Seems like the Garfield Suites project should have been somewhat of a softball

Yes it should have been but that could have been what let to them trying to pull it off with seriously cut rate contractors.

 PG Sittenfeld is attempting to spearhead a permanent food truck Hall space ein cincy similar to that in Austin Texas 

 

 

 

On 1/10/2019 at 8:57 PM, thebillshark said:

So much info (and maybe some news?) under the mixed-use link.

 

1. Someone has an option on 7th and Vine lot 

 

2. Jean Roberts building 

 

3. Griewe is involved with lot 24 at the Banks? 

 

4. Chong building wants to take a look at doing something with College Street (mid-block Alley.) (I wonder if this project has anything to do with the proposals for the CVS building nearby)

 

Pretty good reference for the people maintaining lists of their own trying to track new housing units, streetcar development, etc. 

 

 Would love to learn more about the College Street vision. 

On 1/11/2019 at 10:55 AM, thebillshark said:

Seems like the Garfield Suites project should have been somewhat of a softball

 The building owner never had enough capital to begin with when he purchased the building. He wanted to put a Doubletree Hotel in the building, when he found out all the work that needed to be done in the building and how he didnt have enough to complete the project, he decided he would turn it into an apartment building. I highly doubt the project has gone anywhere except on hold at this moment. 

 

Port authority to buy 2 downtown garages for $25.5 million

 

 

The Port of Greater Cincinnati Redevelopment Authority plans to purchase two downtown garages for $25.5 million.

 

The Port’s Board of Directors approved a plan to acquire the parking garages located at 609 Elm St. and 605 Plum St. from LAZ Parking Realty Investors LLC. Combined, the two garages have a total of 1,570 parking spaces. The Port is expected to close on its purchase of the garages March 1.

 

Laura Brunner, CEO of the Port, said acquiring the garages helps the agency achieve its goals for its own growth, as well as expand on its mission of improving real estate for long-term economic benefit.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2019/01/16/port-authority-to-buy-2-downtown-garages-for-25-5.html

I wonder if these acquisitions are related to the Port purchasing the parking lot across from the Convention Center for a potential hotel site? They could use these garages for valet as opposed to building a new one. 

2 hours ago, wjh2 said:

I wonder if these acquisitions are related to the Port purchasing the parking lot across from the Convention Center for a potential hotel site? They could use these garages for valet as opposed to building a new one. 

Don't quote me on this but there has been conversation, that these two garages come down, and the convention center would expand northward where they existed. Basically double size of the convention center. Span over sixth street similar to what Louisville has done with there downtown convention center. The lot at fifth and plum along with the old convention place building and attached parking garage come down, and a new convention hotel and large capacity parking garage for the convention center goes in its place. 

13 minutes ago, savadams13 said:

Don't quote me on this but there has been conversation, that these two garages come down, and the convention center would expand northward where they existed. Basically double size of the convention center. Span over sixth street similar to what Louisville has done with there downtown convention center. The lot at fifth and plum along with the old convention place building and attached parking garage come down, and a new convention hotel and large capacity parking garage for the convention center goes in its place. 

 

This would make the most sense.

That would be great - but then why would the Port be spending money on the garages to fix them up if they are going to take them down? 

Just now, wjh2 said:

That would be great - but then why would the Port be spending money on the garages to fix them up if they are going to take them down? 

You have to keep them in good condition in order to maintain monthly account holders, avoid law suits from users going into the convention center and such so you are continuing to bring in revenue. The convention center expansion is still years away,  the upgrades are general maintenance that needs to take place until such time. 

Yeah they spent $25 million to purchase them and are only putting $1.5 million into them for refurbishment. That's not a super long term investment. Always remember, they re-painted King Cobra the year before it was removed...

Sale of property near City Hall gets approval

 

 

The Cincinnati Planning Commission approved on Friday the sale of a 0.77-acre parcel downtown adjacent to City Hall to Cincinnati Public Radio for $1.5 million. The sale will now go to Cincinnati City Council.

 

The move to sell the property to public radio came after council members balked at selling the property below market value to Indianapolis-based developer Milhaus in June.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2019/01/18/sale-of-property-near-city-hall-gets-approval.html

According to the article, it is in the Kettering Business park, so not downtown Cinci. 

https://goo.gl/maps/74cWUihPLhJ2

Duke Energy will help the city replace streetlights with LEDs to boost safety

 

Duke Energy and the city of Cincinnati will create a multi-year plan to upgrade streetlights around schools in the city’s 154 school zones, the company’s Cincinnati market CEO and city officials announced Thursday.

 

Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld introduced a motion to council that could get a vote in the coming weeks at council calling for the plan. It’s expected to cost the city about $1.5 million to replace the current lights with LED ones. Duke has been replacing them with LEDs as needed, but city officials want to speed up the process.

 

Public safety around Cincinnati schools has become a major local issue after 13 children who go to Cincinnati Public Schools were hit in 2018, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2019/01/31/duke-energy-will-help-thecity-replace-streetlights.html

Pedal on the Ohio River: Cycle boats coming to Cincinnati

 

 

A Detroit company is bringing a new pedal-powered boating experience to the banks of the Ohio River when it opens a new Cincinnati attraction this spring.

 

Cincinnati Cycleboat will take its first passengers on a two-hour pleasure cruise along the Ohio on May 15. It's a sister company to husband and wife Nick and Jody Blaszczyk's Detroit Cycleboat, which opened in 2016.

 

"I have very close family here, I feel like I am from Cincinnati," Detroit native Nick Blaszczyk told me. "I think Cincinnati is a great, great town."

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2019/02/07/pedal-on-the-ohio-river-cycle-boats-coming-to.html

On ‎12‎/‎11‎/‎2018 at 5:35 PM, jmecklenborg said:

Findlay Playground was fenced off two weeks ago.  Who wants to bet it never reopens?  Too easy for Cranley to sell off this city-owned land to a donor. 

 

 

 

It's now February 13.  The playground has been fenced off for 3 months with absolutely no construction activity. 

 

 

26 minutes ago, jmecklenborg said:

It's now February 13.  The playground has been fenced off for 3 months with absolutely no construction activity.

https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/hamilton-county/cincinnati/over-the-rhine/city-to-close-renovate-findlay-playground-in-effort-to-stop-crime

 

"In an assessment of the park, police wrote that interior fencing and seating should be removed. Lighting should be increased. New features could include an expanded playground, a dog park, workout stations and a running track."

 

"...they plan to tear up the park and hope to have it renovated by the spring or summer of 2019."

 

They better tear it up and rebuild quick if they want it done by then....

8 hours ago, Largue said:

https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/hamilton-county/cincinnati/over-the-rhine/city-to-close-renovate-findlay-playground-in-effort-to-stop-crime

 

"In an assessment of the park, police wrote that interior fencing and seating should be removed. Lighting should be increased. New features could include an expanded playground, a dog park, workout stations and a running track."

 

"...they plan to tear up the park and hope to have it renovated by the spring or summer of 2019."

 

They better tear it up and rebuild quick if they want it done by then....

As someone who is relatively plugged into OTR projects/CPD/CRC/etc I am becoming more convinced no one has any idea what is actually happening with this project. There was very little neighborhood input into the closure, it was basically declared by CPD and a handful of representative organizations (many not actually in the neighborhood). What little has been shared is that CRC received $25K or $50K from Duke for community engagement to figure out what to even build and that process has not even started yet. I would bet on 2 years at this point.

41 minutes ago, mcmicken said:

As someone who is relatively plugged into OTR projects/CPD/CRC/etc I am becoming more convinced no one has any idea what is actually happening with this project. There was very little neighborhood input into the closure, it was basically declared by CPD and a handful of representative organizations (many not actually in the neighborhood). What little has been shared is that CRC received $25K or $50K from Duke for community engagement to figure out what to even build and that process has not even started yet. I would bet on 2 years at this point.

 

Would feel a lot more comfortable with 3cdc in charge if major changes are to be made.

 

It’s speculated the county is funding a second garage as part of FCC deal in vicinity of Findlay Market. Could a subterranean garage here be in play or is it too far from the stadium? Almost need one here for development on Vine Street north of Liberty.

I drive and/or walk by this park every day - coincidentally, this morning was the first time I've seen anyone working on the site. There were a few guys and a bobcat, I couldn't tell what they were getting set up for and didn't have time to stick around. They were on the Vine Street side.

 

That said, I appreciate the park being closed. The amount of litter left behind on a daily basis alone was enough to make it feel unsafe (who knows what you might step on).

18 hours ago, thebillshark said:

 

Would feel a lot more comfortable with 3cdc in charge if major changes are to be made.

 

It’s speculated the county is funding a second garage as part of FCC deal in vicinity of Findlay Market. Could a subterranean garage here be in play or is it too far from the stadium? Almost need one here for development on Vine Street north of Liberty.

 

Places a chip on: Hamilton County builds a garage with mixed use development above on Elm and Race, and, a really unique market facing mixed use development surrounding the outdoor stalls on Hazen and Fenwick Alleys. The existing Findlay Park is paved over during the construction to provide temporary Findlay Market parking. While the new development is being built, the city conducts a community engagement process much like the one that was used for Ziegler Park. New garage and development opens, and then the park goes under construction. 

 

speculation =/= endorsement

 

Edited February 14, 20196 yr by Chas Wiederhold

Findlay Playground was a replacement for the baseball diamonds that were where Findlay Market's main parking lot is.  That's why it's called the Findlay Playground and why it has a never-used baseball diamond. 

 

I would like to see Findlay Playground reduced to the center of that block and a hotel or apartment building on the east half of the space between Republic and Vine.  Republic St. should be restored. 

^Also, if plans do in fact appear for the Findlay Market parking lot, look for a big hoo-hah over the streetcar transformer. 

The old neon Western-Southern billboard is currently exposed.  This is the one on the Camp Washington section of Straight St. that predates I-75.  They covered it up sometime in the mid-90s.  Maybe they're bringing it back, like the Citgo sign in Boston. 

 

59 minutes ago, jmecklenborg said:

The old neon Western-Southern billboard is currently exposed.  This is the one on the Camp Washington section of Straight St. that predates I-75.  They covered it up sometime in the mid-90s.  Maybe they're bringing it back, like the Citgo sign in Boston. 

 

Visible in this 2007 streetview: https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1304621,-84.5337285,3a,75y,12.5h,131.27t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s-CbCw9cx8pXHyyKuTnJ62g!2e0!7i3328!8i1664

 

They're probably just replacing the standard billboard that covered it with an electronic billboard.

It was also visible from I-75 as recently as 2013.

^No, it originally had all sorts of neon on it.  Like old-school Vegas neon. 

MIght not be a remodel, the latest wrap it had on it was blown off in the wind storm we had a few weeks back. Hopefully they do something cool with it but i think it might just get rewrapped.

Reds ask city to OK commemorative benches – here's where they'll be placed

 

 

In what is sure to be an Instagram hit, the Cincinnati Reds are seeking the city’s approval to commemorate the team’s 150th season by adding benches throughout the city, according to a request the team made to the Cincinnati Planning Commission.

...

The benches would be located at Lytle Park, Findlay Market, Union Terminal, Washington Park, Smale Riverfront Park, Yeatman’s Cove, Fountain Square, Price Hill, the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, Great American Ball Park, Eden Park and Oakley Square. 

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2019/02/26/reds-ask-city-to-ok-commemorative-benches-heres.html

Moderator note:

 

A new thread has been created (Cincinnati: Downtown: Development and News) to discuss Downtown/Central Business District projects that don't have their own dedicated threads.

 

This thread is now called Cincinnati: Random Development and News and can be used to discuss (non-downtown) developments across the city that don't have their own thread. This thread can also be used to discuss any citywide/multi-neighborhood development issues. Please note that some neighborhoods have their own threads (i.e. Northside, Mt. Auburn) which are more appropriate places to discuss developments in those specific neighborhoods.

On 2/13/2019 at 1:49 PM, jmecklenborg said:

It's now February 13.  The playground has been fenced off for 3 months with absolutely no construction activity.

 

I also noticed some mobile lighting units (the little trailers with the generator on the bottom and a big pole with 4 bright lights on top) parked on McMicken near Vine. I'm not sure if this is part of CPD's effort to "clean up" the area around Findlay Playground by literally shining light on the area at night.

1 hour ago, taestell said:

 

I also noticed some mobile lighting units (the little trailers with the generator on the bottom and a big pole with 4 bright lights on top) parked on McMicken near Vine. I'm not sure if this is part of CPD's effort to "clean up" the area around Findlay Playground by literally shining light on the area at night.

 

Yeah I saw that this past weekend, too.  They roll that thing into Bellevue Park off Ohio a few times per year. 

1 hour ago, taestell said:

 

I also noticed some mobile lighting units (the little trailers with the generator on the bottom and a big pole with 4 bright lights on top) parked on McMicken near Vine. I'm not sure if this is part of CPD's effort to "clean up" the area around Findlay Playground by literally shining light on the area at night.

 

Well there has yet to be a shooting incident in north of liberty this year so there's that...but it's also not hot yet so we'll see how long that lasts.

 

I have to imagine at some point that the crime will become lessened in the near future. Alot of new units are becoming available in north of liberty nowadays, which are putting more eyes on the streets....That said, you can't fix the cycle of poverty where every solution to an argument involves around a gun and shooting the person that made you, "mad". That will take time/migration of the low income individuals who live in otr to new low income neighborhoods in the city.

4 hours ago, taestell said:

 

I also noticed some mobile lighting units (the little trailers with the generator on the bottom and a big pole with 4 bright lights on top) parked on McMicken near Vine. I'm not sure if this is part of CPD's effort to "clean up" the area around Findlay Playground by literally shining light on the area at night.

They move the light tower around to various hotspots. It was on that block (in a couple of locations) as well as Walnut Street the past 2 summers.

On 2/14/2019 at 8:38 AM, Ram23 said:

I drive and/or walk by this park every day - coincidentally, this morning was the first time I've seen anyone working on the site. There were a few guys and a bobcat, I couldn't tell what they were getting set up for and didn't have time to stick around. They were on the Vine Street side.

 

I never followed up on this post, but the work I saw ended up being a crew resetting the temporary fence that had apparently been knocked down.

I started a new Columbia Parkway thread (over in the Roads & Biking section) to discuss the upcoming work to rebuild the retaining walls, which could result in the road being reduced to three lanes for approximately two years.

I'm actually surprised that this doesn't happen more often...

 

 

ArtWorks raising money to repair defaced downtown mural

 

The ArtWorks Cincinnati Toy Heritage mural by artist Jonathan Queen, on a Towne Properties building at 23 W. Court St., was tagged by spray paint on March 30. The mural, painted in 2016, shows off toys created by Kenner Products, including Star Wars' C3PO and R2D2, Easy Bake Oven, Strawberry Shortcake and more.

 

"At ArtWorks, with 180 permanent murals and thousands of public artwork completed around the city, we're fortunate to not have many incidents of graffiti happen to our work," the organization wrote on Facebook. "We're grateful that street artists typically respect other street art."

 

The organization is raising money to repair the damage done to the mural. ArtWorks estimates that it will cost between $1,500 and $2,500 for labor, materials and sealant to repair the work.

12 hours ago, taestell said:

ArtWorks estimates that it will cost between $1,500 and $2,500 for labor, materials and sealant to repair the work.

 

I have worked on murals before, and there is an anti-graffiti clear-coat I have used to prevent expensive damage like this. Basically, you just clean the graffiti off with mineral spirits, then reapply the protective coat. For how many murals ArtWorks does, I'm surprised they don't use a product like this to minimize the damages of vandalism. 

A new electric substation is under construction in South Fairmount:

That really adds to the charm.

2 hours ago, Yves Behar said:

That really adds to the charm.

 

At this point I'm suspecting that they're going to half-ass the Lick Run landscaping and it won't be well-maintained. 

One River Plaza / Skyhouse topic: 

 

Posted this on immigration but also relevant here:
 

"Roberts Paideia Academy had one Hispanic student in the 2005-06 academic year.

By September 2014, the Latino enrollment in the East Price Hill elementary school had grown to almost 50%, 343 of 697 students.

Today, because of a surge since January and an unexpected spike since April 1, the number of Spanish-speaking students at Roberts has ballooned to 67% of 829 students. 

It isn't just Roberts seeing the surge; it's happening at other Cincinnati Public and Archdiocese of Cincinnati schools..."

 

 https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2019/05/08/cincinnati-latino-migration-east-price-hill/1128538001/

That could be a great thing if the city embraces it. It would be great if Cincinnati had a neighborhood like East Price Hill, that could become like Pilsen in Chicago. Currently there are pockets in Florence, Fairfeild etc. all around the city, but having a neighborhood that really embraces its hispanic culture would be great.

I'm all for any immigrants coming to our city.  Increase the population and increase the diversity.  There are a lot of jobs like construction that these people would probably love to have.  

19 minutes ago, ucgrady said:

That could be a great thing if the city embraces it. It would be great if Cincinnati had a neighborhood like East Price Hill, that could become like Pilsen in Chicago. Currently there are pockets in Florence, Fairfeild etc. all around the city, but having a neighborhood that really embraces its hispanic culture would be great.

 

 

Pilsen, eh? As in...

 

 

The interesting thing about immigrant succession in Cincinnati today is the pathway folks take once they get to the city. For Central American immigrants, they often settle first in Lower Price Hill. The absolute cheapest place to live. They then move up to East Price Hill once they reach a certain level of economic mobility. Following that they move to Springdale, Fairfield, and Hamilton. It's a really interesting flow. Not that this article mentioned it, but Catholic Charities of Southwest Ohio is a participant in this resettling. They also settle many of the West African families in the area as well. Again, often landing first in Lower or East Price Hill, and then moving along Queen City, and further west. I spent a year of AmeriCorps service working for Santa Maria Community Services' Immigration Welcome Center, which at the time was HQed at Robert's Academy. These folks are working their tails off and I think Cincinnati is lucky to have them here now. 

47 minutes ago, Chas Wiederhold said:

The interesting thing about immigrant succession in Cincinnati today is the pathway folks take once they get to the city. For Central American immigrants, they often settle first in Lower Price Hill. The absolute cheapest place to live. They then move up to East Price Hill once they reach a certain level of economic mobility. Following that they move to Springdale, Fairfield, and Hamilton. It's a really interesting flow. Not that this article mentioned it, but Catholic Charities of Southwest Ohio is a participant in this resettling. They also settle many of the West African families in the area as well. Again, often landing first in Lower or East Price Hill, and then moving along Queen City, and further west. I spent a year of AmeriCorps service working for Santa Maria Community Services' Immigration Welcome Center, which at the time was HQed at Robert's Academy. These folks are working their tails off and I think Cincinnati is lucky to have them here now. 

 

Although it seems now there has been a bit of a reverse migration from Springdale and Fairfield to East Price Hill. I have some friends who work to help immigrants in the area who have confirmed this. A lot of them feel safer in the City of Cincinnati than in the suburban communities so they're going to East Price Hill.