If you look closely at the top of the photo provided today for the music venue you will see a few "taller" blue colored structures to the very right. Could be a mid-rise residential tower or hotel? These building in the rendering are definitely on the Ky. side of the river. The brown colored buildings in the rendering, to the left, seem to be the low-rise buildings. 

Again, at Tom Banta stated this is the first of several Ovation site announcements. If this is only 40 million of a still planned 1 billion investment maybe the best is yet to come? Hopefully, it won't be another 13 year wait. ?

Is there any word on where this will be located on the site? And how much acreage it will take up?

1 minute ago, Ucgrad2015 said:

Is there any word on where this will be located on the site? And how much acreage it will take up?

 

Yeah it's going to be on The Banks, next to PBS.  Watch the current proposal disappear now that Promo West went so far as to get permits in Newport.   

 

That rendering is super weird. It shows the concert venue parallel to the river, facing almost due East. That would point all the speakers directly at Riverchase Apartments and the Hampton Inn (instead of towards the river). Also the glass buildings behind it look really deep, meaning this outdoor portion wouldn't even be on the levee itself but inland. There are mentions of a pedestrian bridge linking it to the rest of the development which could even mean this venue is located on that surface lot (and the stage would point towards the Campbell County Courthouse). Finally, the pitched roof post-modern buildings behind it look like a newer re-vamped version of RiverCenter. I just hope it's not pink pre-cast concrete, but based on Corporex's track record it will be. 

Edited May 9, 20196 yr by ucgrady

$40 million music venue to jumpstart Ovation

 

A music venue near the banks of the Ohio River will kick off the development of the long-stalled Ovation project in Newport.

 

Corporex Cos. LLC and AEG Presents/PromoWest have reached an agreement for Corporex to build a “world class” music venue at the site. Scott Stienecker, CEO of PromoWest, said he’s been working for six years to bring a music venue to the Greater Cincinnati area.

 

“This facility will be the nicest facility in the country,” Stienecker said during a news conference. 

 

The music venue is planned to host 180 events per year, including 30 outdoor concerts. Stienecker anticipates drawing 350,000 to 400,000 attendees per year. The music venue is expected to be a total investment of $40 million.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2019/05/09/40-million-music-venue-to-jumpstart-ovation.html

 

9 hours ago, troeros said:

 

 

I don't know, I think our city is growing and has a lot of momentum right now. I'm definitely happy we are not Cleveland... That city feels so depressed right now and there consistent population decline isn't helping.

 

 

This is a nonsensical statement.  Cleveland is hopping.  There is construction everywhere.  Ohio City, Tremont, Downtown, University Circle--all of these places have significant structures rising and lots of investment. There is a great energy in the city.  You seriously need to get out more. 

Edited May 10, 20196 yr by jeremyck01

I like Cleveland, and have had an incredible experience every time I've gone, so I just want to hop on its defense

 

BUUUUUUT

 

When I attended the Cincinnati Preservation Association Luncheon last year the highly decorated Terry Stewart, former director of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, said that he felt like the RaRHoF could have just as sensibly be built in Cincinnati as it was in Cleveland. I don't remember his exact words, but everyone left sort of shocked with how boldly he stated that Cincinnati contributed just as much, maybe even more, to rock and roll culture as Cleveland. All of this to say as much people were averse to Laurie Quinlivan's "City the Sings" thing... it really is a city that appreciates music and I'm excited to have more venues in town.

Cincinnatians support music very, very well since they have no hobbies.

Music is a hobby.

I actually disagree with that as a musician and I'll tell you why: It's a mix of media, communication and hobby that is all its own and vastly different than things like dirt bikes, horses, R/C, and auto racing. You can't get people to show up to those things in Cincinnati so they just don't happen. But if you want to talk about music, you've got a friend in Cincinnati.

13 hours ago, jeremyck01 said:

 

This is a nonsensical statement.  Cleveland is hopping.  There is construction everywhere.  Ohio City, Tremont, Downtown, University Circle--all of these places have significant structures rising and lots of investment. There is a great energy in the city.  You seriously need to get out more. 

 

Closed retail everywhere when I walked around Cleveland Downtown. For lease signs everywhere...as twilight came the streets became like a ghost town. 

 

I asked the locals on reddit where to go to party with my group of friends for the weekend..West 6th st was fine, albeit a small zone but it was enjoyable for a couple of hours.East 4th st was cool as well I guess.

 

I was also recommend the Warehouse District which was disappointing, not many options, and the area looked like if you took a slice of otr and demolished 75 percent of the buildings for parking lots. Huge parking lot canyon, and destroys the look of the neighborhood. 

 

We did spend some time in Ohio city at well, which was fine. I will say the west side market while large, is disappointing. Alot of vendors were closed. Alot of empty available space in the market and many of the occupied vendors were basically selling the same produce/meat. Real lack of variety. 

 

Our favorite area in Cleveland was actually Lakewood, from what I understand is a Cleveland suburb. Lakewood was definitely a good time, but sucked that it wasn't walkable in the least bit 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

^ @troeros I thought W. 6th WAS the Warehouse District...? I think everyone agrees that those parking lots between the WHD and the rest of Downtown completely suck, and I actually agree that the retail and street level activity in most of downtown Cleveland is lacking even compared to Downtown Cincy (which certainly isn’t great, either). But your original comment about Cleveland was inappropriate and unnecessary. No need to take cheap shots at other cities like that. 

2 hours ago, edale said:

^ @troeros I thought W. 6th WAS the Warehouse District...? I think everyone agrees that those parking lots between the WHD and the rest of Downtown completely suck, and I actually agree that the retail and street level activity in most of downtown Cleveland is lacking even compared to Downtown Cincy (which certainly isn’t great, either). But your original comment about Cleveland was inappropriate and unnecessary. No need to take cheap shots at other cities like that. 

 

I apologise. Your right that my statement was uncalled for. 

 

I wish the best for Cleveland and all of the 3 C's. Time and Time again I encounter folks from Cleveland who constantly boast about Cleveland superiority and consistently shame cincinnati in the process. Obviously there is some ingrained bias. When I visited Cleveland this past summer the only thing it reminded me of was Cincinnati circa 2003..I guess the disconnect was glaring during my trip.

 

 

 

 

 

4 hours ago, troeros said:

 

 

 

Our favorite area in Cleveland was actually Lakewood, from what I understand is a Cleveland suburb. Lakewood was definitely a good time, but sucked that it wasn't walkable in the least bit 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

what?? I don't even know why i'm weighing in on this, but Lakewood is listed as the most walkable city in Ohio (or at least has the highest score, almost 20 points over Cincinnati). I admit I've only been there once or twice (I grew up in the far eastern fringe of the Cleve area) and that was decades ago. 

 

https://www.walkscore.com/OH/

Edited May 10, 20196 yr by eastvillagedon

10 hours ago, eastvillagedon said:

what?? I don't even know why i'm weighing in on this, but Lakewood is listed as the most walkable city in Ohio (or at least has the highest score, almost 20 points over Cincinnati). I admit I've only been there once or twice (I grew up in the far eastern fringe of the Cleve area) and that was decades ago. 

 

https://www.walkscore.com/OH/

 

 

Yeah, Lakewood is the very definition of walkable. Its on a grid and relatively dense.  The downtown and surrounding areas are like Northside in Cincinnati. Very walkable. 

 

I do wish it had had a bit more of a “historic” downtown like Newport. Newport has great bones. It’s been a while since I’ve been, so how long is the walk from downtown Newport to Ovation?

7 hours ago, jeremyck01 said:

 

 

Newport has great bones. It’s been a while since I’ve been, so how long is the walk from downtown Newport to Ovation?

Wow looking at it on Google Maps now. It really does have great bones. I hope a few of these developments finally get going down there and fill it in. I'll have to give it a visit this summer. It appears 7th/Monmouth to Ovation would be a 16 minute walk.

 

As an aside, why do so many Cincinnatians have disdain for the Kentucky side of the river? Yeah, it's a different state, but it's the same urban area. What's good for Newport and Covington is good for Cincinnati as a whole; it's not a zero-sum game. I feel like hating on Newport because it's not Cincinnati would be like Columbusites hating on Grandview Heights.

Edited May 11, 20196 yr by aderwent

8 hours ago, aderwent said:

Wow looking at it on Google Maps now. It really does have great bones. I hope a few of these developments finally get going down there and fill it in. I'll have to give it a visit this summer. It appears 7th/Monmouth to Ovation would be a 16 minute walk.

 

As an aside, why do so many Cincinnatians have disdain for the Kentucky side of the river? Yeah, it's a different state, but it's the same urban area. What's good for Newport and Covington is good for Cincinnati as a whole; it's not a zero-sum game. I feel like hating on Newport because it's not Cincinnati would be like Columbusites hating on Grandview Heights.

This is Monmouth street just below of 7th street. You can see ( if you original size this pic you can clearly see the Barnes and Noble Logo  lettering) on Newport on the Levee at the end of the street.

DSC_3657 by GGG BBB

 

Edited May 11, 20196 yr by Coseau

1 hour ago, aderwent said:

As an aside, why do so many Cincinnatians have disdain for the Kentucky side of the river? Yeah, it's a different state, but it's the same urban area. What's good for Newport and Covington is good for Cincinnati as a whole; it's not a zero-sum game. I feel like hating on Newport because it's not Cincinnati would be like Columbusites hating on Grandview Heights.

 

I don't think many of the people on this forum hold that view. Urbanists mostly see Covington and Newport as extensions of Downtown Cincinnati and are excited about new things happening there. (I mean, Cincinnati and Covington even share a street grid even though past civic leaders refused to allow a bridge to be built in line with that grid.)

 

However, from the general population, there is still a commonly held view that it's a zero-sum game where anything that one side announces is taking away something from the other side. Greater Cincinnati has a really hard time thinking regionally and understanding that growth in the region can benefit everyone regardless of which side of the river it's on. I think a lot of this comes from an era when downtown was mostly office and entertainment focused, before we started doing a better job of building true mixed-use areas that don't live or die based on how many bars they have.

 

In the early 2000s, there was this widespread view that Kentucky was kicking Cincinnati's butt because they got the aquarium, Hofbrauhaus, and Newport on the Levee. Jefferson Hall moved to NOTL from Main Street OTR which was in decline. Meanwhile nothing was happening at The Banks. There was still a widely held view that "if you go to Downtown Cincinnati you'll get shot." Then, years later, the tables had turned. The first phase of The Banks was built and it stole back several tenants from NOTL including Jefferson Hall and Johnny Rocket's. OTR was emerging as a new hot neighborhood. Meanwhile in Kentucky, NOTL was rapidly declining and they had a vacant lot on the Ovation site. And now, with this Ovation announcement, I am already seeing people saying things like "Cincinnati's incompetent leaders can't get their #@&% together, Kentucky is kicking their butt!"

 

What's odd is that many of these "Cincy vs NKY" people will never acknowledge the insane amount of progress that has been made in places like OTR, Northside, Pleasant Ridge, parts of Covington, etc. I think they don't notice because it's not one big $100 million project like NOTL, Ovation, or the Banks, instead it's 3CDC, Urban Sites, Model Group, and other developers fixing up one building or one block at a time. This style of development is so much more sustainable because it isn't totally focused on bars, clubs, and entertainment venues that cater to visitors and will die overnight when some other place becomes the new "hot" destination. While Main Street OTR was hot in the 1990's and early 2000's, it died overnight as a result of the riots and the rise of NOTL. But if some terrible event were to happen on Main Street today, it wouldn't die because the neighborhood is so much more stable and sustainable. Even if the bars that college students and suburbanites flock to on weekends were to close, those storefronts would be filled with other businesses that cater to the wide variety of people who now live there and the people who work in the new office spaces that have been added throughout the neighborhood.

6 hours ago, taestell said:

 

 

What's odd is that many of these "Cincy vs NKY" people will never acknowledge the insane amount of progress that has been made in places like OTR, Northside, Pleasant Ridge, parts of Covington, etc. I think they don't notice because it's not one big $100 million project like NOTL, Ovation, or the Banks, instead it's 3CDC, Urban Sites, Model Group, and other developers fixing up one building or one block at a time. This style of development is so much more sustainable because it isn't totally focused on bars, clubs, and entertainment venues that cater to visitors and will die overnight when some other place becomes the new "hot" destination. While Main Street OTR was hot in the 1990's and early 2000's, it died overnight as a result of the riots and the rise of NOTL. But if some terrible event were to happen on Main Street today, it wouldn't die because the neighborhood is so much more stable and sustainable. Even if the bars that college students and suburbanites flock to on weekends were to close, those storefronts would be filled with other businesses that cater to the wide variety of people who now live there and the people who work in the new office spaces that have been added throughout the neighborhood.

 

 Over reliance on bars, nightclubs, and entertainment venues as the base to drive its local economy was one of the main reasons that Newport's urban economic health went into a long term downward spiral in the 60's and beyond after a law and order Sheriff was elected and closed down all the gambling spots and associated nightclubs.  Combine this with the mass exodus of the middle class to the newer housing in the suburbs was a one - two punch that sent Newport's urban economic vitality into a long term decline in which Newport on The Levee was going to rectify .  Even Jane Jacobs said NKY was unhealthily unbalanced as a party destination for Cincinnatians in her 1961 book "The Death and Life of Great American Cities".

Edited May 11, 20196 yr by Coseau

That stuff came back in the '70s though... or was that in Covington?

34 minutes ago, GCrites80s said:

That stuff came back in the '70s though... or was that in Covington?

The stuff afterwards were concentrated either on the Riverboats or places poorly integrated with the urban core as not to be of any benefit as whole to the local economy. Main Street OTR now  is what Monmouth street Newport was before the the 1960's. I guess you can say Mount Adams experienced the same economic ill effects on its local businesses when the college crowd deserted Mount Adams as the party place  in favor of Main Street OTR.

Edited May 11, 20196 yr by Coseau

Curtain Rises on Ovation

 

After 13 years of delays, Corporex is kicking off a $1 billion mixed-use project over 25 acres that is expected to transform Newport. It won’t be long before work on Ovation is visible.

Corporex plans to strip the asphalt off the lot at West Fourth and Columbia and recycle it for a temporary construction lot. As soon as it obtains building permits, possibly in 35 to 45 days, work will start on the deep foundation for the 550-space garage and music venue.

 

More Below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2019/05/24/curtain-rises-on-ovation.html?iana=hpmvp_cinci_news_headline

 

Edited May 24, 20196 yr by tonyt3524

Some of the renderings look quite nice, it will be impressive if they can pull it off. Then again, some of the original renderings for The Banks looked amazing and what actually got built was completely different.

I would love to see that site plan that Banta and Bischoff are sitting in front of so we can see how this will interact with the new jumbo traffic circle. If the finished product is as dense as what has been depicted here and in the previous renderings it will be great, even if the architecture looks like post modern Rivercenter for a new generation. I just have a nagging fear that the final result will be more like the density of Oakley Station than the Banks. I would love to be proven wrong. 

 

Edit: Never mind, for some reason the site plan didn't load at first. having the music venue inland pointing at the courthouse is odd, but I guess it makes sense to save the views and riverfront proximity for the residential. 

 

Edited May 24, 20196 yr by ucgrady

At least it looks like Big Daddy's will still be there.  I wonder if it will get a makeover ?

 

22 minutes ago, BostickInsuranceAAA said:

At least it looks like Big Daddy's will still be there.  I wonder if it will get a makeover ?

 

 

I bet people will still sell drugs down on that roadway outside the flood wall.  

I’m skeptical that much of anything will be developed here besides the parking garage and music venue. 

43 minutes ago, jmecklenborg said:

 

I bet people will still sell drugs down on that roadway outside the flood wall.  

 

Areas outside floodwalls can be sketchy as hell... I'm thinking of you, Portsmouth. You'd think with everything out in the open it wouldn't be but people don't care.

According to the Enquirer, construction has started on the concert venue. Meanwhile in Cincinnati....**crickets**

 

'Things are happening fast.' Construction underway on Newport concert venue

Randy Tucker, Cincinnati Enquirer

Published 7:42 a.m. ET July 16, 2019 | Updated 9:12 a.m. ET July 16, 2019

 

After more than a decade of planning, developers have begun the first phase of construction on the new concert venue that will anchor a giant mixed-use project at the Ovation site along the Ohio River in Newport.

 

Construction crews last week began digging the foundation for a two-story parking garage that will serve as a platform for the concert venue announced in May by veteran Columbus concert promoter PromoWest and its partner, Los Angeles-based AEG Presents.

 

Hearing more rumors that the Cincinnati venue might not happen due to the Newport venue announcement.

1 minute ago, taestell said:

Hearing more rumors that the Cincinnati venue might not happen due to the Newport venue announcement.

 

Which, honestly, is for the best. The Newport venue will have just as good a location, draw better acts by virtue of the management, and then The Banks could build literally anything else that's more useful than a redundant music venue that will host the occasional symphony concert and acoustic shows featuring three members of Whitesnake.

3 hours ago, Gordon Bombay said:

 

Which, honestly, is for the best. The Newport venue will have just as good a location, draw better acts by virtue of the management, and then The Banks could build literally anything else that's more useful than a redundant music venue that will host the occasional symphony concert and acoustic shows featuring three members of Whitesnake.

 

They aren't redundant.  The Kentucky one is 2x as big.  That's a completely different market.  

Given the odd size of the lots, what do we think could go here if the concert venue doesn't get built?

 

Signage has been up for the new PromoWest venue for a few weeks and foundation work is underway.

any word on if/when the rest will be happening?

These type of developments that always end up with some new modern structure next to something that's...uh...not. (Apartments in background. Eesh.)

Here's a site plan from Corporex's website. If I am looking at this correctly, the new music venue will sit above the street. So this basically is a parking garage fronting the street.

 

Sounds like a huge win for urban design...not.

 

37 minutes ago, Rabbit Hash said:

These type of developments that always end up with some new modern structure next to something that's...uh...not. (Apartments in background. Eesh.)

 

I'd bet that those apartments are relatively affordable as compared to all of the new construction.  When the 100+ unit complexes from the 60s and 70s are torn down it causes a ripple in the local rental market.  

^That's a big issue in NKY these days.

5 minutes ago, GCrites80s said:

^That's a big issue in NKY these days.

 

Also, quite a number of these complexes turned condo in the early-mid 2000s, which took thousands of cheap rental units off the market.  Most of those condo HOAs are now suffering terribly meaning investors might come along, buy everyone out, and turn them back into apartments.  No trendy urbanist writer has written about that phenomenon because they're too busy tweeting.  

23 minutes ago, jmecklenborg said:

I'd bet that those apartments are relatively affordable as compared to all of the new construction.  When the 100+ unit complexes from the 60s and 70s are torn down it causes a ripple in the local rental market.  

 

Tons and tons of affordable housing being demolished for Ovation and yet it's mostly flying under the radar.

^Yeah, nobody cared, because it was in Kentucky, not Cincinnati.  

13 minutes ago, jmecklenborg said:

^Yeah, nobody cared, because it was in Kentucky, not Cincinnati.  

correct

1 hour ago, JYP said:

Here's a site plan from Corporex's website. If I am looking at this correctly, the new music venue will sit above the street. So this basically is a parking garage fronting the street.

 

Sounds like a huge win for urban design...not.

 

 

I'm not totally sure myself but I don't think there's any parking under the Venue Building. It definitely looks like the "future potential buildings" are on a podium for parking, with a "pedestrian bridge" crossing 3rd St. Also, the loading dock of the Venue Building appears to be accessed via ramps that go *down* from 4th St.

 

 

^Man that looks like it was made with Majokit or Micro Machines Highways and Byways. Anybody remember Majokit? It was a building playset made by company that made Majorette toy cars. I was obsessed with it for a little while when I was a kid.

6 hours ago, jwulsin said:

 

I'm not totally sure myself but I don't think there's any parking under the Venue Building. It definitely looks like the "future potential buildings" are on a podium for parking, with a "pedestrian bridge" crossing 3rd St. Also, the loading dock of the Venue Building appears to be accessed via ramps that go *down* from 4th St.

 

 

 

 

Okay. I see what you are saying. This picture may illustrate the loading dock ramp better (lower left): 

 

Also just noticed the venue wall in relation to the trees implies some height off the ground. Not sure how much though.

They're definitely building a garage that the concert venue will sit on top of.  They've mentioned this multiple times in articles over the last year.  Whether the garage is underground or above ground though I don't know. 

5/16/20:

 

10 hours ago, jmecklenborg said:

5/16/20:

 

 

It will be interesting to see which one opens first.

5/28/2020 Update