New Retailer thats a Fashion house/Art Gallery to open at Mercer Commons this Friday: http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2015/05/28/first-retailer-opening-in-otrs-mercer-commons.html

Was just sent an email. Construction work will begin on Zula Burger (corner of 15th and Race in Westfalen Lofts II) and will finish sometime in September. The plan attached looks like it'll have a decent amount of seating areas and tons of street frontage being that it's on the corner and the 15th Street side has tons of storefront windows. Looking forward to this.

New Retailer named GOODS will be opening in OTR in June. Will focus at first on adventure lifestyle apperal (camping gear, bicicyles, etc), but will change year round in terms of what's being sold.

 

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/money/business/2015/05/31/otr-retail-collective-opens-main/28170651/

New Retailer named GOODS will be opening in OTR in June. Will focus at first on adventure lifestyle apperal (camping gear, bicicyles, etc), but will change year round in terms of what's being sold.

 

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/money/business/2015/05/31/otr-retail-collective-opens-main/28170651/

 

Sounds cool but also sounds like a lot of work for them to be switching up inventory and keeping people aware of what they have in the store all the time. Although may be easier nowadays with social media. Wish them the best!

Does anybody know when the roadblock on 15th Street (west of Vine) is supposed to come down? This was intended to knock down drug activity, but new development on Vine has almost reached 15th, and on Republic, it's actually gone north of 15th.

 

Taft's Ale House is working to get it removed before their official opening on Opening Day.

 

The roadblock has returned. Not sure when.

Does anybody know when the roadblock on 15th Street (west of Vine) is supposed to come down? This was intended to knock down drug activity, but new development on Vine has almost reached 15th, and on Republic, it's actually gone north of 15th.

 

Taft's Ale House is working to get it removed before their official opening on Opening Day.

 

The roadblock has returned. Not sure when.

 

Just noticed in this weekend as well. I'm assuming it's back because of illicit activity again. A little peeved about it though. Having that street opened again was great for the flow of the area.

Kinda sad you have an area where condos are creeping toward a  million dollars and you still need to block a road to stop any illicit activity.

^ I don't really think you understand how gentrification works...

Does anybody know when the roadblock on 15th Street (west of Vine) is supposed to come down? This was intended to knock down drug activity, but new development on Vine has almost reached 15th, and on Republic, it's actually gone north of 15th.

 

Taft's Ale House is working to get it removed before their official opening on Opening Day.

 

The roadblock has returned. Not sure when.

 

Just noticed in this weekend as well. I'm assuming it's back because of illicit activity again. A little peeved about it though. Having that street opened again was great for the flow of the area.

 

Write an email to [email protected].  Even just 3 sentences and it will be noticed.

Maybe the group behind the We Ain't Trickin' Open Up McMicken petition should weigh in on the 15th Street roadblock.

The McMicken roadblocks worked.  I don't know where the prostitution moved to, but it definitely did not return to McMicken after the roadblocks were removed. 

^ I don't really think you understand how gentrification works...

 

No I get it. I'm just curious where all of this "crime" is supposed to be heading towards. You have future yuppies and millionaires take home to OTR, where are all the prositutes and gangbangers supposed to go to?

 

It's always been a poverty issue. Typical kid, grows up without with a father, because the mother decides to have sex at 15. The mother decides to have more kids to live off the welfare, the father is out of the picture, the mother can't handle all of the kids, the kids find the gang brother friends on the streets, drop out of school, find that pimping and drugs make a better career and faster pay, and drop out of school, until they get shot for a deal gone, "wrong"...

 

My question is why isn't there a bigger focus on solving this constant cycle of poverty amongst blacks rather than just accepting that this is how things are and will always will be? But maybe it's something that can never be truly fixed..

That is a very stereotypical view on black inner city poverty, not saying it isn't true in a lot of cases but, stereotypes is one reason why some black people have it tougher than others in the inner city.

 

Honestly, this country doesn't do a good job of dealing with the inner city black poor, and even more so in a hot red area like Cincinnati, NKY, SE Indiana, etc.  There is a lot of racism in this area that is blatent over talk radio and in conversations with a lot of locals.

 

If there was enough money, the best thing they could do for a lot of these kids who live in a broken home would be to have after school activity centers where they stay most of the evenings and get bussed back to their homes.  These would be fully staffed with accredited teachers / coaches / tutors, and the facilities would be very high quality.

 

This would be an expensive venture and right now I don't see it happening in this political climate.  It is hard for black people who start at the bottom to work themselves up for many reasons, and most is that they have no resources from their family, they don't have enough people in their lives steering them in the right direction, and once they make it through college, they don't have contacts to get a higher paying job.  It is 10 x harder for a person born in the hood to make a life for themselves than it is for even a lower middle class kid who has both parents still together.

 

 

Oh, look, it's the poverty debate. Whites need to pay up! No, blacks need to buck up! No, whites need to pay up! No, blacks need to buck up!

 

https://youtu.be/T0K14HBSWw0?t=31s

 

Kinda sad you have an area where condos are creeping toward a  million dollars and you still need to block a road to stop any illicit activity.

 

Its called a neighborhood in transition - OTR is a particularly dramatic example of it because of its mostly top down managed gentrification, boarded up buildings next to boutiques is the stage its at right now, however as things continue to transition people who commit crimes will see OTR as a less safe place to do their deeds and will move elsewhere - most of the reason why crime happened there is due to the levels of abandonment - there weren't eyes on the street watching people.

 

As to part of the crime comment, poverty causes less crime when its less concentrated its a good thing that its scattering and is not entirely concentrated in OTR (though OTR does have a percentage of housing set aside for lower income residents).  Eyes on the street + less abandonment + less concentrated poverty (but still a mixed income neighborhood = less crime for all).

It's always been my understanding that most crime in OTR wasn't committed by people who live in the neighborhood. Most of it is from people who live elsewhere but come here to "do their business". As OTR has cleaned up, I'm sure that some of this activity has gone to other places.

 

But if you want to truly reduce violent crime, you can't do it by simply adding more police or putting up roadblocks blocking bad intersections. You have to solve a million other societal issues first.

 

To keep things in perspective, violent crime has been plummeting in recent decades and no one is completely sure why. Some researchers point to the elimination of leaded gasoline or to legalized abortion.

EXCLUSIVE: Towne Properties to build its 1st townhomes in Over-the-Rhine

Tom Demeropolis - Cincinnati Business Courier

 

Towne Properties plans to build seven townhomes in Over-the-Rhine, its first such project in the historic neighborhood north of the Central Business District.

 

Chad Munitz, a development expert with the Mount Adams-based real estate company, said Towne is working on plans to build the townhomes on about a half acre at the northwest corner of 15th and Elm streets. The property is located along the Cincinnati streetcar route.

 

Each townhome will be about 2,800 square feet, including a 900-square-foot basement that is partially finished, with two-car detached garages and a private back yard. The three-bedroom homes will likely be priced starting in the $650,000 range.

 

Cont

Holy cow jmicha's head is going to explode when he sees those.

But seriously the single story two car garages look like an egregious waste of space.  At least put a patio up there on top of those or a granny flat.  Or better yet a just do multi-unit building- this is a big lot almost right across from a streetcar stop.

It's not bad, but it's a missed opportunity to build higher density development along the streetcar route. I can understand building single-family townhomes on the less-traveled "middle" streets like Pleasant. But for main streets like Elm, especially right along the streetcar route, we should be maximizing that real estate and building higher density condos, apartments, or office space with first-floor retail.

Granny flats would be nice, but they're not allowed.  There's no provision in the zoning code at all for them (a big oversight), so it's not really even possible to ask for a variance that I know of.  I think there are some allowances for them in the new form-based zones, but those are completely separated from the rest of the code. 

 

At least those garages are detached, allowing for a small Chicago style back yard rather than an attached garage with a huge paved pad between the garage door and the alley.  Still, it does seem kind of strange that they filled the lot line completely, rather than leaving space for a walkway to get from the yard to the alley.  Accessory buildings are usually required to be 3 feet off the side and rear property lines anyway. 

It looks like the decision to do 2-car garages motivated the width of the houses themselves.  If they had done 1-car garages they could have done more houses with the same square footage by adding a floor. 

Those 7 Model Group townhouses (starting at $650k) will be in the same block (15th/Elm) as the other 9 townhomes (~$600k) that were announced about a month ago... At those prices, together those 16 properties represent nearly $10 million.

 

http://www.cbws.com/property/details/272876/MLS-1447704/212-West-Fifteenth-St-Cincinnati-City-Downtown-Area-OH-45202.aspx?SearchID=9761229&RowNum=15&StateID=41&RegionID=0&IsRegularPS=True&IsSold=False

 

 

But seriously the single story two car garages look like an egregious waste of space.  At least put a patio up there on top of those or a granny flat.  Or better yet a just do multi-unit building- this is a big lot almost right across from a streetcar stop.

 

I agree, and since this is basically using a "Chicago neighborhood model" here's a good example of a garage that has a deck on it -its a cool feature (flip it towards the alley): https://www.google.com/maps/@41.894757,-87.663987,3a,44.1y,111.98h,82.96t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1s5Ywd9gSlwQBHFmSK912dYg!2e0

 

Granny Apartments are too radical for Cranley to ever accept. Its kind of a shame because OTR used to have tons of them, I remember being struck by them as a kid the first time we drove through OTR  thinking where would people get to their cars from them - lol.

Personally I would prefer a small back yard of the kind they will be building rather than a rear patio above a garage.  It's a better space if you have a pet and there's the opportunity to do a real garden with trees. 

 

But what we're seeing is a situation developing in which some low-density stuff will go in for the next few years while prices still permit it, but in 5 years nobody will be building single-family homes except on the oddest lots.  There will be much bigger money in multifamily and developers will risk being slower off the block (Towne will be able to build these townhouses with a combination of cash on hand and a line of credit) for the bigger pot of gold at the end. 

 

In fact we might see the West End redeveloped at a higher density than Over-the-Rhine if Cincinnati real estate gets red hot to the extent our mediocre Southern peers have. 

Personally I would prefer a small back yard of the kind they will be building rather than a rear patio above a garage.  It's a better space if you have a pet and there's the opportunity to do a real garden with trees. 

 

But what we're seeing is a situation developing in which some low-density stuff will go in for the next few years while prices still permit it, but in 5 years nobody will be building single-family homes except on the oddest lots.  There will be much bigger money in multifamily and developers will risk being slower off the block (Towne will be able to build these townhouses with a combination of cash on hand and a line of credit) for the bigger pot of gold at the end. 

 

In fact we might see the West End redeveloped at a higher density than Over-the-Rhine if Cincinnati real estate gets red hot to the extent our mediocre Southern peers have. 

 

Or something really frightening could happen like this: http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20150112/lincoln-park/lincoln-park-megamansions-on-rise-including-one-on-seven-lots

Granny Apartments are too radical for Cranley to ever accept.

 

And yet you could build a multi-family building with much higher density instead.  What's interesting is that the west side of Elm Street is zoned CC-A (commercial community, automobile-oriented) which is a bullshit designation meant to allow for large-scale commercial development with ample parking along Central Parkway.  Why it has to go a full block either side of Central instead of half a block is anyone's guess.  Anyway, residential uses are only allowed "above the ground floor in a mixed use building" in that zone, which would actually be preferable here.  They'll likely get the variance, re-zoning, or PUD designation that will let them do this, but yeah it's pretty low-density compared to what's immediately across the street and up and down both sides of Elm too. 

Holy crap at the price tag though..650K and up? I mean I know OTR is a pretty historic neighborhood, and it's in the city, but where do you justify that price tag? Especially when you still have crime being an issue constantly within a few minutes from that street...

Personally I would prefer a small back yard of the kind they will be building rather than a rear patio above a garage.  It's a better space if you have a pet and there's the opportunity to do a real garden with trees. 

 

But what we're seeing is a situation developing in which some low-density stuff will go in for the next few years while prices still permit it, but in 5 years nobody will be building single-family homes except on the oddest lots.  There will be much bigger money in multifamily and developers will risk being slower off the block (Towne will be able to build these townhouses with a combination of cash on hand and a line of credit) for the bigger pot of gold at the end. 

 

In fact we might see the West End redeveloped at a higher density than Over-the-Rhine if Cincinnati real estate gets red hot to the extent our mediocre Southern peers have. 

 

Or something really frightening could happen like this: http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20150112/lincoln-park/lincoln-park-megamansions-on-rise-including-one-on-seven-lots

 

Lincoln Park's population has been going down for decades because of rampant NIMBY-ism, mostly due to fears of traffic, "character" and all the usual stuff.  It's going to keep going down as the neighborhood becomes more upscale and multi-unit buildings become single-family or more mega-mansions are built, which is a frightening trend.  I wouldn't be surprised if Mt. Adams exhibits a similar dynamic, and possibly Hyde Park too. 

Personally I would prefer a small back yard of the kind they will be building rather than a rear patio above a garage.  It's a better space if you have a pet and there's the opportunity to do a real garden with trees. 

 

But what we're seeing is a situation developing in which some low-density stuff will go in for the next few years while prices still permit it, but in 5 years nobody will be building single-family homes except on the oddest lots.  There will be much bigger money in multifamily and developers will risk being slower off the block (Towne will be able to build these townhouses with a combination of cash on hand and a line of credit) for the bigger pot of gold at the end. 

 

In fact we might see the West End redeveloped at a higher density than Over-the-Rhine if Cincinnati real estate gets red hot to the extent our mediocre Southern peers have. 

 

Or something really frightening could happen like this: http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20150112/lincoln-park/lincoln-park-megamansions-on-rise-including-one-on-seven-lots

 

Lincoln Park's population has been going down for decades because of rampant NIMBY-ism, mostly due to fears of traffic, "character" and all the usual stuff.  It's going to keep going down as the neighborhood becomes more upscale and multi-unit buildings become single-family or more mega-mansions are built, which is a frightening trend.  I wouldn't be surprised if Mt. Adams exhibits a similar dynamic, and possibly Hyde Park too. 

 

Slightly off-topic, but has anyone noticed how many old art deco and immediate postwar 4-family and 6-family apartment buildings in Hyde Park (the sort that can be found all over the city) are now...condos? 

 

Personally I would prefer a small back yard of the kind they will be building rather than a rear patio above a garage.  It's a better space if you have a pet and there's the opportunity to do a real garden with trees. 

 

But what we're seeing is a situation developing in which some low-density stuff will go in for the next few years while prices still permit it, but in 5 years nobody will be building single-family homes except on the oddest lots.  There will be much bigger money in multifamily and developers will risk being slower off the block (Towne will be able to build these townhouses with a combination of cash on hand and a line of credit) for the bigger pot of gold at the end. 

 

In fact we might see the West End redeveloped at a higher density than Over-the-Rhine if Cincinnati real estate gets red hot to the extent our mediocre Southern peers have. 

 

Or something really frightening could happen like this: http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20150112/lincoln-park/lincoln-park-megamansions-on-rise-including-one-on-seven-lots

 

Lincoln Park's population has been going down for decades because of rampant NIMBY-ism, mostly due to fears of traffic, "character" and all the usual stuff.  It's going to keep going down as the neighborhood becomes more upscale and multi-unit buildings become single-family or more mega-mansions are built, which is a frightening trend.  I wouldn't be surprised if Mt. Adams exhibits a similar dynamic, and possibly Hyde Park too. 

 

Considering that these are "Mature" early gentrifiers (Lincoln Park started back in the 1970s) they tend to have older people living in them (there are a ton of families that send their kids to either magnet or private schools in Lincoln Park for instance).  I'm hoping that with the generational shift in living preferences this trend doesn't continue - you read most of the comments on that DNAINFO article and people are disgusted by it - its literally just the people who are property owners in the neighborhood pressuring the alderman to promote these NIMBY policies.  Hopefully some kind of reform can come into place to stop this - it seems like there is support for it from most Chicagoans from what I can see.

 

The problem is, would Cincinnati support increased density? I don't think there would be as much of a desire for it due to the more suburban oriented culture of the region...  I can totally see this happening in Mt Adams and I've read articles about either Hyde Park or Oakley starting the NIMBY drive already (though what you see happening in Lincoln Park is probably 20 years down the road at least).

Holy crap at the price tag though..650K and up? I mean I know OTR is a pretty historic neighborhood, and it's in the city, but where do you justify that price tag? Especially when you still have crime being an issue constantly within a few minutes from that street...

 

There are two 3BR 2BA homes above tandem garages on 14th Street currently listed at $700K.  I can only guess what the row houses/town homes being done on Mercer Street will go for when they are done, but it will be expensive.  $650K is really not out of line for the product they are proposing. 

 

I realize that you keep coming back to the crime in OTR--you've mentioned it repeatedly in your responses--but I would suggest you should keep in mind that people are well aware of the neighborhood's challenges, and how far it has come, and those challenges are already priced into projects like this.  When you think back to the reality that condos sold in 2010 for, say, $150K to $200K that will today go for double that, it's not hard to envision getting these kind of prices for properties of this size and with these amenities.  In five years, when the neighborhood is much more built out, we may look back on these and wonder how they *only* went for $650K. 

At that price point you're also getting a robust security system, walls, fences, and other measures to mitigate crime issues.  That's very likely why the garages are planned like they are, to avoid having a gate or fence that someone could climb over to get into the back yard. 

Holy crap at the price tag though..650K and up? I mean I know OTR is a pretty historic neighborhood, and it's in the city, but where do you justify that price tag? Especially when you still have crime being an issue constantly within a few minutes from that street...

 

Those are normal big city prices. A lot of people around here are used to real estate being dirt cheap, but in our revitalizing urban neighborhoods, those days are over.

Holy crap at the price tag though..650K and up? I mean I know OTR is a pretty historic neighborhood, and it's in the city, but where do you justify that price tag? Especially when you still have crime being an issue constantly within a few minutes from that street...

 

Those are normal big city prices. A lot of people around here are used to real estate being dirt cheap, but in our revitalizing urban neighborhoods, those days are over.

 

Housing prices are ticking upward in any decent area around Cincinnati.  But in most cities the square foot price in ordinary neighborhoods is what the square foot cost is in Mt. Adams.  Cincinnati is still an extraordinarily inexpensive place to buy a house. 

 

Holy crap at the price tag though..650K and up? I mean I know OTR is a pretty historic neighborhood, and it's in the city, but where do you justify that price tag? Especially when you still have crime being an issue constantly within a few minutes from that street...

 

Those are normal big city prices. A lot of people around here are used to real estate being dirt cheap, but in our revitalizing urban neighborhoods, those days are over.

 

Its still lower than Chicago ;) and Chicago is probably the cheapest of the large cities in the US (and arguably the developed world)

Those 7 Model Group townhouses (starting at $650k) will be in the same block (15th/Elm) as the other 9 townhomes (~$600k) that were announced about a month ago... At those prices, together those 16 properties represent nearly $10 million.

 

http://www.cbws.com/property/details/272876/MLS-1447704/212-West-Fifteenth-St-Cincinnati-City-Downtown-Area-OH-45202.aspx?SearchID=9761229&RowNum=15&StateID=41&RegionID=0&IsRegularPS=True&IsSold=False

 

 

 

Do you know anything about this - are these real? There's no activity now, even though the link lists them as under development. There's an empty warehouse in that location - are they going to tear it down?

Holy crap at the price tag though..650K and up? I mean I know OTR is a pretty historic neighborhood, and it's in the city, but where do you justify that price tag?

 

Are you upset that prices of Mason McMansions are the same? McMansions that aren't walking distance to restaurants, ball parks, etc.

 

Especially when you still have crime being an issue constantly within a few minutes from that street...

 

Yaaaaa.... Where do you live again? When was the last time tou were mugged in OTR?

 

Those 7 Model Group townhouses (starting at $650k) will be in the same block (15th/Elm) as the other 9 townhomes (~$600k) that were announced about a month ago... At those prices, together those 16 properties represent nearly $10 million.

 

http://www.cbws.com/property/details/272876/MLS-1447704/212-West-Fifteenth-St-Cincinnati-City-Downtown-Area-OH-45202.aspx?SearchID=9761229&RowNum=15&StateID=41&RegionID=0&IsRegularPS=True&IsSold=False

 

 

 

Do you know anything about this - are these real? There's no activity now, even though the link lists them as under development. There's an empty warehouse in that location - are they going to tear it down?

 

Yes they are real. Will be going before Historic shortly with construction slated for this fall. The CMU warehouse will be torn down and the firehouse rehabbed at a later point. First up will be 5 units on the north side and then 4 on the south side.

Thanks Steve!

Personally I would prefer a small back yard of the kind they will be building rather than a rear patio above a garage.  It's a better space if you have a pet and there's the opportunity to do a real garden with trees. 

 

But what we're seeing is a situation developing in which some low-density stuff will go in for the next few years while prices still permit it, but in 5 years nobody will be building single-family homes except on the oddest lots.  There will be much bigger money in multifamily and developers will risk being slower off the block (Towne will be able to build these townhouses with a combination of cash on hand and a line of credit) for the bigger pot of gold at the end. 

 

In fact we might see the West End redeveloped at a higher density than Over-the-Rhine if Cincinnati real estate gets red hot to the extent our mediocre Southern peers have. 

 

Or something really frightening could happen like this: http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20150112/lincoln-park/lincoln-park-megamansions-on-rise-including-one-on-seven-lots

 

Lincoln Park's population has been going down for decades because of rampant NIMBY-ism, mostly due to fears of traffic, "character" and all the usual stuff.  It's going to keep going down as the neighborhood becomes more upscale and multi-unit buildings become single-family or more mega-mansions are built, which is a frightening trend.  I wouldn't be surprised if Mt. Adams exhibits a similar dynamic, and possibly Hyde Park too. 

 

Slightly off-topic, but has anyone noticed how many old art deco and immediate postwar 4-family and 6-family apartment buildings in Hyde Park (the sort that can be found all over the city) are now...condos? 

 

 

I have, look over at Ashworth, it's really interesting.

Is there any easy way to tell, without looking them up individually on the auditor's site?

Posted on Urban Expansion Facebook:

 

 

 

Queen City Radio is now permanently out of business. Apperantly this is Urban Expansions latest big project... Does anyone know if Urban expansion has the capabilities to build something rather large on that plot of land?

As much as I would like to see something new built there that's taller and goes up to the street corner... it would be awesome to see that space repurposed as a bar or coffee shop. They could open the garage doors in nice weather.

As much as I would like to see something new built there that's taller and goes up to the street corner... it would be awesome to see that space repurposed as a bar or coffee shop. They could open the garage doors in nice weather.

 

I like that idea, along with converting the parking lot in to a semi-covered patio/garden area with lots of outdoor seating. Could be a great addition to that end of OTR.

I spent alot of time in that building on the right back in the day.

CaseyC told me that they have looked into doing a bar/restaurant here. 

That lot would make a great beer garden.

Morning walk observations:

 

1. They've torn down the front half of 1321 Republic on the new townhouses construction site.  I'm really confused by this as I thought the site plan didn't call for any demolition:

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2014/12/09/exclusive-5-single-family-homes-to-be-built-in.html

 

2. When oh when are they going to replace the plywood with real windows above Rookwood Pottery store at 1209 Jackson?  The plywood looks terrible as that is at the heart of the redeveloped area and really conspicuous from the Krueger's rooftop patio. 

1321 wasn't demolished, it collapsed.