Seems like all of the I-75 suburb exits are getting an expensive makeover.  In a few years, we'll hear about how Tylersville Rd and CinDay Rd need a re-do as well.  Gotta spend that ODOT budget somehow.

^Not to defend these projects, but fortunately they are not always ODOT funded. Union Centre Blvd's diverging diamond was mostly paid with TIF funds, for instance.

37 minutes ago, ink said:

^Not to defend these projects, but fortunately they are not always ODOT funded. Union Centre Blvd's diverging diamond was mostly paid with TIF funds, for instance.

 

The new Union Centre configuration is one of the most pedestrian and bicycle-unfriendly items in the city.  It's really ugly, too.  The whole Union Centre area is still very ugly, helped in no part by the high tension power lines that still dominate the landscape.  I remember when it was corn.  Bring back the corn.  

 

30 minutes ago, jmecklenborg said:

The new Union Centre configuration is one of the most pedestrian and bicycle-unfriendly items in the city.  It's really ugly, too. 

 

I don't think it's possible for a diverging diamond (or a continuous flow intersection) to be ped/bike friendly or good looking.  

47 minutes ago, jjakucyk said:

 

I don't think it's possible for a diverging diamond (or a continuous flow intersection) to be ped/bike friendly or good looking.  

 

It seems like most of the newfangled intersection types that have appeared in Ohio in the last 10-15 years are exceptionally bad for pedestrians and aesthetics.  

 

Kentucky isn't any better - the weird reconstruction of the Newport roadways from the Taylor-Southgate Bridge over to the Licking River Bridge is just plain ugly and it's confusing for pedestrians and bicycles.  In the 90s I thought that traffic engineers were done with creating screwy auto-oriented road designs but they keep coming up with new things.  

 

 

I love how this state continues to pretend Climate Change does not exist and continues to sprawl endlessly despite having a barely growing population. 🙃

21 minutes ago, taestell said:

I love how this state continues to pretend Climate Change does not exist and continues to sprawl endlessly despite having a barely growing population. 🙃

 

Those Trustees in Liberty and West Chester are going to be pissed when they get voted out because they turned their townships from rural, white, conservative echo chambers into dense, liberal, suburbs full of Democrats and ethnic and cultural diversity.

Yeah, and I'm sure the Civic Center area (AMC, Top Golf area) would appreciate a pedestrian connection from the "Downtown" West Chester as well.  With this interchange, they'd need to build a mixed-use overpass to cross 75 now.

That said, for vehicles, the new configuration is a lot better, and people in WC love their vehicles.

9 hours ago, jmecklenborg said:

I thought that traffic engineers were done with creating screwy auto-oriented road designs but they keep coming up with new things.

 

They think brick paving and decorative lamp posts makes it all better. 

Does anyone know what is going on with this section of the lock land spit? Right along 75 south. Noticed the other day that they were clearing out the trees. 

 

 

Edited February 3, 20214 yr by Ucgrad2015

2 hours ago, Ucgrad2015 said:

Does anyone know what is going on with this section of the lock land spit? Right along 75 south. Noticed the other day that they were clearing out the trees. 

 

 

 

The exit at Cooper Ave north of here is being moved south to Millsdale, so they need to clear space for that and an extension of Millsdale.  This is highly disappointing because that forested area is supposed to be where the Mill Creek Greenway will eventually go, and now instead of an abandoned factory and woods along the trail, it will be another blown out highway wasteland. The Cooper exit is dangerous by today's standards, but I love how compact it is. The new exit will feed cars into a neighborhood and railroad crossing.

Edited February 4, 20214 yr by 10albersa

I though that the Greenway would be on the opposite side of the highway as this ramp.

13 hours ago, 10albersa said:

 

The exit at Cooper Ave north of here is being moved south to Millsdale, so they need to clear space for that and an extension of Millsdale.  This is highly disappointing because that forested area is supposed to be where the Mill Creek Greenway will eventually go, and now instead of an abandoned factory and woods along the trail, it will be another blown out highway wasteland. The Cooper exit is dangerous by today's standards, but I love how compact it is. The new exit will feed cars into a neighborhood and railroad crossing.

 

They should just not do this and save a ton of money. Close Cooper still. There's already an exit at Galbraith, which is two freakin blocks from MIllsdale.

20 minutes ago, DEPACincy said:

They should just not do this and save a ton of money. Close Cooper still. There's already an exit at Galbraith, which is two freakin blocks from Millsdale.

 

Right, this has "what's the point anymore?" written all over it.  Lockland wants to keep a direct connection to I-75 but Millsdale is literally the southern border of town (and Shepherd Lane is the northern border).  You'd think they could come up with something better.  

4 hours ago, Yves Behar said:

I though that the Greenway would be on the opposite side of the highway as this ramp.

Yeah it will be, but I think they are extending Millsdale across into Arlington Heights, and that's what the tree clearing is for. By nature of this being so close to a highway exit it's bound to be an ugly hellscape instead of the woods that used to be there.

ODOT is now investigating if it makes sense to do away with the Lockland Split altogether by removing the separate NB lanes and viaduct and putting the NB lanes adjacent the SB lanes in the trench.  This is due partly to the expense of replacing and widening the bridge, dealing with multiple railroads and the clearance of the old Stearns and Fosters site has freed up a lot of land.

Edited February 4, 20214 yr by OldBearcat

8 minutes ago, OldBearcat said:

ODOT is now investigating if it makes sense to do away with the Lockland Split altogether by removing the separate NB lanes and viaduct and putting the NB lanes adjacent the SB lanes in the trench.  This is due partly to the expense of replacing and widening the bridge, dealing with multiple railroads and the clearance of the old Stearns and Fosters site has freed up a lot of land.

So the current plan is to keep the Lockland Split? And now they are considering putting NB and SB together where the SB lanes are now? Just asking for clarity. 

39 minutes ago, Miami-Erie said:

So the current plan is to keep the Lockland Split? And now they are considering putting NB and SB together where the SB lanes are now? Just asking for clarity. 

 

I believe that the original plan was to modify the southbound section in its existing trench and the Galbraith Rd. exit ramp first and then widen the elevated northbound section at some later date.

Can anyone speak to why the NB and SB lane split exists in the first place for a non-native?

75 was built on the Miami Erie Canal.  Lockland was where the locks were. there were north bound and south bound locks for the canal.

1 hour ago, Chas Wiederhold said:

Can anyone speak to why the NB and SB lane split exists in the first place for a non-native?

 

Originally both directions of what became I-75 traveled in the "canyon".  The lanes were pretty narrow and there was a high curb that separated the two directions of travel.  In the 1960s a completely new elevated northbound route was built and the canyon was made southbound-only, with wide lanes and an emergency shoulder. 

 

If you haven't gotten off the highway in Lockland it's actually a pretty interesting part of town.  There is random old stuff and the "downtown" part of Lockland is somewhat intact.

 

16 minutes ago, jmecklenborg said:

 

If you haven't gotten off the highway in Lockland it's actually a pretty interesting part of town.  There is random old stuff and the "downtown" part of Lockland is somewhat intact.

 

Lockland has so much potential with their built environment despite having a highway tear right through the neighborhood.  Because it is only one half of the highway, and it is sunk, it doesn't take up much space, and crossing the highway is easily walkable.  Both E Wyoming Ave and Dunn/Mill St have great business district bones, but there's a lack of momentum in the neighborhood.  Maybe that changes if there isn't an eyesore built on Shepherd Ave/Wyoming Ave intersection, but I'm worried it will be a bland industrial building set back from the road.  This space is an excellent opportunity for a public/private mixed-use development.

23 minutes ago, jmecklenborg said:

 

Originally both directions of what became I-75 traveled in the "canyon".  The lanes were pretty narrow and there was a high curb that separated the two directions of travel.  In the 1960s a completely new elevated northbound route was built and the canyon was made southbound-only, with wide lanes and an emergency shoulder. 

 

If you haven't gotten off the highway in Lockland it's actually a pretty interesting part of town.  There is random old stuff and the "downtown" part of Lockland is somewhat intact.

 

 

Here's an aerial of the "canyon" from 1946:

 

 

And another of the expressway dumping out onto a relatively empty Hartwell Avenue:

 

 

The little exit ramp from the original expressway to Anthony Wayne is still there, decaying and overgrown:

 

https://goo.gl/maps/FpSkqhNxTFsGisaW6

 

 

 

1 hour ago, 10albersa said:

Lockland has so much potential with their built environment despite having a highway tear right through the neighborhood.  Because it is only one half of the highway, and it is sunk, it doesn't take up much space, and crossing the highway is easily walkable.  Both E Wyoming Ave and Dunn/Mill St have great business district bones, but there's a lack of momentum in the neighborhood.  Maybe that changes if there isn't an eyesore built on Shepherd Ave/Wyoming Ave intersection, but I'm worried it will be a bland industrial building set back from the road.  This space is an excellent opportunity for a public/private mixed-use development.

 

It's not going to improve until it...gentrifies.  Frankly, with the proximity to Wyoming and Glendale, I'm surprised that the various mill creek neighborhoods/cities haven't seen any yuppie intrusions like what's going on in Madisonville.  Bond Hill, Roselawn, Reading, Hartwell, Elmwood Place, Carthage, etc., are all pretty walkable and are loaded with "starter" homes.  Those areas are all much closer to the I-71 corridor jobs than is the west side but they haven't seen home value appreciation above and beyond Cheviot, which is about the most highway inaccessible spot in the county but actually has the highest population density of any city in the area. 

1 hour ago, Ram23 said:

Here's an aerial of the "canyon" from 1946:

 

The resolution!  😍

 

 

1 hour ago, jjakucyk said:

 

The resolution!  😍

 

 

 

I had to reduce them from the original size!

 

They came from a KML file that ODOT publishes. Someone posted this on UrbanOhio some place years ago:

 

http://www.dot.state.oh.us/Divisions/Engineering/CaddMapping/Pages/Public-Aerial-Image-Requests.aspx

 

It's a treasure trove.

2 hours ago, jmecklenborg said:

 

It's not going to improve until it...gentrifies.  Frankly, with the proximity to Wyoming and Glendale, I'm surprised that the various mill creek neighborhoods/cities haven't seen any yuppie intrusions like what's going on in Madisonville.  Bond Hill, Roselawn, Reading, Hartwell, Elmwood Place, Carthage, etc., are all pretty walkable and are loaded with "starter" homes.  Those areas are all much closer to the I-71 corridor jobs than is the west side but they haven't seen home value appreciation above and beyond Cheviot, which is about the most highway inaccessible spot in the county but actually has the highest population density of any city in the area. 

 

Lockland not yet gentrifying makes sense.  It's saddled between two of the heaviest trafficked rail corridors with tons of at-grade crossings.  Add on top of that highway noise from 75 and the pollution from being in the middle of the valley, I can see why it's not at the top of the list.  On the other hand, they already have a ton of "hipster" staples in the neighborhood: coffee roaster, kombucha place, artisan cheese shop, and brewery although they are nestled in the back of an industrial park.

 

Reading Corridor: The City of Reading is in a similar situation, but I can see it being the first of the above listed neighborhoods to get hot.  The schools are better, there's more housing stock, most of which is starter (whereas Lockland east of Wayne is much more sparse).  It has a destination "downtown," although it is designed for a niche market, there's actually some good restaurants there.  From there, cross-county highway to the south and the surrounding asphalt wasteland are enough of a barrier to stop any success from moving south to Roselawn/Bond Hill. Those neighborhoods will need to do it themselves, which I think is possible, there's some really good housing stock in that neighborhood (like Pleasant Ridge quality).  I think the game completely changes along this corridor if BRT is chosen here (no matter what your definition of BRT is, it will get eyeballs).  Bond Hill/Roselawn will most definitely be receiving more interest in this case.

 

Vine St Corridor: I live along this corridor in Wyoming, I bike, bus, and drive this stretch often.  I couldn't really give you a good reason as to why this hasn't gentrified.  The area from Township Ave to Wyoming is pretty much filled out with walkable business districts.  The road isn't a car sewer, outside of the Paddock/North Bend Rd/Vine St split by 75.  There isn't a ton of space in Elmwood Place/Carthage, but there's still plenty of housing stock that looks like it's in pre-gentrification Madisonville.  There's even a bike path (although it is in bad shape, has a homeless camp, and isn't connected to Northside yet).  Hartwell is an interesting mix of car-oriented businesses and nice walkable neighborhoods.  It has some absolutely beautiful streets.  At some point, when these neighborhoods do catch on, they'll catch on fast.  It's a lot like Kennedy Heights, which is getting hotter simply because it is along Montgomery Rd and on the east side.  I wish that some of Northside's hottness would come up Spring Grove-Vine St along with the bike path, but it seems that's all headed north to College Hill.

 

For those that haven't ridden the Mill Creek Greenway, here's a photo I took in June of a stretch that the homeless own in Carthage:

1 hour ago, Ram23 said:

I had to reduce them from the original size!

 

They came from a KML file that ODOT publishes. Someone posted this on UrbanOhio some place years ago:

 

http://www.dot.state.oh.us/Divisions/Engineering/CaddMapping/Pages/Public-Aerial-Image-Requests.aspx

 

It's a treasure trove.

 

Welp, there goes my evening. 

 

5 minutes ago, 10albersa said:

There's even a bike path (although it is in bad shape, has a homeless camp, and isn't connected to Northside yet).

 

It has a long way to go to connect to anywhere.  I'd usually ride it once a year or so and it was always a bit sketchy because of tree litter.  This summer I happened upon the homeless camp and...wow.  So a flood must have knocked over the fence, but then people moved in after that?  It's sad AF.  

2 hours ago, Ram23 said:

 

I had to reduce them from the original size!

 

They came from a KML file that ODOT publishes. Someone posted this on UrbanOhio some place years ago:

 

http://www.dot.state.oh.us/Divisions/Engineering/CaddMapping/Pages/Public-Aerial-Image-Requests.aspx

 

It's a treasure trove.

 

Wow! I was amazed/happy enough when I found the USGS aerials, but this is so much more extensive. 

I'm probably not sleeping tonight...

42 minutes ago, 10albersa said:

 

Lockland not yet gentrifying makes sense.

 

 

All of these places are nicer than almost any similar neighborhood in the South, from a walkability standpoint.  They're all really similar to Clintonville in Columbus.  The difference is that Cincinnati was simply so much bigger than all of those places prewar that there is much, much more for the market to absorb. 

 

I forgot to mention Arlington Heights, which is yet another independent governmental entity in the area.  It has about 900 residents yet has a mayor and a police force. 

 

 

18 minutes ago, jmecklenborg said:

All of these places are nicer than almost any similar neighborhood in the South, from a walkability standpoint. 

There's a couple things here:

1. The South (Nashville and Atlanta specifically) is growing at rates much higher than ours, so naturally, money will flow into these metro areas faster.

2. As much as it is cited on HGTV and no matter how much we prioritize it, walkability may be one of the first things most homebuyers eschew when looking for a home. "We're used to driving, we don't need to be able to walk to things."

 

So if the image isn't necessarily there, and Glendale and Wyoming aren't young-hip neighborhoods, there isn't much spillover gentrification to be had. When there's still  stock in the Kennedy Heights and Cheviots of the city, why go to dirty (but walkable) Carthage?

 

I'll have to look into the real estate market in Hartwell and Reading, I have a feeling both may be getting some momentum. That's just a gut feeling based on me driving through both of those for years now.

1 hour ago, 10albersa said:

There's a couple things here:

1. The South (Nashville and Atlanta specifically)

 

The humble Vine St. strip in Elmwood Place blows away any neighborhood business district in Nashville because...it doesn't have any.  Zero. 

 

 

1 hour ago, 10albersa said:

 

So if the image isn't necessarily there, and Glendale and Wyoming aren't young-hip neighborhoods, there isn't much spillover gentrification to be had. When there's still  stock in the Kennedy Heights and Cheviots of the city, why go to dirty (but walkable) Carthage?

 

I'll have to look into the real estate market in Hartwell and Reading, I have a feeling both may be getting some momentum. That's just a gut feeling based on me driving through both of those for years now.

 

Move-in ready houses were selling for under $50,000 in these areas through 2017.  Anything move-in ready (but not necessarily renovated) is now over $100k and a fully renovated house is generally $150k or more.  This is still low by national standards but it's almost too high for more homes to switch from owner-occupied to rentals.  So you're not going to see much more money coming in from outside the area seeking to buy and then rent single-family homes. 

 

Also, there were roughly 3 million 30 year-olds in 2010, at the bottom of the mortgage meltdown, whereas there are roughly 4 million 30 year-olds in 2021.  This is putting pressure on all types of housing. 

 

 

10 hours ago, jmecklenborg said:

The humble Vine St. strip in Elmwood Place

I'm not super familiar with this area, so I checked it out on Google Maps and discovered it has a professional wrestling club: Bonekrushers Home of the Northern Wrestling Federation. They claim to be "the longest-running wrestling promotion in the Greater Cincinnati area. The First, The Last, The Best."

https://www.instagram.com/nwf_wrestling/

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1868366,-84.488198,3a,31.3y,312.36h,91.7t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sAv4k8qYEDE6GFEczF2siJw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

 

 

40 minutes ago, jwulsin said:

They claim to be "the longest-running wrestling promotion in the Greater Cincinnati area. The First, The Last, The Best."

 

This reminds me of the illegal gambling that still goes on at boys' boxing matches and pee-wee football.  One guy had the audacity to promote a kids' boxing event in Roselawn with posters that he put up on bulletin boards around UC. 

3 minutes ago, jmecklenborg said:

One guy had the audacity to promote a kids' boxing event in Roselawn with posters that he put up on bulletin boards around UC. 

 

 

As if freshman living in Siddall were going to pay $10 at the door of a chop shop to watch 11 year-olds box and then get smacked by their dads afterward for losing them $500. 

2 hours ago, jwulsin said:

I'm not super familiar with this area, so I checked it out on Google Maps and discovered it has a professional wrestling club: Bonekrushers Home of the Northern Wrestling Federation. They claim to be "the longest-running wrestling promotion in the Greater Cincinnati area. The First, The Last, The Best."

https://www.instagram.com/nwf_wrestling/

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1868366,-84.488198,3a,31.3y,312.36h,91.7t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sAv4k8qYEDE6GFEczF2siJw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

 

 

 

I've been to a couple of their shows at Bircus Brewing in Ludlow. It's a fun time actually.

Developer plans boutique residential project near Fifty West Brewery

 

A local real estate developer is planning a boutique, luxury residential project near Fifty West Brewing Co.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2021/04/15/creekside-manor.html

 

2 hours ago, ColDayMan said:

boutique residential project

I don't know what qualifies an apartment complex as "boutique"... presumably the marketing team realized that "luxury apartments" has become hackneyed out of any useful meaning.

 

I like seeing 27 units replacing a single-family home. It's in Mariemont School District. The design is interesting, and I like that they're using a new design vernacular (I can't recall any apartments in our area that look like this). Seems like an unnecessarily tall roofline for just a two-story structure... so they better make those roofs look hella nice. Otherwise that's gonna be a big sea of ugly asphalt shingles. 

General contractor to renovate historic building into SW Ohio headquarters

 

A national commercial construction firm with expanding operations in Greater Cincinnati is expanding its local operations and relocating to a historic building in Lockland.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2021/05/11/pepper-construction-stearns-foster.html

 

Maybe this is the answer to reducing pollution, congestion, and historic neighborhoods.  Saudi Arabia to build 170 kilometre-long city as part of Neom project (dezeen.com)  i think dezeen.com will to the video.

EXCLUSIVE: $40 million conversion of suburban offices to apartments planned

 

 

A pair of local real estate developers plan to convert two Greater Cincinnati suburban office buildings into a mix of apartments and townhomes.

 

Vandercar Holdings LLC and WP Land Co. LLC received unanimous approval last month from Springdale City Council for a zone change for the properties at 134 and 144 Merchant St. to convert the buildings to residential use, as well as unanimous approval for the preliminary development plan for the properties. Rob Smyjunas, CEO of Vandercar Holdings, said the conversion of the roughly 96,000-square-foot office buildings to residential is expected to be a total investment of $35 million to $40 million.

 

Smyjunas said he was attracted to the properties because they are on a beautiful site and the bones of the buildings are good. But with a high level of office vacancy in that submarket, he wanted to change the use for the buildings.

 

“We looked at it and said, ‘can we reinvent these buildings into new and modern residential apartments,’” Smyjunas told me.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2021/06/17/suburban-office-conversion-to-apartments.html

 

^This project will be interesting to follow. I wouldn't have guessed those office buildings would be easy to re-purpose into apartments (due to the huge floorplates)... but I'm glad to see them trying to figure it out. 

I wonder if they will be able to find a way to connect the development to the park to the south through or around Humana's campus.

6 hours ago, jwulsin said:

^This project will be interesting to follow. I wouldn't have guessed those office buildings would be easy to re-purpose into apartments (due to the huge floorplates)... but I'm glad to see them trying to figure it out. 

Definitely a really difficult problem.  Makes me wonder if there are atria in the building that could be converted to courtyards.

17 hours ago, zsnyder said:

Definitely a really difficult problem.  Makes me wonder if there are atria in the building that could be converted to courtyards.

Based on satellite imagery, it looks like a solid roof across the whole floor print of both buildings. But I agree with you that the layout would be much improved by interior lightwells/courtyards.

$40 million apartment project planned at site of former hotel

 

One of the more active commercial real estate developers in Greater Cincinnati is planning the redevelopment of a property that was previously home to a hotel into hundreds of apartments.

 

Milhaus, an Indianapolis-based developer that specializes in class A, urban multifamily projects, is planning to redevelop the land that was formerly home to Sheraton Hotel & Conference Center in Springdale. The huge hotel and conference center at 11911 Sheraton Lane was demolished in 2016 after being vacant since 2008. 

 

Now, Milhaus has received unanimous approval from the city of Springdale for a zone change and the preliminary development plan for the property. There, it plans to build 215 apartments on about 8.4 acres at the northwest corner of Interstate 275 and Springfield Pike. The total estimated development cost for the as-of-yet unnamed project is $40.6 million.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2021/07/01/milhaus-apartments-springdale.html

 

From this...

 

...to this!

Just a personal observation from urban Ohio for the past 5-6 years…it feels like this year has been the slowest development wise in quite some time for the Cincinnati urban core.

 

3cdc is obviously doing their otr projects and infill projects but overall it’s felt really quiet. 
 

I drive by so many surface lots downtown and you would like to think at some point you will see this boom of construction projects from outside developers and see new apartment/condo towers being built…nevertheless, this summer in particular has just felt really dead with nothing really big coming into the horizon..definitely an off year in my mind. 

We're coming off a global pandemic.....

There is still what a few hundred million getting close to starting construction in OTR late summer fall? Liberty Elm,Wilkomen 2 and Market Square 3 is about 170 mil.Add in another 30 million in otr development in ohio historic tax credits last round.