^ You might be right Jake.  Madeira residents threw a fit when an apartment complex was being planned for the Paxton Lumber site. 

Those meetings got downright hostile. Basically, older white folks up there blatantly said we don't want "those" people at "those" complexes (that were proposed). The buildings were very nice - for apartment complexes, and weren't anything architecturally significant. But in a city with very few rental options and home values that are pretty darn high, options are needed, especially for those that work at Kenwood.

 

There was a Facebook group for the organization behind the protests, and flyers were distributed. I commented once on their page and was effectively banned - it was in response to a pretty nasty writing against the complex that had some serious racial overtones to it.

Anyone know what is happening over near Short Vine? The entire block across from Kroger that contained a US Bank building has been demolished. I assume another Uptown Rental project, but I am unsure.

^Yeah, it's another apartment complex. 

Anyone know what is happening over near Short Vine? The entire block across from Kroger that contained a US Bank building has been demolished. I assume another Uptown Rental project, but I am unsure.

 

Are you talking about the Fifth Third that used to be at Corry & Euclid?

It's a massive one, with a 3 story garage (one level underground), a 4 story apartment building and then 2 story townhomes facin. Euclid (large building behind them).  It's a smart design to allow for density but not impose upon Euclid, but it's success will come down to quality of materials.

Also, this is being discussed in the Corryville thread.

Anyone know what is happening over near Short Vine? The entire block across from Kroger that contained a US Bank building has been demolished. I assume another Uptown Rental project, but I am unsure.

 

Are you talking about the Fifth Third that used to be at Corry & Euclid?

 

The US Bank is over at E. University just west of Reading.

Made this tonight to keep track and for a future post:

 

 

That's a lot.

hell yea!  thanks a lot that is nice to see all of that development tallied on a map :clap:

Cool, I have been keeping a similar running tally myself. There is also the Broadway Square project which includes 78 apartments and retail. In total, I count 1,419 apartments and 68-78 condos currently being planned to come online within the next few years.

Cool, I have been keeping a similar running tally myself. There is also the Broadway Square project which includes 78 apartments and retail. In total, I count 419 apartments and 68-78 condos currently being planned to come online within the next few years.

 

So that's somewhere in the range of 600-1200 new residents in those projects alone?

^Much more than than. There are around 1,250 units listed on that map, plus the 70ish for Broadway Square. Let's just call it 1,300 units. At an occupancy of around 1.5 per unit we can expect another 2,000 or so residents in Downtown and Pendleton from these projects alone. And that doesn't even include the hundreds of new units under construction/planned/proposed/etc. in OTR.

Somehow a digit was missing from my previous post (I have corrected it now). That should have been: 1,419 apartments and 68-78 condos.

 

This figure includes:

580 Building - 179 apartments

Banks II - 305 apartments

Fourth and Race (Pogue's) - 300 apartments

Fountain Place (Fountain Square West) - 225 apartments

Seventh & Broadway - 111 apartments

Peak Property Group Buildings on 7th - 75 apartments

Schwartz Building - 20 apartments

Mercer Commons - 126 apartments and 28 condos

Broadway Square - 78 apartments

Ingalls Building - 40-50 condos

It will be really cool to see that many more people downtown in just a year or two.  It will also be interesting to see if politics change as more people move down there and otr.  Politicians might have to cater more to that crowd with the constituency growing there.  cough cough streetcar :laugh:

Does anybody know why downtown has 7 (seven!) Subways? Zero McDonald's. Zero Burger Kings. Only 1 Wendy's. What is it about Subway's business model that makes them open 7 stores in such a small radius? (Insert joke about our city's great commitment to subways throughout history.)

haha.

 

Subway has a very low startup costs. They don't have any deep fryers, stoves, etc. They have the break baking and they toast the subs in a little countertop device. Aside from that its all refregerated and prepared to order. It also doesn't require a lot of space to operate. McDonalds and other fast food places would require a full kitchen to operate and that is a lot more expensive. That's probably why. I don't really understand why downtown doesn't have a single McDonald's though. I wonder if we are the largest metro without a downtown McDonald's...?

^Also the cost for just the franchising of a Subway is far less than it is for a McDonald's, before you even get to your valid points about kitchens and whatnot.

There was a 2-floor McDonald's where the CAC is now. 

My best guess on Burger King was that it went away with the 5th and Race demo years back.  Wasn't there one there along with an Arby's.  Frisch's on 4th is a throwback too.

My guess is that the lunchtime only crowd does not make it cost effective for burger king or McDonalds. As these restaurants may require breakfast , lunch and dinner to be worth the investment. The Wendy's is the only fast food in town and that may be why it survives. But the Arby's that closed a while back was nearly empty at lunch and was disgusting.

I've been keeping an Excel spreadsheet with all of the new development projects Cincinnati, plus Covington and Newport. It includes all projects completed since 2010, under construction, and planned projects.

 

For Cincinnati + Covington + Newport since 2010:

 

Apartments: 7,545

Condos: 733

Hotel Rooms: 2,607

My guess is that the lunchtime only crowd does not make it cost effective for burger king or McDonalds. As these restaurants may require breakfast , lunch and dinner to be worth the investment. The Wendy's is the only fast food in town and that may be why it survives. But the Arby's that closed a while back was nearly empty at lunch and was disgusting.

 

This. Also, no drive-throughs in Downtowns, which of course is a big moneymaker. Nowadays, fast-food joints simply aren't profitable unless they can go full-steam ahead with all aspects of their business including breakfast, coffee and late-night. Columbus used to have all kinds of fast food Downtown in the '80s too. Now there's just a bunch of Subways and one McDs off to the side with a drive-through which is 100% suburban in design. So even with all the open space in DT Columbus the fast-food thing is over. Other factors to consider is the changing tastes of urban dwellers and the demise of the one-hour lunch. Very high foot traffic locations in 24-hour areas like seen in NYC can still be profitable.

There was a Frisch's on 6th near Main, just east of the Maisonette, and another at 4th & Race, now the empty building at the corner with the McAlpin condos.  Frisch's is the exact sort of business that yuppie tastes have turned their back on. 

 

Meanwhile, the new Calhoun St. Waffle House looks to be nearly as rowdy as the one on the Covington riverfront.  It's the site of constant police activity on Fri-Sat nights. 

 

 

Frisch's is the exact sort of business that yuppie tastes have turned their back on. 

 

 

One (non-yuppie) friend of mine called it "hospital food".

Frisch's is the exact sort of business that yuppie tastes have turned their back on. 

 

True, but the quality and cleanliness of Frisch's has also plummetted in the last 20 years.

I've been keeping an Excel spreadsheet with all of the new development projects Cincinnati, plus Covington and Newport. It includes all projects completed since 2010, under construction, and planned projects.

 

For Cincinnati + Covington + Newport since 2010:

 

Apartments: 7,545

Condos: 733

Hotel Rooms: 2,607

 

Those are some impressive numbers.  I'm glad you included Newport and Covington in your figures.  It really paints a nice picture of what's going on in the urban core.

Ya- I give frischs another try once every couple years and it's almost always disgusting.

Frisch's is the exact sort of business that yuppie tastes have turned their back on. 

 

True, but the quality and cleanliness of Frisch's has also plummetted in the last 20 years.

 

Listen,  I've never gotten a fish sandwich that good in a hospital. 

 

Believe it or not there was a Roy Rogers DT at one time too!

 

Back OT:  Should Sherman include the proposed W&S tower on the spinning time/temp sign site?

I was tempted, but I haven't found anything outside of generic proposals of a new W&S headquarters and some other stuff. I left off some of the minor projects on Main Street, too.

New boxing facility opened at CRC’s OTR Center

 

http://thecincinnatiherald.com/news/2013/nov/20/new-boxing-facility-opened-crcs-otr-center/

My guess is that the lunchtime only crowd does not make it cost effective for burger king or McDonalds. As these restaurants may require breakfast , lunch and dinner to be worth the investment. The Wendy's is the only fast food in town and that may be why it survives. But the Arby's that closed a while back was nearly empty at lunch and was disgusting.

 

This. Also, no drive-throughs in Downtowns, which of course is a big moneymaker. Nowadays, fast-food joints simply aren't profitable unless they can go full-steam ahead with all aspects of their business including breakfast, coffee and late-night. Columbus used to have all kinds of fast food Downtown in the '80s too. Now there's just a bunch of Subways and one McDs off to the side with a drive-through which is 100% suburban in design. So even with all the open space in DT Columbus the fast-food thing is over. Other factors to consider is the changing tastes of urban dwellers and the demise of the one-hour lunch. Very high foot traffic locations in 24-hour areas like seen in NYC can still be profitable.

 

Is there no longer a Wendy's in downtown Columbus?

The original Wendy's on E. Broad closed a few years ago and got turned into a library for the Catholic Church, I believe. There was also another one at High and Spring that closed in the early 2000s.

There was another next to the Ohio Theatre but that also closed.  Crazy downtown had 3 Wendy's and all are gone!

Frisch's is the exact sort of business that yuppie tastes have turned their back on. 

 

True, but the quality and cleanliness of Frisch's has also plummetted in the last 20 years.

 

 

No believe me it was horrible when I was a bus boy at the Mt. Airy Frisch's in high school.  Most of the wait staff commuted by bus or circa-1979 Oldsmobile from Millvale and the "appalachian" burnt-out hillside streets overlooking the Western Hills Viaduct or less often the mysterious outer-Colerain hamlets of Bevis and Hooven. 

 

My 18-month experience there reached its nadir the day when we ran out of maternity smocks and someone had to drive up to the Colerain store to get more.  Part of the problem was the girl from my grade school's special needs class who "started showing".  Also, I remember being 16 or 17 and thinking these women were all at least 20.  No, they were...16 or 17. 

 

 

There was another next to the Ohio Theatre but that also closed.  Crazy downtown had 3 Wendy's and all are gone!

There still is a Wendy's on 4th St between Main and Sycamore.

I was referencing Columbus...unless the Ohio Theatre has moved ;).

 

$9 million medical office building rising on I-71: EXCLUSIVE

Barrett J. Brunsman Staff reporter- Cincinnati Business Courier

 

Construction has begun on a $9 million medical office building for UC Health along Interstate 71 near the most upscale neighborhoods in Greater Cincinnati.

 

The 42,000-square-foot building will be just two stories, but the high-profile location for a UC Health Physicians office near Exit 8 of I-71 South (Ridge Avenue/Kennedy Avenue) could draw patients from nearby Indian Hill, Madeira, Kenwood, Amberley Village, Montgomery, Blue Ash, Hyde Park and Oakley.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2013/12/03/9-million-medical-office-building.html

 

EXCLUSIVE: County looks at selling off its buildings

Dec. 16, 2013 1:51 AM

Written by Sharon Coolidge

 

Hamilton County’s shrinking government – down by 1,700 employees over the past five years – has left officials wondering if it’s time to sell some of its Downtown buildings for condominiums or hotels.

 

The decision is ultimately up to the three-man Board of Commissioners, but a year-long study to be presented Monday is considered a conversation kick-off.

 

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20131216/NEWS/312160017/EXCLUSIVE-County-looks-selling-off-its-buildings?nclick_check=1

A county in debt, selling off its assets. Will the anti-parking lease crowd cry foul? I'm betting no.

^I'm actually pretty supportive of this move. Sell off the building on Central Parkway. Keep the Courthouse (obviously) and the County Administration Building. Not sure about the others.

Well, they need to keep the BOE in a central location accessible by transit.

Same goes for the court house. Who cares where the coroner is...

 

^ Yes, moving the Board of Elections to Mt. Airy smells like an attempt to further disenfranchise poor urban voters.

^ Yes, moving the Board of Elections to Mt. Airy smells like an attempt to further disenfranchise poor urban voters.

 

I'm not so sure about that.  The article states they are looking to make changes that fit for the next 30 - 50 years.  Have you seen the changing demographics of the basin vs. an area like Mt Airy?  The real estate values in Mt. Airy are going into the toilet, while downtown and the basin for the most part is trending the other way.  The "urban poor" you speak of are increasingly becoming "inner ring suburb poor". 

^ Yes, moving the Board of Elections to Mt. Airy smells like an attempt to further disenfranchise poor urban voters.

 

I'm not so sure about that.  The article states they are looking to make changes that fit for the next 30 - 50 years.  Have you seen the changing demographics of the basin vs. an area like Mt Airy?  The real estate values in Mt. Airy are going into the toilet, while downtown and the basin for the most part is trending the other way.  The "urban poor" you speak of are increasingly becoming "inner ring suburb poor". 

 

Mt. Airy is never going to have the transit accessibility that Downtown has (and will continue to have). Even if you can't afford to live Downtown, it makes sense to keep it as your administrative center. Unless you want to put BOE branch offices in every far-flung low-income area.

^ Yes, moving the Board of Elections to Mt. Airy smells like an attempt to further disenfranchise poor urban voters.

 

I'm not so sure about that.  The article states they are looking to make changes that fit for the next 30 - 50 years.  Have you seen the changing demographics of the basin vs. an area like Mt Airy?  The real estate values in Mt. Airy are going into the toilet, while downtown and the basin for the most part is trending the other way.  The "urban poor" you speak of are increasingly becoming "inner ring suburb poor". 

 

Mt. Airy is never going to have the transit accessibility that Downtown has (and will continue to have). Even if you can't afford to live Downtown, it makes sense to keep it as your administrative center. Unless you want to put BOE branch offices in every far-flung low-income area.

 

If and when a comprehansive transit system is ever established in this town.

Point being that downtown is currently the most accessible area to anyone taking a bus or who might have other municipal business to take care of.  Getting to Mt. Airy by public transit for anyone who isn't already on Colerain Avenue or in Northside would require multiple transfers and waiting to get to the BOE, and there's no other services there, so it would require a special trip for just one purpose.  Along with the photo ID requirement it just makes it that much harder for the poor and otherwise disadvantaged (who usually vote Democrat) to vote. 

I've thought for years that the Times-Star building would be an awesome place for condos or a hotel. 

I grew up in that area.  The hospital site is not within walking distance of any current bus line and it's unlikely that any rail line would be built there. 

Point being that downtown is currently the most accessible area to anyone taking a bus or who might have other municipal business to take care of.  Getting to Mt. Airy by public transit for anyone who isn't already on Colerain Avenue or in Northside would require multiple transfers and waiting to get to the BOE, and there's no other services there, so it would require a special trip for just one purpose.  Along with the photo ID requirement it just makes it that much harder for the poor and otherwise disadvantaged (who usually vote Democrat) to vote.

 

Agreed, municipal business should be located in one area. Why spread it throughout the city?  I very much like the idea of converting some of those buildings into apartments or condos, but I think it's silly taking county administrative services out of downtown.