Hillside views sell townhouses

New units look over river, highway, skyline

BY MIKE RUTLEDGE | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

 

COVINGTON - A hillside that looms west of the Interstate 71/75 "cut in the hill" suddenly has become Covington's latest hot spot for high-end view housing.

 

Mason-based developer Joshua One said six of the 21 townhouses and flats in the first phase of its proposed The Views development were claimed Thursday afternoon within the first 90 minutes of being made available - based only on paper drawings.

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060428/NEWS0103/604280434/1059/rss13

 

I noticed signs (ReMax) for that but I wasn't able to find much out about it.  The plans are good to hear.

 

About a half dozen of these have hit the listings.  The prices range from $300K to $429K.  Search the MLS under Southgate St.

 

Also, Joshua One now has floor plans, amenities, etc. on their website:

http://www.joshuaone.com/

 

 

Well, I don't know how you could pre-sell units without owning all the land for your project, but there must be more to the story.

 

Views townhomes will offer just that in Covington

Project has had slow start after announcement

BY JAMES MCNAIR | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

COVINGTON - Where Pike Street ascends the hillside above the resplendent St. John's Catholic Church, a billboard heralds the coming of a luxury townhome project called The Views.

 

The only view, however, is that of a weed-infested lot.

 

The project was announced in April, and the developer, Joshua One of Covington, assembled public officials, real estate agents and prospective buyers at an April 27 reception at Jillian's. Abandoned though the endeavor might appear, Joshua One partner John Hans says it is very much a go.

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060723/BIZ01/607230344/1076/BIZ

Well, I don't know how you could pre-sell units without owning all the land for your project, but there must be more to the story.

 

I belive all it takes is some wording in the sales contract about it being contingent upon the aquisition of the property required by the project (or something to that effect). 

The Views photo update, 9/18/07

Building Cincinnati, 9/21/07

 

The first phase of the Views is taking shape in Covington.

 

This phase contains 21 of an eventual 100-125 units to be priced between $250,000 and $400,000.

 

Most of the action can be seen in the area of Dixie Highway and 12th Street.

 

The developer is Joshua One, who is also active in the Overlook at Eden Park and WatersEdge at Bellevue projects.

 

 

 

 

 

http://buildingcincinnati.blogspot.com/2007/09/views-photo-update-91807.html

 

Nice Culverts!

I took a look at their website http://www.joshuaone.com/ and two things caught my attention.

 

First the woman who does the intro for each development looks very familiar. I'm almost positive she is Jenni Buzzkill from the Dawn Patrol with less eye makeup. http://www.webn.com/pages/onair_jenni.html

 

Second, I can't find the location of the soldout "Townhomes". Somewhere in Covington?

Nice Culverts!

 

Those aren't culverts.  They're the affordable housing component.

That is Jenni, she is a friend of mine.  Good catch, I did not know she was doing that work on the side.

Views construction under way

BY LISA BERNARD-KUHN | CINCINNATI ENQUIRER

October 11, 2007

 

• View photos

 

COVINGTON - Construction is ramping up on The Views - the hillside town home development that overlooks Cincinnati's skyline.

 

A total of 124 town homes and flats are planned for the 11-acre site west of Dixie Highway.

That's good news and what a great view!

Nice!  Seems like Joshua One keeps rolling along with their projects when everyone else is scaling back or delaying...

Second, I can't find the location of the soldout "Townhomes". Somewhere in Covington?

 

I missed this question.  I think those are supposed to be Golden Avenue Manor in Columbia Tusculum.  However, those aren't sold out--all of them are still available.

 

This project is just about complete...although like many other Nky projects, the back of these things are hideous.  They look nice as viewed from I-75 and Cincinnati, but the appearance from the backside (where entrance/garage is) is absolutely gross.

Another Fugly project. Aren't there any good architetects out there?

They are pretty atrocious from the back, but I'd take one for the view!

I was talking to some friends the other day about how terrible these things are from the back.  It just gives you a weird feeling when you're being towered over by another structure behind you, while you're walking into what appears to be a tiny garage.  Then, no lie, another friend of mine walks into the room, hears us talking about The Views, and proceeds to tell everyone about how awesome it is because they look they nothing special from their "front door", but you walk in and start out on the top level, and work your way down from there and have an amazing view on every floor.  So there's no accounting for taste, I suppose.

Eh, it doesn't look _that_ bad but it could have been better. I can't wait for the landscaping to mature around this place, it will really make the complex blend in a little more :)

Why is everyone judging the back of it? None of you even know what the finished product is going to look like.

I feel like vandalizing their sign with "The Snooze".  Yet another crappy NK hillside development, although it does have a rather snazzy clubhouse with one of those LA-style waterfall pools that they can rent out to shoot rap videos.  And just like in the suburbs, they finished the clubhouse first.  Whatever criticisms of the hills causing neighborhood separation in Cincinnati, it's a lot more intense in NK's countless totally isolated, totally unwalkable/bikeable hillside and hilltop developments.   

Why is everyone judging the back of it? None of you even know what the finished product is going to look like.

 

 

Some of them are finished and probably furnished judging by the Escalades and Suburbans in some of the driveways.    This is as of last Wed.

Well I graduated from DAAP last year in Induastrial Design but I saw plenty of Architecture.  I can tell you architecture is like car design...you get absolutely incredible concept art but then it gets muddied down to boring crap because the public and your boss are afraid of change.  Then again, since we've become modernized, it's almost expected to see townhomes without gargoyles or cool crevices.  That stuff just sadly isn't the norm anymore. 

^ And there are Architects and Developers that just arent good.

Crossposted from the Enquirer development thread.

 

Character isn't something that is instantly created. While many of the buildings in the past were very ornate and fancy, we often do not have the luxury to do that today in an effort to keep costs down. It's much more expensive, in relative dollars, to build anything in an urbanized area, so many of the ornate features that we were used to simply cannot be installed from the beginning.

 

But a building's character and charm can certainly change over the period of 50 years. Give it time, and many of the plain developments you see today will evolve into something much nicer (hopefully).

 

--

 

That said, I'm not a fan as much of the front, but I hope that in the future, changes can be made to evolve the front into something more friendly and tasteful.

I've noticed sometimes letting vines grow up the side of a building can add character, as simple as it sounds.  But it's good to see NKY and Cincy using the natural hills for great views.  There's a lot of opportunity to have truly awesome residential towers on our hills.

I've noticed sometimes letting vines grow up the side of a building can add character, as simple as it sounds.  But it's good to see NKY and Cincy using the natural hills for great views.  There's a lot of opportunity to have truly awesome residential towers on our hills.

 

Plants and buildings should not be mixed.  The plants will tear the building apart and severely reduce the building's lifespan...although I do love the appearance of the two together.

While some of the units here have not been completed I think the project is largely complete with some people living there.  Please let me know if I'm wrong.

 

When I was there last year, all of the completed units were either for sale or were occupied. The next phase was prepped for construction but it's been put on hold for now.

Anyone know if this is completed or unfinished? I know the developer is bankrupt but not sure if this should go to abandoned or completed projects.