No more Brighton Approach Bridge?

 

 I think it’s a nice looking bridge but I don’t think it’s useful anymore.

3 hours ago, RealAdamP said:

No more Brighton Approach Bridge?

 

 I think it’s a nice looking bridge but I don’t think it’s useful anymore.

That guy in the third photo disagrees.

 

--

That bridge is one of the quirks of Cincinnati. would be a shame for it to disappear. Also, the entrance to Brighton Station.  
Here's some documentation of its construction:
https://libapps.libraries.uc.edu/liblog/2013/03/brighton-bridge-adventures-in-the-subway-and-street-improvements-digitization-project/

I watched the presentation last night. It seemed like a very thorough presentation and it's clear to me that Alt-4 would provide the best usability while being the best fit for an urban environment. It also has a great advantage in that it's the cheapest and easiest to afford. 

Yes Alternative 4 is best. The others take up too much land on the south side of the parkway which could be developed and/or have some really nice place-making done with the Brighton Bank building as a focal point. 

Edited October 21, 20213 yr by thebillshark

Tentatively... I think I agree that Alternative 4 is the best. I hate the idea of losing that bridge, but it sounds like the City has decided it's coming down no matter what... and it's just a question of how to best utilize that space. If they go with Alternative 4, the project needs to incorporate significant pedestrian improvements to that intersection to make it safer and more comfortable for pedestrians to cross Central Parkway. 

Edited October 21, 20213 yr by jwulsin

I think/hope that the new Western Hills viaduct will open up some developable land in the place of the the existing cloverleaf. It would be nice if these two projects work together to make sure that land between I-75 and Central Parkway is optimized for future use and that pedestrian/bike connections are considered carefully. The multiuse path on the new Viaduct will need to safely cross Central Parkway and McMillan. 

 

Speaking of Greyhound: FlixMobility, a German bus operator, purchased Greyhound from the Cincinnati-based First Group today.

 

https://corporate.flixbus.com/flixmobility-acquires-greyhound-to-expand-us-intercity-bus-services/

14 hours ago, carnevalem said:

Speaking of Greyhound: FlixMobility, a German bus operator, purchased Greyhound from the Cincinnati-based First Group today.

 

https://corporate.flixbus.com/flixmobility-acquires-greyhound-to-expand-us-intercity-bus-services/

Here's an article from TechCrunch with a little bit of analysis. It's pretty wild that Greyhound has almost as many destinations as the current Flix network but only 25% of the ridership. I don't understand why they would want to invest in a network that the US is not investing in and actively sabotaging, but hopefully they see it as a way to make an impact.

Dixie Terminal turns 100 today.

 

History and Facts:

• The $3.5 million terminal opened as a port for streetcars coming from Northern Kentucky.
• The concept of the building originated with the need to alleviate the streetcar congestion in the downtown Cincinnati streets as well as Northern Kentucky.
• The building opened with 99 tenants, including future Senator Robert A. Taft and the offices of the Cincinnati Baseball Club.
• The Dixie Terminal Building consists of two buildings. The south building featured the transportation terminal and communications center (Western Union), and the north building was one of the first indoor shopping malls in the nation.
• Dixie Terminal North housed railroad ticket agencies, the Cincinnati Stock Exchange and the administrative office of the Cincinnati Street Railway Company.
• Streetcars from downtown Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky ran through the south building until 1936, and then Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky (TANK) buses ran through the building until 1996.
• The interior dome was designed by local architects Frederick W. Garber and Clifford B. Woodward in classical revival style with a vaulted arcade suggesting a roman basilica.
• The dome in the building's arcade went through a four-month renovation in 2017 to restore the ceiling to its original color. (Cincinnati Business Courier coverage about the dome renovation/photos.)
• The building has been used as scene locations for several major motion pictures, including "Rain Man" (1988), "Marauders" (2016) and "Point Blank" (2019).

 

Soon after Dixie Terminal's opening, the Cincinnati Enquirer published a special issue that included a feature named the Dixie Terminal Supplement. The story included facts about the new building, including sketches and descriptions of the interior artwork and architecture. 

 

Round 27 of Ohio Historic Tax Credit Applicants. Winners are announced in December. 

Edited October 25, 20213 yr by wjh2

8 minutes ago, wjh2 said:

 

Round 27 of Ohio Historic Tax Credit Applicants. Winners are announced in December. 

 

Fantastic to see the Traction Building apply for credits, hopefully the developer in Chattanooga can  land them and get started on restoring the building. Such a prominent location downtown with fencing around it going to waste. 

Edited October 25, 20213 yr by savadams13

2 hours ago, savadams13 said:

Fantastic to see the Traction Building apply for credits, hopefully the developer in Chattanooga can  land them and get started on restoring the building. Such a prominent location downtown with fencing around it going to waste. 

I'm confused... didn't they get the credits a few years ago in summer of 2018 (Round 20) after failing in Rounds 18 and 19? I checked ownership records, and it doesn't appear to have changed hands since 2016 (still owned by Parkes Development Group). 

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2018/06/20/finally-developers-land-4-2-million-tax-credit-for.html

 

We have a separate thread for th Traction Building project:

 

Edited October 25, 20213 yr by jwulsin

5 hours ago, jwulsin said:

I'm confused... didn't they get the credits a few years ago in summer of 2018 (Round 20) after failing in Rounds 18 and 19? I checked ownership records, and it doesn't appear to have changed hands since 2016 (still owned by Parkes Development Group). 

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2018/06/20/finally-developers-land-4-2-million-tax-credit-for.html

 

We have a separate thread for th Traction Building project:

 

Ownership hasn't changed but was told that there were issues with IHG in making this a Kimpton property. I think they have gone a different direction but delayed the project and they had to let the credits expire.

3 hours ago, wjh2 said:

Most recent City Planning packet is out... https://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/planning/about-city-planning/city-planning-commission/nov-5-2021-packet/ 

The Hillside Trust is opposing a subdivision in Mt. Lookout. Anyone here smart enough about storm water run-off to know who is actually right?

 Lots of Southwest Ohio projects were the subject of TMUD applications. A list of all Ohio TMUD applications in this article.....

 

General contractor lands tax credit to renovate historic building for its new SW Ohio HQ

 

A national commercial construction firm with expanding operations in Greater Cincinnati has been awarded a state tax credit to help with its planned renovation of a historic building in Lockland.

 

The Ohio Department of Development awarded a $1.35 million Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit to the Stearns & Foster Co. office building, located at 100 Williams Ave. There, Pepper Construction Co. plans to renovate the building into its southwest Ohio regional headquarters. The total investment for the project is expected to be more than $9.8 million.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2021/12/16/pepper-construction-lands-tax-credit.html

 

On 10/20/2021 at 8:18 PM, RealAdamP said:

No more Brighton Approach Bridge?

 

 I think it’s a nice looking bridge but I don’t think it’s useful anymore.

Update: The city is choosing to go with the auto bridge due to community pushback: DOTE - Brighton Approach Bridge to be Replaced with New Span for Vehicles, Pedestrians

Edited January 11, 20223 yr by Dev

^that hyperlink isn't working... but this one should work: https://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/dote/news/brighton-approach-bridge-to-be-replaced-with-new-span-for-vehicles-pedestrians/ 

 

https://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/dote/dote-projects/brighton-approach-bridge/

Edited January 11, 20223 yr by jwulsin

Will on street bike infrastructure be included? Or are we going to get two driving lanes and a skinny anti-pedestrian sidewalk?

 

Complete waste to re-build this bridge on its current configuration. We should be taking a once on an 80-100 year opportunity to make land available again for new residents/businesses. There’s a lot less justification for this bridge than when it was first built, and I doubt anyone would be trying to build it if it didn’t already exist. 

2 minutes ago, thebillshark said:

Complete waste to re-build this bridge on its current configuration. We should be taking a once on an 80-100 year opportunity to make land available again for new residents/businesses. There’s a lot less justification for this bridge than when it was first built, and I doubt anyone would be trying to build it if it didn’t already exist. 

if they must re-build they should straighten  it out so it hits Harrison in the vicinity of Patterson St. and then also remove the Colerain Avenue stub. Then you could have new buildings facing Central Parkway and do some unique placemaking around the bank building. 

With the capital budget being as tight as it is (unless this is somehow receiving grant dollars).. this seems like a not-great use of resources. There are additional ways to get down to central via car 0.2 and 0.4 miles away. I would be curious what the daily vehicle count is that currently uses it. 

Edited January 13, 20223 yr by wjh2

19 hours ago, wjh2 said:

With the capital budget being as tight as it is (unless this is somehow receiving grant dollars).. this seems like a not-great use of resources. There are additional ways to get down to central via car 0.2 and 0.4 miles away. I would be curious what the daily vehicle count is that currently uses it. 

ODOT has it at 542 vehicles back in 2016. IIRC they said in the meeting that it was closer to 700 or 800 cars now but I'd have to re-watch the presentation. Back in the fall, the City only had funding secured to pay for $3.2 million worth of work. This bridge option was estimated to cost $4.9 million and it's not clear if that gap in funding has been identified. The city's preferred alternative, and the cheapest option, was to remove the bridge and install an ADA complaint path into the hillside. That would have only costed $1.5 million and would have really opened that area a lot better in the future. The community's concerns were that McMicken and Ravine is already a bad intersection which, in their opinion, could not shoulder the higher traffic counts.

$21M Greater Cincinnati convention center expansion, delayed by Covid, to begin

 

An expansion of the Sharonville Convention Center, a project that has been in planning for more than five years, is scheduled to begin construction this spring.

 

Jim Downton, executive director of the Sharonville Convention Center, said in March 2020, he was getting bids to build an expansion of the center that would double the size of the convention center’s exhibition space.

 

“That’s when they closed everything down until June,” Downton told me. “We paused because we didn’t think it was the greatest timing.”

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2022/01/18/21-million-convention-center-expansion.html

 

The building at the corner of Court & Main (914-916 Main) and the parking lot behind it (209 E Court) were sold for $2.5M to Mazal in Cincinnati. I can't find much about them online, looks to be just a holding company. Hopefully this building gets some TLC.

1 hour ago, wjh2 said:

The building at the corner of Court & Main (914-916 Main) and the parking lot behind it (209 E Court) were sold for $2.5M to Mazal in Cincinnati. I can't find much about them online, looks to be just a holding company. Hopefully this building gets some TLC.

It's a beautiful building. Being right on the streetcar line and a block from Kroger, seems like a good fit for office-to-residential conversion. 

 

TMUDs – taking more time
By Ken Prendergast / January 27, 2022

 

It’s going to be a little while longer before the developers of 42 projects, many of them megaprojects, across the state learn whether their project is going to win a golden ticket and get a big step closer to their own groundbreaking ceremony.

 

MORE:

https://neo-trans.blog/2022/01/27/tmuds-taking-more-time/

 

5 hours ago, KJP said:

 

TMUDs – taking more time
By Ken Prendergast / January 27, 2022

 

It’s going to be a little while longer before the developers of 42 projects, many of them megaprojects, across the state learn whether their project is going to win a golden ticket and get a big step closer to their own groundbreaking ceremony.

 

MORE:

https://neo-trans.blog/2022/01/27/tmuds-taking-more-time/

 

What projects are there in Cincinnati that are a part of this?

13 hours ago, Ucgrad2015 said:

What projects are there in Cincinnati that are a part of this?

http://freepdfhosting.com/4ac96bae52.pdf

$40 million suburban Cincinnati office-to-apartments conversion underway

 

The first large-scale conversion of suburban office buildings into apartments in Greater Cincinnati is underway.

 

Local real estate developers are working to convert 134 and 144 Merchant St. in Springdale into 127 apartments, as well as build an additional 97 townhomes on a portion of the buildings’ parking lots. The total investment for the project is expected to be about $40 million.

 

Vandercar Holdings LLC is the lead developer for the project, along with WP Land Co. LLC and NorthPointe Group. Their limited liability company, Trinity Square Holdings LLC, purchased the property in the middle of December for more than $1.15 million, according to property records.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2022/02/01/merchant-street-redevelopment.html

 

This plus the TriCounty Mall conversion... Springdale is urbanizing itself!

Cincinnati poised to spend millions more on housing

 

Mayor Aftab Pureval and Cincinnati City Council members proposed adding millions to the city’s affordable housing trust fund with the goal of prodding developers to add and preserve apartments for lower income residents as well as open up additional avenues to home ownership.

 

Under the plan, Pureval and council would add $5 million of American Rescue Plan Act funds and at least $1 million per year to the trust fund under a new ordinance. That's in addition to $15 million in private funding and $37 million initiated under former Mayor John Cranley that is in the process of being added.

 

The total available for affordable housing would be about $57 million. Pureval and the new council would be responsible for kicking in roughly $5 million, plus whatever they add annually for the fund.

 

“Today’s a really transformational day,” Pureval said at a City Hall news conference.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2022/02/17/cincinnati-poised-to-spend-millions-on-housing.html

 

 

$50 million luxury apartment starts in Anderson Township

 

A long-planned luxury apartment development broke ground in Anderson Township.

 

Hills Properties has started construction on Vantage at Anderson Towne Center, a 224-unit residential community directly adjacent to the township’s transportation center. The total investment for the development is expected to be $50 million.

 

Vantage at Anderson Towne Center is designed to be walkable to office buildings, restaurants and gathering spaces nearby. The community will have resort-style amenities and incorporate a multi-modal transit center that includes a hub on the Metro bus system.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2022/03/04/vantage-at-anderson-township-starts.html

 

As vote approaches, NAACP opposes controversial development ordinance

 

The Cincinnati branch of the NAACP opposes an ordinance that could get a Cincinnati City Council vote Wednesday to would allow multifamily properties within the city to be more dense.

 

The ordinance, sponsored by Councilwoman Liz Keating, would allow developers to build apartment projects twice as dense as what is allowed today, an alteration officials hope will result in more housing being built in a region that lacks enough of it at all income levels.

 

The NAACP, echoing concerns by Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney and some neighborhood groups, predicts the ordinance would increase density in minority neighborhoods. It also fails to demand developers commit to “true affordability” for struggling renters, the organization said in a statement.

 

The NAACP is calling for affordability requirements to be tied to any benefits developers receive from taxpayers.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2022/03/15/naacp-opposes-controversial-ordinance.html

Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Affordability requirements tied to tax benefits may be a great idea, but it has nothing to do with density of zoning and shouldn't prohibit this ordinance from passing. 

Cincinnati City Council kills density ordinance

 

Cincinnati City Council members on Tuesday scuttled an ordinance that would allow multifamily properties within the city to be more dense.

 

The ordinance, sponsored by Councilwoman Liz Keating, would have allowed developers to build apartment projects twice as dense as what is allowed today, an alteration officials hoped will result in more housing being built in a region that lacks enough of it at all income levels.

 

Council’s housing committee voted the ordinance down after Keating and Councilman Reggie Harris attempted to salvage it.

 

Harris wanted to hold the ordinance and outlined an idea to have the administration help determine where density requirements near business districts and transit lines could be lifted with community engagement, then delay implementation for a year while larger conversations about the city’s housing strategy are had. Keating said she was open to Harris’ approach pending review and more information from the administration.

 

“I think this is a critical step to get us where we need to be,” Keating said of Harris’ ideas. “We need all of our neighborhoods involved and onboard.”

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2022/03/15/cincinnati-city-council-kills-density-ordinance.html

 

The really frustrating thing about all of this is that almost every single speaker said something along the lines of "I'm not against more density, but this is a bad ordinance". The only thing this bill did was raise the allowable density. Literally that's all it did.

 

There was even an amendment voted on that would have delayed implementation of the zoning change by a full year to allow more changes to be made to satisfy more peoples' demands before this went into effect. The opposition to the full bill also voted against this amendment, despite it making the bill more tolerable to them.

 

Now we're probably going to wait years for a new bill that will try to solve multiple problems, but that bill will have so many various aspects to it that it will only create more opposition as the changes impact more neighborhoods.

 

The NIMBY's defeated this under the guise of wanting more affordable housing. We know that's not what they really want. Some honest affordable housing advocates were deceived into thinking this would somehow negatively impact affordable housing.

12 hours ago, ryanlammi said:

The really frustrating thing about all of this is that almost every single speaker said something along the lines of "I'm not against more density, but this is a bad ordinance". The only thing this bill did was raise the allowable density. Literally that's all it did.

 

There was even an amendment voted on that would have delayed implementation of the zoning change by a full year to allow more changes to be made to satisfy more peoples' demands before this went into effect. The opposition to the full bill also voted against this amendment, despite it making the bill more tolerable to them.

 

Now we're probably going to wait years for a new bill that will try to solve multiple problems, but that bill will have so many various aspects to it that it will only create more opposition as the changes impact more neighborhoods.

 

The NIMBY's defeated this under the guise of wanting more affordable housing. We know that's not what they really want. Some honest affordable housing advocates were deceived into thinking this would somehow negatively impact affordable housing.

The really sad thing is that it's pretty clear that there is not going to be a solution that checks every box. Looking at Kennedy Heights' draft neighborhood plan, they want a community that is integrated by race and class, but also one that is low-density.

At the end of the day, the city is likely going to make a concerted effort to do community engagement, and yeah maybe that ends up getting more FBC applied and some minor updates like ADUs, but it will be too slow to slow displacement and the demolition of historic buildings.

It could become a Pyrrhic victory. Sure they defeated this one but since they are clearly not going to allow for the necessary density and new construction that needs to happen to keep housing costs in check, most of the at-risk residents that the opposition claims to be advocating for will get displaced. And then we will have to go through this all over again when climate change starts forcing people out of Deep South because it has become an unlivable hellscape.

19 hours ago, ryanlammi said:

Now we're probably going to wait years for a new bill that will try to solve multiple problems, but that bill will have so many various aspects to it that it will only create more opposition as the changes impact more neighborhoods.

 

 

This is the sad truth and the extremely frustrating side of local politics. NIMBYs definitely have the upper hand.

This is essentially being blocked by two groups:

1. People (generally leftists) who think that all developers are evil and greedy and any increase in density is bad because it allows evil, greedy developers to make more money.
2. People who oppose density because they love neighborhoods that are mostly full of single family homes; some of these people just genuinely love the low density lifestyle, but many of these people also incorrectly associate higher density with lower-income people and have racist/classist motivations, e.g. not wanting "those people" moving into "their" neighborhoods.

Kinda reminds me of the streetcar debate where you had the NAACP and COAST coming together to oppose it for completely opposite reasons.

 

To make matters worse, there seems to be a new group called "Low Density Ohio" (lmfao) that has formed to oppose density increases. I would be shocked if this group wasn't in some way affiliated with COAST, and isn't getting funding from suburban homebuilders, who are the ones who truly benefit from keeping the status quo.

Imagine thinking literally any single place in Ohio is too dense...

1 hour ago, jmicha said:

Imagine thinking literally any single place in Ohio is too dense...

Did you ever go to tiny town?

as a leftist, I think if you give everyone a fighting chance more good will come. For instance, everyone gets the same education for the first 12 years. It means all moneys are equally divided. That means elimination of all private education. That means everyone is taught science and religion is banned from all education. If you need a god then go to a church at some other time. That means you can't teach that murder has more consequences for the  poor and less for the rich because the rich are not use to "rough treatment" or they were on a "sugar high". That means that there are no "treats" for connections with important people. That means that you can believe what you want, but education is sacred. In other words, dead people don't crawl out of the grave and there are no ghosts. Really, there are no ghosts or angels, or spooks, or magic. If for some reason science can find the afore mentioned beings, they will be evaluated and maybe approved for education. That means that lies/Fox news cannot be broadcast without a flashing red sign that reads "fake, fake, fake". If someone says he knows for sure there is "yellow cake" in Nigeria and there is no yellow cake in Nigeria, that person/institution/belief system will be jailed for life. That is called treason. Prisons, education, healthcare, and utilities will not be run by private companies for profit. Or, we could just eliminate all that stuff and implant a "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" chip into all people. And finally, if someone decides to declare war on someone else. That person or persons will need to fight that war. Not some goofy testosterone  filled  teenager who believes all the crap that is beamed from the tv. and of course the most important thing is a wall. a wall between church and state.

<Insert "Sir this is a Wendy's" meme here>

Yea the irony is that many people against it want more affordable housing. Hard to have affordable housing in a market with limited supply that is just going to keep getting more limited.  Watched a good video from Vox on YouTube about this, showing that building denser helps improve affordability regardless because it increases supply. Pretty simple economics.

It is very simple economics, but because most new market-rate apartments/condos/homes are marketed as "luxury", people think that gentrification is the result of new development and the solution to stopping gentrification is to stop new development from happening. It's very reactionary. The entire argument falls apart if you stop and think for a second: If we block the construction of new luxury housing, where are the rich people that would have moved into that new luxury housing going to live instead? They are just going to bid up the price of the existing housing supply. 

Right, rich people's tastes and whims control the housing market leaving everyone else to fight over what they pass over.

Not sure if there's a more appropriate thread (mods - feel free to move if there is), but very interesting that it looks like the Bengals are going to build a temporary indoor practice facility (bubble) at 621 W Mehring Way... in between the Clade Wade Bailey and Brent Spence Bridge. Looks like they're going to grade it to be level and add surface parking around it. 

 

 

The Planning Commission is scheduled to review the proposal at the April 15th Planning Commission meeting:

Quote

A report and recommendation on a proposed Notwithstanding Ordinance permitting the installation and operation of an interim indoor practice facility at 621 W. Mehring Way in the Central Business District. (Urbancsik)

 

Details starting on page 60: https://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/planning/about-city-planning/city-planning-commission/apr-15-2022-packet/

29 minutes ago, jwulsin said:

Not sure if there's a more appropriate thread (mods - feel free to move if there is), but very interesting that it looks like the Bengals are going to build a temporary indoor practice facility (bubble) at 621 W Mehring Way... in between the Clade Wade Bailey and Brent Spence Bridge. Looks like they're going to grade it to be level and add surface parking around it. 

 

 

The Planning Commission is scheduled to review the proposal at the April 15th Planning Commission meeting:

 

Details starting on page 60: https://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/planning/about-city-planning/city-planning-commission/apr-15-2022-packet/

Im told they want to do this fast because UC’s practice bubble will be going away after next season as they build a flashy permanent facility on the same site.

11 minutes ago, 646empire said:

Im told they want to do this fast because UC’s practice bubble will be going away after next season as they build a flashy permanent facility on the same site.

Did/do the Bengals use UC’s bubble?