If you are building new, why would you make two staircases that don't line-up? This house looks like it was designed ad hoc as they went. 

10 hours ago, northsider said:

I encourage y'all to click through and look at the floor plans... they're unfortunate.

 

 

It might be priced too high for that size/quality/location, but I don't see anything "unfortunate" about it, given they probably were restricted by the lot/zoning on the width. The existing house was ~17' wide, and the interior dimensions of the new house are 16' (making the exterior width ~17'), so they probably kept the same max allowable width. That's a narrow footprint to work within. I'd love to see updates to zoning to make it easier to build up to side lot lines in areas like this. The nine lots on this side of the block are 25' wide.

 

 

 

12 hours ago, northsider said:

this piece of work is currently listed at *$450K*, the highest listing in Northside single family home real estate that's not pending.  

 

I encourage y'all to click through and look at the floor plans... they're unfortunate.

 

I have no idea who the target audience for this home is at this price.

 

What's unfortunate about them? The layout is pretty similar to my 19th Century Northside house except I have a basement and no attached garage. 

The Gantry is getting a face lift. I think the dark blue is a huge improvement over the weird orange that was there before.

Edited August 18, 20204 yr by DEPACincy

On 8/17/2020 at 1:14 PM, DEPACincy said:

 

What's unfortunate about them? The layout is pretty similar to my 19th Century Northside house except I have a basement and no attached garage. 

having the front door open into the kitchen/dining area is really weird! the third floor getting relatively little light is weird! you should be getting more from a house that they're trying to sell for nearly half a million dollars!

On 8/21/2020 at 9:18 PM, northsider said:

having the front door open into the kitchen/dining area is really weird! the third floor getting relatively little light is weird! you should be getting more from a house that they're trying to sell for nearly half a million dollars!

 

I see your point, but I don't think it is that weird. It looks like the garage entrance leads to the living room. So if I'm coming home and parking in the garage I come into the living room first. But if guests are coming from the front door they arrive in the dining room where I am most likely hosting them. Seems logical. 

Latest renderings for Apple Street Senior project.

45 minutes ago, DEPACincy said:

Latest renderings for Apple Street Senior project.

 

Apple St. Market, RIP.  

 

We were supposed to get fresh fruit and now we're getting old, wrinkly fruits.  

16 minutes ago, jmecklenborg said:

 

Apple St. Market, RIP.  

 

We were supposed to get fresh fruit and now we're getting old, wrinkly fruits.  

 

I'd rather have the apartments. Population growth will bring more and better retail. 

they treated the parking about as well as they possibly could, and I'm glad we have frontage on all three streets!

 

I do wish that the "Community Space" were a small corner grocery, but this is still going to be a really positive development for the neighborhood.

A bit underwhelming based off of what I was imagining from the earlier renderings, but unoffensive and I'm not here to get nitpicky on a project that serves an altruistic need in the community. 

 

I would love to see this be the shortest multi-family development gets as denser infill marches south to Cooper Street. Hoffner and Cherry and Vandalia could support some 5-6 story mixed use projects. Hell, build something beautiful and tall (9+ stories) and make it a landmark. Northside has an appetite for affordable housing development and as homes begin selling for half a million (two in the last month or so) I think it is important for the neighborhood to be committed to economic diversity through the construction of dignifying, affordable multi-family projects.

3 hours ago, Chas Wiederhold said:

Northside has an appetite for affordable housing development

 

I might be jaded but I have gotten the impression that in my neighborhood, the push for affordable housing is a self-centered one. More specifically, people want affordable rents so that their current housing costs don't go up and so that they can have the option to move into the new places instead of wanting affordable housing for others to use. Is that different in Northside?

1 hour ago, Dev said:

 

I might be jaded but I have gotten the impression that in my neighborhood, the push for affordable housing is a self-centered one. More specifically, people want affordable rents so that their current housing costs don't go up and so that they can have the option to move into the new places instead of wanting affordable housing for others to use. Is that different in Northside?

 

Northside's nonprofit development corporation, NEST, has a big commitment to affordable housing - over half of their projects are oriented towards affordable housing, and when you look at the number of units, it's way more than half.

 

The Northside Comprehensive Land Use Plan from 2014 explicitly talks about wanting to remain a mixed economic neighborhood and the need to continue to concentrate on affordable housing. It also specifically calls out welcoming new residents via affordable housing.

 

 

Edited September 3, 20204 yr by northsider

I'd say the Northside state of mind is one of communalism. When I was first looking for a house, I was in contact with an elderly woman through word of mouth who was trying to sell her beautiful home on Pullan at a reasonable price so that the neighborhood remained affordable for young people- her words. Now that there are multiple homes for sale in the $400Ks (one $5,000 short of half a million to join the other that was already for sale for half a million) I should have more closely considered her offer of $265K. I was commenting about the half million dollar homes for sale in the neighborhood and Northside Twitter seemed amenable to the idea of forming a inclusive, accessible group and creating a welcome pamphlet for folks who move into the neighborhood that shares Northside values, the current projects that are going on (skatepark, urban fruit orchard, etc. etc.), and the work different organizations are up to (Happen Inc., CAIN, Mobo, etc.) in an effort to promote the soul of the neighborhood. If someone moves to the neighborhood because they can afford a half million dollar home, then they might be able to help the skatepark folks with some fundraising connections, etc.

On 9/4/2020 at 9:03 AM, Chas Wiederhold said:

I'd say the Northside state of mind is one of communalism. When I was first looking for a house, I was in contact with an elderly woman through word of mouth who was trying to sell her beautiful home on Pullan at a reasonable price so that the neighborhood remained affordable for young people- her words. Now that there are multiple homes for sale in the $400Ks (one $5,000 short of half a million to join the other that was already for sale for half a million) I should have more closely considered her offer of $265K. I was commenting about the half million dollar homes for sale in the neighborhood and Northside Twitter seemed amenable to the idea of forming a inclusive, accessible group and creating a welcome pamphlet for folks who move into the neighborhood that shares Northside values, the current projects that are going on (skatepark, urban fruit orchard, etc. etc.), and the work different organizations are up to (Happen Inc., CAIN, Mobo, etc.) in an effort to promote the soul of the neighborhood. If someone moves to the neighborhood because they can afford a half million dollar home, then they might be able to help the skatepark folks with some fundraising connections, etc.

 

the concept of neighborhood culture is very real, and Northside's a really strong example of it. I know of multiple instances where people moved to Northside and then left within two years because they were more, uh, uptight than the neighborhood ethos.

 

you even see it in the front yards - tons of Northsiders are really into gardening, but most Northside lawns are a mixture of grass, dandelions, violets, mock strawberries, and crabgrass. Definitely not a neighborhood to be in if you judge neighbors for not mowing every week!!

We mow so rarely! It's all violet in the back and its all garden and hill in the front. Saving to do a terraced pollinator garden on the hillside. We only judge our neighbors based on the quality of their scarecorona or brand of solidarity yard sign. ?

On 9/4/2020 at 9:03 AM, Chas Wiederhold said:

I'd say the Northside state of mind is one of communalism. When I was first looking for a house, I was in contact with an elderly woman through word of mouth who was trying to sell her beautiful home on Pullan at a reasonable price so that the neighborhood remained affordable for young people- her words. Now that there are multiple homes for sale in the $400Ks (one $5,000 short of half a million to join the other that was already for sale for half a million) I should have more closely considered her offer of $265K. I was commenting about the half million dollar homes for sale in the neighborhood and Northside Twitter seemed amenable to the idea of forming a inclusive, accessible group and creating a welcome pamphlet for folks who move into the neighborhood that shares Northside values, the current projects that are going on (skatepark, urban fruit orchard, etc. etc.), and the work different organizations are up to (Happen Inc., CAIN, Mobo, etc.) in an effort to promote the soul of the neighborhood. If someone moves to the neighborhood because they can afford a half million dollar home, then they might be able to help the skatepark folks with some fundraising connections, etc.

 

This is absolutely correct. Everyone on my block is like "oh sure, it's great for our property values that prices are going up, but we are very much concerned about affordability in the neighborhood." And it's completely sincere. I've lived in lots of "liberal" neighborhoods in different cities in multiple states. But I've never lived in a neighborhood that walks the walk the way Northside does. 

Word on the street is a developer may be making moves... PLK owns the entire triangle between Apple, Vandalia, and Blue Rock

 

Edited September 11, 20204 yr by Chas Wiederhold

37 minutes ago, Chas Wiederhold said:

Word on the street is a developer may be making moves... PLK owns the entire triangle between Apple, Vandalia, and Blue Rock

 

 

Rumor is that it's going to be a much larger First Financial ATM. ???

22 hours ago, DEPACincy said:

 

This is absolutely correct. Everyone on my block is like "oh sure, it's great for our property values that prices are going up, but we are very much concerned about affordability in the neighborhood." And it's completely sincere. I've lived in lots of "liberal" neighborhoods in different cities in multiple states. But I've never lived in a neighborhood that walks the walk the way Northside does. 

 

Northside's current ethos was built up by thousands of people over the past four decades, but probably the single biggest influence was Maureen Wood, a remarkable woman who ran Crazy Ladies Bookstore, taught home maintenance workshops to women, ran Off The Avenue studios, promoted community engagement events like dances and potlucks, helped found MUSE, and was an affordable housing developer. She also helped fight off the Walgreens that was planned for the old lumber yard at Blue Rock and Hamilton, which means she's partially responsible for the Gantry being able to be built at all.

22 hours ago, northsider said:

 

Northside's current ethos was built up by thousands of people over the past four decades, but probably the single biggest influence was Maureen Wood, a remarkable woman who ran Crazy Ladies Bookstore, taught home maintenance workshops to women, ran Off The Avenue studios, promoted community engagement events like dances and potlucks, helped found MUSE, and was an affordable housing developer. She also helped fight off the Walgreens that was planned for the old lumber yard at Blue Rock and Hamilton, which means she's partially responsible for the Gantry being able to be built at all.

Certainly a titan of the community. Never knew her but was quickly told about her by a coworker who is a Northside advocate when I was planning my move. I would love to see her vision for St. Philips on Kirby follow through. 

 

Also... I just went ahead and given @JYP what he wants: Giant ATM's Forever.

 

 

Edited September 14, 20204 yr by Chas Wiederhold

57 minutes ago, Chas Wiederhold said:

I would love to see her vision for St. Philips on Kirby follow through. 

 

I'm not familiar with this. Tell me more!

2 minutes ago, DEPACincy said:

 

I'm not familiar with this. Tell me more!

"Two years after Off the Avenue was listed for sale, an energetic young couple came forward, promising to maintain its art studios and event space. Wood perked up. She moved to an apartment in Mt. Lookout, where the change of scenery re-energized her. “Just don’t buy anything new,” friends joked. Six months of solitude was about all Wood could endure. Suddenly, this past January, she was back in Northside, taking over St. Philip’s Episcopal Church, a neo-Norman brick beauty on Kirby Avenue. Common Ground, she renamed it, “a gathering place for all belief traditions.”

Wood explained to her latest crop of volunteers that a haven was needed for disparate members of the community to come together, a place to share ideas and feel safe. Old friends rolled their eyes at what they viewed as Off the Avenue Part Deux. Others figured that Wood could never be content in a normal-sized apartment, and argued that the church was petite compared to past behemoths. Wood brainstormed on a culinary exchange between Muslims and Latin Americans. The church could be a film location. Upstairs rooms could serve as a youth hostel. "

3 hours ago, Chas Wiederhold said:

 “a gathering place for all belief traditions.”

 

 

Plenty of space in that building for her power crystal collection.  

Man, I'd love it if something was actually done with that weird wedge lot between Vandalia and Blue Rock!! 

 

the Transit Hub looks like it's almost done, too.

1 hour ago, northsider said:

Man, I'd love it if something was actually done with that weird wedge lot

 

It's one of the few areas of the city where we'd get crazy jumbled view corridors if it were taken over by a group of midrises and hi-rises, like Long Island City, Queens. 

 

 

 

 

 

PLK introduced themselves to the Northside Community Council last night. They have acquired the corner lot at Blue Rock and Hamilton, as well as two other lots nearby. They are seeking public input on what people would like to see. They have a Facebook page with a link to a survey. Sounds like they are going to do mixed-use. They mentioned that they'd like to make a spot for Apple Street Market at the corner of Blue Rock and Hamilton but they aren't sure they can make it work, so no promises. They said something along the lines of, if Apple Street could take a smaller footprint it'd be easier to do. But the larger footprint will be hard to fit with parking and everything. Would love to see that come to fruition and also hoping they'll maximize the number of units. GO BIG OR GO HOME!

 

https://www.facebook.com/PLKNorthside/

 

 

Shame they can't have that middle strip, as well. You could so much site specific public/private work with that. It would almost ensure an interesting solution.

9/20/20:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PLK Communities acquires major Northside sites, considering modular, microapartments

 

A developer is surveying Northside residents about what they would like to see on several industrial properties it recently acquired, including one on Blue Rock Street near the growing neighborhood’s business district and Hoffner Park.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2020/09/28/developer-acquires-major-northside-sites-considers.html

 

2 hours ago, ColDayMan said:

 

 

 

 

20 hours ago, ColDayMan said:

PLK Communities acquires major Northside sites, considering modular, microapartments

 

A developer is surveying Northside residents about what they would like to see on several industrial properties it recently acquired, including one on Blue Rock Street near the growing neighborhood’s business district and Hoffner Park.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2020/09/28/developer-acquires-major-northside-sites-considers.html

 

 

At the community council meeting they said a few things of note:

They want to keep the flatiron shaped building.

It will be difficult for them to fit a grocery store on a triangular lot. Their words, not mine.

Triangle floor plans can be difficult to design because of the wasted space that happens in acute corners, especially with equipment, shelving, coolers etc that would come with a grocery store, but balconies would be perfect in the corner facing Hamilton/Blue Rock and give residents the opportunity to pretend they are Rose in Titanic:

In my survey response, I suggested turning Vandalia into a Pedestrian only street between Apple and Hamilton. Only posting here so that others might also consider the idea.

On 9/30/2020 at 2:56 PM, Chas Wiederhold said:

In my survey response, I suggested turning Vandalia into a Pedestrian only street between Apple and Hamilton. Only posting here so that others might also consider the idea.

 

I also suggested that! Great minds haha

Finished Northside Transit Center 10/6:

 

 

Those text signs are too busy.  And they look like the internet.  

8 minutes ago, jmecklenborg said:

Those text signs are too busy.  And they look like the internet.  

 

I think they are really nice. Great opportunity to learn about the history of the neighborhood while waiting for the bus.

1 hour ago, jmecklenborg said:

Those text signs are too busy.  And they look like the internet.  

Like the geocities?

 

Or like the squarespace?

^They're overly busy.  The passages aren't well written and they aren't even relevant.  Why talk about cable cars in a neighborhood nowhere close to where they ran?  

I love the new station, art, and the historic information. I think the architecture is aspirational. I don't *love* stencil typeface but it doesn't offend me enough to complain. 

 

My fiancee said, "It kind of looks like a gas station... I don't mean that in a bad a way. It looks like a really nice gas station I wouldn't be afraid to go to by myself". 

The CH&D Railroad information is weirdly spotty, and like Jake said it talks about cable cars that never ran to Northside, and then goes to streetcars, and it's done.  Like they had four more paragraphs that were just deleted but the remaining ones weren't adjusted to compensate. 

 

I love the plan diagram though, that's great for an architect/map nerd, but it'll help normal people understand where the buses are coming and going from too.  The dot matrix display is nice, and the benches, shelters, bathrooms, and are there bike racks?  We just need to see a bin bag blowing in the breeze (I hope someone gets that reference). 

the transit hub being in use is great! rather than having a bunch of people milling awkwardly on the corner of Hoffner and Hamilton, they can spread out and actually sit down at the hub. Also makes social distancing easier!

 

(I'm sure this is also going to help with litter in the first block of Hamilton.)

My only criticism of this project is that building it somewhere north of Hoffner Park would have positioned it in a more central spot in the neighborhood.  

 

If Cincinnati built a real rapid transit network akin to what OKI studied in 1970, there is still space to build a station box quite easily below Hoffner Park and the parking lot behind the North Side Bank that would be a central location and enable a bus transfer area above.  Building the station box there would be way cheaper and less disruptive than under Hamilton Ave.  

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Jacob+Hoffner+Park,+Cincinnati,+OH+45223/@39.1614696,-84.5400009,99m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x8841b48d9e0b8af7:0xaf3a1470b8604f7b!8m2!3d39.160501!4d-84.5399553

 

But just imagine the community council flipping out over a 3-year closure of part of Hoffner Park!  

 

 

I agree that would have been better, but it's still going to be a very good thing for the neighborhood.

20 hours ago, jmecklenborg said:

My only criticism of this project is that building it somewhere north of Hoffner Park would have positioned it in a more central spot in the neighborhood.  

 

If Cincinnati built a real rapid transit network akin to what OKI studied in 1970, there is still space to build a station box quite easily below Hoffner Park and the parking lot behind the North Side Bank that would be a central location and enable a bus transfer area above.  Building the station box there would be way cheaper and less disruptive than under Hamilton Ave.  

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Jacob+Hoffner+Park,+Cincinnati,+OH+45223/@39.1614696,-84.5400009,99m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x8841b48d9e0b8af7:0xaf3a1470b8604f7b!8m2!3d39.160501!4d-84.5399553

 

But just imagine the community council flipping out over a 3-year closure of part of Hoffner Park!  

 

 

 

The mean center of population in the neighborhood is going to shift dramatically south over the next couple of decades though. All of that underutilized land south of Blue Rock is ripe for redevelopment.

^I agree, but the business district and the legacy neighborhood is almost entirely north of Blue rock.  We will probably also see apartment construction one day on the blocks between Dane and Crawford.  

seems to me, putting the transfer site in the chosen location was the most economical and central area they could have chosen. Put north of Blue Rock would cause endless arguments about destroying historic buildings.  Parking lots and abandoned buildings are now bus friendly, pedestrian friendly. With the shelters and I think I saw a bathroom, it'll make the riders safer and the narrow sidewalks less crowded. My bet is that every rider that rides the bus has to walk to a bus stop to get the ride. bus stops will still be in the same location. In other words 75% will still walk to the same stops. The rest will walk about the same distance as they have in the past. Walking is not a problem with people who use public transportation.

Under a Joe Biden New Deal (it's taboo to say Green New Deal in these parts, apparently), I would organize a push to make a light rail/streetcar line extend from downtown on Daulton/Spring Grove Avenue, through Queensgate, Camp Washington, Northside, Spring Grove Village, to Ivorydale, transition to something a bit faster there and follow the old commuter line to Elmwood Place, Wyoming, Woodlawn, Glendale, Springdale and on to Hamilton and beyond. In Northside, you would get a big push for redeveloping everything on and in between the Mill Creek and Spring Grove Avenue. The neighborhood would push hard to make it something much much better than sprawled out Oakley car-oriented urbanism. The main station in Northside would be at the narrowest point between Spring Grove and Dooley creating a pretty substantial transit hub with 8 bus lines intersecting with a streetcar/light rail both north and south.