The latest Historic Conservation Board packet has interesting details on a proposed renovation at 104 Corwine St, a 1-story, 40-foot wide garage. The renovation would add a second floor with two bedrooms, a roof deck, and sky lights to bring light to the lower level. Overall, it looks like a sweet set up. Glad to see these kinds of buildings getting repurposed creatively. The building was bought from the Freestore 2 years ago for $100k.

 

Parcel info: http://wedge3.hcauditor.org/view/re/0940007020490/2015/aerial_imagery

Historic packet: http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/buildings/historic-conservation/historic-conservation-board/jan-25-2016-packet/

Very cool. I looked at a house across the street on Corwine but didn't make an offer. Its proximity to south of Liberty was great, but its proximity to the Shell station was not great.

Very cool. I looked at a house across the street on Corwine but didn't make an offer. Its proximity to south of Liberty was great, but its proximity to the Shell station was not great.

 

I'm assuming snatching up any properties North of Liberty is all for the purpose of flipping them, and selling them for a much higher profit in the next 5-10 yrs.

 

If I had money to purchase anything north of liberty, and had the time and expense to flip it I would do it in a heart beat. You can purchase a small republic street brick house for 20-30k on realtor, and It's only 1 story, so I can't imagine the renovation costs being to astronomically high. I can guarantee you that those homes will go upwards of 300-400K, at the lowest end of the spectrum, in the near future. It's almost a guaranteed profit. 

 

But I have neither time, nor money lol.

It's been a hot minute since I've been to OTR. How's the 15th and Race project shaping along for those who have been down there recently?

They're working on the foundation of the new 17 unit building at the moment and the low-income rehabs north of that that lead up to the empty lot on Liberty have been fenced off and will likely be started soon as well.

 

Across the street they've started excavation for the Jose Garcia designed single family home.

A condo at 111 E 13th Street sold for $153,000 in August 2013. It is listed for $274,900 now.

 

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/111-E-13th-St-Apt-3_Cincinnati_OH_45202_M48712-33674

A new bar is heading to 1115 Vine St.  The owners will rehab the building and the bar will take up 2 floors.

A new bar is heading to 1115 Vine St.  The owners will rehab the building and the bar will take up 2 floors.

 

Here is the link about "The Rook" which will be a "board game parlor" with and a full kitchen and bar: http://www.cincinnati.com/story/entertainment/2016/02/02/otr-board-game-parlor-coming-soon/79703270/

Is that the West End Loan building?

Nope - it's the beautiful 5 story building just north of the West End Loan. http://wedge3.hcauditor.org/view/re/0760002004200/2015/summary

 

It was purchased last summer for $300k.

Nice. That's such a beautiful building. That block needs a little help in terms of street level activity and building restoration. The West End Loans building is just terrible. I wonder what's beneath that siding.

 

This will also help move the CBD closer to OTR by bringing more nighlife to the block between Central Parkway and 12th which doesn't see much activity at the moment.

I wonder what floors 3-5 will be used for. I'm glad to hear that The Rook is aiming to use the second floor to create a space where people can feel comfortable lingering:

 

Leopold hopes it will be the kind of place where people feel comfortable staying for a while.

 

"That's why we have more space ... We want people to feel like they can walk in, find a table and not be rushed out," he said.

Who owns the loan building?  I hope the owner decides to sell the building and have it be rehabed. I have no clue how it used to look like but I imagine there used to be some nice cornices.

According to the auditor's site it is owned by: Gary and Saundra Wagner.

 

Image from the auditor's site in 1993 (only the store name has changed from when it was owned by Frederick Wacksman):

 

And based on old ownership cards, it looks like the building was sold to Wacksman in 1978. I imagine that is when the building was "renovated".

And based on old ownership cards, it looks like the building was sold to Wacksman in 1978. I imagine that is when the building was "renovated".

 

"Desecrated"

I wonder what's left under there. The cornice has obviously been all but destroyed. But there's potential that they just furred out the wall to allow for a flat surface to put siding on. But it's more likely that they just ripped everything off that stuck out further than the brick face to allow for an easier flat surface to work with. meaning that building might be an absolute hot mess under there.

 

Either way, it's atrocious looking. It needs help.

I watched 1115 Vine get a new roof and refreshed/painted exterior when i had an office in the KROGER building back in 93 or 94. I could be wrong but i dont think it has had anyone in it since then, so it will be cool to see it come back to life and bring some activity down to that end of the block.  BTW that office looking over OTR is what got this west side guy interested in urban life. I had lots to do, but could have been entirely entertained with watching things unfold out the window for 8 hours a day. 

If you look at <a href="http://wedge3.hcauditor.org/view/re/0760002004200/2015/aerial_imagery_full">aerial images of the West End Loan building</a>, you'll see that halfway back, it bumps up to 4 stories, then drops down to 3 stories. The front half would make for a very neat rooftop space since it would be enclosed on either side by the brick of the adjacent buildings.

 

Here's the building sketch from the auditor's site.

The owner of The Rook did a AMA on Reddit.

 

A question was asked about future plans for the 3rd and 4th floor, and he basically hinted there would potentially be something more in store for those 2 stories later down the road. Apparently he was told it was a risk using the 2nd floor because of the uncertainty level of activity, but decided to go with it regardless, and that if that's successful than the 3rd and 4th floor (including the rooftop) will be used for something else.

 

Whether that be an extension of the current business, or an entirely new venture is unknown. But there are, "plans", tentative at least. 

Here's the Reddit AMA thread with The Rook's founder:

Here's The Rook's website: http://therookotr.com/

 

I'm not really that into board games, but I love reading through the Reddit thread and seeing the passion people have for games I've never even heard of. It's great to create a new space for people with such intense passion.

 

It's interesting to me that the owners operate laser tag businesses way out east on Beechmont in Anderson and on the west side near Glenway Crossing. So, it's noteworthy that they're looking at OTR now (citing the streetcar as one of the reasons they chose the location).  It will draw a new crowd out to OTR that previously might not have had a reason to check it out (see thread snippet below):

Here's the Reddit AMA thread with The Rook's founder:

Here's The Rook's website: http://therookotr.com/

 

I'm not really that into board games, but I love reading through the Reddit thread and seeing the passion people have for games I've never even heard of. It's great to create a new space for people with such intense passion.

 

It's interesting to me that the owners operate laser tag businesses way out east on Beechmont in Anderson and on the west side near Glenway Crossing. So, it's noteworthy that they're looking at OTR now (citing the streetcar as one of the reasons they chose the location).  It will draw a new crowd out to OTR that previously might not have had a reason to check it out (see thread snippet below):

 

I have friends who are really into these games and they can be a lot of fun (though I'm totally just a casual fan).  Its nice to have hangout spots like these in OTR, something that would appeal to a demographic that's different than the normal bar crowd.

Who knew the path to riches was replicating indoor recess?

Who knew the path to riches was replicating indoor recess?

 

With alcohol of course :)

Who knew the path to riches was replicating indoor recess?

 

The path to success:

 

Find things people enjoy doing at home with friends -> Buy those things -> Open doors and sell alcohol -> $$$

I was in OTR today, and saw the work being done on the Kramer building (I believe thats what it's called??), right across from the kroger store. Anyway, the new paint job, with the blue is incredibly gorgeous. Holy crap does it look elegant.

Who knew the path to riches was replicating indoor recess?

 

Proven model:

 

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/top-lists/best-bars-with-board-games-in-chicago/

http://kingmakerscolumbus.com/

etc

The new historic board packet is out: http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/buildings/historic-conservation/historic-conservation-board/feb-8-2016-packet/

 

Things of note:

 

-More rehabs are continuing up in North OTR on Race St. One of the interesting projects of note want to construct a rooftop garage (from what I understand?) on top of the tenemant buildings.

 

-New rendering of 15th and Vine. Looks absolutely beautiful imo, and does a fantastic job blending in. 3cdc seems to be really stepping up there infill game, and I love the brown color scheme, and the cornices. Will definitely strengthen that corner of Vine and be a, "proper" addition to OTR.

The new historic board packet is out: http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/buildings/historic-conservation/historic-conservation-board/feb-8-2016-packet/

 

Things of note:

 

-More rehabs are continuing up in North OTR on Race St. One of the interesting projects of note want to construct a rooftop garage (from what I understand?) on top of the tenemant buildings.

 

-New rendering of 15th and Vine. Looks absolutely beautiful imo, and does a fantastic job blending in. 3cdc seems to be really stepping up there infill game, and I love the brown color scheme, and the cornices. Will definitely strengthen that corner of Vine and be a, "proper" addition to OTR.

 

You didn't understand correctly what is proposed for the garages. The buildings (24 and 26 W Elder) are part of the Market Square project. They face Elder St on either side of Goose Alley. The proposal is to create garage doors facing Goose Alley. There would be 5 parking spaces with 4 doors created in 26 W Elder. There would be 5 garage doors on 24 W Elder.

 

As far as parking facilities go, this is pretty unobtrusive since they face an alleyway. It makes me a sad to turn over the first floor of these buildings to be dedicated to cars... but I can understand the motivation.

 

My bigger concern is the fact that in 24 W Elder, they're removing the stairwell that currently splits the buildings into north and south halves. Each floor would become a single ~2000 sq ft unit. The stairs to the 2nd and 3rd floor would run up from the front of the building, so they are taking away any potentially viable retail space at 24 W Elder.

 

If you had maintained the existing configuration, you could have had 2100 square feet of retail on the 1st floor, with four 1,000 square foot apartments above.

 

This kind of "de-densification" saddens me. I understand the developer's motivation and the kind of person who buys this will probably be coming in from the suburbs, so they'll be expecting a garage and 2,000 sq ft. These look like they'll be very nicely done, so they should be able to attract a discerning buyer. These are going into vacant buildings, so overall I'm very glad that this project is moving forward. As one of the first big rehabs (The Crown was the first) around Findlay Market, I get why they're doing larger units. Getting residents back into these buildings will help create more vibrancy around Findlay Market.

 

One interesting thing, is it does appear that there will be one 230 sq ft efficiency apartment. That made me smile. I'm glad they're at least including some token density in the project.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Regarding 3CDC's 15th and Vine project, City Studios did some excellent analysis on the importance of variation in the horizontal and vertical elements of adjacent buildings. Having the buildings not line up perfectly is part of what makes a street like Vine St so attractive. See pages 189-199 of the packet: http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/buildings/historic-conservation/historic-conservation-board/feb-8-2016-packet/

 

 

I hope the terra cotta cladding is approved for 15th and Vine. That is a great product that seems to look good in most settings.

I quite like how 15th and Vine is developing. That's an attractive modern, contextual building that will be clad in a high quality material that will really complete the streetwall in an interesting way.

 

Their analysis is spot on too. Very extensive and going to be hard for the Historic Board to argue with, especially since they quoted the guidelines at every chance they could. I'll be happy to have this building as my neighbor.

jwulsin[/member] "The stairs to the 2nd and 3rd floor would run up from the front of the building, so they are taking away any potentially viable retail space at 24 W Elder." -- that's not how I see those plans. It appears that there is a fire separation between that new stairwell going up and the remainder of the first floor, while the first floor and basement below are connected commercial spaces.

 

I agree that it's too bad that 1000 sq. ft. can't be big enough. Something else that might make you happy is that the rehab to start on Elm near Findlay is going to be all micro-apartments. So far as I know that's a first for the area and it should be interesting to see how it goes.

My only critique is the staggered windows thing.  I wish that trend in architecture would die soon.

Should we take this as a sign that 3CDC is finally starting to understand what good, quality infill looks like for OTR? Because this is exactly the type of infill I want to see from now on. Less Mercer Commons, and more 15th and Vine from now on!

Should we take this as a sign that 3CDC is finally starting to understand what good, quality infill looks like for OTR? Because this is exactly the type of infill I want to see from now on. Less Mercer Commons, and more 15th and Vine from now on!

 

That's sort of a harsh way to make your point since without 3CDC's efforts to date there would be no one building infill in OTR to begin with...

 

I think this building makes sense with the layout of the site and the fact that some of the historic structures have fire damage. But I wonder does this set a precedent for projects where new structures "consume" historical ones leaving only the facades in some places? I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. 

jwulsin[/member] "The stairs to the 2nd and 3rd floor would run up from the front of the building, so they are taking away any potentially viable retail space at 24 W Elder." -- that's not how I see those plans. It appears that there is a fire separation between that new stairwell going up and the remainder of the first floor, while the first floor and basement below are connected commercial spaces.

 

I agree that it's too bad that 1000 sq. ft. can't be big enough. Something else that might make you happy is that the rehab to start on Elm near Findlay is going to be all micro-apartments. So far as I know that's a first for the area and it should be interesting to see how it goes.

 

Hmmm... I looked again and now see what you're saying. There's a discrepancy between the site plan (on page 17) compared to the proposed first floor plan (page 21).  Hopefully they go with the page 21 version, though even then the retail space will be very small (maybe 350 sq ft plus 400 sq ft in the basement).

 

I have heard about the Elm Street micro apartments... and I'm very excited for those (good people behind that development). Overall, I think it's good for a neighborhood to have a variety of sizes and price points, so it can attract people at different stages of life and along the income spectrum.

 

My only critique is the staggered windows thing.  I wish that trend in architecture would die soon.

 

Agreed.  Looks a bit like Dunnhumby lite in that regard.

Why can't they just make windows in a vertical line!!?? Why are they adding painted cement fiber on the side of windows? Just make a vertical line of windows

 

Especially on the side of the building:

 

 

Overall I really like this 15th and Vine project.  I am excited for Vine to get rehabilitated all the way up to Liberty Street.  Those two buildings at the NE and SE Corner of Vine and 15th are monsters, then of course the cluster of buildings around the Kroger that need rehabilitation.  Too bad we haven't heard anything for awhile from the Wade Development.  I wonder if that is still going to move through?

Only thing I can think of due to the size they wanted to stagger the Windows to align with their study:

 

"These shifts and movement, over the course of 140’, create a very rich, dynamic, street front. It is a subtle, complex richness that we are trying to capture in our design, “in an e ort to maintain [this] rhythm that already exists in the district” (OTR Guidelines). We are trying to capture the same sense of movement, and richness, and continue it to the corner of 15th and Vine."-page 197

 

Not sure why the did it vertically.

 

 

 

"These shifts and movement, over the course of 140’, create a very rich, dynamic, street front. It is a subtle, complex richness that we are trying to capture in our design, “in an effort to maintain [this] rhythm that already exists in the district” (OTR Guidelines). We are trying to capture the same sense of movement, and richness, and continue it to the corner of 15th and Vine."

 

 

 

Post-rationalizing BS. 

 

What I find interesting is that these sorts of moves muddy up the design and make the elements harder to read and less impactful.  In a case like this "richness" is "confusion."  Classical buildings with a rigid arrangement of windows can be arguably more contemporary in their treatment of pattern, ala Mies van der Rohe and his glass and steel boxes.  I guess those sorts of moves are "too easy" nowadays, just as lining up a row of trees is too simple for today's landscape architects.  "Don't constrain me!"  Yet all this shifting or curving just makes everything an undifferentiated mush. 

 

The existing side wall in the rending above is a perfect example of a pragmatic vernacular approach.  Gridded and regular where it can be (an expression of form) but irregular to accommodate a different function inside like a stair (an expression of function).  The rigidity of classical and modern arrangements can be interpreted as form above function, but these needlessly shifting random elements are also purely about form, and are all the more offensive because of their (usually) completely arbitrary derivation. 

 

This reminds me of two newer modern buildings with similar design inspirations, but which take completely different approaches.  The first is the building at Gilbert and Eden Park Drive (I forget who recently moved in there).  The roof line follows the slope of Gilbert Avenue then inverts to fly up in the air and help punctuate the corner.  That's a strong simple move that works really well, down then up.  It helps to organize everything else going on underneath it too by providing a strong reference line between the ground and the sky. 

 

https://goo.gl/maps/Zr5PQPkcP5s

 

Compare that to the new American Red Cross building along I-71 at Dana.  This is somewhat of an inversion, where there's a strong solid mass of a building over a sloped roof that somewhat reflects the terrain.  The problem is that both of those moves are destroyed by needless added complexity.  The solid mass of the building is broken up with a couple of very weak ins/outs and ups/downs, while all the random window and material articulation further confuses the reading of that mass.  I sure hope the window size and placement has some bearing on the interior function, but I doubt it. 

 

https://goo.gl/maps/mY7Dnr12Rbr

 

The sloped roof is the biggest fail of the design though, not in its basic conception but its execution.  The up/down/up/break rhythm completely loses all impact.  It probably looked interesting in a side elevation, but when approaching it from the highway it just looks like a broken collapsed heap.

 

https://goo.gl/maps/UFFNpmRkMvB2

 

The elements are all there to make an interesting composition, but it was all squandered by needless surface articulation. 

3CDC acquired 1604 Elm St, the little corner tire shop at Liberty/Elm. This is great news for that corner.

Oh thank god. I don't mind a tire shop being there but I do mind the complete lack of upkeep on the property and the hideous billboard.

 

Somewhat unrelated, and I know this is sort of heavy-handed policy, but I'd support a ban on billboards in OTR/CBD/Pendleton. Every single one is hideous and detracts from the built environment.

Interesting. I hope 3CDC will also acquire 1600 Elm St. That parcel is owned by Norton Outdoor Advertising, and that's the poorly maintained parcel that jmicha mentioned.

 

The tire store uses 1600 Elm for storing vehicles and tires, but it's owned by Norton. That corner really needs a well-massed building. The other side of Elm will have a 6-story building, assuming the <a href="http://www.source3dev.com/2016/01/liberty-elm/">Liberty Elm development</a> moves forward.

 

1600 Elm: http://wedge1.hcauditor.org/view/re/0940008000100/2015/summary

1604 Elm: http://wedge1.hcauditor.org/view/re/0940008000300/2015/summary

 

 

I hope 3cdc is lobbying hard behind the scenes for the Liberty Street road diet. They have to realize that it is in line with and vitally important to their goals in every way.

Amazing that Norton was able to buy that corner lot at 1600 Elm for only $25,000, less than four years ago.

^

(welcome back)

3CDC owns 1408-1412 Vine, immediately south of Kroger. Does anybody know if the big structure behind <a href="http://www.cincinnativiews.net/wielerts.htm">Weilert's Cafe</a> is the old beer garden? You can see in <a href="http://wedge3.hcauditor.org/view/re/0800001008600/2015/aerial_imagery_full">the auditor's aerial imagery</a> a huge structure, directly south of the Kroger building. If there's any part of the old beer garden remaining, I'd love to see 3CDC restore the old Wielert's beer garden.

I just noticed there is a dumpster in front of the old Weilert's Cafe. I hope that means someone is starting to develop the property, but I haven't heard who that would be.

I was down in OTR yesterday as I had work off for Presidents Day.  There is so much construction going on.  It seems all of Republic south of Liberty is under construction.  I wonder when all that work is done that they will re-pave the roads, etc.? 

 

Also, noticed that the Race Street Condos by 3CDC were well underway, the Townhomes on Elm were well underway, and the Hillman Point?  project is fenced off. 

 

I also noticed this building had new windows on it, I really love this building.  What architectural style is this?  Looks like a DC rowhouse.

 

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1107978,-84.5187589,3a,75y,53.39h,110.35t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sZVCCoGniioVRcihI89VBZw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1

 

Then, I noticed some random buildings here and there, mostly north of Liberty, had new windows going in.  Things are really moving quickly down there.  Still a ton of buildings that need TLC along the streetcar line in OTR, but it's all starting to look more and more built up.