While I'm glad that they added the condos on Vine, I do have to say that I'm not impressed with the interiors.  They did not seem like the best use of space, and the units appear small.  For their price, they should have granite countertops and other high-end finishes.

Students Round Out Experience

Help Design and Build Non-Profit Pizzeria

DAAP News

 

CINCINNATI - When UC design students began work in 2004 to help design and build an Over-the-Rhine pizzeria, it might have seemed like a half-baked idea. But now the eatery, operated by local nuns as part of their ministry, is serving pizza and winning awards.

 

In order to gain a slice of real-world experience, University of Cincinnati students first began working back in 2004 to help design and build an Over-the-Rhine pizzeria.

 

That effort - which recently resulted in the opening of Venice on Vine - began because local nuns, the Dominican Sisters of Hope and the Sister of Notre Dame de Namur, were seeking to open a pizzeria as a means to provide jobs and training for hard-to-employ residents in urban neighborhoods.

 

Because they didn't have a lot of dough to work with, the sisters turned to faculty and students in UC's top-ranked College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning to help with the renovation designs and labor required to turn 1301 Vine Street into what it is today, Venice on Vine.

 

At the time, UC student (now graduated) Emily Wray of St. Louis - who worked on the project from 2004 through 2006 - explained that the students wanted to create a design specific to Over-the-Rhine, "a place that really speaks to and for the community so that it's not a place that looks like 'McPizza," and could be just anywhere."

 

Apparently, they succeeded. Venice on Vine, which recently opened for business, just won a Cincinnati Design Award from the local chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

 

In their efforts to create a new home for the sisters' efforts, the UC architecture and interior design students were led by Frank Russell, director of UC's Community Design Center; Terry Boling, assistant professor of architecture; and Carrie Beidleman, adjunct professor of interior design. The 19th-century building had to be dramatically refurbished for use as a pizza kitchen and restaurant: The students put up drywall, lighting, signage, laying a tile floor, creating a wood mosaic wall, creating decorative copper screens and both a serving and an eating counter.

 

Travis Wollet, a one-time UC architecture graduate student who worked on the project for about two years, explained, "We laid the floor as a mosaic not only because it was unique, a very rich design, but also because our supplies were all sorts of mismatched pieces of tiles that were headed for the garbage heap. The same with the wood mosaic wall we created. We didn't have large enough or sufficient quantities of matching wood to do a conventional job. It forced us to be far more creative than we might have otherwise been."

 

For instance, the students had 8,000 donated floor tiles to work with; however, the tiles were of varying sizes, textures and colors. In order to use the mismatched materials in the creation of a harmonious design scheme, the students cut each tile intro strips and then fashioned a floor by blending and intermixing the variegated pieces.

 

Wollet first participated in the project as part of a class, then for independent-study credit and finally, simply as a volunteer. "I stuck with it because I wanted to see it through. We'd shown a lot of care in creating the detailed floors and walls, and I couldn't be sure someone else would care as much about that original work and see it through. So, I just continued to stick with it," he said.

 

Wollet's personal contributions to the project consisted of building the frame for the pizza parlor's interior light box, installing the ornate wood panels and metal trim that comprise one wall, laying the backer board for the tile floor, and building the frame for a wall counter as well as painting and cleaning.

 

The end result is worth all the work, according to Wray, who not only helped with design projects but helped secure donations of tile and wood as well as other materials and services. She explained, "The best part is seeing it all get built. So many projects we might do in school don't get built. That's the best part of this project and seeing it realized. It's real, and it all shows real hand work and individual care."

 

Of the new Venice on Vine, Sister Barbara Wheeler simply said, "It's a work of art."

 

"We never thought it would take us this long to open," she admitted. "But it's all worked out wonderfully. The time spent in refurbishing the storefront was time we then had to write grants to support our work. And, it gave us time to implement many of the design ideas that students developed for us. We needed their ideas since we don't have design backgrounds. It was the students' ideas and enthusiasm that often pulled us through."

 

The UC students - most of whom came to the project via UC's Niehoff Studio which is also based in Over-the-Rhine - completed all construction drawings and bid packages thanks to funding from UC's Institute for Community Partnerships, supervision by UC's Community Design Center and technical assistance from KZF Design, Inc., and Brashear Bolton, Inc. In all, about 30 UC students have worked on the project over the last two years.

 

In addition to the kitchen and dining area of Venice on Vine, the ministry (called Power Inspires Progress) also consists of a catering center as well as a small computer training space. The entire space is part of a ministry to employ and train hard-to-place workers. Students from Miami University also assisted with the project, focusing on renovating the site's training area - laying a new wood floor as well as installing cabinetry and furniture.

 

Venice on Vine, located at 1301 Vine St. in Over-the-Rhine, is open Monday thru Friday from 11 a.m.-7 p.m.

 

http://www.daap.uc.edu/stories/Students_Round_Out_Experience_Help_Design_and_Build_Non-Profit_Pizzeria

Venice on Vine looks great! I do wonder about how much business they'll get in that section of Vine though...

I agree, I like how it looks.  Haven't made it in yet.  I hope they can hang on a year or two, that section is improving rapidly.

Wow...I haven't posted in here in a while.  It's going to take some time to catch up.  Some of these projects are a little dated, but worth noting.

 

Model is doing major renovations to the following buildings:

 

21 W Thirteenth St (aka 1227 Republic, per auditor)

Permits in route.  This one is going to be a major undertaking.  This building is next to a project they did at 31 W Thirteenth St.

 

537-539 E Thirteenth St

Again, a major overhaul.  These permits are also in route.  I believe it is the smoke-singed one and the one to its right.

 

It appears that some work is happening at 122 W Elder St.  At least I think so.  Meanwhile, 128 W Elder is still for sale for $105,000.  That's a blight on the Findlay Market area that really needs to be cleaned up.

(122 W Elder)

 

Wow that's a nice interior. Creative use of mismatched floor tiles.

No chops, steaks for sale at 3CDC

 

By Joe Wessels

 

The sign is on - but despite what it says, 3CDC is not selling chicken, steaks or chops.

 

If you drove by 12th and Vine streets in Over-the-Rhine in the past few days, you'd likely notice the Bank Café sign is lit back up again after being out for years. No food will be served again at the location, but 3CDC will open a sales center Feb. 8 inside the former restaurant for the approximately 100 renovated living units it now has for sale in the immediate area.

 

http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070113/EDIT/701130352/1003

If you drove by 12th and Vine streets in Over-the-Rhine in the past few days, you'd likely notice the Bank Café sign is lit back up again

 I drove by there a week before and saw the sign was gone.  :-( It's back! Awesome news. 

It is surprising how much visual interest one spinning, partial-neon sign can add to an intersection at night.

I absolutley love neon signs. Especially the large old ones that would sit on top of a building.  I''ll need to go check it out.

 

Update 9:24 am:

 

I just saw a pictue of the sign over on urbanlife.net. I guess i missed kendall'ls "partial" comment about the sign.

 

 

183 and 187 Zier Pl are in the process of being demolished.  These were rundown shacks of Steven Pavelish.  They was declared a public nuisance last April and March respectively, and, despite attempts to stay the demolition, an Intent to Raze was posted in August for 183 and June for 187.

(183 and 187 Zier)

   

 

I think 185 Zier is going to be remodeled pending the action wrapping up on the adjacent properties.  It looks to be in pretty good shape.  I believe it's owner-occupied.

 

I think interior demo has started, or is getting ready to start, on the condo project at 512-526 Reading.  (More about that project, plus a photo of the buildings, on this post.)

Over-the-Rhine Housing Network is working on a rehab of 530 E Thirteenth St.  In fact, they've been working on this for quite a while.  The property is a two-family built around 1885.  I'm not sure if this will be market-rate or rental housing.

 

Model Management should be starting soon on a total renovation of 1344 Vine St.  I don't know how many units will result.

 

1518 Race St was supposed to be razed, but I'm not sure if it's down yet.  The building was condemened and has been vacant since at least 2003.  Bricks and boards (from windows) were falling off of the building and it was deemed a danger.

 

^The demo crew was working on the rear of 1518 Race this week.  The front should be down in the next day or two.

^ Thanks.

 

The last photos of 1518 Race:

 

 

 

Dammit! :( :( :(

 

It was on my list of places to at least photograph exteriors of. I was wanting to do that Friday in fact. Perhaps I can still get a chance if the whole thing isn't leveled in two days (I have seen buildings wiped that quick, so it would not surprise me...).

 

It's sad it couldn't be salvaged.

3cdc needs surface lots, they don't care.

^ give me a break.  that building is beyond salvage and to poke at 3cdc like that seems a little out of place too...how many buildings have they purchased for renovation now?  nobody likes losing history but you have to draw a line somehwere.  they cant all be saved

^ give me a break.  that building is beyond salvage and to poke at 3cdc like that seems a little out of place too...how many buildings have they purchased for renovation now?  nobody likes losing history but you have to draw a line somewhere.  they cant all be saved

Thank you, I did not want to appear to always disagree with Max, but I disagree with Max.  We have a huge supply of buildings that are in this advanced state of disrepair or worse, and you can buy any of these buildings, save them.  Everyone is quick to spend others money, save it yourself.

:-D  You boys don't know what sarcasm is?? Well maybe I am still a little bitter because 3cdc HAS reccomended a site for the demolition of 22 historic buildings in OTR in the past.Also the fences they are putting up everywhere better be temporary! OTR is starting to look like a prison or shudder, a gated community?? mike, whats up with rothenburg school? renovation has stopped. I know CPS spends like drunken sailors or shore leave but..

mike, whats up with rothenburg school? renovation has stopped. I know CPS spends like drunken sailors or shore leave but..

 

It never started.  All of the construction there has been for Vernon Rader's buildings, never the school.  Everyone thinks that the master plan is written in stone, it is not.  I do not even believe that Rothenberg will be renovated or even reopened.  SCPA? that is in jeapordy as I hear it as well.  Pendleton wants to do some arm twisting of the school board to make sure they can keep their park, and it looks like they may get to keep their school as well.

 

I am still a little bitter because 3cdc HAS reccomended a site for the demolition of 22 historic buildings in OTR in the past.

I have no fewer than 50 more that needs to be added to that list (and thats not sarcasm)

^Mike; have you been hearing that the new SCPA site may be falling apart?  It has seemed very quiet on that front lately, and there are still buildings on the Washington Park site that are still owned by third parties.  Seems like the inertia is gone.

 

I would lay money that Rothenberg will not be reopened, but I have no inside info on that.

 

There are nowhere near 50 blgs in OTR that should be demolished.  That statement is totally whacked.

Thanks mike. I hope SCPA can be worked out somehow..

 

SCPA (from what I hear) is at a make it or break it time and the next 60 days will tell the tail.  This is why I say that the master plan means nothing.  If SCPA goes down, vine st elem. may stay open, Rothenberg I think hits NAI Bergmans sale sheet and Bloom probably will as well.  Bloom is just one example of the master plan change, it was also slated for renovation but now is closed. 

It has been my opinion that Rothenberg could be the saving grace for Main St. if turned into office space.  A 67,000 sq ft space that could facilitate between 150-200 employees could do wonders for the lunch time and after work crowd that could support Main.  The American Red Cross is looking for 60,000 right now, but the school is not for sale (YET).

Personally, I want to see SCPA go through, Rothenberg go up for sale, Vine St./Rothenberg Elementary to stay open, The old SCPA could be the new neighborhood school (instead of Rothenberg).  But...this is the world according to Michael, we will have to see how this all plays out.

 

Now to the teardowns.  God I love touchy subjects.  In our Sector alone, I can think of at least 10 that need to come down.  And these are almost undisputable teardowns (although I am sure someone would).  3 on Peete St, 2 on Mulberry, 3 (side by side) on Hust Alley, 1 high on Main (next to the casing company), 2 more on E. Clifton.  Ok, that is actually 11, and that is off the top of my head.  Now that is one sector, and unless we are just the worst sector for teardown, I feel pretty safe in applying that number into the 4 other sectors.  So perhaps 55 instead of 50.

Sometimes buildings need to come down.  I wish they could all be saved and some would argue that they all can-but at what cost.  Already redevelopment in OTR is challenging at best and Jimmy, you did a great job on restoring your building, I am restoring my home right now, but some of these structures are lost.  Do not blame me, blame the people who did nothing to these buildings year after year.  Blame the Johnny Van Steins, blame the Larry Rhodes of the world, they are the reasons that beutiful buildings like 88 Mulberry are coming down within weeks. 

But some will argue that these buildings should be saved at any and all cost, OK, I have 11 buildings in the Mulberry/McMicken Sector that I will sell you today.

I just drove around OTR yesterday; there is a TON of work going on I am happy to say.  There are many, many buildings with dumpsters and scaffolding in front of them.  I say kudos to 3CDC and others who are doing the work and keep it up!

^agreed about the blame going to the previous owners.  For decades 1518 Race was owned by irresponsible slumlord after another.  I think it was last occupied in the 70's!  However, believe it or not, I have helped successfully rehab buildings that were in this condition.  It takes lots of blood sweat and money, but if you get the right dedicated owner/rehabber/ they can end up with something better than if they tore it down and started from scratch, especially if you consider how hard the building codes and zoning codes make it to build a new zero-lot-line townhouse that fits the neighborhood.

 

If the project doesn't go forward, I guarantee that that block will stay surface parking for at least another decade, perhaps much longer, and that huge lot is a total drag on the vitality of this part of the neighborhood. 

 

The project had lots of hurdles form the start, beginning with the cost of building totally new on an un-acquired site.  On top of that you have the local politics which have slowed it down, and slowing your project down with the Cincinnati Public Schools means that your money may get eaten by other projects which got started first.

It would be terrible for the SCPA project to die after 9 years or more of planning

Now understand that I am not saying it is a dead project, I am only saying that I have heard that it is in tremendous peril.

 

It takes lots of blood sweat and money, but if you get the right dedicated owner/rehabber/ they can end up with something better than if they tore it down and started from scratch

 

I can only speak to the particular buildings I mentioned before. Lets take 19 Peete St and 88 Mulberry. They can be fixed, no doubt about it. And if one was to want to sink their life savings into just stabalizing the building, and I am not talking about the restoration only the stabilazation, it could be done. So who is going to step up to the plate to do this?

We had a building on Mulberry a couple of years ago colapse into the street. Were we right in not tearing that building down on the outside chance that "right dedicated owner/rehabber/" might eventually come along? They never came. 300 Mulberry is dying right now, and has been for years-, 95 Mulberry's stairs have collapsed and Hummel deamed it unsafe for its workers to do repair work. 19 Peete will fall on its own and due to its location, is a haven for drug dealing and illegal dumping (and is hurting 29 Mulberry just above it). 1632 Main, another Larry Rhodes building- refuses to sale, no roof in the back end, a lentil fell on the sidewalk last year.

What do we do when the right owner or rehabber just doesn't come? Do we just sit and watch the building die and hurt the chances for all the buildings around it. When people look to do an investment into a property they tend to look at what is surrounding that investment. How many properties were not rehabbed because of the dead,blighted building next to it with the owner who despite being worth 42 million, is willing to go to jail (multiple times) instead of giving into the demands of the city? If you tell me every building can be saved, then I give you Larry Rhodes. Tell me how to overcome that?

 

1518 Race, how many people were in line to sink their time and money into the rehab? What would you estimate as the cost to rehab that one building? I have approx 15 shells for sale right this minute, are people beating down my door to get these? And they are in much better shape than 1518. Our inventory is to great relative to the number of potential rehabbers, and these are just the ones that are for sale, some, like Larry Rhodes will not even take that step. It seem the only way to get anyone interested in a building is to announce you are tearing it down.

 

It is a terrible reality that perhaps we need to loose some of these buildings in order to move forward and save others. It is time to realize that every building in OTR will not be saved.

I don't think a vacant lot is any more appealing than a vacant building, and the holding costs are much lower, thus bad owners will never sell them.

I don't think a vacant lot is any more appealing than a vacant building

vacant lots tend not to harbor criminal activity the way that vacant buildings do.  And you rarely here a vacant lot described as "blight"

 

and the holding costs are much lower, thus bad owners will never sell them

The timing of this conversation is interesting in that we had 146 and 148 torn down last summer, both Larry Rhodes buildings on Mulberry.  The sign just went up on the lots yesterday for sale.  He fought the city for 17 years about the buildings, but is selling the lots now.

Then

 

 

Now

Listing # Area SIC Address # 

 

       

  1046553  E01  CI  146 Mulberry St     

  1046560  E01  CI  148 Mulberry     

               

List/Sell $ Acres Lot Dimensions Property Subtype Desc LO Status       

 

           

$48,750 0.064  30x90  Single Family Lot  HUFF25  Active 

         

     

$48,750 0.064  30x90  Single Family Lot  HUFF25  Active 

 

 

 

 

we had 146 and 148 torn down last summer

 

Good job, not only do you have buildings torn down, but now we get these totally overpriced weed and trash lots that will never sell at 48G's a piece!!  I wouldn't pay 20 for both of those!!  :-P

Man, that's a lot of money for a tiny lot in a neighborhood where people get their vans torched.

This guy's greed is amazing.

I guess this is why we need 3CDC.

Do you see trash? I don't see trash.  32 would be a decent price for a 25 footer but these are 30x90 and Maggie Beckmeyer knows the area well enough that I think she may get an offer or two.

It's not greed, it's supply and demand. As bad as that may be, the lots will be sold eventually for that price or less - depending on how soft this housing market goes.

Do you see trash? I don't see trash

You don't see the 40 OZ next to the lays barbq wrapper on the right side??  See ya next Saturday morning. :wink:

 

 

I am still drinking on that, its not trash.

I am still drinking on that, its not trash.

Pretty soon Michael will be walking around, beer bag in hand, glazed look in his eye, cursing at something/anything .

:-)

Mike, I will buy you a pint of plain at miltons.  :-D On another beer note. Miltons  is going to serve Green HUDY on tap st patricks day!!!

Max, I will take you up on the drink offer, but make mine a long island. (and not a green one either, that is a three mile island)

 

Pretty soon Michael will be walking around, beer bag in hand, glazed look in his eye, cursing at something/anything .

ahh, good times...

Don't know if this was posted anywhere....

 

FreestoreFoodbank gets free building

Cincinnati Business Courier - 1:50 PM EST Thursday, February 8, 2007

 

A local developer has donated a building in Over-the-Rhine to the FreestoreFoodbank, the organization said Thursday.

 

The 48,000-square-foot building, at 12th Street and Central Parkway, was donated by Jeffrey Anderson, president of Jeffrey R. Anderson Real Estate Inc., and his wife Darlene. It is the largest donation the Freestore has ever received, according to a news release.

 

http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2007/02/05/daily41.html?b=1170651600^1415347

BTW, my wife talked with the head honcho of the SCPA project, and he says it is a definite go. They plan on demolishing the buildings on the NE corner of the block in a couple of weeks.  They have redesigned the project to avoid demolishing the Drop Inn Center buildings on the NW corner because an agreement could not be worked out for their purchase.

Sounds good, my information was coming from a certain counsil member whos name begins with a T but I will disclose no more about his identity. (ok, he is bald to, but that is all I can say.)

^the vice mayor does exagerate

boy howdie, but I only pass along the information that I hear. But do we dismiss what Tarbell says about this and take what he says about the streetcar to the bank? Either we have to be scheptical across the board or rely on any information about such plans with cautious optimism-I prefer the latter.

I hope like hell this thing goes through, all of it.  OTR is on the verge of turning the corner and this project is critical link in seeing that it happens.

The project is not completely out of the woods, as they are still trying to fill an $8M funding gap, but apparently they are going to start construction in spring nonetheless.

Mr. T is talking as if the streetcar proposal is 100% happening, that it's going to be rubber stamped through council in May.  This is the same guy who passed out kazoos and had a group of 50 play The Star Spangled Banner on the Broadway Commons lot back in 1998.

 

Anyway the sparing of the pair of buildings (or maybe just the one at the corner) reminds me of this painting which hangs at the National Gallery:

 

The Lone Tenement

George Bellows

American, 1882 - 1925

The Lone Tenement, 1909

oil on canvas, 91.8 x 122.3 cm (36 1/8 x 48 1/8 in.) 

 

 

Floorplans and unit pricing information is available online for 3CDC's OTR condos, check it out:

 

http://www.cincinnatigateway.com/

WOW....VERY IMPRESSIVE!!!  The work they have done looks great; and they have added around 84 new units to OTR relatively quickly.  I really like the rooftop decks that they have incorporated into a couple of the buildings...VERY COOL!!!  It seems to me that 3CDC is doing a great job thus far; hopefully they keep on plunking along!

I could buy at those prices :)

Duveneck flats unit 8 looks awesome.  My only question is won't this flood the market?  If there are tax abatments on the units, and I would have to assume there are, these prices are great.  Just imagine what a streetcar a block or two away would do to this area. 

 

The gateway quarter... not a bad name either.

^The Gateway Living Quarter*