, 20168 yr Just zone it single-family residential and build houses. That's what should have happened with all of these. The big shopping centers pull commercial activity away from the traditional business districts. Oakley Square would be jamming if not for all this nonsense.
August 5, 20168 yr That would be a great plan. Unfortunately with Rookwood we did literally the opposite and demolished a few dozen of single family homes for more of this crap.
August 5, 20168 yr Yeah I agree with you guys on the single family homes or at least single it out and put it in line by extending the streets to extend the neighborhood, or mix in some apartment buildings with single family. At the very least Rookwood is going a bit vertical. If this goes vertical (rather be 8-12 stories), I would be OK with it, but hard to see that type of demand, but who knows.
August 5, 20168 yr Just zone it single-family residential and build houses. That's what should have happened with all of these. The big shopping centers pull commercial activity away from the traditional business districts. Oakley Square would be jamming if not for all this nonsense. I'm not so sure. It's hard to get people to buy "normal" stuff in those types of spaces.
September 7, 20168 yr I found this brief PDF of the proposal for the Kenner site: https://www.dropbox.com/s/fzkqoh6fb1qe6wd/OakleyYard_-_Robertson_Development_-_Purpose_%26_Intent_2016-08-02.pdf?dl=0 There was also mention of the proposed "Edwards Connector"... which is the first I've heard of this idea, but apparently dates back to at least 2003 when part of The Easter Corridor project, they proposed extending Edwards along I-75 to connect to Robertson and Disney. Here's a PDF that includes that proposal: https://www.dropbox.com/s/fjdz8s2fm826bex/EasternCorridor_Sub-Area_Scoping_Study.pdf?dl=0
September 8, 20168 yr I don't see this Edwards connector thing happening due to the right-of-way constraints, impact to existing buildings, and proximity to I-71. They say as much in the proposal document.
September 22, 20168 yr Mixed-use building coming to Oakley business district A new mixed-use building is coming to the heart of the Oakley business district. More below: http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2016/09/21/exclusive-mixed-use-building-coming-to-oakley.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
September 22, 20168 yr what an ugly building The empty lot looks much more attractive than that building.
September 22, 20168 yr It looks like the Malton Gallery building and the Crossroads Health Center had a baby.
September 22, 20168 yr It would be okay without the random square windows strewn about the left upper level. The proportions bother me a bit but that might be a site constraint.
September 22, 20168 yr ^ The same group (something called BAM Realty) owns the Fresh Market site, the Sleepy Bee building, and everything in between, plus two single-family homes around the corner on Brownway. I suspect they have bigger plans.
September 22, 20168 yr If you build over 5 stories in Oakley, the NIMBY's come out. If you build an Applebee's, they applaud! “All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.” -Friedrich Nietzsche
September 22, 20168 yr If you build over 5 stories in Oakley, the NIMBY's come out. If you build an Applebee's, they applaud! Someone needs to propose a 5-story Applebee's then we can watch the chaos it starts.
September 27, 20168 yr Luxury townhomes coming to Oakley square A development that’s expected to be the only one of its kind in Oakley’s center is breaking ground this week. More below: http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2016/09/27/exclusive-luxury-townhomes-coming-to-oakley-square.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
September 28, 20168 yr If you build over 5 stories in Oakley, the NIMBY's come out. If you build an Applebee's, they applaud! That's not entirely fair. If I recall, there was quite a backlash when Olive Garden wanted to open in front of the new Kroger.
September 28, 20168 yr This is a good infill project which should fill in one of the only gaps on Markbreit right around the square. Not a very sizable residential impact on Oakley, but the visual impact should be fairly significant, especially in terms of building up around the square and making that immediate area feel more complete.
September 28, 20168 yr If you build over 5 stories in Oakley, the NIMBY's come out. If you build an Applebee's, they applaud! That's not entirely fair. If I recall, there was quite a backlash when Olive Garden wanted to open in front of the new Kroger. It wasn't Olive Garden... it was Tilted Kilt. And there was no such backlash when a Chick-Fil-A was announced.
September 28, 20168 yr ^ Actually there was an Olive Garden proposed for Oakley Station, too. I distinctly remember reading about it in one of the city planning packets a few months back. I also seem to recall that there was backlash about Chick-fil-A having a double drive thru, which is comical given how suburban the whole development is laid out.
September 28, 20168 yr Chik-Fil-A has somehow become edgy again despite their Fundamentalism. PR firms can work wonders.
September 28, 20168 yr ^ Actually there was an Olive Garden proposed for Oakley Station, too. I distinctly remember reading about it in one of the city planning packets a few months back. I also seem to recall that there was backlash about Chick-fil-A having a double drive thru, which is comical given how suburban the whole development is laid out. Unfortunately, the Olive Garden is at least 50% built at this point. The Chick Fila drive thru is moving ahead last i heard. All of this is moving a head while there is outrage over the proposed building at the 5/3 branch in Oakley square...which would actually benefit the local establishments in the square with new residents and off-street parking.
September 28, 20168 yr When I lived there, Oakley was a fast food desert. It had the strip mall McDonald's that was class warfare central and a Skyline. You had to drive over to Pleasant Ridge for fast food.
September 29, 20168 yr Following up on the discussion about Cast-Fab closing: http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,796.msg820297.html#msg820297 Oakley manufacturer closing, cutting 97 jobs That's sad! I am lamenting the loss of yet another manufacturer in the Cincinnati area. There used to be a lot of heavy industry in the city but it's mostly relocated to Kentucky or to the northern suburbs. The city thankfully did not experience a total collapse of its industrial base back in the 1970's and 1980's as its economic base was more diverse (unlike Cleveland and Youngstown), but these high paying jobs are hard to replicate and hard to bring back (in the city). Can you imagine a startup like Cast Fab trying to locate in Oakley? You'd have residents complaining about the smell, aesthetics of the buildings... And it looks like once Cast Fab closes, it'll be demolished to make way for an extension of the suburban mess that's already there. Bummer, Cast-Fab and Cimcool are the last remaining industries in the Oakley Station area. That whole site, including the US Playing Card factory in Norwood, were part of a sizable spec industrial park development with a central steam plant and railroad sidings from the early 20th century. As best as I can tell, the Cast-Fab plant is the "New Foundry" mentioned at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundry_products_operations_(Cincinnati_Milling_Machine) which was opened in 1940. That makes it an early example of modernist industrial architecture similar to what came out of the Bauhaus and Weimar Republic in Germany. I hope it can be repurposed for something, versus the way the rest of the development has been squandered. https://goo.gl/maps/YSSof73mNDQ2 I took a few pictures today, and it really is a neat looking building on the Forrer Street side. I doubt there's much to the interiors though, and from what I can see it does get pretty dumpy around the sides. Still, I can see there being a case for preserving the facade and entrance, and integrating it into a new office building or something. That really wouldn't be too hard.
September 29, 20168 yr ^ Given that Milicron wasn't reused, I'm not hopeful about Cast-Fab. The front portion of that complex was also a very nice looking mid century building, and the inside was essentially a gutted open office space, with a pretty big clear span. There didn't seem to be any significant reason the front of that couldn't have been retrofitted for new office space, but it seemingly wasn't even considered by the developer.
September 29, 20168 yr True, but Cast-Fab isn't part of the "development" per se, so I could see some third party come in and do something a bit different.
May 12, 20178 yr $17 million Oakley mixed-use project gets key approval A planned $17 million mixed-use development in the heart of the Oakley business district received a key approval last week. More below: http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2017/05/12/17-million-oakley-mixed-use-project-gets-key.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
August 16, 20177 yr New Oakley development nearly sold out before construction wraps up A townhome development steps from Oakley Square is nearly sold out even though construction is still wrapping up. PLK Communities LLC, a real estate management company that also acquires and redevelops properties, is finishing 2940 at the Square. This nearly $3 million townhome project is located at 2940 Markbreit Ave. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2017/08/15/new-oakley-development-nearly-sold-out-before.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
August 16, 20177 yr The demand for walkable urbanity in Cincinnati is through the roof. The sooner that more developers get this through their heads and start building what the people want, the better off we will be.
August 16, 20177 yr I find it fascinating that young professionals under 30 can pay $600k for a townhome. I know east coast cities command those prices but how on earth do they generate any savings. I know I sound like jmecklenborg[/member] , but it fascinates me.
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