January 21, 20214 yr ^I was not able to find FHA515 on google. Was that a loan to buy an existing multifamily or to build a new one? Today you can buy a 2, 3, or 4-family as an owner-occupant with an FHA loan, meaning you could buy a $200k building for under $10,000, but I believe it would have to meet FHA inspection, which means they're super-hardcore on silly stuff like loose railings. I believe that you need to get the seller to make all improvements before the loan closes and few sellers are going to waste their time selling to you as compared to a conventional loan or cash buyer. Edited January 21, 20214 yr by jmecklenborg
January 21, 20214 yr I might have misremembered the Code Section but I think they had 3% loans to take up the slack after the Korean War vets poured in. Today, one cannot really make a two family work here due to real estate tax rates unless it is a slum. But, I'd like to try conversion of a 4 family into two luxury apartments. Hyde Park is probably the place to experiment. Get one of those 4 family flat roof buildings and put a full roof deck and remove all the interior walls and put in floor to ceiling glass.
January 21, 20214 yr Annnnnndddddd it is on hold again. Surprising that anyone wants to build here. https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2021/01/21/city-council-holds-massive-liberty-and-elm-project.html?utm_content=1611262153&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR3TF_gGhIdDSkFbR65L7GLxZa1hjD6P2pLKUhPhTYZaODkdzia7HRL3MaU
January 21, 20214 yr 17 minutes ago, SleepyLeroy said: Annnnnndddddd it is on hold again. Surprising that anyone wants to build here. https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2021/01/21/city-council-holds-massive-liberty-and-elm-project.html?utm_content=1611262153&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR3TF_gGhIdDSkFbR65L7GLxZa1hjD6P2pLKUhPhTYZaODkdzia7HRL3MaU I watched part of the hearing- it seemed pretty clear that Seelbach and Landsman are both learning towards voting for it in two weeks but wanted to take the opportunity to grandstand and say they’re ‘listening.’ Hopefully the two week pause earns them an extra unit or two of affordable housing so they can claim victory, but the process has been a joke. Edited January 21, 20214 yr by Guy23
January 21, 20214 yr On 1/20/2021 at 9:44 AM, taestell said: What that told me is that they are not interested in working with the developer to tweak the project and make it something that is mutually beneficial to both the community and the developer. Instead, they want to give the developer a laundry list of their demands. And if the developer does not comply, they will show up at City Hall and try to filibuster the project. One of the community activists who is against this project posted on Twitter that approving this project would be disrespectful to the "residents of our neighborhood who invested thousands of volunteer hours trying to work WITH this developer." Which means that...the developer has also spent many hours trying to work with neighborhood volunteers to adjust this project to be more to their liking... These activists are not negotiating in good faith. They will not support the project unless 100% of their demands are met. Market rate = bad! Love live Buddy Gray!
January 21, 20214 yr 1 hour ago, Guy23 said: I watched part of the hearing- it seemed pretty clear that Seelbach and Landsman are both learning towards voting for it in two weeks but wanted to take the opportunity to grandstand and say they’re ‘listening.’ Hopefully the two week pause earns them an extra unit or two of affordable housing so they can claim victory, but the process has been a joke. They can turn one of the janitor closets into a affordable housing unit (low income studio unit). Just like they do in New York,
January 22, 20214 yr If this doesn’t end up getting built it would be a complete embarrassment for our city.
January 22, 20214 yr No politician should support a 30 year tax abatement while the rest of us in OTR just got huge property tax increasesSent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
January 22, 20214 yr Due to the Property Tax Rollback, the City of Cincinnati receives MORE revenue by granting an abatement than it does by not granting an abatement. Cincinnati's Commercial Tax Abatements raise your county taxes by about 0.4%
January 22, 20214 yr 13 hours ago, Cincy513 said: If this doesn’t end up getting built it would be a complete embarrassment for our city. OTRCC can't have it both ways with more affordable housing and smaller scale. If you honestly care about more affordable housing, then the project actually needs to go back and add another floor to the design and make the project 1/5th affordable housing, and keep the same # of market rate units.
January 22, 20214 yr https://www.cincinnati.com/get-access/?return=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cincinnati.com%2Fstory%2Fnews%2F2021%2F01%2F22%2Felm-liberty-project-see-renderings-proposed-otr-development%2F6669688002%2F Enquirer is really against this development. They had another story about it yesterday. Have not seen any other news sites talking about it.
January 25, 20214 yr On 12/18/2020 at 4:47 PM, jwulsin said: 1409 MAIN ST The applicant requests a Certificate of Appropriateness to rehabilitate a mixed-use structure in the Over-The-Rhine Historic District. Additionally, the applicant requests zoning relief related to density. When I first posted about this back in December, the HCB packets weren't available, but they are now: https://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/buildings/historic-conservation/historic-conservation-board/january-25-2021-staff-report-and-case-materials/ Interestingly, the project at 1409 include a 3-story rear building with a small footprint, and exterior stairs. They're going to renovate it to include 3 studio apartments. I love to see these small-footprint buildings get renovated. They're more difficult to make work financially, but it's important for the neighborhood since it adds density, and crucially, it adds a different size-point which will help the long-term viability of the neighborhood to serve a wide range of price points. HCB meets this afternoon at 3pm to review this proposal (and a whole bunch of other projects).
January 28, 20214 yr Permanent outdoor 'streateries' under construction in OTR The construction of outdoor "streateries" is underway as the city of Cincinnati converts temporary outdoor dining areas into permanent fixtures to expand restaurants capacity amid restrictions put into place due to Covid-19. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2021/01/28/streateries-under-construction-in-otr.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
January 28, 20214 yr 1 hour ago, ColDayMan said: Permanent outdoor 'streateries' under construction in OTR What happened to all the outrage over parking spots? /s Wonder if we'll see these spread into downtown. Would help give the streets a more lively feeling outside of building hours.
January 28, 20214 yr 3 minutes ago, RealAdamP said: What happened to all the outrage over parking spots? /s Oh don't you worry... those voices were raised. 4 minutes ago, RealAdamP said: Wonder if we'll see these spread into downtown. Would help give the streets a more lively feeling outside of building hours. Part of this same project/proposal/funding includes several significant bumpouts in downtown. I forget all the locations, but the south side of Jeff Ruby's (along 7th Street) is getting a large bumpout, to allow for more outdoor seating.
January 28, 20214 yr Long term, I wonder if the city will charge a fee for these spaces. If you need to block a metered spot temporarily to get a delivery or moving truck in, they make you pay a fee so I can't imagine they'll give away spots indefinitely for free. I feel bad for places that don't have the right sort of frontage to support this. There are certainly some winners and some losers here depending upon location. If these remain permanent, they will probably result in higher lease rates than places without parklets, so the real winners are probably the landlords.
January 28, 20214 yr This isn't Chicago where they sold their parking spots to a private company and have to compensate them for lost revenue due to closures. If Cincinnati wants to use parking spaces for something else, then they're no longer parking spaces and hence aren't something to be charged for (at least not in the same way). Parking meters are not supposed to be just for collecting money, they're a means to allocate a scarce resource. If they find a higher and better use for that space, then so be it. Now, an argument can certainly be made that a "streaterie" gives part of the public realm over to exclusive use by a private business, and therefore some compensation is warranted, but I don't know how much that should be.
January 28, 20214 yr I think the biggest issue is that certain locations were given this option without creating an actual process for others to do this. The only reason it's happening is because big money investors support it, and Cranley does what they want. I think the city should definitely be collecting some money from businesses essentially renting real estate from the city's public ROW. It does reduce parking (which is fine in general), but to charge the average Joe to park their car, but let 3CDC occupy these spaces for free seems a bit unjust.
January 29, 20214 yr The City made it virtually impossible for food carts. First, you had to have a commissary inspected and approved by the Board of Health. and you had to have carts, and you had to have insurance. Then you applied and maybe did not get spaces. But the coup de gras was then they made the cart vendors go into a lottery to see if they could retain their locations. Vibrant cities have hundreds of food carts.
January 29, 20214 yr Grandin Properties selects CRE firm to market OTR office building Grandin Properties has selected a new commercial real estate firm to handle office leasing for the eCenter, formerly known as the Emanuel Center, in Over-the-Rhine. The eCenter, located at 1308 Race St. across from Washington Park, is a more than 34,500-square-foot class A office building in Over-the-Rhine. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2021/01/29/grandin-properties-selects-cre-firm-to-market-otr.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
January 29, 20214 yr 6 hours ago, 1400 Sycamore said: The City made it virtually impossible for food carts. First, you had to have a commissary inspected and approved by the Board of Health. and you had to have carts, and you had to have insurance. Then you applied and maybe did not get spaces. But the coup de gras was then they made the cart vendors go into a lottery to see if they could retain their locations. Vibrant cities have hundreds of food carts. I didn't know this history. When we moved here we really missed food carts. Still do.
January 29, 20214 yr 3 hours ago, DEPACincy said: I didn't know this history. When we moved here we really missed food carts. Still do. Me too. I was in Philly for a while. We thought it would be about cheese steak. They were there but also about 50 other nationalities represented. Makes a lot of sense to build a commissary, get it approved and then enter a lottery for a permit.
January 29, 20214 yr I can't remember the details, but I think there was an economic development director in Cincinnati in the 1990s that thought street food was unsightly and unsanitary and made the city look unsavory. I think it was the same person who loved the old fountain square and wouldn't allow tables and chairs with umbrellas cause, again, it offended her sense of orderliness. I still remember feeling joy when they put actual real tables and chairs with umbrellas out on the rebuilt fountain square.
February 2, 20214 yr Developer completes Findlay Market-area apartments, including affordable units 8K, a Cincinnati-based construction and development company, has completed a $1.2 million apartment project at 1714 Vine St., two blocks from Findlay Market. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2021/02/01/developer-completes-findlay-market-area-apartments.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
February 2, 20214 yr Looks pretty good for $658 in OTR. The kitchen looks a bit sad, but I kinda expect that at such a low rent. Though, I love seeing split and ductless systems starting to be used more often in residential.
February 2, 20214 yr 11 hours ago, 1400 Sycamore said: Ouch! That is dismal. I lived in one of their apartments, it was really nice. Unfortunately I'm not wealthy. It must be nice to have the kind of money to call something like this dismal. I called it home. Thanks bud.
February 2, 20214 yr Yeah, for real... I would be so stoked to have a new tiny kitchen like this after college and while I was serving in the AmeriCorps. Dismal are those who can't appreciate the housing ladder.
February 2, 20214 yr 13 hours ago, RealAdamP said: Looks pretty good for $658 in OTR. The kitchen looks a bit sad, but I kinda expect that at such a low rent. Though, I love seeing split and ductless systems starting to be used more often in residential. Yeah I'm not sure why they're not used more, either. They are perfect for these old buildings created without chases to run duct work in. And, for 600 sq. ft. units, their Duke bill should average about $50/month including A/C. I know some folks living in OTRCH housing where their Duke bill can be more than half their rent - crappy old HVAC, leaky windows, no insulation - so from an affordability perspective this matters.
February 2, 20214 yr https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2021/02/02/liberty-elm-project-gets-new-vision.html?cx_testId=40&cx_testVariant=cx_6&cx_artPos=2#cxrecs_s Included is the addition of more affordable housing but taking out $800,000 of the $1.4 million streetcar fund.
February 2, 20214 yr 1 minute ago, Ucgrad2015 said: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2021/02/02/liberty-elm-project-gets-new-vision.html?cx_testId=40&cx_testVariant=cx_6&cx_artPos=2#cxrecs_s Included is the addition of more affordable housing but taking out $800,000 of the $1.4 million streetcar fund. Oh god. Streetcar drama never ends. Edited February 2, 20214 yr by 646empire
February 2, 20214 yr 2 minutes ago, 646empire said: This seems like a poison pill. What a silly proposal in my opinion. Not sure what you mean ("poison pills" are usually items inserted into proposals by politicians who want the proposal to fail)... but it's pretty clear there's enough support on Council for the project to move forward. Are you asserting that somebody on City Council convinced the developer to propose these ideas as a way to get the proposal to fail? Weird conspiracy. Edited February 2, 20214 yr by jwulsin
February 2, 20214 yr 4 minutes ago, jwulsin said: Not sure what you mean... but it's pretty clear there's enough support on Council for the project to move forward. Thankfully. That lot has been vacant for too long and this rendering has been the best one of them all. Edited February 2, 20214 yr by Ucgrad2015
February 2, 20214 yr 5 minutes ago, jwulsin said: Not sure what you mean ("poison pills" are usually items inserted into proposals by politicians who want the proposal to fail)... but it's pretty clear there's enough support on Council for the project to move forward. Are you asserting that somebody on City Council convinced the developer to propose these ideas as a way to get the proposal to fail? Weird conspiracy. Of the many possible ways to scrap together 800k to finance these extra affordable units, they choose to propose a plan that involves using STREETCAR FUNDING LOL whatttt? Theres a reason why this article is titled: “Updated Liberty & Elm vision emerges as possible streetcar fight looms”.
February 2, 20214 yr the "solution" for the "affordable housing" component was likely engineered by Cranley. If it fails, the council probably approves the original design. If it passes, Cranley gets to boast about this as a way to bring affordable housing to OTR and gets to underfund the streetcar at the same time. A win-win for him.
February 2, 20214 yr 15 minutes ago, jwulsin said: it's pretty clear there's enough support on Council for the project to move forward. Yes there is a lot of support for the project itself but I’m verryyy interested to see how folks are gonna react to this particular proposal. Poison pill in the sense I doubt this proposal will get very far which may be the point, they do things like this just to go back to the proposal that stalled a week or so ago or another proposal that gives just a little bit more affordable housing and avoids dare touching streetcar funds which they know is toxic aka poison pill.
February 2, 20214 yr 9 minutes ago, ryanlammi said: the "solution" for the "affordable housing" component was likely engineered by Cranley. If it fails, the council probably approves the original design. If it passes, Cranley get's to boast about this as a way to bring affordable housing to OTR and gets to underfund the streetcar at the same time. A win-win for him. OMG I was basically typing the same thing when you posted this! Exactly spot on!
February 2, 20214 yr 12 minutes ago, 646empire said: Poison pill in the sense I doubt this proposal will get very far which may be the point, they do things like this just to go back to the proposal that stalled a week or so ago or another proposal that gives just a little bit more affordable housing and avoids dare touching streetcar funds which they know is toxic aka poison pill. I see what you're saying. Thanks for the clarification. (I thought you were implying that the whole project would get cancelled... which seems highly unlikely).
February 2, 20214 yr 22 minutes ago, ryanlammi said: the "solution" for the "affordable housing" component was likely engineered by Cranley. If it fails, the council probably approves the original design. If it passes, Cranley get's to boast about this as a way to bring affordable housing to OTR and gets to underfund the streetcar at the same time. A win-win for him. Total win for Cranley. It makes those who were on the fence about the affordable component check themselves into either supporting affordable housinig or supporting the Streetcar. It drives a wedge through 2 groups that Cranley opposes.
February 2, 20214 yr Edit (for correct address): 142 E Clifton was sold last year for $125k. Looks like the new owner is doing a complete re-framing of the roof, at least in the rear. Kinda hard to see in the photo, but all of the wood roof framing has been removed in the rear. Good to see owners who are willing to take on the kind of intensive (and expensive) work needed to save buildings like these. Especially impressive since this owner doesn't seem to own any of the adjacent vacant parcels. Edit 2: the adjacent empty parcel is owned by a separate LLC, but they have the same mailing address so presumably have the same owner. Edited February 2, 20214 yr by jwulsin
February 2, 20214 yr 1 minute ago, jwulsin said: 132 E Clifton I wasn't ever able to take photos on E. Clifton until about 2 years ago because of the non-stop drug dealing. It seems like it has finally subsided, after a 30+ year run. I remember when Over-the-Rhine was bad and you drove down E. Clifton and you were like....now this is bad.
February 2, 20214 yr 27 minutes ago, Brutus_buckeye said: Total win for Cranley. It makes those who were on the fence about the affordable component check themselves into either supporting affordable housinig or supporting the Streetcar. It drives a wedge through 2 groups that Cranley opposes. Which is why he's such a terrible executive. He's only interested in his own self interests and revenge against his political opponents.
February 2, 20214 yr 8K recently finished their renovation 10-unit (6 of which are subsidized affordable) apartment building at 1714 Vine St. I'm not totally sure, but I believe the custom kitchen cabinets were built by The Brush Factory. I think 8K did a great job with this project. https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2021/02/01/developer-completes-findlay-market-area-apartments.html Edited February 2, 20214 yr by jwulsin
February 2, 20214 yr 3 minutes ago, jwulsin said: 8K recently finished their renovation 10-unit (6 of which are subsidized affordable) apartment building at 1714 Vine St. I'm not totally sure, but I believe the custom kitchen cabinets were built by The Brush Factory. I think 8K did a great job with this project. https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2021/02/01/developer-completes-findlay-market-area-apartments.html Pretty dismal if you ask me. ;)
February 2, 20214 yr ^there's something to be said for some basic solid-wood cabinets vs IKEA type that look slick but aren't as durable.
February 3, 20214 yr 9 hours ago, Yves Behar said: I lived in one of their apartments, it was really nice. Unfortunately I'm not wealthy. It must be nice to have the kind of money to call something like this dismal. I called it home. Thanks bud. I'm surprised that you, of all contributors, don't know that it doesn't have to be dismal to be economically affordable. That is more than dismal.
February 3, 20214 yr Updated Liberty & Elm vision emerges as possible streetcar fight looms A new version of the Liberty & Elm mixed-development project would add affordable housing but reduce funding to the streetcar. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2021/02/02/liberty-elm-project-gets-new-vision.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
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