18 minutes ago, ColDayMan said:

You can't just drop this tea and leave the room!  Is the hotel still going to be a Montage-brand or more of a basic brand i.e. Hilton or Marriott boutique hotel?

I’ve been hearing something similar recently too about the flag not being Pendry anymore but still Very Lux same developer tho (financing is complete and hotel is on schedule). They have also been working on getting a prominent local restaurant group to possibly run Food and Beverage at the property.

 

I think I’ve actually seen the name (of the hotel/project in paperwork but can’t remember what it’s called off the top of my head, will try to get it tho.

Edited July 1, 2024Jul 1 by 646empire

15 minutes ago, 646empire said:

I’ve been hearing something similar recently too about the flag not being Pendry anymore but still Very Lux same developer tho (financing is complete and hotel is on schedule). They have also been working on getting a prominent local restaurant group to possibly run Food and Beverage at the property.

 

I think I’ve actually seen the name (of the hotel/project in paperwork but can’t remember what it’s called off the top of my head, will try to get it tho.

Also it would be an independent luxury hotel operator not associated with big brand chain like Marriott/Hilton from what I last heard.

So dumb:

https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/hamilton-county/cincinnati/hamilton-county-wants-to-move-some-offices-out-of-downtown-to-bond-hill-more-than-500-employees-affected

 

The old deferred maintenance excuse...as if they can't find any number of office buildings to lease or buy in the CBD.  It's the same old excuse for why Cincinnati Public had to abandon its beautiful old schools and build new boring boxes that nobody cares about. 

It seems everyone is or wants to leave the area there.  It's not a bad location, just wonder why nothing seems to stick.

If they're going to leave downtown they should be forced to sell the building at little to no cost to a developer who will turn it into residential.  

1 hour ago, richNcincy said:

It seems everyone is or wants to leave the area there.  It's not a bad location, just wonder why nothing seems to stick.

What are the other departures from that area? I’m not familiar 

Per the article:

 

Under the proposed plan, which must be voted on by Hamilton County commissioners, the county would pay $65 million for the Mercy Health building near the intersection of Reading Road and Tennessee Avenue, along with its furniture and technology.

 

Additionally, the county would sell:

The Alms & Doepke building at 222 Central Parkway in Over-the-Rhine, which houses Job and Family Services. The building is a former department opened by William Alms, Frederick Alms and William Doepke, sons of German immigrants, in 1865. The present building was built in 1878 and the department store closed in 1953. 

250 William Howard Taft Road in Corryville, which houses Environmental Services and Public Health.

264 William Howard Taft Road in Corryville, which houses Juvenile Court's assessment center.

1520 Madison Road in Walnut Hills, which houses Developmental Disability Services.

5093 Kingsley Drive in Madisonville, which also houses Developmental Disability Services.

 

*I’ve heard there is a buyer for downtown already. I can tell you the William Howard Taft buildings are going to be gobbled up fast too.

3 minutes ago, 646empire said:

250 William Howard Taft Road in Corryville, which houses Environmental Services and Public Health.

264 William Howard Taft Road in Corryville, which houses Juvenile Court's assessment center.

These parcels in Corryville are a bit more than 3 acres with frontage on Bellevue, Highland and Taft. Lots of potential for redevelopment at this site. 

 

53 minutes ago, Cincy513 said:

If they're going to leave downtown they should be forced to sell the building at little to no cost to a developer who will turn it into residential.  

Why should they sell for less than market rate? And if they were to sell it at little to no cost, how would they decide which developer gets the sweetheart deal?

21 minutes ago, 646empire said:

What are the other departures from that area? I’m not familiar 

Paycor.

17 minutes ago, 646empire said:

Per the article:

 

Under the proposed plan, which must be voted on by Hamilton County commissioners, the county would pay $65 million for the Mercy Health building near the intersection of Reading Road and Tennessee Avenue, along with its furniture and technology.

 

Additionally, the county would sell:

The Alms & Doepke building at 222 Central Parkway in Over-the-Rhine, which houses Job and Family Services. The building is a former department opened by William Alms, Frederick Alms and William Doepke, sons of German immigrants, in 1865. The present building was built in 1878 and the department store closed in 1953. 

250 William Howard Taft Road in Corryville, which houses Environmental Services and Public Health.

264 William Howard Taft Road in Corryville, which houses Juvenile Court's assessment center.

1520 Madison Road in Walnut Hills, which houses Developmental Disability Services.

5093 Kingsley Drive in Madisonville, which also houses Developmental Disability Services.

 

*I’ve heard there is a buyer for downtown already. I can tell you the William Howard Taft buildings are going to be gobbled up fast too.

It’s a beautiful building. Would be prime for apartments/condos

Hamilton County employees (myself being one) got an email today about this before it hit the news. Just some extra tidbits from our internal email from Jeff Aluotto: 

 

• I am recommending that the Board purchase the building located in Bond Hill as the future home of Job and Family Services, Developmental Disabilities Services, Environmental Services, Public Health, Office of Addiction Response and the Veterans Service Commission.
• The new, modern-amenity facility hosts ample free and secure parking, improved workspace, flexible collaborative spaces designed for teamwork and comfort, in the geographic center of Hamilton County. The enhanced facility offers employee-centered features including a 278-seat cafeteria, walking path, outdoor eating areas, optimized natural light, all in a central location convenient to interstates. 
• Commissioners are expected to formally consider the proposal later this summer. If approved, the above departments will move in a phased approach tentatively beginning in the fall of 2025.

Alms & Doepke being converted to residential would be a huge win for the neighborhood. Anyone care to guess how many apartment units it could be turned into?

27 minutes ago, taestell said:

Alms & Doepke being converted to residential would be a huge win for the neighborhood. Anyone care to guess how many apartment units it could be turned into?

Business Courier "it is believed up to 400 apartments"

400 might be a bit high.  The building is 100' x 400', half of it is 5 stories half is 6 stories = 220,000 SF / 400 units = 550 SF per unit 

1 hour ago, richNcincy said:

Paycor.

Oh I thought you meant downtown along Central. 

18 hours ago, ucnum1 said:

Business Courier "it is believed up to 400 apartments"

 

 The article now says 400 residents, so maybe 200 apartments

Including circulation and amenity spaces, 220,000sf is more likely to be around 275 units which would still be great. The parking garage behind Alms & Doepke wasn't mentioned but without the users for Jobs and Family Services would this garage remain public or be part of the residential sale? 

59 minutes ago, ucgrady said:

Including circulation and amenity spaces, 220,000sf is more likely to be around 275 units which would still be great. The parking garage behind Alms & Doepke wasn't mentioned but without the users for Jobs and Family Services would this garage remain public or be part of the residential sale? 

Good question about the parking garage. Appears to be owned by the County. So it'll be interesting if they sell the garage as well, or hold on to it and lease it out.

I assume the county would want to keep the Parkhaus garage as it also serves the courthouse, jail, and the Todd Portune Center for County Government. But maybe some of the spaces could be reserved for the apartment residents as part of the deal. I'm not sure how crowded that garage gets on nights and weekends compared to Ziegler, Washington Park, or 12th & Vine.

Alicia Reece: Proposed county real estate shakeup a ‘bailout’ for Bon Secours Mercy Health

 

Quote

Reece rejected a previous Mercy explanation that employees are not working there because of the change in the working environment in the pandemic’s wake.

 

“Mercy, you did not hold up to your end of the bargain. It has nothing to do with Covid,” Reece said.

 

I'm not sure if Reece is aware that almost every sector has embraced remote work post-Covid and is going to need less office space...

 

In my former apartment building, there was a guy who moved to Cincinnati from Virginia because he took a job with Mercy and they required him to be in the office. Post-Covid they allowed remote work so he...moved back to Virginia.

 

"Bailout" or not...those jobs aren't coming back to that building.

After 3 years and 43 million dollars im not all that impressed. It’s decent but I think they would have been better off building a brand new slightly smaller downtown library. If they went to voters for financing I think it would have passed too. Also I can’t tell from the article but is the north building just going untouched and not getting any kind of facelift? The whole thing was dated.

 

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2024/07/09/cincinnati-hamilton-county-downtown-library-reopens-43-million-renovation/74194198007/

Edited July 10, 2024Jul 10 by 646empire

53 minutes ago, 646empire said:

After 3 years and 43 million dollars im not all that impressed. It’s decent but I think they would have been better off building a brand new slightly smaller downtown library. If they went to voters for financing I think it would have passed too. Also I can’t tell from the article but is the north building just going untouched and not getting any kind of facelift? The whole thing was dated.

I would not be so certain that it would pass. It probably isn't the levy's size that would be the deal breaker, but mostly the fact that with 40 branches, the vast majority of their customers do not go to the downtown location. So some really ambitious plan for a new building is not going to mean anything to a lot of voters.

 

I agree that it feels underwhelming from the pictures so I'll have to see it in person soon.

8 hours ago, 646empire said:

Also I can’t tell from the article but is the north building just going untouched and not getting any kind of facelift?

 

The public plaza on the west side of the north building was renovated, but I'm not sure what was done on the inside. The original plan for the renovation was to consolidate everything into the south building because it has more than enough space for all the physical media that they need to keep there. However when they announced the plan to sell the north building to 3CDC for redevelopment, it was met with outrage from the "anti-gentrification" crowd and the library decided to keep it. So maybe they didn't do much on the inside and are planning to revisit the consolidation down the road.

5 hours ago, taestell said:

 

The public plaza on the west side of the north building was renovated, but I'm not sure what was done on the inside. The original plan for the renovation was to consolidate everything into the south building because it has more than enough space for all the physical media that they need to keep there. However when they announced the plan to sell the north building to 3CDC for redevelopment, it was met from outrage from the "anti-gentrification" crowd and the library decided to keep it. So maybe they didn't do much on the inside and are planning to revisit the consolidation down the road.

 

Another good idea squashed by the anti-change crowd.

I wouldn't call myself a part of the anti-change crowd, but I do not like a public space being turned over to private development in this situation. Redevelop it as something just as public as the library if the library really does not need the space.

 

I'm looking forward to visiting. The plazas feel nice, open, and airy. The south building appears more open too on the west side. My initial thought from the photos is this should have been more of a preservation project - mostly just because I loved the brick interior. It feels very academic to me.

 

 

A big issue with the library is their lack of loitering enforcement on the Plaza outside. I have been harassed / threatened multiple times walking by and avoid it when I can. I am saying this as a strong advocate for downtown, so I can imagine how others who experience that would have a bad impression of the area. 

 

All that being said - I think selling the unused building to 3CDC (or any developer) would be a better move. They do not need the space and it is a drain of resources. There are much higher uses of that land. 

Edited July 11, 2024Jul 11 by wjh

Yeah I think $40 million could have been used much better than to spiff up a haven for homeless people and drug trade.  There's no reason the library needed to keep both buildings when they do nothing to stop the issues that occur on their front doorsteps.  

i have never been harassed by anyone entering any door at the library. granted I don't go nearly as often as I used to. i have seen what I will call homeless people sleeping and using the big soft chairs. i have also seen security wake them and warn them about sleeping.

the idea behind libraries is a place of learning through research, with the ability to take books home. people who don't want to get their information from phones can still research old rare books and periodicals. In the past, this is what higher education was; reading, researching, and documenting ideas. People like Carnegie opened public libraries so the masses could become more educated if they liked. Instead of hearing dogmatic stories about how the first humans happened, big fish eating people, finding yesus on toast and barns. anyone, even the homeless could find what is true.

there is this myth that says, do unto others as you would have them do unto you. there are cults all over town that proclaim that is their purpose. in addition, their leader said, we will always have the poor. maybe, we the people should find a better solution. maybe fewer atomic bombs, or fewer armed warcraft, or stop blaming the poor for their situation or maybe medical care would help. the truth is that there are people who were given everything and still need to seek medical care. if your leaders tell you to do unto others... we will always have the poor, make this your baseline. get 3cdc to form a committee and solve this problem. the north building could be a home base for the needy. It sits a stone's throw away from the largest food store chain in America and is attached to an institute of learning. what is that old saying, if you are not part of the solution you are part of the problem. 

I believe that 3CDC's plan at the time was to convert the north building into a food hall and while it may have been privately owned technically, it would have continued to be a space that was open to the public, it's not like they were going to demolish it and replace it with townhomes or a luxury condo tower or something. This was before the new Kroger tower was announced, and they ended up putting a food hall in the 2nd floor there, so it's kind of a moot point now.

For the times when these buildings were built, I think North and South are both very handsome buildings. I don't even mind the skywalk 1) because it is well detailed and 2) because it spans North to South, not blocking the extended view to Kentucky.

 

I would like to imagine there would be a great many potential uses for the space. As a new parent, I would love to take my kid to some place like The Rabbit Hole in Kansas City. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/01/books/rabbit-hole-kansas-city.html Its a literature themed indoor playground and museum that has gotten a lot of coverage recently. Would make for a great adjacency to the Main Library.

 

I also think about The Columbus Commons in Columbus, Indiana.

 

The CAC is already doing this in the Unmuseum, but this would be a much larger scale.

 

Maybe I'm imagining 3CDC making an indoor Washington Park.

 

 

 

There's a giant piece of iron when you walk into that courtyard at the City Museum with "CINCINNATI" etched into it.

 

we're halfway there😐

On 7/11/2024 at 12:10 AM, Chas Wiederhold said:

I wouldn't call myself a part of the anti-change crowd, but I do not like a public space being turned over to private development in this situation. Redevelop it as something just as public as the library if the library really does not need the space.

 

Agreed and that's reasonable. What's not reasonable is the anti-change crowd's insistence that the library not change or shrink it's footprint.

 

Something with public access and benefit would be the ideal. If that includes some sort of housing along with public space, that would be good too.

Wouldn't it be amazing if a replica or an homage to the Old Main Library was built on the site of the North Building and became Cincinnati's own City Museum-like asset?

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Main_Library_(Cincinnati)

Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library reopens downtown follow $43M renovation

 

The Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library system’s largest location is back open after a more than $40 million renovation project.

 

The Downtown Main Library campus, located at 800 Vine St., closed a 380,000-square-foot portion of the multiacre facility in 2021. Around 160,000-square-feet remained open throughout the project.

 

Over the past three years, a new roof has been put on the north building, the south building’s skylight and elevator have been replaced and the north and south plazas fronting Vine Street have undergone a significant redesign. The portion of the campus also underwent an interior refresh. In addition, the south building’s energy retrofit, which included removing boilers, is expected to save the library $400,000 annually.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2024/07/12/downtown-hamilton-county-library-reopen-renovation.html

 

3 hours ago, Miami-Erie said:

Wouldn't it be amazing if a replica or an homage to the Old Main Library was built on the site of the North Building and became Cincinnati's own City Museum-like asset?

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Main_Library_(Cincinnati)

Finally someone said it

The North Building is in great shape and should be reused, not replaced. I'd love to experience and AR/VR version of the old main library, for sure. 

On 1/23/2024 at 12:20 PM, 646empire said:

Compared to many other buildings in this city and around the country this one has never really come to mind as particularly ugly. But that’s just me. Also I highly doubt the renovation is going to rebuild the exterior in a significant way but I could be wrong.

Now that i have my ticket secure i can share. Design Lab is going to have a construction tour of the progress so far with the Macy's redo. Not sure if photos are going to be allowed but i'm interested to see how this one is getting converted and what this 'roof access' is they mentioned since the roof is angled (or is it. i dont know). Anyway it's 15$, here's the link  https://www.designlearnandbuild.org/store/p/macys-renovation?utm_medium=email&utm_source=customer_notification

D

20 minutes ago, SleepyLeroy said:

Now that i have my ticket secure i can share. Design Lab is going to have a construction tour of the progress so far with the Macy's redo. Not sure if photos are going to be allowed but i'm interested to see how this one is getting converted and what this 'roof access' is they mentioned since the roof is angled (or is it. i dont know). Anyway it's 15$, here's the link  https://www.designlearnandbuild.org/store/p/macys-renovation?utm_medium=email&utm_source=customer_notification

Do you know if they have a date set? I didn't see one on the website. I would like to sign up, but only if I can go!

1 hour ago, dgl said:

D

Do you know if they have a date set? I didn't see one on the website. I would like to sign up, but only if I can go!

Weird it isnt on there, but on the facebook page it says Aug. 14th at 4:30.

Read this in Cleveland’s City Club Thread, I’ve never heard downtowns occupancy’s this low?? Are they just referring to their building?
 

“It’s also higher than downtown Cincinnati which is only at 79%.”

 

https://www.cleveland19.com/2024/07/16/more-people-are-moving-downtown-cleveland-apartment-buildings-say-theyre-ready/

30 minutes ago, 646empire said:

Read this in Cleveland’s City Club Thread, I’ve never heard downtowns occupancy’s this low?? Are they just referring to their building?
 

“It’s also higher than downtown Cincinnati which is only at 79%.”

 

https://www.cleveland19.com/2024/07/16/more-people-are-moving-downtown-cleveland-apartment-buildings-say-theyre-ready/

 

They're wrong. They linked to the source but it actually says that downtown Cincinnati is 79% renter occupied, and 21% of occupied units are owner occupied.

This seems very wrong. I think they're getting 79% from the owner vs rental. They're also including the greater urban basin area of downtown which includes west end and over the rhine.

 

This was their source. 

https://dashboards.mysidewalk.com/state-of-downtown-cincinnati/housing

33 minutes ago, DEPACincy said:

 

They're wrong. They linked to the source but it actually says that downtown Cincinnati is 79% renter occupied, and 21% of occupied units are owner occupied.

Ok I thought I was losing my mind lol. No way no how. At that downtown occupancy percentage no one would be building anything downtown and we all know the market is on fire with huge projects under construction. I wish reporters/journalist would do better with words and sources yikes. 

Edited July 17, 2024Jul 17 by 646empire

23 hours ago, 646empire said:

Ok I thought I was losing my mind lol. No way no how. At that downtown occupancy percentage no one would be building anything downtown and we all know the market is on fire with huge projects under construction. I wish reporters/journalist would do better with words and sources yikes. 

 

Yeah the property managers I talk to say their units are 95-100% occupied.

1 hour ago, DEPACincy said:

 

Yeah the property managers I talk to say their units are 95-100% occupied.

Very poor reporting.  The articles author [email protected] should be notified of the false and misleading statements that were made.  I'm guessing nobody at this Cleveland 19 news verifies the data for their articles and the reporters can say whatever they want and not have it based on facts.  No proofing at all.  I guess that's the era we live in now.   

1 hour ago, seanian said:

Very poor reporting.  The articles author [email protected] should be notified of the false and misleading statements that were made.  I'm guessing nobody at this Cleveland 19 news verifies the data for their articles and the reporters can say whatever they want and not have it based on facts.  No proofing at all.  I guess that's the era we live in now.   

What makes it even more funny is the article is about City Club Apartments who currently has a massive expansion underway in Cincinnati at the Central Trust Tower, for which which they wouldn’t be doing if the article was correct.

Edited July 18, 2024Jul 18 by 646empire

Didn’t get a pic but I walked past the new Moxy Hotel Downtown looks to be about 4-6 months away from completion. It’s been a slow go for this hotel it seems, but almost to the finish

Model Group demolishing one of the last downtown Cincinnati skywalks

 

Model Group has begun demolition of one of the last remaining skywalks downtown as part of its Mercantile Apartments residential conversion project.

 

The skywalk being torn down formerly bridged the second stories of the former U.S. Bank building at 425 Walnut St. and the Mercantile Library building at 414 Walnut St.

 

Demolition began July 29 and is expected to last through the middle of August. Cincinnati police closed Walnut July 29-31 and will do so again Aug. 6-7, but streetcar access is being maintained. Any other shutdowns will be overnight.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2024/08/01/cincinnati-skywalk-demolition-downtown-model-group.html

 

Now that there are so few skywalk bridges left, and they are sporadically located, does Cincinnati even really have a skywalk system anymore?

 

Feels like it is time to take down all the signage and outdated maps. 

There is an absurd amount of outdated wayfinding signage downtown that needs to come down. Not just for the skywalk, but those weird "Queen City Tour" signs and tons of maps that still include "Riverfront Colosseum". Maybe the new "Fountain District" effort by 3CDC will include modernizing all of this signage.