Are neon signs banned on Main?  Obviously Mr. Pitifull's has one (albeit a pretty yawn-worthy one) but otherwise there is no good lighting.  I personally would never open a bar or restaurant where I could not brazenly declare to all who pass that I am open for business and here is what my business does.  The ban on lighted signs is hurting all of these OTR businesses.  They often come and go without my having noticed them despite walking or biking past them many times. 

 

This bar in Columbus has a great animated neon sign.  I talked to the owner in 2007 who complained of an epic battle with city hall to put the thing up:

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.9923993,-83.0065915,3a,75y,234.03h,93.43t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sQdH8FUqPxmEMQEL0mxKECg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

 

There is a neon sign on the new bar, The Pony, that just opened.

^The Pony, not to be confused with Bay Horse Cafe, which also is on Main Street and also has a neon sign.

Neon and other internally lit signs are awesome in an urban environment and it is wrong-headed that they are not now allowed. 

 

A 3x6 projecting sign is about right for a smallish storefront, but the size allowed should increased based on your street frontage, IMO.

Can you truly call something "unabashedly modern" that's inspired by a 50 year old design aesthetic? 

 

Perhaps he means modern in the sense of the era, which for architecture started in the 1930s and arrived in the US in the 1940s, rather than the meaning of "contemporary" or "now".

Neon and other internally lit signs are awesome in an urban environment and it is wrong-headed that they are not now allowed. 

 

A 3x6 projecting sign is about right for a smallish storefront, but the size allowed should increased based on your street frontage, IMO.

 

I agree 3x6 seems right, but exceptions here and there would be nice. I have always loved this image of Vine Street, partially because of some of the great signs:

 

 

Page 8 of this PDF has the signage guidelines for contributing buildings in OTR:

 

http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/buildings/historic-conservation/local-conservation-guidelines/over-the-rhine-historic-district/

There is a certain amount of romanticism that one feels looking back at that photo. However I definitely do not miss the awful cobrahead lighting that was over Vine Street in OTR at that time.

^I just noticed that those "traditional" non-cobrahead lights are like 3 stories tall. Why did they feel the need to make these lamps 25 feet tall?

Just saw a Facebook post from a realtor (I think?) about the storefront at 1833 Vine Street (at the five points intersection) which has a liquor license. He claims he's "having conversations with the guys from Northside Yacht Club, MOTR, and Urbana Cafe" about opening something there.

^There is a lot going on around there as we speak.  Activity in Hust Alley as well as the triangular building on the east side of Vine just downhill from Hust.  The row of apartments on W. Clifton opposite lower Ohio is being gutted.  And tons going on around Findlay Market. 

It's exciting all the development around Findlay.  There is a ton of work to do North of Liberty especially too right on Vine Street there.  I almost think Vine Street North of Liberty is a more exciting prospect to redevelop than south of Liberty in terms of scale and density, etc.  but I may be wrong there.

 

Just thinking about too the McMicken corridor if that can ever get cleaned up would be amazing as well, though it will be a lot of time, unless we win the Amazon bid, then that will all get re-developed quickly.

Just saw a Facebook post from a realtor (I think?) about the storefront at 1833 Vine Street (at the five points intersection) which has a liquor license. He claims he's "having conversations with the guys from Northside Yacht Club, MOTR, and Urbana Cafe" about opening something there.

There was also an announcement of a restaurant going into the small store front behind 1833, 1 Findlay St: https://www.facebook.com/otradopt/posts/1563870840325783

 

^I went by this morning and saw them working on it. 

The plan is to convert Green Street to two-way and new signals were installed during streetcar construction. They also planned to convert 14th Street between Elm and Race to two-way but there was some neighborhood bickering that resulted in a few meetings being held on the topic. I'm not sure where either of those conversions stand right now.

 

At some point in the last few months, the new traffic signals that were installed for 14th Street were removed. So, the plan to convert 14th to two-way between Elm and Race is dead.

New Headquarters for Lisner, 80 jobs total, really cool news in the startup sector for Cincinnati, currently they have 37 jobs in Cincinnati.  1515 Central Parkway

 

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2017/12/04/exclusive-lisnr-planning-6-9m-headquarters-in-over.html

New Headquarters for Lisner, 80 jobs total, really cool news in the startup sector for Cincinnati, currently they have 37 jobs in Cincinnati.  1515 Central Parkway

 

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2017/12/04/exclusive-lisnr-planning-6-9m-headquarters-in-over.html

 

Great news...glad they are staying local. I imagine FC Cincinnati had an eye on this land as a part of their stadium development as well..

New Headquarters for Lisner, 80 jobs total, really cool news in the startup sector for Cincinnati, currently they have 37 jobs in Cincinnati.  1515 Central Parkway

 

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2017/12/04/exclusive-lisnr-planning-6-9m-headquarters-in-over.html

 

Not sure if it is true or not, but I always heard that the basement of the old Lion Brewery is still there and the current parking deck is built upon it. Not sure it that means there is an open basement there or the basement was filled up to the current level. Something is going on there as the lot slopes down but the parking deck is level to Central Parkway.

^ I've heard that, too. The parking isn't just level to Central Parkway - you actually drive up a ramp, so it's about 3'-0" above the street at its lowest point. My guess is that the old building was demolished and used as fill, though.

^ I've heard that, too. The parking isn't just level to Central Parkway - you actually drive up a ramp, so it's about 3'-0" above the street at its lowest point. My guess is that the old building was demolished and used as fill, though.

 

I guess we will finally find out soon. This is a spot I never thought would get built upon in my lifetime. Glad the current atmosphere has made for surprises quite a bit recently.

 

So is the surface parking going to be developed? Or are they just going to be tenants in the adjacent building and use the surface lots for staff parking?

^From what I read they won't develop the surface lot they are just going to use the L shaped building on 1515 Central Parkway

New Headquarters for Lisner, 80 jobs total, really cool news in the startup sector for Cincinnati, currently they have 37 jobs in Cincinnati.  1515 Central Parkway

 

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2017/12/04/exclusive-lisnr-planning-6-9m-headquarters-in-over.html

 

Not sure if it is true or not, but I always heard that the basement of the old Lion Brewery is still there and the current parking deck is built upon it. Not sure it that means there is an open basement there or the basement was filled up to the current level. Something is going on there as the lot slopes down but the parking deck is level to Central Parkway.

 

Correct, the 40' deep cellars still exist under the raised parking lot (building to the left). The site Lisnr is going on does not include this location to my understanding, but is the old Merton building to the south. The brewery site is owned by the family that owns Tri-State Wholesale and the Ballet building.

Wow those were beautiful!! I love seeing the more recent pictures of buildings i've only known in B&W .

At the risk of seeming pedantic, isn't 1515 Central Parkway technically in the West End, since it would have been on the west side of the canal (back before Central Parkway was built)?

 

Unsurprisingly, Lisnr (and the media) are advertising their headquarters as being in "OTR". I don't really care since Central Parkway is the dividing line, but I like the idea of throwing some cachet to the West End whenever possible.

Yeah, I think the Business Courier changed their article from "OTR" to "West End" but it totally makes sense that Lisnr wants to advertise that their new HQ will be in OTR.

Just saw a Facebook post from a realtor (I think?) about the storefront at 1833 Vine Street (at the five points intersection) which has a liquor license. He claims he's "having conversations with the guys from Northside Yacht Club, MOTR, and Urbana Cafe" about opening something there.

 

Tons of activity this morning on about 6 buildings in the area.  Former OTR Adopt building at the corner (Apotheke) is having a storefront prepped.  Buildings on the east side of the sloped block between Schwartz's and Clifton are being gutted. 

 

Also, rehabs on all three corners of Race & Findlay, plus the single-family house on the north side of Findlay.  The former OTR Adopt house at Republic & Findlay appears to be stalled.  They replaced some windows over the summer but 1-2 are still open to the elements, months later. 

 

Some guys were on the roof of the building at 2 Hust Alley (just north of McMicken) a few weeks ago doing work, too. I think it was roof stabilization stuff, but still a good sign.

Awesome news.  It also seems like on checking Sibcy Cline and others that there are a lot of sales of higher priced condos and houses in OTR right now, I'm sure some of these developers are doing very well and probably scoping their next bigger projects.

Also, the row houses on the "view" side of E. Clifton at the bottom of lower Ohio have been gutted. 

Also, the row houses on the "view" side of E. Clifton at the bottom of lower Ohio have been gutted. 

I think you mean W Clifton.

Also, the row houses on the "view" side of E. Clifton at the bottom of lower Ohio have been gutted. 

I think you mean W Clifton.

 

Yeah.  These guys:

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1190526,-84.5181348,3a,75y,188.95h,95.24t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sNICBg1B8dHL9hM_wnf1baQ!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo0.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DNICBg1B8dHL9hM_wnf1baQ%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D9.110308%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

 

Tenants were booted and there was a lot cleared out over the past two weeks.  The roof and windows haven't been replaced yet. 

 

This one was painted in the past 2 weeks:

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1182727,-84.5172385,3a,75y,250.6h,104.31t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sbLaPC-C4ucbYtb5r3BqX9Q!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

 

 

 

I went to a presentation at the OTRCC meeting a while back and OTR Community Housing is redoing those iirc. They said the conditions were abysmal when they took over and were operating it for a short time until they could find temporary housing for the residents. Looks like the parcels were combined in October and ownership is under "Morgan Apartments LLC",

I'm glad to hear that. I obviously have no problem with restoring vacant buildings for market rate housing, but evicting residents for the purposes of converting low income housing to market rate does give me pause. It's inevitable that it will happen, but if we're serious about keeping OTR a mixed income neighborhood, then we really need organizations like OTRCH there to provide safe, clean housing for the poor.

Indigo Hippo recently relocated to a different storefront on the opposite side of Main Street a little further north, and a new clothing store has already opened in the former Indigo Hippo space.

 

The former Mary Magdalen House near 13th & Main is now vacant after that organization moved to Republic Street. I believe that's one of the buildings that Model Group/3CDC will renovate as affordable apartments with ground floor businesses.

The Mary Magdalen House moving is a big positive for Main St.  Their new location will much better help them serve the cities homeless and it gets them off of what's become one of the busiest bar streets in the city. 

So I'm curious what you guys think...But does anyone else feel as if things have been slowing down development wise in OTR?

 

For instance, the Business Courier wrote an article about some of the historic tax credit projects, and no 3cdc project had won.

 

Even during the past few months of the HCB. Really nothing, to very little in OTR (in terms of new rehabs, or new infill development), or around the city in general.

 

I don't know if it's just that winter is a, "lull" period, or if development is just indeed slowing down in OTR......I guess it's just that OTR seemed like a focal point on this subsection, and it's always felt like something new was going in OTR. But lately it just feels, "dead". What do you guys think?

Didn't something like 75 businesses open in OTR last year? We had a bunch of townhomes and small developer projects. Model Group is developing entire blocks up by Findlay.

 

I don't think things are slowing down, I just think things are starting to happen in other neighborhoods as well so maybe it doesn't seem like as much is happening. Or it's just that so much has happened in the last few years that a new townhome or 5 doesn't seem like as much as it used to.

I wouldn't put a ton of stock into the latest HCB packets as those have been between Thanksgiving thru the Holidays in which the business world in general slows down significantly, hopefully after the new year we see more proposals in those.

 

Also there have been some big projects either open recently or are close such as the new Empower HQ, 15th/Vine Office building, Strietman Biscuit office conversion which all have considerable square feet associated with them. Not to mention in the late summer/fall Ziegler Park reopened which will help things along Main. A big divider right now along Vine is the current OTR Kroger which will be getting redeveloped in the next ~18 months once Central Parkway Kroger opens. And, as mentioned above more is happening around Findlay Market than ever before (all the Model Group projects as well as the Film Center apartment rehab)... it all unfortunately takes longer than we would like.

There are 2 new houses under construction on Pleasant St. north of Liberty St. as well as numerous other projects in that area, off the main streets.  There is also a significant amount of activity on E. Clifton for the first time, plus renovations on Vine between McMicken and Clifton and renovations at the bottom of W. Clifton. 

 

As mentioned, the Model projects near Findlay Market are quite substantial.  All three corners of Race & Findlay are being renovated, plus another large Model project a block south of Our Daily Bread. 

 

Oddly the only significant stretch with no construction activity is Vine between Liberty and Schwartz's Point. 

 

I do think progress has slowed down a bit as a whole, but things are still marching forward.

 

I was able to work remotely from a cafe (Deeper Roots) across from Findlay Market next to a proper upscale urban market - EMC (which I highly recommend anyone in the basin hop on a streetcar and check out).  That area very recently was still a no-mans land of mostly abandoned tenement buildings besides the market.

As others have said, there are several huge projects happening right now, including Empower, Streitmann, and Market Square. And also Broadway Square if you want to include what's happening in Pendleton.

 

I think part of the perceived slowdown is due to the fact that 3CDC got involved with projects in the CBD, like 4th & Race, Encore, and the new Kroger tower, which means they have less time to devote to a major project in OTR. However, once the new Kroger tower is open, they will be redeveloping the former OTR Kroger block, which will be another huge project and will should include two iconic buildings, Wielert's and Meiner's Flats.

 

Main Street is doing really well. The new Ziegler Park didn't open until late in 2017, so 2018 will be the year we truly see its impact. UrbanSites has managed to fill a lot of the vacant storefronts with new stuff, like the furniture store in the former Park+Vine/Kaldi's space, Aladin's Eatery, Rosedale, the Royal, the Pony, the Takeaway, etc. Woodward Theater is getting a new marquee. By next spring we will have a repaved street, new sidewalks, and several new crosswalks, which I think will have a big impact on improving the feel of the street.

 

What is a bit interesting/odd is the way that development has mostly jumped over the "middle" part of OTR. North of 15th and south of Elder, there's not a lot happening, but then jump north of Elder and you have several huge projects including Market Square, Film Center, Leader Furniture redevelopment, and Rhinegeist. The lack of projects in this area is partially due the the fact that there are several large lots along Liberty and developers tend to come along with very big proposals like Liberty/Elm and Grammer's Place, none of which have gotten off of the ground. I also think that Green Street is a bit of a rough spot in its current state. After years of living in OTR and walking around every part of the neighborhood, Green Street is the only place I get harassed and have people ask me what I'm doing in their neighborhood, tell me to watch my back, etc.

 

I think the community should start having a discussion now about what it wants to happen with public assets in the northern part of the neighborhood, including Findlay Playground, the current OTR Community Center building, and Findlay Market's parking lots. At some point there is going to be a need for more parking in that part of the neighborhood in order to support new development. Will Findlay Market need more space for vendors as the population up there grows? It would be great if we could create a master plan for what that area will look like. Do we put an underground garage below Findlay Playground? Can we put it under the Findlay Market parking lots and put an additional market house on top? Can the OTR either get a new Community Center or a renovation of the current one in this plan?

^Yeah, Findlay Playground is an obvious spot where a new underground garage could be built.  I think Republic should be restored and new affordable apartments built between there and Vine.  Only the center of the block should remain a playground.  Get rid of the baseball diamond, which nobody uses (there are 9 in the West End) and replace it with two basketball courts, maybe a tennis court or two, and then a kids' area. 

 

 

Get rid of the baseball diamond

 

Get ready for a group called "Save Our Diamond" to pop up.

I wouldn't put a ton of stock into the latest HCB packets as those have been between Thanksgiving thru the Holidays in which the business world in general slows down significantly, hopefully after the new year we see more proposals in those.

 

Also there have been some big projects either open recently or are close such as the new Empower HQ, 15th/Vine Office building, Strietman Biscuit office conversion which all have considerable square feet associated with them. Not to mention in the late summer/fall Ziegler Park reopened which will help things along Main. A big divider right now along Vine is the current OTR Kroger which will be getting redeveloped in the next ~18 months once Central Parkway Kroger opens. And, as mentioned above more is happening around Findlay Market than ever before (all the Model Group projects as well as the Film Center apartment rehab)... it all unfortunately takes longer than we would like.

 

Also, several mid-sized 3CDC projects are underway:

https://www.3cdc.org/projects/

 

The 1500 block of Race now looks fantastic, with little still left to do to complete a full turnaround of the block. 

 

Again, if Liberty had been narrowed in the past 2-3 years and several projects were going up right now on those prominent street corners, people would perceive that much more is going on.  Much of what is going on right now is on side streets. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A lot of work has surprisingly sprung up around Vine and Clifton/McMicken. Also, the stretch of apartments along W. Clifton at the Ohio Street Steps is undergoing renovations as affordable housing. Things are marching along pretty smoothly. I think we may see a slight slow down because of the few projects that received state historic tax credits last year, but it'll pick back up.

I wouldn't put a ton of stock into the latest HCB packets as those have been between Thanksgiving thru the Holidays in which the business world in general slows down significantly, hopefully after the new year we see more proposals in those.

 

Also there have been some big projects either open recently or are close such as the new Empower HQ, 15th/Vine Office building, Strietman Biscuit office conversion which all have considerable square feet associated with them. Not to mention in the late summer/fall Ziegler Park reopened which will help things along Main. A big divider right now along Vine is the current OTR Kroger which will be getting redeveloped in the next ~18 months once Central Parkway Kroger opens. And, as mentioned above more is happening around Findlay Market than ever before (all the Model Group projects as well as the Film Center apartment rehab)... it all unfortunately takes longer than we would like.

 

Also, several mid-sized 3CDC projects are underway:

https://www.3cdc.org/projects/

 

The 1500 block of Race now looks fantastic, with little still left to do to complete a full turnaround of the block. 

 

Again, if Liberty had been narrowed in the past 2-3 years and several projects were going up right now on those prominent street corners, people would perceive that much more is going on.  Much of what is going on right now is on side streets. 

 

I just noticed that 3CDC is now referring to the building at 1400 Vine Street as the "Paint Building" instead of the "Cincinnati Color Building". I wonder if the building's former tenant, the Cincinnati Color Company (which is now located at 1027 Dalton Ave), asked 3CDC to change the name.

^ I can see that creating havoc for customers who google the name only to find the old building with the old sign and find asian fusion instead of antique white being sold. Hopefully this is just a way to drive google hits to the location on Dalton and the sign can stay as is. BTW so glad they came to their senses and repainted the bottom portion back to how it was originally. The horrible font and layout from squeezing all that info onto it at first hurt my little designer brain. FYI Im sure 'asian fusion' is some kind of orange paint from some paint co. out there.

 

Yeah, the Arial font that they had on there after they renovated the building was just awful. Glad to see they brought back the original design. But now you have me wondering, if they had to change the name of the building, are they going to have to repaint that sign again?

Probably not on the building but just maybe in print and social media. If they do, it helps the they could just replace the 5 letter COLOR with PAINT. Here was the first go at changing the blue 'Palate' portion for those who didnt see it or like me waned to forget. Those old sign guys knew their stuff, and im glad it is more similar to the original intent again.

Is there any new information on the Steiner project across from OTR on Race? I know it was approved but have not heard anything on a start date.

across from OTR on Race

huh?