^ Yeah, I recall that as well.  From looking at OTRCH's facebook page, it seems actual construction has been ongoing since May.

 

 

Didn't 3CDC just move into new space in one of their developments across from Washington Park?

 

 

Where will 3CDC move its headquarters?: EXCLUSIVE

Chris Wetterich Staff reporter- Cincinnati Business Courier

 

Cincinnati City Center Development Corporation (3CDC), the nonprofit developer whose job includes remaking Over-the-Rhine and programming Fountain Square and Washington Park, will move from its Race Street headquarters to new digs next summer.

 

3CDC is outgrowing its current offices and will move to the building that once housed the Art Academy of Cincinnati at 1201 Walnut St.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/blog/2013/09/where-will-3cdc-move-its.html

Interesting. Hopefully they clean up the corner of 12th and Walnut and the corner of 13th and Walnut with this move. Their personal interests will likely spark improvements of those two intersections.

 

I would also love to see the old Coffee Emporium spot at 12th and Walnut demolished and filled in along the the parking lots on either side with some quality infil. That corner is currently pretty dead (especially with Lucy Blue closing their pizza window there).

Didn't 3CDC just move into new space in one of their developments across from Washington Park?

 

they've been in their Saengerhalle development which is just north of Washington Park for a year or two.  They have a fair amount of space already, but they're not kidding about being cramped - if you walk by you can look in the windows and see people's desks right on top of each other.

Isn't that where coffee emporium does roasting, storage, commissary, etc? It was a plumbing supply store for a long time before that.

The building at 1201 is across Walnut from the coffee emporium roasting building. It is the building on the northwest corner of the intersection.

^Yes. 3CDC is moving into the northwest corner building. I was simply pointing out that I would like to see the building at the northeast corner where coffee emporium does their roasting to be torn down and some 3-4 story infill put in its place and the two parking lots adjacent to it (along 12th and along Walnut).

 

I think Coffee Emporium would be able to move if given time and money to relocate their operations.

The OTR Subway put their signs up today:

 

There goes the neighborhood!

That would actually be a half decent building if they just put windows in it.  I know that's difficult in a garage, but even if they did just the window grilles without glass, kind of like at the old Ford Factory or the American Can Lofts, it would help a lot.  It has a warehouse/factory aesthetic that's not marred much by ramps (they're barely visible in the back).  There's even a couple of very old parking garages downtown that are already like that, and at first glance you'd think they were just regular buildings.

The building at the northeast corner of 12th and Clay is clear of tenants and being renovated:

 

Shoot!  I used to really enjoy the families that lived in that building. They knew how to have a good time.

This is one of the first OTR buildings that I can think of that's being renovated and actually had people living in it before the renovation started.

3CDC moves north with next major OTR project

Written by Cindi Andrews

 

The next phase of development in Over-the-Rhine will be 3CDC’s northernmost major project to date, butting up against Liberty Street.

 

3CDC is planning something – it doesn’t yet know what – at 15th and Race streets, according to spokeswoman Anastasia Mileham. It also is working on 30,000 square feet of office space plus some street-level retail at 15th and Vine streets.

 

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20130909/news/309090100/3cdc-moves-north-next-major-otr-project

Since there's a massive empty lot at NW corner or 15th & Race, and several other empty lots along Race and Pleasant, I would expect 3CDC to build another Mercer Commons style development here. It make a lot of sense for them to focus on this corridor since it is prime real estate once the streetcar opens, right between the northbound and southbound tracks.

That would be great. If they do new development, it's time to build a taller structure (7-10 stories for liberty) and make it modern. OTR needs density and needs to start getting used to some taller buildings. The edges like liberty and Central are the best places to get those ideas started.

Also, the trees that are still on Race north of 14th make it feel extremely pleasant. Pretty much all of Race between 14th and 15th (except for the church) are either renovated or in the process of being renovated at this point, so having a Mercer commons-style development will build on the success that's already occurring. 

 

Man, if they can do something great with the church, I'll be super excited.

I would not be surprised if 3CDC tries to demolish the lone building near the corner of 15th and Race. I don't see them with any desire to keep it, keeping them from building a large development like Mercer Commons.

That's a tough one for me to form an opinion on. There's a fine line between saving historical buildings and allowing for proper redevelopment. On one hand I don't like any sort of demolition of buildings in a neighborhood which has already been hollowed out from years of neglect. On the other, that building doesn't necessarily offer anything unique to that spot and I can envision a larger scale development being better without having to work around it. It's tough. I want both!

 

It'll be interesting to see how they handle fronting Liberty and the perpendicular streets. But out of curiosity, isn't the southern side of Liberty going to move north a bit with the road diet? If so, how would they be able to build anything there before the street gets said diet? Being as Liberty is going to be an immensely important connection between northern and southern OTR as redevelopment jumps that divide, it's going to be critical that buildings front the street in a continuous wall to make it a connection rather than the divide it currently is.

I'm not worried about that building or the one that stands alone in the Findlay Market parking lot fronting Race.  The small corner one that was demolished for Mercer Commons was a much more unusual building. 

It'll be interesting to see how they handle fronting Liberty and the perpendicular streets. But out of curiosity, isn't the southern side of Liberty going to move north a bit with the road diet? If so, how would they be able to build anything there before the street gets said diet? Being as Liberty is going to be an immensely important connection between northern and southern OTR as redevelopment jumps that divide, it's going to be critical that buildings front the street in a continuous wall to make it a connection rather than the divide it currently is.

 

I imagine no development will happen along Liberty Street until said road diet happens. They aren't going to jump the gun on devloping those parcels even though they are perhaps the most important parcels in the neighborhood as they link the two halves of the neighborhood.

That's kind of what I figured. Is there yet an estimated time frame for when that road diet will happen?

The Liberty Street "road diet" (if it ever happens) will not change the right-of-way, but just reconfigure the lanes within the existing ROW.  This should have no effect on developments fronting Liberty.

It would be a mistake not to try to make those corner lots usable again. Are they part of the lots next to them? I'd say give them to 3CDC in exchange for the money to extend the curb out, but I'm guessing it wouldn't be so simple.

 

Is there a solution to that piss-poor streetwall in the Brewery District Master Plan?

^I would imagine the Brewery District was simply putting in a filler building to give the idea that a building should go in those locations. They weren't recommending what each lot should necessarily look like or designing the ideal building for each lot. They are almost all volunteers (I think a couple people get a very modest salary for the work they put in).

^

Correct. The Brewery District MP was more to show the need for Complete Streets and the potential for infill. There is over 4 acres of developable property along Liberty in some large (for OTR) parcels.

 

City is about to start the Complete Streets planning and design process for Liberty, both east and west of Central Parkway. Funds are committed for design, but not implementation yet.

I wasn't asking if there were specific plans for what to put in the parcels, but whether there is any plan to make the parcels more useful (say by reclaiming some of the right-of-way on the south side of Liberty to make the parcels bigger and more ripe for development).

I doubt it. There's some small adjustments you could do (square up the intersections) which might add a few feet to the developable areas, but right now liberty is 4 through lanes, a turn lane and two parking lanes. With all of the parking changes in OTR, I doubt they'll remove parking.

 

Best case is they remove parking and make the second lane on each side a restricted parking 7-9, 4-6. But Even then, if you also want bike lanes you are basically just replacing the parking lanes with bike lanes and moving the parking lanes into the second through lane.

 

There's almost no way the right of way legitimately shrinks. I could see a lot more bump outs, etc.

The cost of moving storm drains and other utilities make shrinking the actual ROW unlikely. Better to improve the street via less car lanes, landscaping, additional sidewalks, etc.

Here's the streetsmix of Liberty according to pg. 58 of the master plan

 

http://streetmix.net/-/49756

If they don't reduce the width of Liberty Street, then there could be enough room for buffered bike lanes on both sides. I'd call that a big win.

Or better yet, a separate bike path that would connect to the proposed Central Parkway bike path.

Biggest thing I've wanted to see there is wider sidewalks, so that wide sidewalk cafes can be put in ala Division Street in Wicker Park/Ukrainian village - https://www.google.com/maps/preview#!data=!1m8!1m3!1d3!2d-87.671423!3d41.903277!2m2!1f309.35!2f84.96!4f30.57!2m4!1e1!2m2!1sXCAQKBVIkGYRrItfXKgLHQ!2e0&fid=5 (wish there were good pics, there are even more of them now).

If they don't reduce the width of Liberty Street, then there could be enough room for buffered bike lanes on both sides. I'd call that a big win.

 

Am I crazy to think 4 travel lanes and a turn lane is excessive?

 

Reduction by one lane would be enough to make a 4-6 ft. buffered bike lane on each side. Take another lane and you can have significantly bigger sidewalks or bigger lots on the south side of the street (ignoring utility relocation for a moment, or assuming a developer(s) would pay for that to get the land).

Here's what it takes to (physically) save OTR: SLIDESHOW

Tom Demeropolis Reporter- Cincinnati Business Courier

 

 

HGC Construction has had a hand in some of the biggest redevelopment projects in Over-the-Rhine to date.

 

The Walnut Hills-based builder served as construction manager on Parvis Lofts on Vine, Saengerhalle and the Lofts of Mottainai. It also served as construction manager/general contractor for Duncanson Lofts. In total, HGC Construction has completed 202 residential units and 43 commercial spaces in Over-the-Rhine.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/blog/2013/09/heres-what-it-takes-to-physically.html

 

There have been some rumors lately that Davis Furniture building is about to be demolished: http://fadedadart.blogspot.com/2013/09/will-we-lose-this-too.html

I've heard that, too, from the owners of the Rhinehaus building. Apparently they were looking in to buying it, but it was too far gone for them to justify. It's terrible that the current owners let it decay so much.

 

Potential positive news is that perhaps that parcel and the two adjacent parking parcels could be combined at some point in the near future for a larger mixed use structure on the streetcar line.

I think there could be a massive redevelopment of that entire block, bordered by Main St, Central Parkway, Clay St, and 13th St. That would be one of the few opportunities to build a very tall building in OTR, taking cues from the Emery, the American Building, and the Alms & Doepke (now Hamilton County) building.

 

However it'll be very disappointing if the Davis Furniture building is demolished and we have a giant parking lot there for a decade.

There have been some rumors lately that Davis Furniture building is about to be demolished: http://fadedadart.blogspot.com/2013/09/will-we-lose-this-too.html

 

Last I heard the building was purchased by the Stough Group (owners of the Hanke) at foreclosure auction a couple months ago, but that may have just been a false rumor. I believe the building is in pretty bad shape partially due to a large flood from broken pipes in the early 2000's. If it comes down I am sure it would be in their interest to build something new right in front of a streetcar stop.

demolition intent confirmed  :-(

 

http://cagis.hamilton-co.org/opal/apd.aspx?entcode=cinc&ezstdadrtag=1119||MAIN|ST|GJ1514831737|||CINC|CINC|00750004017101119M|007500040171|007500040171|CINCINNATI&APD=2013P06961

demolition intent confirmed  :-(

 

http://cagis.hamilton-co.org/opal/apd.aspx?entcode=cinc&ezstdadrtag=1119||MAIN|ST|GJ1514831737|||CINC|CINC|00750004017101119M|007500040171|007500040171|CINCINNATI&APD=2013P06961

 

Yeah, I saw it up for review a few months ago but was out of town when the meeting was held.. I should have posted something here.  Anyway, for future reference here's a list of condemned buildings that are up for demo review at any given time:

 

http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/community-development/property-maintenance/condemned-buildings-for-review/

Here is the foreclosure sale back in May

 

http://www.hcso.org/PublicServices/ExecutionSales/PropertySoldDetail.aspx?EntryID=97354

 

The Hanke Building at 1128 Main is also in the name of Bankers Choice LLC. No change has been made for these 1119-1123 Main buildings on the Hamilton county auditor site though.

Last I heard the building was purchased by the Stough Group (owners of the Hanke) at foreclosure auction a couple months ago, but that may have just been a false rumor. I believe the building is in pretty bad shape partially due to a large flood from broken pipes in the early 2000's.

 

Both true.

The Hanke Building at 1128 Main is also in the name of Bankers Choice LLC. No change has been made for these 1119-1123 Main buildings on the Hamilton county auditor site though.

 

The Stough Group has owned the Hanke building and those attached for a long time. They used to operate the plasma center. Now called the "Hanke Exchange."

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/morning_call/2013/07/streetcars-promise-attracts-occupants.html

Obviously the Davis Furniture and Salvation Army buildings are standing in the way of a huge development. 

I'm surprised that more of the neighborhood isn't mobilized to stop the demo of this building - OTR seems to have its act together a bit more than other parts of the city in regards to preservation.  Sadly last time I looked at it my thoughts were this place doesn't have much longer to stand :(

 

Wasn't it an active furniture store until around 2003?  I seem to remember it being open when I was in college.

The sign on the side of the building mentions it's been a store for over 100 years, and that it opened in 1902. So it'd have to have been open until 2002 or later.

Yeah it was open until about 2004.  The sign was very faded in the 1990s but was repainted around 2001 or 2002. 

 

This building does not appear to have any original features left in the interior and it's not special on the outside either.  I'm not upset at all about it being demolished. 

Obviously the Davis Furniture and Salvation Army buildings are standing in the way of a huge development. 

 

I'm a little slow on the uptake.  Can you explain?

^-There at least needs to be a reasonable development plan in place though, seeing it sit as another empty lot will be depressing.