June 8, 20205 yr 18 minutes ago, jmecklenborg said: If River Road hadn't been rebuilt as a pseudo-expressway around 1960, Sedamsville would be a gem of the west side. It was originally more urban than Columbia-Tusculum. I'll just leave this here. Heartbreaking.
June 8, 20205 yr ^i think all of that was bulldozed as much because of the flooding as because of the need for a wider and faster road. I think those buildings on the river side of the road were about 495 feet above sea level, which puts them at roughly the same level as Mehring Way downtown, which meant that they flooded once every 30 years or so up to their ground floor level and the basements likely flooded more often than that.
June 12, 20205 yr Sorry for the blurry picture that may or may not have been taken from a moving vehicle, but, Sugar n' Spice has a sign!
June 12, 20205 yr Since Joe's Diner closed, the vacant SCPA was converted to apartments and Pendleton has boomed. A new apartment building is also under construction across the street on Sycamore. I think there is plenty of residential in the area to support Sugar n' Spice. Plus, their original location is always packed on weekends. I wonder if the OTR location will give away ducks from the Oriental Trading catalog like their original location does.
June 12, 20205 yr If Joe's Diner could have managed to make a decent hamburger, they would still be open.
June 12, 20205 yr Breakfast places almost never fail. People freaking love breakfast food, plus people already know about and many love the Sugar n Spice in Paddock Hills.
June 12, 20205 yr 8 hours ago, jmecklenborg said: ^Where restaurants go to die. $10 sez they're closed by Jan 1, 2022. I remember you making similar claims about Fireside Pizza in Walnut Hills years ago. You were confident they wouldn't last a year.
June 12, 20205 yr Yeah, you can make claims like "where restaurants go to die" but when was the last time a quality restaurant was actually in that spot? I sure as hell know that at no point from my time of moving to Cincy in 2007 until now there's never been one until Sugar N Spice. Plus, like Travis said, since Joe's closed an entire swath of development has happened to the east connecting Main Street to Pendleton, meaning this is no longer really on the edge of active development.
June 12, 20205 yr Sugar N spice actually know what they're doing, unlike the former owners of Joe's Diner. Everything he owns eventually turns to sh*t. I'm anxiously waiting for treehouse and OTR live to close. I think Sugar N Spice will do well in that spot. On late night crowd alone I think they could do well enough. With all the development around that area and the close by government jobs, I also think they'll do pretty good for breakfast, brunch and lunch. Edited June 12, 20205 yr by Cincy513
June 12, 20205 yr 1 minute ago, Cincy513 said: Sugar N spice actually know what they're doing, unlike the former owners of Joe's Diner. Everything he owns eventually turns to sh*t. I'm anxiously waiting for treehouse and OTR live to close. I think Sugar N Spice will do well in that spot. On late night crowd alone I think they could do well enough. With all the development around that area and the close by government jobs, I also think they'll do pretty good for breakfast, brunch and lunch. As of now, I don't think they're planning on doing late night service. That could change, but their initial plan is breakfast and lunch.
June 13, 20205 yr 16 hours ago, ryanlammi said: I remember you making similar claims about Fireside Pizza in Walnut Hills years ago. You were confident they wouldn't last a year. The place limps along doing maybe $2,000/day in sales. The people who take photos of their food have moved on.
June 13, 20205 yr I love how you claim to always have exact knowledge of other businesses' or people's funds, sales, trust funds, inheritances, etc. Are we to actually believe that you are somehow in possession of so many connections that you can make these claims for every business or person you have? in these forums?
June 13, 20205 yr ^Actually I do know about a few of them because I'm related to them or they're a family friend. Most capital-intensive companies are started with an inheritance from dead relatives or a gift from living ones. One of my friends married into the Peep's fortune. Yes, the marshmellow Easter candy. His wife recently started a company with no product but a first-year payroll of almost $1 million - multiple people making six figures.
June 15, 20204 yr On 6/12/2020 at 11:42 AM, Cincy513 said: Sugar N spice actually know what they're doing, unlike the former owners of Joe's Diner. Everything he owns eventually turns to sh*t. I'm anxiously waiting for treehouse and OTR live to close. I think Sugar N Spice will do well in that spot. On late night crowd alone I think they could do well enough. With all the development around that area and the close by government jobs, I also think they'll do pretty good for breakfast, brunch and lunch. There are enough people in ODJFS to support Sugar and Spice with true diner food menu. But, no one has recently given that a chance. The 2 little Kobe Burgers for $14 was a non starter and they couldn't make a bowl of chili or a toss salad if their life depended on it. The operator before that was just as bad. Sugar and Spice will change that.
June 15, 20204 yr This is slightly off topic... But I went to Madison Indiana over the weekend. I went their because it was highly recommend that if I loved otr that I should go see Madison. I have to say, Madison was nice and I enjoyed that it was a small little town that embraced historic preservation, but overall I wasn't really impressed. I don't know why but it felt smaller than otr, at least the "downtown" business district section. Otr is just way more impressive with it's landmarks like music hall and Findley market, and it's small nook and crannies. Also, the business district was mostly dead. I guess alot of it has to do with Covid, but I did see quite a few empty buildings with for sale signs. I was happy to see an old warehouse looking building by the riverfront being renovated to be a new Marriot hotel... Madison has alot of charm thanks to it's architecture, but it's definitely missing the shopping district charm that even a smaller tiny town like Yellow Springs has in spades.
June 15, 20204 yr Madison is a river town that stagnated after railroads surpassed riverboats as the dominant means of transportation. It's on no major roads or railroads, so when travel patterns shifted it was just kind of left alone. There was still enough economic activity to maintain the place, but not so much that it was ever appreciably redeveloped. Similar reasons (though on a larger scale) are given for Prague's well-preserved built environment. The trouble with Madison is that while it was a prototype for Main Street preservation efforts, it looks like there was little to no attempt to support the Main Street program with complimentary regional land-use planning. Much of the economy seems to be decanted out to North Madison along Clifty Drive and the usual "asteroid belt" of strip malls, fast food joints, big box stores, and a surprising number of industrial facilities stretching out into the cornfields. A splattering of disjointed residential subdivisions occupy the space between there and the historic town center. This has certainly pulled a lot of the vitality away from Main Street.
June 15, 20204 yr Since Sugar n Spice was bought by the mayersons I don't think there is any risk of them closing.
June 15, 20204 yr 8 hours ago, jjakucyk said: The trouble with Madison is that while it was a prototype for Main Street preservation efforts, it looks like there was little to no attempt to support the Main Street program with complimentary regional land-use planning. Much of the economy seems to be decanted out to North Madison along Clifty Drive and the usual "asteroid belt" of strip malls, fast food joints, big box stores, and a surprising number of industrial facilities stretching out into the cornfields. A splattering of disjointed residential subdivisions occupy the space between there and the historic town center. This has certainly pulled a lot of the vitality away from Main Street. There is big box retail just outside the famed historic part of Savannah but the place has managed to attract regular tourism. Also, SCAD is not an old college (it was founded in the 80s, I think), but it has grown to 10,000 students and is centered in the downtown. Meanwhile, the Art Academy of Cincinnati was SCAD-ish in its move from Mt. Adams to an existing building on 12th St., but it's a tiny school, with under 1,000 students wow I looked it up and it only has 192 students. I think I had undergrad lecture classes with that many people or more in them. The Art Academy might still have the apartments above the original Taste of Belgium - I don't know. But if the Art Academy had ever grown at any point in its 100+ year history maybe we would have seen students move into OTR apartments before the school itself moved off the hill. Edited June 15, 20204 yr by jmecklenborg
June 16, 20204 yr Madison has alot of potential that's not being utilized imo. It could be a really nice little tourist town, especially since it's so close to big cities like Louisville/Cincinnati/Indy. It has a really unique small town, "hallmark" feel, it's just missing the unique shops like Yellow Springs has. The resturaunts there is solid as hell though. The places there have great food.
June 16, 20204 yr Yellow Springs and Madison are almost opposites. Madison is conservative, family-oriented, and "pleasant." Yellow Springs is liberal, counter-culture, and not family-oriented. A better model for Madison would be Galena, Illinois. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
June 16, 20204 yr ^Galena and Madison were both in the first set of Main Street communities (along with Deadwood, South Dakota). I agree that Yellow Springs is a different animal. As downtowns have become more popular to the masses and we've seen significant revitalization of urban neighborhoods and smaller towns all across the Midwest, I've wondered if destination towns like Madison will have a harder time surviving. For instance, someone on the east side of Columbus may have been drawn to Roscoe Village or Dresden, but now they have more options in Newark or the Short North. Someone north of Cincinnati may have flocked to Lebanon or Waynesville, but now they have more options in OTR, Hamilton, and Middletown. There are limits to the markets for destination downtowns. Places like Madison probably have to focus more on building a base of businesses that serve residents in the immediate area, before relying as heavily on tourists as they may have been able to do back in the 1970s thru 2000s.
June 16, 20204 yr 10 hours ago, troeros said: Madison has alot of potential that's not being utilized imo. Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana are filled with dozens and dozens of historic old towns that have great architecture and a ton of "potential". Unfortunately since we have a relatively stagnant population in this part of the country, not much is going to change for most of these towns. Young people are going to continue to move away from small towns and rural areas and towards the big cities. Neighborhoods in Cincinnati like OTR and Northside offer the same type of architecture as these small towns but with more life, vibrancy, culture, and access to jobs. Since a place like Madison is not going to attract younger people, most of the storefronts are going to be filled with Kathy's Crafts, antique stores, a town ice cream parlor, etc. They do have a decent pizza place and a newly opened brewery, which are nice places to stop after visiting the nearby Clifty Falls State Park.
June 16, 20204 yr Small towns can still be appealing towards the urban yuppie/potential suburban-turned-urban person. For example, most New England towns still favor youthful tourism whether through arts, craft beer, or a certain "scene." Agreed with Travis that there are dozens of potential towns that will be left in the dust due to brain drain in the region and lack of vision. While Marietta, for example, is fantastic, it could be so much more. Ditto with, say, Ripley, Madison, Maysville (KY), Lebanon, Waynesville, etc. They can go the New Hope (PA) route or even a mini-Asheville route to attract the Taestells. Well, they are going to have to or end up like Bethel. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
June 16, 20204 yr 1 hour ago, ColDayMan said: Small towns can still be appealing towards the urban yuppie/potential suburban-turned-urban person. For example, most New England towns still favor youthful tourism whether through arts, craft beer, or a certain "scene." Agreed with Travis that there are dozens of potential towns that will be left in the dust due to brain drain in the region and lack of vision. While Marietta, for example, is fantastic, it could be so much more. Ditto with, say, Ripley, Madison, Maysville (KY), Lebanon, Waynesville, etc. They can go the New Hope (PA) route or even a mini-Asheville route to attract the Taestells. Well, they are going to have to or end up like Bethel. The people attracted to New Hope or Asheville are very put off by the confederate flags and outward racism in Ripley and Maysville.
June 16, 20204 yr Move this discussion to another thread if you want to continue it. This has absolutely nothing to do with OTR.
June 17, 20204 yr Is it true the Senate is also permeantly closing? I've heard rumors but didn't know if they were true or not? This pandemic plus the riots have been absolutely devestating for the urban core. I'm not sure how many years it will take for everything to go back to the "steady" normal otr was experiencing pre-covid/riots. 3cdc is going to have a hell of alot of work to do to fill these empty retail spots in the near future. Hopefully their financial stability won't suffer either with all of this going on.
June 17, 20204 yr 27 minutes ago, troeros said: Is it true the Senate is also permeantly closing? I've heard rumors but didn't know if they were true or not? This pandemic plus the riots have been absolutely devestating for the urban core. I'm not sure how many years it will take for everything to go back to the "steady" normal otr was experiencing pre-covid/riots. 3cdc is going to have a hell of alot of work to do to fill these empty retail spots in the near future. Hopefully their financial stability won't suffer either with all of this going on. Have not heard any word in that as of yet.
June 17, 20204 yr 3 hours ago, troeros said: 3cdc is going to have a hell of alot of work to do to fill these empty retail spots in the near future. Hopefully their financial stability won't suffer either with all of this going on. That's if 3CDC survives the pandemic! Cue the doom and gloom... “All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.” -Friedrich Nietzsche
June 17, 20204 yr "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
June 17, 20204 yr 4 hours ago, troeros said: Is it true the Senate is also permeantly closing? I've heard rumors but didn't know if they were true or not? This pandemic plus the riots have been absolutely devestating for the urban core. I'm not sure how many years it will take for everything to go back to the "steady" normal otr was experiencing pre-covid/riots. 3cdc is going to have a hell of alot of work to do to fill these empty retail spots in the near future. Hopefully their financial stability won't suffer either with all of this going on. I have heard similar rumors that Senate will not reopen the OTR location and will just keep Blue Trash location open.
June 17, 20204 yr It also appears the apperal store, "Homage" has also closed. Not sure if permeantly or what. Everything is boarded up. Vine Street is going to be rough in the short term with how much has shuttered in the past month.
June 17, 20204 yr 15 minutes ago, savadams13 said: I have heard similar rumors that Senate will not reopen the OTR location and will just keep Blue Trash location open. Senate Blue Ash and A Tavola Madeira have a good amount of outdoor seating available. I hope the OTR closings are temporary but the lack of permanent outdoor seating has to be a huge factor.
June 17, 20204 yr 5 minutes ago, troeros said: It also appears the apperal store, "Homage" has also closed. Not sure if permeantly or what. Everything is boarded up. Vine Street is going to be rough in the short term with how much has shuttered in the past month. Homage has been boarded up since they were broken into a couple weeks ago during the protests.
June 17, 20204 yr On 6/7/2020 at 2:04 AM, jmecklenborg said: The Oakland/East Liberty area is probably the densest not-downtown area of any American city that doesn't have rail transit. But the other outer neighborhood business districts in Pittsburgh are pretty similar in scale to those in Cincinnati like Cheviot or Norwood or wherever. Oakland or East Liberty? And PGH has rail transportation. Or do you just mean to the neighborhood? If that's the case, there are dozens of Philly neighborhoods that are denser and don't have rail.
June 17, 20204 yr 32 minutes ago, troeros said: It also appears the apperal store, "Homage" has also closed. Not sure if permeantly or what. Everything is boarded up. Vine Street is going to be rough in the short term with how much has shuttered in the past month. They've also temporarily closed their Liberty Center and Short North locations. It's just because of COVID. They have plans to reopen all of the stores soon.
June 19, 20204 yr The mixed-used project at 1518 Race, which was previously denied by the HCB due to height/density, was just approved to proceed by the Planning Commission. It will consist of ground level retail (~2,000 sq ft) and 15 apartments. Planning Commission details begin at page 260: https://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/planning/about-city-planning/city-planning-commission/jun-19-2020-packet/ Courier details: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2020/02/21/otr-apartments-a-waitress-or-bartender-can-afford.html
June 19, 20204 yr 2 hours ago, jwulsin said: The mixed-used project at 1518 Race, which was previously denied by the HCB due to height/density, was just approved to proceed by the Planning Commission. It will consist of ground level retail (~2,000 sq ft) and 15 apartments. Planning Commission details begin at page 260: https://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/planning/about-city-planning/city-planning-commission/jun-19-2020-packet/ Courier details: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2020/02/21/otr-apartments-a-waitress-or-bartender-can-afford.html Ok good, I was worried this was being shot down after looking through the HCB packet eariler this week. It's 15 feet taller than the buildings next to it... if that's you're concern, get over it, that's not a legitimate reason to stop this. This is exactly the type of housing that OTR is missing, I'm hoping more like this and Willkommen start popping up. The 80% of AMI housing that usually gets proposed is a joke, it needs to be around 50%, or micro-apartments to keep rents down. I'm fine with minor exceptions to the HCB guidelines if housing like this can add to the vibrancy of OTR (service workers living and working in OTR)
June 20, 20204 yr More on that... Unique mixed-income OTR housing development gets key approval An unusual mixed-income Over-the-Rhine infill apartment project has received unanimous approval by the Cincinnati Planning Commission and now heads to the Cincinnati City Council for a final vote. Blue Ocean Development plans to build a five-story, 15-unit apartment building on a 0.1-acre vacant lot at 1518 Race St., with the fifth-floor penthouses set back from the street. About 40% of those units will be affordable workforce housing with rents as low as $515 a month. The project is a rarity in the urban core because it does not contain state, federal or local tax credits or direct financial subsidy. The project is receiving a city property tax abatement, which is standard for most new buildings anywhere in the city. The vote came over the objections of some nearby neighbors centered around its height, which they believed should only be four stories instead of what is proposed. Developer Ric Powell said the project’s configuration is necessary in order to make the finances work. He has billed it as the kind of project that a bartender or a waitress who works in the neighborhood also could afford to live in. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2020/06/19/unique-mixed-income-otr-housing-development-gets-k.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
June 20, 20204 yr 19 hours ago, ColDayMan said: More on that... Unique mixed-income OTR housing development gets key approval An unusual mixed-income Over-the-Rhine infill apartment project has received unanimous approval by the Cincinnati Planning Commission and now heads to the Cincinnati City Council for a final vote. Blue Ocean Development plans to build a five-story, 15-unit apartment building on a 0.1-acre vacant lot at 1518 Race St., with the fifth-floor penthouses set back from the street. About 40% of those units will be affordable workforce housing with rents as low as $515 a month. The project is a rarity in the urban core because it does not contain state, federal or local tax credits or direct financial subsidy. The project is receiving a city property tax abatement, which is standard for most new buildings anywhere in the city. The vote came over the objections of some nearby neighbors centered around its height, which they believed should only be four stories instead of what is proposed. Developer Ric Powell said the project’s configuration is necessary in order to make the finances work. He has billed it as the kind of project that a bartender or a waitress who works in the neighborhood also could afford to live in. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2020/06/19/unique-mixed-income-otr-housing-development-gets-k.html I’m kinda confused at it stating it’s 5 floors but the rendering is only 4. edit. Nvm, if I would have read the whole article I would have noticed where it said the fifth floor is set back. Edited June 20, 20204 yr by Ucgrad2015 Not reading whole article
June 28, 20204 yr The group rehabbing the Imperial Theatre posted a video featuring a look at the current state of the building. It's much bigger inside than I realized, with what appears to be a full balcony.
June 28, 20204 yr 3 hours ago, oudd said: The group rehabbing the Imperial Theatre posted a video featuring a look at the current state of the building. It's much bigger inside than I realized, with what appears to be a full balcony. Do they know what they are going to be using it as?
June 29, 20204 yr 7 hours ago, Ucgrad2015 said: Do they know what they are going to be using it as? The hope is fully functional theater for a variety of programs. Julie's focus has been on stabilizing the building while researching best practices and figuring out the development strategy. For historic tax credits, a for-profit owner is desired for the development while a non-profit organization is best to operate the theater, so she and a core group have been trying to figure out what that looks like. It has a fly stage as well so it has the potential for a lot more than a theater like The Woodward for example.
June 29, 20204 yr Popular Over-the-Rhine gathering spot getting a new name The porch at Washington Park is getting a new name. On Monday, the Cincinnati City Development Corp. (3CDC) announced Pittsburgh-based PPG, a global supplier of paints, has struck a four-year naming rights deal for the outdoor venue. As part of the deal, the 2,926-square-foot space will be renamed "The Porch presented by PPG Paints," according to a release. Southwest Airlines was the site's previous sponsor. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2020/06/29/popular-otr-spot-getting-a-new-name.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
July 1, 20204 yr A vacant lot listed earlier this week on E. Clifton went under contract immediately: https://www.sibcycline.com/Listing/CIN/1666612/144-E-Clifton-Ave-Cincinnati-OH-45202 In my opinion the listed price was too low. Still, it's amazing that a vacant lot on E. Clifton, of all places, went under contract within 24 hours.
July 2, 20204 yr On 7/1/2020 at 4:32 PM, jmecklenborg said: A vacant lot listed earlier this week on E. Clifton went under contract immediately: https://www.sibcycline.com/Listing/CIN/1666612/144-E-Clifton-Ave-Cincinnati-OH-45202 In my opinion the listed price was too low. Still, it's amazing that a vacant lot on E. Clifton, of all places, went under contract within 24 hours. That hillside from Vine to Auburn and up the hill is hot. I'd buy anything on E. Clifton, Peete or Mulberry.
July 3, 20204 yr On 6/29/2020 at 5:16 PM, ColDayMan said: Popular Over-the-Rhine gathering spot getting a new name The porch at Washington Park is getting a new name. On Monday, the Cincinnati City Development Corp. (3CDC) announced Pittsburgh-based PPG, a global supplier of paints, has struck a four-year naming rights deal for the outdoor venue. As part of the deal, the 2,926-square-foot space will be renamed "The Porch presented by PPG Paints," according to a release. Southwest Airlines was the site's previous sponsor. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2020/06/29/popular-otr-spot-getting-a-new-name.html Little bit of sh*ttsburgh in the heart of the city. ??♂️
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