June 20, 20195 yr Its so terrible but there is so much open surface parking it will be a great candidate for retrofit in 20-40 years. “All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.” -Friedrich Nietzsche
June 20, 20195 yr The question is, will it ever be retrofitted into something better? Greater Cincinnati always had tons of amazing "potential" but for the most part, whenever we are confronted with the question of whether to do something amazing with that potential or to stick with the status quo, we stick with the status quo. With projects like the Wasson Way, we had the perfect opportunity to link some of the city's most dense, walkable neighborhood to Uptown and Downtown with some sort of high frequency transit on that corridor -- light rail, streetcar, DMUs, or even a busway -- but instead we decided to just build a bike trail and say, "well, maybe we'll come back and add transit to this corridor some day." There are multiple developments along the I-71 corridor alone that could have been developed as a walkable, mixed use developments (even as an extension of the existing street grids) with great transit access to the core: Keystone Parke, Rookwood Commons/Pavilion/Exchange, and Center of Cincinnati/Oakley Station. There are some rumors that Rookwood will be redone in the coming years and will become more walkable, but I'll believe it when I see it.
June 20, 20195 yr ^This isn't even status quo, it's like status quo 1995. I don't see how SW Ohio puts up with this crap. Too much power in the hands of outer suburbanites.
June 20, 20195 yr Outer suburbanites, indeed! In fact, a non-trivial percentage of current Oakley residents prefer, and implement a largely suburban lifestyle, even tho they live in Oakley. I’ve lived here 4 1/2 yrs (previously in Columbus suburb) and have actively engaged the powers that be here in Oakley and theirs is not a progressive urban-lite attitude. Very little leadership that’s pushing for more sustainable living.
June 20, 20195 yr 3 hours ago, taestell said: The Rapid Transit Loop (after it was un-looped) was to have run in Enyart Ave parallel to the south side of the B&O railroad tracks to its terminal station just west of Madison Rd. and just below the bottom right frame edge of this graphic. It's interesting that Enyart remains a borderline "paper" street under public ownership to this day, since it illustrates why this was a viable plan for the rapid transit line. The Loop was un-looped after the president of Cincinnati Milacron squirreled his way into a commissioner's seat on the Rapid Transit Commission and in 1921 or 1922 had the whole thing redirected to his property. This meant that instead of trains running clockwise and counter-clockwise all day and night on a 2-track loop, all trains would instead both originate and terminate at the same Madison Rd. station. The station would have been right about here, slightly south of the B&O overpass: https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1550495,-84.4268449,3a,75y,321.05h,89.74t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s5uy2y-RIFFDdnIp27aeZJw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656 The Commission bought out numerous landowners along Brazee St. in order to bring the whole thing south of the B&O overpass and level with Oakley Square. I was never able to find a drawing of a proposal for the station, but it much have been at least 3 tracks to accommodate the staging of trains given the lack of a tail track or turnaround loop.
June 21, 20195 yr 5 hours ago, 7generations said: Outer suburbanites, indeed! In fact, a non-trivial percentage of current Oakley residents prefer, and implement a largely suburban lifestyle, even tho they live in Oakley. I’ve lived here 4 1/2 yrs (previously in Columbus suburb) and have actively engaged the powers that be here in Oakley and theirs is not a progressive urban-lite attitude. Very little leadership that’s pushing for more sustainable living. I wouldn't be surprised if the Oakley Community Council has actually gotten worse about urbanism since I lived there in the late 2000s. Most other organizations of this type have gotten better since then at least in the inner rings. Hell, if Clinton Township (Franklin County) of all things (a township!) has banned large setbacks from new construction in addition to adding a host of other pro- urbanist requirements you know there has been a philosophy shift. But look at what Oakley allowed here.
June 21, 20195 yr Do you guys really think the original plan for Oakley Station would have worked considering its proximity to both Kenwood and Rookwood? Liberty Center is struggling to get off the ground as Cincinnati's second major retail hub and it's a solid distance away from the competition.
June 21, 20195 yr 9 minutes ago, küshner said: Do you guys really think the original plan for Oakley Station would have worked considering its proximity to both Kenwood and Rookwood? Liberty Center is struggling to get off the ground as Cincinnati's second major retail hub and it's a solid distance away from the competition. Then just do more residential. It doesn't all need to be retail/office, let alone a big-box power center. The only saving grace of Oakley Station is that it has a decently connected internal street grid. Marburg is unfortunately wide, but it could be converted into the 3-lane plus parking layout of the other streets by reassigning the outer lanes to street parking. These streets are basically the same cross-section as at The Banks. So the whole thing could be redeveloped to a higher density more walkable and urban pattern just by filling in the parking lots and going multi-story. On the other hand, the huge single-use structures like Kroger, Meijer, Target, and Crossroads are not conducive to good urbanism. Basically anything that's against Disney/Ibsen (all of which turn their backs to it) is garbage. Also, while internal connectivity is good, connectivity to the rest of the neighborhood is not. Especially the neighborhood south of the railroad tracks that is perfectly walkable and a stone's throw from the Madison Road retail corridor. Instead the only way across is to take the awful sidewalk ramps and stairs at the Madison Road underpass. Yeah it's a decent route to Madtree, but at a minimum there should be a ped/bike crossing from Appleton to Factory Colony, as well as Verne or 34th to Disney.
June 21, 20195 yr 37 minutes ago, küshner said: Do you guys really think the original plan for Oakley Station would have worked considering its proximity to both Kenwood and Rookwood? Liberty Center is struggling to get off the ground as Cincinnati's second major retail hub and it's a solid distance away from the competition. I've posted this thought in other threads before, but the problem with Oakley Station and Liberty Center is that they were built in the wrong locations. If they changed places, both would be doing well right now.
July 9, 20195 yr Looks like some planning going on for the Kenner Factory Site. Hopefully this turns out better than Oakley Station but looks like mostly residential but, not holding my breath. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AfsxrLdcNAhCc6upeAREX1fMs4RrnIxU/view
July 9, 20195 yr I know many complain about Oakley turning into suburbs...but I drove by cross roads to the Oakley Kroger and missed my turn because I was so disoriented by how different the area looks. Oakley, still reminds me of a hybrid neighborhood but definitely leans more urban than say a mason or a West Chester..honestly it probably reminds me of a more urban Loveland, mixed in with the downtown Loveland portion. The developers seem to love to build in Oakley since it's such hot real estate, it makes me wonder if 5 - 10 years down the road we might see some of the more massive parking lots be replaced with apartments and more retail.
July 9, 20195 yr 24 minutes ago, edale said: Have the townhouses at St. C's begun construction yet? Yes they have there’s a row of 6 or so that are all framed out and some more along Madison that are starting.
August 7, 20195 yr https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2019/08/07/exclusive-100m-residential-development-planned-in.html 615 total residential units to Oakley. Doesnt look like there will be any commercial space, but thats still a huge number of new residents. Apartments, townhouses, and single family houses. Edited August 7, 20195 yr by seaswan
August 7, 20195 yr 17 minutes ago, seaswan said: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2019/08/07/exclusive-100m-residential-development-planned-in.html 615 total residential units to Oakley. Doesnt look like there will be any commercial space, but thats still a huge number of new residents. Apartments, townhouses, and single family houses. We would have had something like this to the north of the tracks if reasonable heads had prevailed back in 2005 or thereabouts, when Milacron was winding down.
August 7, 20195 yr On top of that, a huge connection to Oakley Station via a bridge over the tracks. Despite its flaws at least it will be connected pedestrian-wise to a population center. And given the connection, may spur major development on the Cast Fab site, and hopefully a parking garage allowing that ridiculous Cinemark parking lot to be redeveloped along with the lot south of their parking lot. Oakley Station may have been bungled, but they can at least back into some sort of pseudo-density by filling out as they go.
August 7, 20195 yr They need a vehicular underpass much more than a pedestrian overpass. That'll probably cost $20 million +, as railroad grade separations are always horrendously expensive, but the time to do it is when this development is underway, not after the nimby's close on their townhouses.
August 7, 20195 yr True, there may be "undesirables" driving in THEIR neighborhood from Oakley Station after a long night at The Casual Pint... can't have that.
August 7, 20195 yr They note a bike connection along 34th (which I'm sure will be nothing more than some signs or maybe a slightly widened sidewalk) but show only a "pedestrian connection" over the railroad that's drawn as if it's either two elevators, or two stairwells, and a bridge. It would have to be ADA accessible, which should therefore make it bike accessible, unless it's done with elevators, which I highly doubt. It's almost as if they're deliberately trying to make it "too hard" so it can be removed from the program after approval. A couple of ramps really wouldn't be too hard. As to a street connection, I agree, but all of Oakley would come out to oppose it, not just the purchasers in this development. "Something something cut-through traffic, rabble rabble."
August 7, 20195 yr 1 minute ago, jjakucyk said: As to a street connection, I agree, but all of Oakley would come out to oppose it, not just the purchasers in this development. "Something something cut-through traffic, rabble rabble." Which is too bad, because Oakley Station gets locked up if there's high amounts of traffic because there are only 2 ways out of there and the lights don't let many cars out. It would be better to have more ways to disperse them.
August 7, 20195 yr Yep, but this is the same community that closed off access to Arbor, Atlantic, and Hyde Park Avenues, forcing it all onto Madison and Markbreit. Heck I wouldn't even put it past them to try to close off Markbreit because there's too much traffic, now.
August 7, 20195 yr Kind of a shame they aren't planning to save this building. Looks like it could be turned into some cool lofts.
August 12, 20195 yr On 1/26/2019 at 11:41 PM, savadams13 said: Reztark worked with Anderson Real Estate when selling the property. Reztark does alot of grand ideas for developers, they hire as quickly as they lay off because of speculative work. But I can say the new owners have desires to do more with the properties because of the location. Plus that design they have on there site is nothing like the new owners want to do with the site. We are talking about replacing existing surface lots with new buildings and parking garages Sorry to drag this up, but just came across this today. I have to take exception to your characterization of Reztark as a hire and fire organization. It is quite the opposite. Their smart growth uses strategic, targeted hiring to keep the team lean and flexible (and produce those grand ideas). They are about 25 people now and have never had big layoffs...even through the recession. Lots creative talent!
August 19, 20195 yr Just to satisfy my curiosity... Has anyone heard anything about new development in Oakley? Specifically the Fresh Market area, I know a user mentioned that a realty group owned a large part of that block, and I was just wondering if there was any speculation for the area. Especially with all the krogers + rookwood whole foods, that store cannot be doing well. I drive through Oakley a lot, and it always annoys me that madison is just underdeveloped in general.
August 19, 20195 yr FWIW, Fresh Market just announced the closing of its Columbus store: https://www.nbc4i.com/news/local-news/fresh-market-to-close-upper-arlington-area-store/
September 8, 20195 yr Drove by where the Hubbard Broadcasting building will be built and they are clearing out the trees currently.
October 7, 20195 yr Huge self-storage facility under construction in Oakley A massive self-storage facility is under construction in Oakley. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2019/10/07/exclusive-huge-self-storage-facility-under.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
October 18, 20195 yr Planned Oakley apartments get zoning change Plans to redevelop the former Masonic Lodge in Oakley into the Madison Park Townhomes apartment complex got the needed zoning approval on Friday More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2019/10/18/planned-oakley-apartments-get-zoning-change.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
November 6, 20195 yr Former Oakley grocery to become family entertainment center A former grocery store in Oakley will soon be home to an indoor family entertainment center. Urban Air is opening a location in Oakley. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2019/11/06/exclusive-former-oakley-grocery-to-become-family.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
November 6, 20195 yr Luxury townhomes coming near Oakley Square A new luxury townhome development is expected to break ground soon near Oakley Square. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2019/11/06/exclusive-luxury-townhomes-coming-near-oakley.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
November 6, 20195 yr there have been a ton of townhouses getting proposed/built in oakley. These may not be the most attractive but I love the use of townhouses vs detached
November 7, 20195 yr Was kind of confused where exactly this is due to the photo. I’m assuming it’s in the corner where there’s a worship center?
November 7, 20195 yr 1 hour ago, Ucgrad2015 said: Was kind of confused where exactly this is due to the photo. I’m assuming it’s in the corner where there’s a worship center? Based on the address given in article sounds like you are right the old church at the corner of Madison and Romana, across from the Arby's/noodle house.
November 7, 20195 yr ^Yeah, the article confirms that it's the old church property at the corner of Madison and Romana. The rendering does away with ugly utility lines along Romana, but I kinda doubt the developers will actually make that happen. I hope they do manage to bury the lines, but that's usually something that gets dropped due to costs: https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1505992,-84.4346438,3a,75y,284.44h,115.18t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1srqmUO4QWl-hwT8rUyOaLSg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192
November 7, 20195 yr Yes, this is a move I like to see to keep densifying Oakley where they can or the council allows. This and including the large development behind Center of Cincinnati area that is proposed. All this build up in these areas will eventually keep helping areas like Madisonville which has a lot of room for growth and we are starting to see that already. It also helps push more to Columbia Tusculum (already booming IMO) and Mt. Lookout (which is starting to boom too right around the square area with townhomes and proposed apartment buildings). It seems like Hyde Park is pretty much maxed out, there isn't a whole lot of tired buildings in a huge area in Hyde Park. In fact, I am seeing a couple of houses which were chopped into apartments being converted back to single family. There are a couple spots in Hyde Park I could see maybe demolition and more of the Griewe type of condo developments but it is pretty much maxed out otherwise. This maxing out of space in these neighborhoods will also help out even more the parts of Evanston and E. Walnut Hills directly in line with the border of Hyde Park. Edited November 7, 20195 yr by IAGuy39
November 7, 20195 yr Speaking of densifying. Does anyone ever see high rise apartments or condos ever coming back to Walnut Hills/Hyde Park? Even Oakley maybe?
November 7, 20195 yr 5 minutes ago, Ucgrad2015 said: Speaking of densifying. Does anyone ever see high rise apartments or condos ever coming back to Walnut Hills/Hyde Park? Even Oakley maybe? Do you mean like The Regency? If so, I would almost guarentee not. The breadsmith/lululemon building in Hyde Park Square almost got axed and its only like 6 stories or something.
November 7, 20195 yr 11 minutes ago, Ucgrad2015 said: Speaking of densifying. Does anyone ever see high rise apartments or condos ever coming back to Walnut Hills/Hyde Park? Even Oakley maybe? Walnut Hill is the only place I could see much of anything over 6 stories getting built. But even that is tough to imagine. Mostly bounded between McMillan and Taft
November 7, 20195 yr It almost completely depends on the average income of the neighborhood. Walnut Hills has about 5-10 years to get a high-rise approved for construction before the NIMBYs spilling over from EWH get too vocal. Even less time for Evanston. Nothing over 5 stories will be built east of Walnut Hills in Cincinnati because of the demographics
November 8, 20195 yr There's a mid-rise residential development in the works at Kemper and Francis Lane.
November 25, 20195 yr Please keep the conversation here to Oakley Development. Debating the qualifications of random YouTubers is not what this site is for.
November 26, 20195 yr Moved the 'What I spend in a week as a 24-year-old in Cincinnati' video and "discussion" to the appropriate thread: "It's just fate, as usual, keeping its bargain and screwing us in the fine print..." - John Crichton
November 27, 20195 yr [NOTE: I got all of the following info from regularly attending the twice-a-month meetings of the Oakley Community Council (OCC) (open to the public)] The development scene in Oakley is currently largely residential focused: the building of single-fam homes after tearing down an older home on the lot; or, tearing down some formerly commercial or institutional old structure, or older homes and building somewhat dense 2-3-story 20-ft wide townhomes (some owner occupied, some rented). Examples: 2 separate 1-acre lots that will each have twenty 2-3-story townhomes with 2-car garages on the ground level with 2 living stories above - these 20 units will be spread over 3 separate buildings. One of the developments will have a roof-top level also. Another separate-location smaller lot is gonna have 7 such units, split over 2 separate buildings - at SE corner Madison and Andrew. Yet another similar residential development on SE corner of Edwards & HydePark Ave - 3 (I think) homes were raised in last week or so - 8 "landominiums" will be built. A many-acre area is gonna have a mix of 70-80 single fam homes and some hundreds of apartments - it's being called Oakley Yard. One of the Neyer companies bought it from the person who owned it and was somehow connected (I think) to the long-ago company that occupied the main building there - The Kenner Toy Factory - it abuts the south side of the railroad tracks that bisect Oakley from NW to SE. There is some commercial development, mainly currently along Madison opposite MadTree. Sadly, it's only one-story buildings (what a waste of vertical space, IMO). The tenets are a mix of local chains and a few national ones - restaurants, credit union, Starbucks with (yet another) drive-thru; also a local "upscale" daycare. Some other longer-term large project is in planning stage near the super-suburban Oakley Station car-centric eysore on the north side of Oakley (north of those railroad tracks) - where the CastFab factory was. There's also a bit of commercial development being discussed, to be built by an undisclosed bank, at the NE corner of Paxton & Isabella - would replace the now-closed Mio's Pizza, the house immediately north of Mio's, the Taco Casa abutting Mio's to the east AND a 4-unit apartment bldg farther north on that east side of Isabella. The OCC also sends a "newsletter" to the members of the OCC - membership is $10/yr and is open to any resident of Oakley, any owner of land in Oakley, any owner or staff of a business in Oakley. Here are some articles from the latest edition (NOV 26, 2019) of that newsletter that are about development: ANDREW & MADISON PROPOSED TOWNHOMES: At the November 5 OCC meeting, Jeff Lane of Prodigy Properties and Greg Dale from McBride Dale Clarion made their first presentation of their interest to build 7 townhomes at the corner of Andrew & Madison where there is currently an old Masonic building. The current zoning allows for up to 9 units to be built there, but they would need 4 zoning variances to proceed. They have not determined their price point yet for these condos, and hope to begin construction by the spring. The units would be owner-occupied, 2 story single family homes, with a garage underground to the rear. The final design is not complete. The OCC asked this group to come back to our December meeting for a vote on their requested letter of support, plus provide a landscaping plan. URBAN PARKING OVERLAY DISTRICT COMMITTEE: At the November 5 OCC meeting, Gio Rocco and Brian Ogawa of the Department of Community & Economic Development educated our OCC trustees and members on what is an Urban Parking Overlay District, the pros and cons of having one, and how to move forward if Oakley is interested in pursuing one. Because of the city zoning codes for parking being a barrier at times to businesses coming into Oakley, the Oakley Master Plan encouraged research on the arbitrary zoning parking requirements for businesses in the business district. The board decided at our November 21 meeting to set up a committee in early 2020 to investigate and determine whether we would want to pursue this avenue. If any of you are interested in becoming part of this committee, please let Colleen Reynolds (OCC Pres) know at [email protected]. OTHER DEVELOPMENT NEWS: 1. Camden Homes Townhomes Update - The 3 homes along Edwards Rd at Hyde Park Ave have now been sold, and the new owner is the Camden Homes. As they presented in May 2019, Camden is planning to build 8 owner-occupied townhomes called "Rookwood Place". The demolition process of those homes took place the week of 11/18, & Camden is looking to start construction in February. 2. Romana & Madison Townhomes Update - According to developer Angelo Pusateri, demolition of the vacant church should begin very shortly. They are waiting for Duke Energy to remove the current gas lines before demolition can begin. (@ NW corner Madison & Romana)
November 27, 20195 yr I think everyone that was involved with Oakley in the late 2000s when I lived there felt real change was going to come more quickly.
December 3, 20195 yr Luxury townhomes to be built near Rookwood Exchange A new residential development will add eight luxury townhomes just across the street from Rookwood Exchange. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2019/12/02/exclusive-luxury-townhomes-to-be-built-near.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
December 3, 20195 yr Quote Rookwood Place townhomes will have four stories with views of Oakley and the Rookwood mixed-use development from its covered rooftop terraces. I can see Whole Foods from the house.
December 3, 20195 yr 23 minutes ago, jmecklenborg said: I can see Whole Foods from the house. i thought the same thing. How the heck is that a selling point? it’s right across from one of the the biggest crimes against urbanism in the region (the huge blank wall Rookwood exchange built facing the Edwards Rd. traditional business district) : https://goo.gl/maps/FHyYpbxCiwzBQZDG6 www.cincinnatiideas.com
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