Also, 2724 Erie Avenue, home of Alfio's and formerly Keegan's is getting some major facade work. The upper floors were redone in 2018. The east facing side can still be viewed above Knickers and is in real bad shape too.

 

 

This retail building at 3673 Paxton next to Wasson Road and the new section of WW is getting completely gutted but not totally demolished. No transfer of ownership though it appears that it will now be the first location in the area for iCryo Recovery and Wellness. It's disappointing that it won't be a business that will be able to specifically take advantage of the prime location adjacent to the trail, though the intersection needs to be redesigned before that would happen anyways.


 

On 12/9/2019 at 6:33 PM, jmecklenborg said:

Developer can now only build 4 houses along the Wasson Way trail, not 6:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2019/12/09/an-arrest-warrant-a-bike-trail-and-four-houses-the.html?iana=hpmvp_cinci_news_headline

And we're back to it! French's subdivision is featured in this week's planning commission packet under a new company name, "Habitat Development Group." It's got all the NIMBY classics in the opposition letters. I think my favorite is the woman who argues that it should not be approved because the traffic is dangerous along Wasson Road, getting worse with all the Wasson Way traffic, and somehow these homes will make that worse? Starts page 16.

Technically, isn't this an Oakley development since it's on the north side of the (former) railroad tracks?

4 minutes ago, jwulsin said:

Technically, isn't this an Oakley development since it's on the north side of the (former) railroad tracks?

Wasson Road is the divider between Oakley and Hyde Park Community Councils

^ The defunct rail line, now Wasson Way, divides Hyde Park and Oakley for Census purposes. I think this particular developer has also presented to the Oakley CC in the past and has gotten approval from them.

Right before Christmas, PLK purchased the former Hyde Park Floral & Garden at 3660 Michigan Avenue from Norfolk Southern for $1.2 million.

It is 8/10ths of an acre and runs the length of Wasson Way between Michigan and Shaw. It is currently zoned CC-Auto. Their recent history of developments is mostly mixed-use but I think they also built the new townhomes in Oakley Square by the UDF. Either way, get your popcorn ready for the NIMBYs.

1 hour ago, Dev said:

Right before Christmas, PLK purchased the former Hyde Park Floral & Garden at 3660 Michigan Avenue from Norfolk Southern for $1.2 million.

It is 8/10ths of an acre and runs the length of Wasson Way between Michigan and Shaw. It is currently zoned CC-Auto. Their recent history of developments is mostly mixed-use but I think they also built the new townhomes in Oakley Square by the UDF. Either way, get your popcorn ready for the NIMBYs.

It’s really baffles my mind that the people who always try to stop developments that will be beneficial to the neighborhood and increase property values would rather have some vacant property that will just become overrun with overgrowth (which is happening to this property) than to let it proceed forward. If I could go around and slap every nimby I would. 

22 minutes ago, Ucgrad2015 said:

It’s really baffles my mind that the people who always try to stop developments that will be beneficial to the neighborhood and increase property values would rather have some vacant property that will just become overrun with overgrowth (which is happening to this property) than to let it proceed forward. If I could go around and slap every nimby I would. 

 

I have wondered this same thing. Not to mention - the tiny percentage of people that are adamantly against it are willing to put in vastly more time opposing anything than the 99% of people that are for it or have no opinion.

1 hour ago, wjh2 said:

 

I have wondered this same thing. Not to mention - the tiny percentage of people that are adamantly against it are willing to put in vastly more time opposing anything than the 99% of people that are for it or have no opinion.

 

 

 

 

1 hour ago, wjh2 said:

 

I have wondered this same thing. Not to mention - the tiny percentage of people that are adamantly against it are willing to put in vastly more time opposing anything than the 99% of people that are for it or have no opinion.

And half of the time the people who are opposing it don’t even live close to the development but streets over or on the other side of the neighborhood. Hell if I was a developer I’d go door to door to homes that are close to the development (not sure if developers actually do this or if it’s even allowed) and ask their opinions on it. 

20 minutes ago, jmecklenborg said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Free time + passion - knowledge = yelling at meetings

Speaking of yelling at meetings, today a commercial developer is asking for an easement on Columbus Avenue to build driveway access to their 2 vacant lots, 3657 and 3658 Columbus. Both are zoned SF-6. When the developer removed the fence at the end of Columbus, there were complaints from residents that it would again allow drunks to walk through their neighborhood.


3657 Columbus


3658 Columbus

I guess their favorite song isn't "How Dry I Am"

12 hours ago, Dev said:

 there were complaints from residents that it would again allow drunks to walk through their neighborhood.

 

Yeah one of the women doxed me.  Like actually dug up stuff on me online and passed it along to all of those people. 

 

Why?

 

Because I told them they were exaggerating their complaints because they just wanted attention.  She was like well how would you like it if people yelled and parked on your street and peed in the shadows and threw beer cans on your lawn.  I told her i own a house in Clifton Heights and that stuff and more happens all of the time and I don't care.  She then accused me of being broke because I live in Clifton.  I then accused her and her Hyde Park neighbors of all inheriting money.  It escalated to the point of me actually posting my 2018 tax return on Facebook to illustrate to the woman that I make good money and she needs to F off and go back to spending her inheritance. 

 

8 hours ago, jmecklenborg said:

 

Yeah one of the women doxed me.  Like actually dug up stuff on me online and passed it along to all of those people. 

 

Why?

 

Because I told them they were exaggerating their complaints because they just wanted attention.  She was like well how would you like it if people yelled and parked on your street and peed in the shadows and threw beer cans on your lawn.  I told her i own a house in Clifton Heights and that stuff and more happens all of the time and I don't care.  She then accused me of being broke because I live in Clifton.  I then accused her and her Hyde Park neighbors of all inheriting money.  It escalated to the point of me actually posting my 2018 tax return on Facebook to illustrate to the woman that I make good money and she needs to F off and go back to spending her inheritance. 

 

Wow, lol ... Jake, nothing surprises me anymore! 🤣

9 hours ago, jmecklenborg said:

 

It escalated to the point of me actually posting my 2018 tax return on Facebook to illustrate to the woman that I make good money and she needs to F off and go back to spending her inheritance. 

 

Pics or it didn't happen. 🤣🤣

50 minutes ago, JYP said:

Pics or it didn't happen. 🤣🤣

 

I had to quit the Greater Cincinnati Politics Page on Facebook because of this because they started spreading my personal information amongst themselves and I even got a threatening direct message from some guy.  Even after I quit the page the lady was still using my name like a pejorative.  

On 1/8/2021 at 4:31 PM, Ucgrad2015 said:

And half of the time the people who are opposing it don’t even live close to the development but streets over or on the other side of the neighborhood. Hell if I was a developer I’d go door to door to homes that are close to the development (not sure if developers actually do this or if it’s even allowed) and ask their opinions on it. 

 

In Northside the Community Council notifies all nearby neighbors when a new development is happening. They are encouraged to attend public meetings. Not sure if that is city-wide.

36 minutes ago, DEPACincy said:

 

In Northside the Community Council notifies all nearby neighbors when a new development is happening. They are encouraged to attend public meetings. Not sure if that is city-wide.

How do they notify everyone? Are you saying they send mail to everyone nearby?

Hyde Park and Hyde Park Near mail is kind of strange. People mailing out stuff assume you're rich. You get all kinds of stuff you don't get in other parts of town.

2 hours ago, ryanlammi said:

How do they notify everyone? Are you saying they send mail to everyone nearby?

 

I don't know who does it, but they drop off a little postcard in everyone's mailbox. It's only people really close. I think within 500 feet or something. I'm not sure the exact details. I remember hearing the discussion at a community council meeting.

6 minutes ago, DEPACincy said:

 

I don't know who does it, but they drop off a little postcard in everyone's mailbox. It's only people really close. I think within 500 feet or something. I'm not sure the exact details. I remember hearing the discussion at a community council meeting.

This is a City requirement

Yeah, the city has an automated service that pulls addresses off of CAGIS and automatically sends postcards to the property owner's address (I don't believe it goes to the actual address if they are different).

https://www.cincinnati.com/restricted/?return=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cincinnati.com%2Fstory%2Fnews%2F2021%2F01%2F25%2Fdeveloper-says-construction-hotel-hyde-park-resume-future%2F6676917002%2F
 

Have been curious about this project since it has fencing around it but has sat untouched since last summer when they did some ground work. 

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2021/07/06/luxury-apartments-planning-along-wasson-way.html
 

Like seeing the density along Wasson way. Sadly I doubt it will get with all the Hyde Park nimbys.

Last time I drove by the area there was already a big sign up on the property saying something along the lines of 'stop the tower' (it is 6 floors...not sure how we are qualifying that as a tower) and there is a website about how to stop it from happening and lots of fake outrage about it on Nextdoor. 

Quote

However, PLK Communities is not seeking any design relief from the city of Cincinnati and the project will be built to the existing code with no variances. Cut and fill permits for the project were issued at the end of June. Building permits for the project are in for final review

 

Ha, this is the first time in a long time that I've seen something not requiring public money or variances, so I doubt there's much recourse... It's just going to happen. Love it

Edited July 6, 20213 yr by 10albersa

save the gravel lot!

We won't have any sun now with this tower blocking it!

18 minutes ago, tonyt3524 said:

We won't have any sun now with this tower blocking it!

 

Ha... i did see a real comment that said 'i hope people living in oakley and hyde park enjoy never seeing the sun again'.

 

Along with the usual 'think of the children', traffic, and that if you can see the pool from the new building from a house close by it will ruin the value of the home. 

This puts Cranley in an interesting position- cater to his NIMBY Hyde Park backers to ‘save the neighborhood character’ or promote the development and brag about the benefits of ‘his’ Wasson Way.

10 minutes ago, Guy23 said:

This puts Cranley in an interesting position- cater to his NIMBY Hyde Park backers to ‘save the neighborhood character’ or promote the development and brag about the benefits of ‘his’ Wasson Way.

 

Cranley gets to sit this one out since it is being built to meet current zoning codes and isn't seeking out any public funding. The city doesn't have any power to stop or demand changes, which actually works out well for Cranley.

 

This lesson here is that potential homebuyers should always do some research as to what the zoning in your area allows for. If you don't want to live next door to a six story tower, don't buy a house next door to something zoned CC-A.

 

It would suck to live within a parcel or two of this - what was a quaint back yard will now have 6 stories of windows peering over it - but once you're more than a few houses down the street it will have zero impact.

2 hours ago, wjh2 said:

 

Ha... i did see a real comment that said 'i hope people living in oakley and hyde park enjoy never seeing the sun again'.

 

Along with the usual 'think of the children', traffic, and that if you can see the pool from the new building from a house close by it will ruin the value of the home. 

There has been a string of new NIMBY comments on Hyde Park developments now that the Wasson Way trail is mostly complete.  People on the WW facebook page have been commenting "we need to protect the safety of the users of this trail" or "the trail will be too crowded."  They're already gatekeeping a 3 mile trail to nowhere (for now).

The other potential development that this was commented on was the former train yard along Lexington in Norwood.  Perfect for a mixed use apartment building, but not perfect if you care about the safety and traffic on the trail!

11 hours ago, Ram23 said:

 

Cranley gets to sit this one out since it is being built to meet current zoning codes and isn't seeking out any public funding. The city doesn't have any power to stop or demand changes, which actually works out well for Cranley.

 

This lesson here is that potential homebuyers should always do some research as to what the zoning in your area allows for. If you don't want to live next door to a six story tower, don't buy a house next door to something zoned CC-A.

 

It would suck to live within a parcel or two of this - what was a quaint back yard will now have 6 stories of windows peering over it - but once you're more than a few houses down the street it will have zero impact.

Honest questions: What's to stop Cranley from walking down to the permit office and getting them to deny the miscellaneous permits that the project will require?

As for the zoning part, sure the neighbors have little legal recourse but you can't be surprised that they are upset. People know very, very little about the City's ordinances which seems to have been a great thing with the few Form-Based Code meetings that had happened and the few neighborhoods that have been getting their community plans updated. 

10 hours ago, Dev said:

Honest questions: What's to stop Cranley from walking down to the permit office and getting them to deny the miscellaneous permits that the project will require?

 

They would have to have grounds to deny the permits. So long as there are no code deficiencies in the plans, the Ohio Building Code (state law) requires municipalities to issue permits.

2 hours ago, Ram23 said:

 

They would have to have grounds to deny the permits. So long as there are no code deficiencies in the plans, the Ohio Building Code (state law) requires municipalities to issue permits.

I honestly really surprised that current zoning allows a building of that density to be built there. Does that apply to the entire Wesson corridor?

31 minutes ago, Guy23 said:

I honestly really surprised that current zoning allows a building of that density to be built there. Does that apply to the entire Wesson corridor?

 

Most of it is single family zoning unfortunately. 

 

 

4 minutes ago, DEPACincy said:

 

Most of it is single family zoning unfortunately. 

 

 

 

I don't think it's unfortunate -  pretty much all of the SF zoned areas are currently filled with single family housing, and it is almost all quality, older housing with good density and walkability.

 

I do think that "ML" zoned area will be a developer target in the future if it isn't already. That one could be a battle.

24 minutes ago, Ram23 said:

 

I don't think it's unfortunate -  pretty much all of the SF zoned areas are currently filled with single family housing, and it is almost all quality, older housing with good density and walkability.

 

I do think that "ML" zoned area will be a developer target in the future if it isn't already. That one could be a battle.

Looked at a site there not to long ago. Initial enviro showed a lot of PERC in the ground... Wouldn't be surprised if that whole swath of land had contaminants from the industrial uses but it's a great site. The price will come down and someone will eventually build on it.

1 hour ago, Ram23 said:

 

I don't think it's unfortunate -  pretty much all of the SF zoned areas are currently filled with single family housing, and it is almost all quality, older housing with good density and walkability.

 

I do think that "ML" zoned area will be a developer target in the future if it isn't already. That one could be a battle.

 

There are bunch of 4 and 6 unit apartment buildings sprinkled in that make it dense. But those are illegal under the current zoning. SFD zoning with 6,000 and 10,000 square foot min lot sizes is a travesty this close to the urban core. The long run result is an unhealthy environment, more traffic, less affordability, and a less interesting city. It's also antithetical to the actual historical context of the neighborhood.

1 hour ago, DEPACincy said:

There are bunch of 4 and 6 unit apartment buildings sprinkled in that make it dense. But those are illegal under the current zoning. SFD zoning with 6,000 and 10,000 square foot min lot sizes is a travesty this close to the urban core. The long run result is an unhealthy environment, more traffic, less affordability, and a less interesting city. It's also antithetical to the actual historical context of the neighborhood.

 

It'd be one thing if we were talking about what should be developed on vacant land, but the zoning changes you're suggesting would only encourage teardowns of quality hosing stock in what is arguably the healthiest and most desirable inner ring suburb in Cincinnati. There are plenty of ways to improve the built environment, but getting rid of these vibrant single family areas is not among them. If anything, these are assets the city should strive to protect should they ever hope to be as attractive to families as various suburbs are.

27 minutes ago, Ram23 said:

 

It'd be one thing if we were talking about what should be developed on vacant land, but the zoning changes you're suggesting would only encourage teardowns of quality hosing stock in what is arguably the healthiest and most desirable inner ring suburb in Cincinnati. There are plenty of ways to improve the built environment, but getting rid of these vibrant single family areas is not among them. If anything, these are assets the city should strive to protect should they ever hope to be as attractive to families as various suburbs are.

As you’ve mentioned these are amongst the most desirable neighborhoods in the region, so why not let more people (and more income levels) move there and enjoy their benefits and amenities by allowing the market to dictate how much housing should be built?

 

Just because someone can make some more money building 60 units where there were three SF houses or a vacant lot doesn't make it good for the neighborhood or the City to do so. SF zoning has its place and it has already decimated by influence buying from our crooked politicians.

I don't think anyone is suggesting completely demolishing Hyde Park for giant apartment complexes everywhere. But on major arterials with some of the least desirable property in the most desired neighborhood, yeah, let's densify that area

13 hours ago, 1400 Sycamore said:

Just because someone can make some more money building 60 units where there were three SF houses or a vacant lot doesn't make it good for the neighborhood or the City to do so. SF zoning has its place and it has already decimated by influence buying from our crooked politicians.

SF zoning was created to keep racial and economic minorities out of certain neighborhoods, so no it does not have its place. No other country has entire districts dedicated to just single-family buildings to the extent the US has done, and that's for a reason.

In this specific case, none of this would be happening if this section of Hyde Park had more "missing middle" housing as it's likely supply would have kept up and the need for a 6 story apartment building might not be necessary.

19 minutes ago, Dev said:

In this specific case, none of this would be happening if this section of Hyde Park had more "missing middle" housing as it's likely supply would have kept up and the need for a 6 story apartment building might not be necessary

Missing middle... Like the development that was originally supposed to go on the plot where the big ugly billboard is at the intersection of Paxton & Wasson?  Nope, our sewers don't have enough capacity, sorry, I prefer billboards.

Is the 'sewer capacity' argument valid? I have seen it brought up to stop developments (but only in higher-end neighborhoods).. so I have reason to be skeptical that holds any merit. 

20 minutes ago, wjh2 said:

Is the 'sewer capacity' argument valid? I have seen it brought up to stop developments (but only in higher-end neighborhoods).. so I have reason to be skeptical that holds any merit. 

 

Just about anything that gets built has to get a permit from GCWW right?

3 hours ago, Dev said:

SF zoning was created to keep racial and economic minorities out of certain neighborhoods, so no it does not have its place. No other country has entire districts dedicated to just single-family buildings to the extent the US has done, and that's for a reason.

 

There's absolutely nothing inherently racist about single family zoning and housing. As evidence, you can point to the dozens of single family areas in Cincinnati that are majority black neighborhoods.

 

And if by "economic minority" you really mean poor, again - you can point to dozens of areas in Cincinnati that are quite poor but still have single family housing. Not to mention poor rural areas.

 

26 minutes ago, wjh2 said:

Is the 'sewer capacity' argument valid? I have seen it brought up to stop developments (but only in higher-end neighborhoods).. so I have reason to be skeptical that holds any merit. 

 

It is - insufficient infrastructure can be a big problem. One of the earliest things anyone should do when considering new construction in Cincinnati is fill out a sewer availability form with MSD. There are areas of the city where the existing sewer infrastructure cannot support the hundreds of additional toilets, sinks, showers, etc. that an apartment block adds. I've even heard of areas where the existing sewers are already over capacity and cannot support any new construction. MSD will tell you this if you send a form in.

 

GCWW is harder to navigate but can similarly stop developments, especially if the development needs to have fire sprinklers. If there is not enough flow in the water main to support the plumbing system, you can't build.