It wasn't something official just something I heard from a supplier on other projects of his. So massive grain of salt with that but apparently he was looking Downtown along Main.

The parking lot at 830 Main St. just sold to MAIN STREET LAND LLC (incorporated in June 2015) for $1.1M. Would be nice for some infill on this lot but I'm not holding my breath.

 

Its a Tennessee LLC

Technically an LLC incorporated in Ohio but based in Brentwood, Tennessee.....?

 

 

Technically an LLC incorporated in Ohio but based in Brentwood, Tennessee.....?

 

Ooh! Tractor Supply Co is headquartered in Brentwood! Maybe we're getting the first "urban format" Tractor Supply! :-)

Technically an LLC incorporated in Ohio but based in Brentwood, Tennessee.....?

 

Ooh! Tractor Supply Co is headquartered in Brentwood! Maybe we're getting the first "urban format" Tractor Supply! :-)

 

So is Dave Ramsey, the personal finance and middle Tennessee real estate mogul. 

 

No idea where to put this but.... a one Vladimir Putin just closed on 909 State Ave.

^The "New Cold War with Russia" thread?

Yeah, according to the Hamilton County Auditor's site, this Vladimir Putin owns quite a few properties in Cincinnati.

 

Quite a few sleazy, almost worthless properties. 

450 Grand looks to be a condo on the nice end of Grand with a view so not entirely worthless. Plus google  caught a tree dwelling leprechaun as they drove by. https://www.google.com/maps/@39.099249,-84.561828,3a,35.3y,77.9h,88.02t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sIhBnp-459xv64yqsoWtAVA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2015/08/14/exclusive-this-little-property-along-cincinnati-s.html

 

Outside investors buy parking lot along streetcar line, and say that the streetcar was a factor for buying the property. Then go on to say they plan to leave it as a parking lot.

North South Properties, LLC purchased a ton of properties from Bleh Real Estate Holdings LLC for a combined $2.4M. The properties are:

 

12 Court

915 Vine

44 Court

50 Court

54 Court

1003 Walnut

31 Court

 

Anchor Corryville Grocery LLC bought 1 Corry for $1M.

 

Anchor Corryville Pharmacy LLC bought property on Jefferson for $2.5M

I would think Bleh Real Estate holdings was related to the Avril-Bleh & Sons meat market that is on court. Some redevelopment on Court street would do a lot to bridge the gap between CBD and OTR.

 

I wonder if the new buyer has any intentions to pump some cash into the area.

I would think Bleh Real Estate holdings was related to the Avril-Bleh & Sons meat market that is on court. Some redevelopment on Court street would do a lot to bridge the gap between CBD and OTR.

 

I wonder if the new buyer has any intentions to pump some cash into the area.

 

Said this before, but Court Street would be a landmark area in any other city its dying to be rehabilitated.

Court Street should be like the CBD's Findlay Market. Eliminate all of the parking in the center islands and bring back the market houses. We probably need a few thousand more people downtown to support that, but that should be the long-term goal.

Court Street should be like the CBD's Findlay Market. Eliminate all of the parking in the center islands and bring back the market houses. We probably need a few thousand more people downtown to support that, but that should be the long-term goal.

 

The current setup (between Vine and Main) is already pretty nice, though it needs some programming to activate the space more regularly. Even without making any changes, street markets would work well here because  vendors could use the parking spots as stalls. The angled parking spaces work well for this kind of market (like the Hyde Park Farmers Market). If we were to remove some parking in this area, I'd rather get rid of the parking that's parallel to the curb, and expand the sidewalks to make room for outdoor seating at the cafes and restaurants.

Great Traditions is planning a 10 home development on the site of the Seventh Presbyterian Church on Madison Rd. in East Walnut Hills.  Plans call for demolishing the modern parts of the church to accommodate the housing, while the tower and small historic section of the church closest to Madison will remain, hopefully to be used as office or gallery space.  I think this is exactly the type of development that Cincinnati needs more of, and I'm thrilled that East Walnut Hills is continuing to add residential density (and high income population) near its business district.  With Great Traditions also constructing 4 homes on a vacant lot on Cleinview, EWH will be adding a decent amount of single family housing to an area that I think most people previously viewed as built out.  If the Towne project on Woodburn (west of the DeSales Corner development) also comes to fruition, we are looking at a substantial increase in the number of residents immediately adjacent to the business district.  Great news all around!

 

Link:

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2015/08/17/exclusive-developer-converting-former-church-into.html

There's going to be more development in EWH in the coming years. Hyde Park is going full speed into NIMBYism to prevent densification & tear downs. This will benefit the surrounding areas as it becomes harder to build in HP.

I don't know, the NIMBYism in Hyde Park is centered around tearing down one house and building 2+ houses on the same lot. Things like 2770 weren't met with that level of criticism. The concern in Hyde Park is winding up with things like that set of houses on Observatory that are one in front of the other or the 5 new houses on Herschel that are on top of one another. I do understand the concern with those projects.

 

That being said, there aren't a ton of open sites in Hyde Park as it is so I don't really see that neighborhood changing dramatically anytime soon. The corridor from 71 through Walnut Hills and  East Walnut Hills has a lot of opportunities for infill and redevelopment so it would make sense that we will likely see those neighborhoods gaining popularity in the coming years.

The only reason 2770 got through was because it replaced older apartments ("poor" people) with new high-end condos (rich people).  I forget the numbers but it might even be a net loss in density.  Even if it's not, the numbers are very close.  Hyde Park needs the ability to replace single-family houses with townhouses and apartment buildings, and that's not happening because single-family houses and large lots are sacrosanct.  Existing apartments are mostly left alone, but zoning precludes their expansion, even along Madison Road at Burch, Besuden, and Mooney where the houses are kind of dumpy for the neighborhood.  In fact, there's quite a few 2-family and 4-plex apartments that are only grandfathered in, no longer allowed by right, even right there on Madison.  So the only real trajectory for those buildings is stagnation at best, and more likely decline. 

 

The front/back houses on Observatory are not really a "problem" in any sense of the word.  They were built like that because the 5 houses there are on much bigger lots than everything else on the street, and the zoning was set up to be consistent with all the other houses.  The house in back is really nobody's business, and the house in front is consistent with all the other houses just two doors east and across the street.  It's the large-lot estate houses that are anomalous, yet all the hand wringing by the neighbors and community council got those lots downzoned, although the front/back houses still meet the square footage requirements for the new zoning, but maybe not the setbacks.  Anyway, several houses across the street also had their zoning reduced (I believe) to the point that the originally platted lots are no longer buildable.  Those houses were built on two 50' wide lots generally, so where there's three houses now there could be six, just like the blocks behind them, but no, "neighborhood character" and all that. 

Well said

There's going to be more development in EWH in the coming years. Hyde Park is going full speed into NIMBYism to prevent densification & tear downs. This will benefit the surrounding areas as it becomes harder to build in HP.

 

Where is there really room to develop in EWH though? I know on the West side of Madison, Evanston and Obrionville are both areas that could support infill and renovation of the existing stock, but the majority of East Walnut Hills is built out and in good condition, as far as I know.  The Anthem complex and parking moat will be available when they move out to Oakley, so that represents a pretty huge development site.  Walnut Hills, of course, has more developable sites than it knows what to do with. Though I was encouraged to see numerous home renovations taking place in the SE quadrant of the neighborhood during my walk through yesterday, I was disappointed to see that there is still no progress or signs of activity at the Windsor School site.  That 300 unit (iirc) project would do wonders for that area, and I think would hasten the investment that is already occurring on nearby streets.  I know the developer won tax credits for the project, so hopefully it isn't dead and will start soon.

Where is there really room to develop in EWH though?

 

Indeed.  With the borders of the neighborhood being Victory Parkway, Lincoln/DeSales/Dexter, Torrence Parkway, and the hillside, there's not really a whole lot of undeveloped land per se compared to Walnut Hills.  Even Evanston, dowdy as it may be, isn't really bombed out in any appreciable way like farther west along the MLK corridor.  It's more a case of needing densification, but the majority of the neighborhood is so solidly upper-middle/upper class, large-lot single-family, and historic district, that it's a much tougher sell to redevelop in any way than a couple of lots in Hyde Park.  That's a shame because Madison Road is a natural transit corridor, with two good NBDs anchoring either end.  The Anthem site is the big opportunity, there's other parcels and parking lots on Woodburn that can support some redevelopment too, and Ashland Avenue needs help.  All the cruddy parking lots and office buildings on Madison by Victory that have infected Myrtle Avenue are prime for something better. 

 

The thing is that aside from Anthem and maybe the Madison Road sites, the rest are small enough parcels that they really need the small scale developer, like someone looking to do maybe a dozen units at a time, perhaps in two or three buildings.  The trouble is that this scale of developer has been mostly excised from the market due to restrictive zoning, NIMBY opposition, and difficult financing criteria.  What few were left before the economic downturn have been pretty thoroughly eradicated since.  Single-family owners just have to work within the system, but they usually have the time and patience to navigate that.  The big guys have the resources and overhead to deal with setting up a PUD, variance hearings, and community council presentations, but they need to do big projects to reap the economies of scale.  The guys in between can't make it work.  That's why we end up with either nothing happening, or huge projects that invariably invoke neighbor outrage.  Nothing in between is feasible, if even allowed at all. 

For a neighborhood to come back under current circumstances ideally you have housing stock like what exists in Northside.  That neighborhood has a pretty consistent housing and streetscape style.  There are some pockets of junk in Northside, but generally the housing and streets are decent.  Walnut Hills is the opposite of that.  There are a few pockets of nice homes forming a nice 1-3 block stretch (i.e. Melrose north of WH Taft), but not a large consistent area.  That's why I don't buy that Walnut Hills is going to magically take off and become expensive in the next ten years. 

I think the big issue with Walnut Hills Proper is that the NBD is in very poor shape right now.  Is it the chicken or the egg?  It will be a good study.

 

That said, I agree with Jake that the housing stock isn't the greatest.  A lot of the homes are really big, and it could possibly turn out to be people re-developing the big homes into condos, etc.  But I don't think Walnut Hills takes off until a significant portion of the NBD is redeveloped, because people want to be able to walk to restaurants, bars, etc. like in Northside or OTR.

 

The Windsor School Development should do a lot to help though, as well.

 

It should be interesting to see how it all plays out.

The thing is though that Model Group has shown great interest in Walnut Hills. Their record so far with neighborhoods is to do large swaths of a NBD at a time. If their project on McMillan is successful like I imagine it will be we could see them move onto the neighboring block. It will only take a handful of projects like that to create a small, but desirable cohesive NBD. That's all you need to spur neighboring development from smaller scale developers.

 

The thing that could be beneficial as well is that there is a lot of density just south of Walnut Hills that doesn't have a NBD that it centers on at the moment. Property closer to Eden Park is generally in good shape and there is a lot of money and a lot of people living right there who would likely frequent a revitalized Walnut Hills business district.

The thing is though that Model Group has shown great interest in Walnut Hills. Their record so far with neighborhoods is to do large swaths of a NBD at a time. If their project on McMillan is successful like I imagine it will be we could see them move onto the neighboring block. It will only take a handful of projects like that to create a small, but desirable cohesive NBD. That's all you need to spur neighboring development from smaller scale developers.

 

The thing that could be beneficial as well is that there is a lot of density just south of Walnut Hills that doesn't have a NBD that it centers on at the moment. Property closer to Eden Park is generally in good shape and there is a lot of money and a lot of people living right there who would likely frequent a revitalized Walnut Hills business district.

 

I agree with everything you say, I should have mentioned the Model Group project currently underway and their next phase on it which is that entire stretch on the south side of McMillan.

 

It will be interesting to see how fast it plays out.  I am excited to see the finished product on those buildings.

 

I think most people saying Walnut Hills will be the next OTR are simply suggesting it's the next neighborhood to see a dramatic change. Northside has been a stable neighborhood for a while. The West End has too much public housing projects to see a lot of redevelopment soon. Mt. Auburn doesn't have the same scale of business district as Walnut Hills/EWH. That doesn't mean they are suggesting the same level of investment from 3CDC, the city, etc. It just means that it will go from seemingly nothing to an abundance of shops/restaurants that are trendy.

A streetcar line on McMillan and Woodburn between Hughes Corner and DeSales Corner would do wonders for Walnut Hills.

 

^I would argue that line is more important than one to the zoo. There is much more room for development in WH/EWH than there is in Corryville/Avondale by the zoo.

A streetcar line on McMillan and Woodburn between Hughes Corner and DeSales Corner would do wonders for Walnut Hills.

 

In the east, why not stretch it all the way to Xavier to revitalize Evanston, serve Walnut Hills High School,  Xavier, University Station, and hook up with Wasson Way?

 

In the west, why not stretch it up Clifton to serve Good Sam, Hebrew Union, the Gaslight district, and a redone Burnett Woods?

 

Also getting Taft and McMillan converted to two-way east of Vine all the way up to and including Woodburn is vital to the NBD comeback. No excuse for not doing that with MLK exit opening and all the data we have showing two way streets are better for business. Except for good old Cincinnati fear of change of course.

A streetcar line on McMillan and Woodburn between Hughes Corner and DeSales Corner would do wonders for Walnut Hills.

 

In the east, why not stretch it all the way to Xavier to revitalize Evanston, serve Walnut Hills High School,  Xavier, University Station, and hook up with Wasson Way?

 

In the west, why not stretch it up Clifton to serve Good Sam, Hebrew Union, the Gaslight district, and a redone Burnett Woods?

 

Also getting Taft and McMillan converted to two-way east of Vine all the way up to and including Woodburn is vital to the NBD comeback. No excuse for not doing that with MLK exit opening and all the data we have showing two way streets are better for business. Except for good old Cincinnati fear of change of course.

 

I'd like to see WH Taft eliminated east of Victory Parkway.  Restore the blocks between Woodburn and Victory Parkway to being side streets and force more traffic onto McMillan when it becomes 2-way.  So traffic coming down Woodburn or up WH Taft from Columbia Parkway would be routed onto McMillan.   

 

I'm thinking McMillan/Woodburn becomes the transit, bike and walking corridor and that Taft/Calhoun becomes the car corridor, maybe gets renamed Taft entirely between Clifton and Columbia Parkway. It is a much better corridor than MLK to the Zoo and on to Childrens. The connections from DeSales Corner to other corridors is really good too.

Million Dollar Improvements Made in Mt. Adams

Streetscape improvements unveiled on St. Gregory Street

 

CINCINNATI – Mayor John Cranley and City Manager Harry Black today unveiled nearly $1 million in improvements made to Mt. Adams’ St. Gregory Streetscape through the City’s Neighborhood Business District Improvement Program (NBDIP).

 

“In Mt. Adams these City funds supported moving utility lines underground and constructing new sidewalks and curbs, as well as planting additional trees along St. Gregory Street,” said City Manager Black. “The goal is to make this space work better for residents, visitors and small businesses.”

 

The NBDIP is an award-winning program that allocates nearly $2 million annually to fund community-proposed improvement projects that will attract and retain small businesses in all of Cincinnati’s neighborhood business districts

 

“Not only do these improvements maintain the historic beauty found in Mt. Adams, but they also play a vital role in supporting the local economy for this community,” said Mayor Cranley. “Mt. Adams has always been a beautiful neighborhood and will continue to be a fixture in our City for years to come, making this project even more important in maintaining that identity.”

 

The NBDIP program assists communities in improving the economic vitality of neighborhood business districts by implementing projects that will improve the overall economy in those areas.

Does "streetscape improvements" mean "tear out the rest of the trees that were up there and start with saplings?" Because that seems to be the trend up there. Why did all the trees on Pavilion Street need to be torn out?

 

 

Slightly confused - was that a ribbon cutting to celebrate the completion of the improvements or announce the start of new ones?

Does "streetscape improvements" mean "tear out the rest of the trees that were up there and start with saplings?" Because that seems to be the trend up there. Why did all the trees on Pavilion Street need to be torn out?

 

Hmm, maybe the same people involved in the 200 block of McMillan Street, which used to have beautiful blooming pear trees. Or perhaps Short Vine, which I think is pretty much treeless now.

“Not only do these improvements maintain the historic beauty found in Mt. Adams, but they also play a vital role in supporting the local economy for this community,” said Mayor Cranley. “Mt. Adams has always been a beautiful neighborhood and will continue to be a fixture in our City for years to come, making this project even more important in maintaining that identity.”

 

That's great and all, but I can't help but feel like this is money sent to the wrong place. I'm sure other communities in the city are in far greater need of economic support than Mt. Adams.

“Not only do these improvements maintain the historic beauty found in Mt. Adams, but they also play a vital role in supporting the local economy for this community,” said Mayor Cranley. “Mt. Adams has always been a beautiful neighborhood and will continue to be a fixture in our City for years to come, making this project even more important in maintaining that identity.”

 

That's great and all, but I can't help but feel like this is money sent to the wrong place. I'm sure other communities in the city are in far greater need of economic support than Mt. Adams.

 

What's funny about this particular project is that it's non-news. A majority of the work aside from street tree plantings was completed in 2010/2011. This feels like a make-news thing to me.

New City Gospel Mission building in Queensgate:

 

^Looks like the Hopple St. Wendy's. 

^Looks like the Hopple St. Wendy's.

 

And like said wendy's, no one is going to be walking there.

I know some people who work at City Gospel Mission.. and apparently the first week after the move saw a bit of decline in the number of people stopping in, but they have already bounced back and are serving more people than they could in their old facilities in OTR. So, one way or another, people are finding a way to get to Dalton Ave.

Not sure where to put this but Urban Conservator Larry Harris is no longer with the City of Cincinnati. Angela Strunc will be the Interim Urban Conservator. She has been a Supervising Architect with the Department of Transportation and Engineering since 2006.

 

Self Storage developers take note: one block of the former CH&D railroad ROW is for sale in Northside:

https://www.sibcycline.com/Listing/CIN/1465392/Dane-St-Northside-OH-45223

A company named Keystone Management Group purchased 107 W 7th Street ( the building with the former McHanns store in it) for $800,000...  that company is related to Keystone Hotels ( http://www.keystonehotels.com/ ) which looks like a suburban hotel developer in Cincinnati.

 

Wonder if they are making a foray into an urban property. That building is well suited for a residential or hotel use. 

There are a handful of people working at the old Pogues Warehouse at Race and 3rd street this afternoon. Looked like they were doing some exterior repair work and metal framing around the garage doors. Not sure if this is anything or routine maintenance.. I believe the property is still owned by a Drury Hotels affiliate.

A company named Keystone Management Group purchased 107 W 7th Street ( the building with the former McHanns store in it) for $800,000...  that company is related to Keystone Hotels ( http://www.keystonehotels.com/ ) which looks like a suburban hotel developer in Cincinnati.

 

Wonder if they are making a foray into an urban property. That building is well suited for a residential or hotel use. 

 

That was one of the three buildings an out of town developer walked away from after not winning historic tax credits last year or early this year.  They had planned on converting it to apartments.

^Nah, they did win the credits, and still couldn't figure out how to make the financials work.  Good luck to this new ownership group.