More Cranley bashing...

 

City land sale to Cranley donors questioned

Sharon Coolidge, [email protected] Published 5:52 p.m. ET Sept. 7, 2017 | Updated 9:57 p.m. ET Sept. 7, 2017

 

 

A huge piece of land at a long-blighted intersection in Avondale is on the cusp of being developed by one of the city's biggest developers, helping propel a plan to turn the MLK/Reading Road corridor into a medical, research and technology hub.

 

You'd think it would be cause for celebration.

 

But how the deal reached City Hall – without buy-in from the community in Avondale, where it's located, or the Uptown Consortium, which devised the corridor plan – has some saying city officials are playing favorites with donors to Mayor John Cranley's re-election campaign.

 

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2017/09/07/city-land-sale-cranley-donors-questioned/636926001/

Literally one of the first things Cranley did when we got into office was allocate around $100 million of city money to fast-track the new MLK interchange, which otherwise wouldn't have been built for decades.

 

Now that the interchange is open and the land is valuable, developers who (coincidentally) donated to Cranley's campaign are reaping the benefits.

 

Who would've guessed?!

Terrex/Messer team adds hotel developer for Uptown project

 

The team redeveloping the southwest corner of Martin Luther King Drive and Reading Road in Avondale has selected hotel developer partners.

 

Terrex Development and Construction and partner Messer Construction Co. are teaming with Brandicorp and Lexington Management Corp. to develop a hotel at the Uptown Gateway project. The $150 million project is designed as a high-density development that connects with the surrounding community. The first phase of Uptown Gateway is planned as two office buildings with a total of 300,000 square feet of space and a hotel atop an underground parking garage.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2017/09/26/terrex-messer-team-adds-hotel-developer-for-uptown.html

 

 

^The homes at bottom right have already been demolished.  Yet Duel Manor soldiers on. 

I love the dual manor building, and I would love a renovation with shiny stainless steel panels around the outside and new windows. People don't build circular buildings anymore...

Uptown Consortium buys MLK interchange properties for $3 million

 

Uptown Consortium Inc. has purchased six more pieces of property near the newly opened Interstate 71 interchange at Martin Luther King Drive in Avondale.

 

The Consortium purchased the properties from New Horizon Properties LLC for $3 million. It paid cash for the properties, according to property records. The properties, located at 3023 and 3035 Reading Road and Bartle Street, were valued at about $283,000, according to the Hamilton County auditor.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2017/10/05/exclusive-uptown-consortium-buys-mlk-interchange.html

 

3035 Reading:

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1340789,-84.4969975,3a,75y,314.08h,79.49t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1srKLxZxWVH9a_Fb7zVbdUMw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

 

3023:

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1338094,-84.4970335,3a,75y,259.26h,91.1t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1siVeWMaRRDYjhETxU-DZ-oQ!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo1.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DiVeWMaRRDYjhETxU-DZ-oQ%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D181.96574%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

As new Avondale Center breaks ground, where’s the grocery store?

 

More than 100 people gathered in Avondale to celebrate the razing and reconstruction of Avondale Town Center on Monday, which will be known as Avondale Center when the project is finished, but developers still are working to land a grocery store at the site.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2017/10/31/as-new-avondale-center-breaks-ground-where-s-the.html

Uptown Consortium selects developer for $500M project

 

Uptown Consortium Inc. has selected a preferred developer for the northeast quadrant of the Reading Road and Martin Luther King Jr. intersection.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2017/11/16/exclusive-uptown-consortium-selects-developer-for.html

3302 Reading Road was demolished yesterday.  This once grand apartment building is at the NE corner of Ridgeway and Reading.

And with each demo, cincinnati becomes more generic. 

Grand apartment building?  Lets calm down with the hyperbole....

Just because it's been left to rot doesn't mean it wasn't/isn't a grand building.  Maybe not the cream of the cream, but Reading Road in Avondale has so many beautiful apartments that were built for the well-to-do, and as long as they're kept up they're just as magnificent as they were when they were new.  It's like saying the Dennison Hotel was ugly and not worth caring about, just because they put some glass block windows in it at some point.

 

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1383157,-84.4953931,3a,25.9y,73.73h,93.49t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s9DlMCc1U6Q-hHkM9qkpNmg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Hopefully there becomes less of these way far gone buildings we can save, like it seems they have on Reading Road recently.

Just because it's been left to rot doesn't mean it wasn't/isn't a grand building.  Maybe not the cream of the cream, but Reading Road in Avondale has so many beautiful apartments that were built for the well-to-do, and as long as they're kept up they're just as magnificent as they were when they were new.  It's like saying the Dennison Hotel was ugly and not worth caring about, just because they put some glass block windows in it at some point.

 

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1383157,-84.4953931,3a,25.9y,73.73h,93.49t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s9DlMCc1U6Q-hHkM9qkpNmg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

 

 

 

 

Imagine how beautiful this was when the porches werent enclosed and had their original columns. Bet it was stunning.

Ive seen a lot if this city be torn down at this point in my life. I was hopeful in the 1980's when so much if this stuff wa wrought and just becoming vacant that population growth would turn it around.

Too bad it never came. It's sadder still to think of the humbdreds of other former big cities and mid sized towns that have seen their legacy structures fall to neglect along with our changing shifts in where we live in this country.

Does anyone know what's going on with the condos in this building?  Why are they so cheap?

https://www.sibcycline.com/Listing/CIN/1562073/3896-Reading-Rd-Q-Avondale-OH-45229

$393 is pretty high for the HOA there... considering your mortgage would probably be less (if you get a 30-year). If you put 20% down ($12k) and got a 30-year mortgage for $48k, your monthly mortgage payments would be $227.

Does anyone know what's going on with the condos in this building?  Why are they so cheap?

https://www.sibcycline.com/Listing/CIN/1562073/3896-Reading-Rd-Q-Avondale-OH-45229

 

Woah, that is a beautiful unit!

 

Does anyone know if the Town Center has begun construction? Or the next phase of the townhomes near Children's? One of my friends lives in one of those townhomes, and it is very nice inside. She's a black dentist, and she told me she moved there explicitly to be in a black community, but she was frustrated that, as a black professional, she basically had to pick between living in a white neighborhood like Hyde Park, or a pretty run down/hood adjacent neighborhood. I'm hopeful that Avondale, or maybe Walnut Hills, can become a destination neighborhood for upper and middle class blacks. We don't really have such a neighborhood in Cincinnati proper, though places like Forest Park and Springdale serve this niche in the suburbs.

It's a one-bedroom on a busy street in a bad neighborhood with no off-street parking and virtually no amenities within walking distance other than cheap cell phone stores.  The kitchen looks pretty rough, and the bathroom isn't much better.  For a condo you really need a better kitchen than what flies for an apartment.  It looks like it was probably turned into condos in the 1980s, so I bet the finishes and everything don't look very good close up.  All that said it's a charming unit with some cool quirks, like the sunroom and built-ins. 

 

Usually high HOA fees in old buildings can be explained by them covering the building's heating, but that's not the case here, which is definitely an odd one.  Water (even including hot water), landscaping, and snow removal certainly doesn't cost nearly $400/month. 

She's a black dentist, and she told me she moved there explicitly to be in a black community, but she was frustrated that, as a black professional, she basically had to pick between living in a white neighborhood like Hyde Park, or a pretty run down/hood adjacent neighborhood.

 

Bond Hill and Roselawn is where I would perceive that to be.  Elizabeth Place and Oberlin Boulevard in Bond Hill have some nice larger houses.  Same for Roselawn west of Reading and South of Section.  Most of the rest of the houses are not huge, but they're cute and well-kept.  These were the earliest pre-built subdivisions from the 1920s through 1940s.  Hyde Park is two or three decades older for the most part and is a bit more varied.

She's a black dentist, and she told me she moved there explicitly to be in a black community, but she was frustrated that, as a black professional, she basically had to pick between living in a white neighborhood like Hyde Park, or a pretty run down/hood adjacent neighborhood.

 

Bond Hill and Roselawn is where I would perceive that to be.  Elizabeth Place and Oberlin Boulevard in Bond Hill have some nice larger houses.  Same for Roselawn west of Reading and South of Section.  Most of the rest of the houses are not huge, but they're cute and well-kept.  These were the earliest pre-built subdivisions from the 1920s through 1940s.  Hyde Park is two or three decades older for the most part and is a bit more varied.

 

Bond Hill has its share of crime (and stigma) still, and there aren't many amenities there for residents, especially young ones who are looking for a walkable neighborhoods with stores and restaurants. This isn't necessarily a problem limited to Cincinnati, fwiw. Neighborhoods like Baldwin Hills or Ladera Heights (wealthy black neighborhoods in LA) are still pretty rare, nationally.

She's a black dentist, and she told me she moved there explicitly to be in a black community, but she was frustrated that, as a black professional, she basically had to pick between living in a white neighborhood like Hyde Park, or a pretty run down/hood adjacent neighborhood.

 

Bond Hill and Roselawn is where I would perceive that to be.  Elizabeth Place and Oberlin Boulevard in Bond Hill have some nice larger houses.  Same for Roselawn west of Reading and South of Section.  Most of the rest of the houses are not huge, but they're cute and well-kept.  These were the earliest pre-built subdivisions from the 1920s through 1940s.  Hyde Park is two or three decades older for the most part and is a bit more varied.

 

 

Westwood, as a near mirror of the race mix in the city has potential as well, and already has momentum around its Town Hall area.

I thought most of the professional AA community was in suburbs like Silverton or Woodlawn...

I thought most of the professional AA community was in suburbs like Silverton or Woodlawn...

 

I am no expert on this at all, but there is some middle class AA in Woodlawn but believe a lot of it is more on the lower middle income side.

 

It seems to me that Forest Park is a very middle class as well as more of Finneytown / Greenhills (Winton Woods School District).  This also goes down the Winton Road Corridor which I believe is all apart of Springdale Township (maybe Finneytown is Springdale Township?) and into North College Hill where it seems that is a bit more lower income area.

 

Forest Park = 18,700 residents (65% AA) 5% below poverty in 2000

 

Finneytown = 12,700 residents (34% AA) 6% below poverty in 2000

 

Woodlawn = 3,300 residents (67% AA) 9% below poverty in 2000

 

 

There's like three nice houses in Woodlawn, the rest are rather small mid-century ranches. 

 

On a slightly different note, is there any Jewish community left in Avondale?  I would imagine not, since most synagogues there were converted to Christian churches, a rather unusual situation.  They've kind of been following Reading and Gilbert northeast out of town for the last century, starting with downtown, then moving to Avondale and to a lesser extent Walnut Hills, then Roselawn, Amberley, and out through Montgomery and Sycamore Township. 

^^ Springdale is a city; Springfield is a township. Finneytown is, in fact, a part of Springfield Township.

Children's Hospital and the Redevelopment Authority are partnering to build/renovate 20 single-family, market-rate homes in Avondale:

 

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2018/04/12/children-s-hospital-redevelopment-authority-plan.html

 

Children’s will donate $2 million, which includes the value of six properties that it owns, to the GCRA, which will renovate or build 20 single-family homes to be sold at market rate. The work is expected to begin later this year on properties on Forest Avenue and Haven Street.

 

I'm curious which specific properties will be included, as when I look at the properties on the CAGIS, I don't see any properties on Forest or Haven that are obviously owned by Children's Hospital (so they're probably using an affiliate LLC).

 

 

49 Ehrman on the market, complete with brass peacock:

https://www.sibcycline.com/Listing/CIN/1578435/49-Ehrman-Ave-Avondale-OH-45220

 

 

^I'll take that carpet off of someone's hands if they don't want it.

^I'll take that carpet off of someone's hands if they don't want it.

 

Yeah I don't think that selling agent quite understands what they've got. 

^$243/month gets you a 2-bedroom less than 2 miles from UC/Zoo/Children's.

^$243/month gets you a 2-bedroom less than 2 miles from UC/Zoo/Children's.

 

Actually you probably couldn't get a mortgage on this thing since it's well under $50,000. 

 

I do think that Avondale will turn and yuppify starting in the late 2020s.  Evanston will turn first because of its proximity to Hyde Park & I-71. 

 

There is now a lot of flipping activity on the west side of Norwood and all the way down to Victory Parkway.  I anticipate that an upward reputation for St. Bernard will cause people to start looking at the Avondale side streets off of Vine, which are currently completely ignored by investors. 

 

 

 

 

^I'll take that carpet off of someone's hands if they don't want it.

 

Yeah I don't think that selling agent quite understands what they've got. 

 

"Charming well maintained ranch!"

^$243/month gets you a 2-bedroom less than 2 miles from UC/Zoo/Children's.

 

Actually you probably couldn't get a mortgage on this thing since it's well under $50,000. 

 

 

 

 

What about through an underwriter?

 

What about through an underwriter?

 

I don't know.  I've always read that it's a pain to get a small mortgage.  Actually, you might be able to do a 203k FHA loan to pay for renovations, but I've heard those are pains too.  You have to take a class and stuff. 

49 Ehrman on the market, complete with brass peacock:

https://www.sibcycline.com/Listing/CIN/1578435/49-Ehrman-Ave-Avondale-OH-45220

 

My God.  It's true.

 

Uptown Consortium bought the gas station at the southwest corner of Reading/MLK: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2018/05/11/exclusive-uptown-consortium-buys-key-property-near.html

 

That corner will be pretty unrecognizable if/when all 4 corners get redeveloped:

• SE: Terrex hotel/office - https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2017/09/26/terrex-messer-team-adds-hotel-developer-for-uptown.html
  
• NE: Neyer - https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2017/09/26/terrex-messer-team-adds-hotel-developer-for-uptown.html
  
• NW: NIOSH - https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2017/07/13/site-selected-for-110-million-niosh-lab-in.html
  

Federal government has issued the RFP for design-build of the new NIOSH campus: https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=109cb30969c480370a72bef2014b7a2a&tab=core&_cview=1

 

Details:

• Building 301, multi-story office and laboratory building, including a high bay laboratory component and Central Utility Plant (CUP).
  
• Building 302, single story transshipping, security checkpoint and storage building
  
• Building 303, 600 + automobile multi-story parking facility with included visitor's security center
  
• Building 304, single story campus multi-modal campus entry security checkpoint building
  
• Building 305, single story campus pedestrian entry security checkpoint building
  
• surface parking lots for employees
  

 

So there will be a mixture of structured and surface parking... the real question will be how the buildings are oriented to the surrounding streets. If the buildings are set back excessively, it will ruin any chance of creating a sense of place in that area.

This could be EPA east. 

This could be EPA east. 

Yeah... that's my fear.

The fact that the RFP calls for several individual security checkpoint buildings leads me to believe that it will be built like a fortress. I picture it set back from the street, surrounded by no cut/no climb fencing.

The fact that the RFP calls for several individual security checkpoint buildings leads me to believe that it will be built like a fortress. I picture it set back from the street, surrounded by no cut/no climb fencing.

Yep. Not a good sign.

The security surrounding the EPA is hidden but quite formidable.  The design subtly discourages people from walking or biking across the parking lot.  You aren't going to make much progress if you attempt to ram the gates.  They are the heaviest gates around.  I'm pretty confident than a full-sized SUV, if so inclined, could ram its way in (or out) of the Ronald McDonald House.  But good luck with those EPA gates. 

 

Also, the layout of the EPA complex, including its parking lot, is very confusing.  I suspect that they employed some of the tricks casino designers use to both slow down an approach and a get-away.  I'm speaking as someone who has made about 20 deliveries to the EPA building. 

This could be EPA east. 

Yeah... that's my fear.

 

Speaking of which, does anybody know what the EPA is building where their parking lot used to be? I haven't driven by there recently but it looks like there was either a garage or a new building going up. I couldn't find any information online at the time.

Ronald McDonald House planning $42 million expansion

 

 

Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Cincinnati plans to more than double the size of its operations in Avondale.

 

Ronald McDonald House is looking to construct a new, 73,000-square-foot building on its campus at 350 Erkenbrecher Ave. that would add 99 suites and a three-story parking garage. Currently, Ronald McDonald House has 78 suites for patients and their families. With Cincinnati Children’s Hospital working on an up to $650 million expansion, the organization needs to expand just to meet current demand.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2018/05/30/ronald-mcdonald-house-planning-42-million.html

$42 million Ronald McDonald House expansion lands key approval

 

 

The planned expansion of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Cincinnati landed a key approval Friday morning.

 

Cincinnati Planning Commission voted unanimously to approve a major amendment to the concept for planned development and the final development plan for Ronald McDonald House’s $42 million expansion. The new, 73,000-square-foot building will more than double the size of Ronald McDonald House, giving the nonprofit organization a total of 177 suites for patients of local hospitals and their families.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2018/06/01/42-million-ronald-mcdonald-house-expansion-lands.html

That is so 2013. 

Uptown Consortium bought the gas station at the southwest corner of Reading/MLK: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2018/05/11/exclusive-uptown-consortium-buys-key-property-near.html

 

That corner will be pretty unrecognizable if/when all 4 corners get redeveloped:

• SE: Terrex hotel/office - https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2017/09/26/terrex-messer-team-adds-hotel-developer-for-uptown.html
  
• NE: Neyer - https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2017/09/26/terrex-messer-team-adds-hotel-developer-for-uptown.html
  
• NW: NIOSH - https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2017/07/13/site-selected-for-110-million-niosh-lab-in.html
  

 

Update: the SW corner will include a Residence Inn by Marriott, developed by Winegardner & Hammons: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2018/06/06/exclusive-winegardner-hammons-to-build-hotel-at.html

 

It's not clear yet how much land Uptown Consortium has control of in that SW corner... the whole block bounded by MLK, Reading, Lincoln, and Vernon ought be be re-developed.

 

Update: the SW corner will include a Residence Inn by Marriott, developed by Winegardner & Hammons: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2018/06/06/exclusive-winegardner-hammons-to-build-hotel-at.html

 

No mention of Dual Manor but it has been replaced in the rendering. 

 

I think the real golden piece of property along MLK is the gigantic Talbert House facility between Highland and Burnet:

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1341188,-84.501508,278m/data=!3m1!1e3

 

 

^I agree the Talbert House is taking up a lot of space, and it'd be nice to replace it with something with higher density and built up to MLK, but I don't mind it as much as the surface parking lots on the north side of MLK, from Bellevue over to Reading.