My husband and I got a surprise yesterday morning on the way to work when we saw dozens of police officers and the SWAT team. 

 

 

Police raid the Metropole

Nine arrested, seven for drugs, in morning bust

BY WILLIAM A. WEATHERS | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

 

DOWNTOWN - Police raided the Metropole Apartments on Walnut Street Friday morning and arrested nine people, seven of them on drug charges.

 

Cocaine, crack cocaine, marijuana and two guns were confiscated during the raid, Cincinnati police said.

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060715/NEWS01/607150414/1056/NEWS0102

Hey JMecklenborg was talking about this in the thread about the bayhorse cafe. Must have been going on for quite a while.

Well done, nice bust cops!

XUMel, what has your relationship with mgmt been ?

As bad as what Streicher has experienced ?

Looking for confirmation that The Metropole is owned by the Showe Family of Columbus. Anyone know?

Here's a much more in-depth article from the Post.  There's no way the bolded quote could be correct, though.

 

Police make drug bust near Aronoff

By Joe Wessels

 

At one time you could order room service at the Metropole Hotel downtown, though guns and cocaine were not on the menu.

 

http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060715/NEWS01/607150348

So the Metropole apartments are like standard sized hotel rooms?

XUMel, what has your relationship with mgmt been ?

As bad as what Streicher has experienced ?

 

I don't live there, and I don't know anyone who does.

So the Metropole apartments are like standard sized hotel rooms?

 

I get the idea that it's like a SRO, kind of like the Fort Washington was.

I'm suprised it took this long.  I hope they keep on it and perhaps prosecute some of the management.

<i>Great news if this pans out. This is too prime a location to put up with this.</i>

 

<b>Prosecutor Pushes To Close Metropole Apartments</b>

LAST UPDATE: 7/18/2006 6:45:10 PM

 

A troubled downtown apartment building could be shut down in a week. The Hamilton County Prosecutor is getting ready to file a civil nuisance action against the Metropole Apartments.

 

http://www.wkrc.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=712B3AE7-DFFF-4168-9405-D4B9FA64B143

Consent decree forces Metropole Apartments fix-up

Cincinnati Business Courier - 1:18 PM EDT Thursday

 

The Metropole Apartments, a downtown trouble spot, will be fixed up and made more secure, according to a consent decree signed Aug. 28.

 

http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2006/09/04/daily32.html

>Hey JMecklenborg was talking about this in the thread about the bayhorse cafe. Must have been going on for quite a while.

 

I missed this thread.  That's right, a friend of mine who used to live downtown walked into the Phoenix Cafe one time either in 2002 or 2003 by himself because he was so drunk and out of his mind.  He told me a woman immediately came over and started talking to him and then asked him if he wanted to "go upstairs", which meant to go to some drug dealer's apartment in that building.  Anyway I am also told by the owner of a nearby business that the owner of the Pheonix Cafe has been offered over $1 million for his location but refuses to sell, presumably because he has such a lucrative drug and prostitution operation running out of there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hard to believe that would be the case in that area of downtown.

^It's always going on right under people's noses.  The recent and dramatic revival of downtown Knoxville, TN was fueled by one long-time dealer laundering his money into four new bars.  He just got busted last month and the future of those bars and the revitilization of that area is in doubt.

Its so obvious with all of these businesses like clothing stores...one on Glenway and short Vine i'm thinking of in particular that is open 24/7... Some cell phone shops too. Those types of business do not generate enough money to stay open 24 hours unless they're dealing drugs.

^Don't forget all the used tire places.  What's amazing about that Knoxville situation is that those four bars were on Market Square, much like if four bars suddenly opened on Fountain Square after the square being boarded up for 20 years and were hugely successful.  They were just laundering the money through, not selling directly out of them from what I hear. 

Metropole building may be future hotel

By Lisa Bernard-Kuhn, Cincinnati Enquirer, September 24, 2009

 

DOWNTOWN - Negotiations are under way that could reshape the future of a 230-unit apartment building on Walnut Street that's long been the focus of redevelopment plans and the target of past police stings and drug raids.

 

The owners of the Metropole Apartments, a nine-story building in downtown's Backstage entertainment district at 609 Walnut St., have alerted the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that they plan to sell the 97-year-old complex.

 

No price tag was available, but the county records show the property was appraised at $3.7 million last year.

I heard about this from a friend of mine who's neighbor is Roxanne Qualls.  He said that she said someone from louisville is going to turn it into a boutique hotel similar to one down there.  Can't remember the name. 

 

 

The Metropole used to be a hotel.  Funny how the Enquirer failed to mention that.

This is GREAT news.  The building is currently an eye sore and dead zone in an otherwise great area.

It's an eyesore?  How?  I'd say that the exterior is a good shape.

^AWESOME!

I guess I meant more at street level.  There's always shady people hanging out in front of it, and the lobby is visibly run down.  Compared to the CAC, Aronoff, Nicholsons, Bootsys, and the Righteous Room, it looks really out of place.

Hotel 21C

http://www.21chotel.com/

 

They have been working on financing for this for a long time, couldnt get the numbers to work.  Hopefully its a done deal.

edale> Yeah, I'd agree with you there.  Nice tile work though.

 

sheady> From the looks of the site, seems they'd gut the whole building.  I'm not okay with that.

 

Ah, didn't know this thread was around.

Check out the comments section, someone from COAST is looking to stir up Westwood Concern over this.

Wow, they're on the case.  Like bedbugs or fleas.  Pests.

edale> Yeah, I'd agree with you there. Nice tile work though.

 

sheady> From the looks of the site, seems they'd gut the whole building. I'm not okay with that.

 

 

Very true...i would agree, but only if the building hadn't been gutted already for HUD.  From my understanding there is really nothing worth keeping in there that is "original".  The outside is deceiving

I heard about this from a friend of mine who's neighbor is Roxanne Qualls.  He said that she said someone from louisville is going to turn it into a boutique hotel similar to one down there.  Can't remember the name.

 

21c. I've been to their original location in Louisville and it is amazing. They actually won a LOT of awards for the restoration and for the concept, and their restrooms are amazing... lots of artwork. I know that they have looked into properties in Cinci, but I can't elaborate on that for now. But if it does go through, expect a really, really awesome boutique hotel.

 

As for the Metropole, it is a POS on the inside. I made the mistake of looking for a unit there. It was disgusting. Stains on the carpet, leaks in the windows, horrid, horrid SHARED bathrooms. And crack whores everywhere.

A boutique hotel would be absolutely perfect here, but I wonder who will win the boutique hotel race going on here in Cincinnati.  So far the Bartlett Building, 8th & Sycamore (former Red Cross building), The Banks, Newport on the Levee, Ovation, and Uptown Commons have all stated they're going after a boutique hotel.

 

I can't see more than three of these actually happening at the very most, so someone's plans aren't going to happen as they're currently drawn up.  For Downtown I say this and The Banks get a hotel, and change the plans for Bartlett and 8th & Sycamore to apartments.

What the area needs is for the Metropole Apts to be converted into a hotel.  that would vcomplte the area as a true entertainment area.  There is no way such a high concentration of section 8 housing should be situated in that location. 

Man I'm good.

Well, the boutique hotel idea is one of those booming ideas. 21c has really upped the ante on this, and their projects past the original 21c in Louisville have really been successful. That said, there can be overkill, and a market can realistically handle only a handful (i.e. 2 or 3) boutique hotels without having saturation in this specialized field of the lodging industry.

 

That said, my opinion is that the Metropole should be restored into an apartment complex that is affordable (e.g. <$1000/month) to the masses. Downtown is not affordable to most, and the units that do exist are few and far between. OTR is the next best bet, but there are still people who are uneasy about locating there. But you can't beat the prices nor the integration.

That said, my opinion is that the Metropole should be restored into an apartment complex that is affordable (e.g. <$1000/month) to the masses. Downtown is not affordable to most, and the units that do exist are few and far between. OTR is the next best bet, but there are still people who are uneasy about locating there. But you can't beat the prices nor the integration.

 

I agree that more affordable apartments are needed and needed badly, but I think a boutique hotel in the CBD would be great and the Metropole is probably the best location for that.  Then instead I would love to see Bartlett go apartments instead of the boutique hotel concept.

As soon as I read about this hotel news, I thought back to when you suggested it a while back! Good call!

8th and Sycamore should get the apartments - someday, X put in enough parking garages to let the land above get built on. The Bartlet is a hardest nut - I'm not sure affordable apartments is what 4th street should be about. I think this takes the cake for the boutique hotel. Talk about a European or NY place to stay with the CAC and Aranoff right by. It would feel like being a much larger city.

edale> Yeah, I'd agree with you there. Nice tile work though.

 

sheady> From the looks of the site, seems they'd gut the whole building. I'm not okay with that.

 

 

Very true...i would agree, but only if the building hadn't been gutted already for HUD. From my understanding there is really nothing worth keeping in there that is "original". The outside is deceiving

 

Oh, okay.  I wasn't aware that it was initially gutted as well.

I wonder if the Broadway Commons casino not having a hotel would help fuel demand for this kind of project.

Downtown Cincinnati boutique hotel might replace low-income flats

By Lisa Biank Fasig & Lucy May | Cincinnati Business Courier, September 25, 2009

 

Cincinnati Center City Develop­­ment Corp. aims to acquire Metropole Apartments, one of downtown’s few remaining low-income rental complexes, with plans to convert it into a boutique hotel.

 

To many, it is the final step in creating a downtown entertainment district. The building sits across from the Aronoff Center for the Arts and has long been a point of contention among the fine restaurants and cultural attractions on Walnut Street. Now 3CDC is under contract to buy the 225-unit apartment building from its Columbus owner, according to several sources. The same sources said 21c Museum Hotel, a boutique hotel company in Louisville, is the private nonprofit developer’s lead candidate for the space.

 

Read full article here:

http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2009/09/28/story1.html

Sounds like we are going to hear some pushback from the people in the building and the people representing them.  Its got good momentum with Ruby, Bortz, 3cdc, Dick Rosenthal (CAC benefactor) all behind it.  One key step....TIF financing approval by the city!  Very key to the project happening.

Metropole provides housing for poor people downtown, and operates at a profit.  It is a mistake to spend tens of millions of dollars to convert it to a boutique hotel when there are several vacant suitable structures nearby such as the Netherland or the Red Cross site.

 

"You can't have those types of places across the street from the Aronoff Center.  It's like parking a Bently at 14th and Main and expecting the Bently to still be there" - Jeff Ruby

 

I completely disagree.  People need to live somewhere.  The Metropole adds to the mix and rarely causes trouble for pedestrians or theater attendees.  I want a mix of people in every neighborhood, including Downtown. That is what makes it a real city. The same excuses were used to demolish The Milner Hotel on Garfield 15 years ago, so Bortz could build many fewer units, and now it is a very quiet and frankly boring place.  I say keep the variety and density.

I tend to agree with your sentiment JSkinner, but I also think this is the ideal location for such a hotel.  It will solidify a 'sense of place' for Walnut Street, which will more likely cause continued spill over development surrounding the area that otherwise wouldn't happen if that 'sense of place' wasn't there.  If a boutique hotel was placed at 8th and Sycamore, it would be an island unto itself and spillover wouldn't happen/would be slow to happen. 

Atlas youre right because that absolutely gigantic parking lot across the street won't see development until we're all 80 yrs old lol.  But this hotel idea is great.  I met some friends on Walnut Street last weekend and when I stepped outside at 130 am, I had to do a double take because of all the people I saw.  That whole area is growing bigtime.

There were apartments on the drawing board for St. X's parking lot in the late 1990's.  I've never seen any plans for the lot one block north, which I believe is still owned by the auto dealership that was once located there. 

I like the idea of the hotel at the Metropole location because it's a strong node of undeniable activity. 

 

BUT...

 

I'm not comfortable with the argument that we need this hotel because the poor are creating uncomfortable situations for those who have more money to spend.  I also agree with the sentiments that there are plenty of EMPTY lots throughout downtown (ahem, 5th-Race-6th) that would benefit from a 12c Hotel.  What I'm hearing is that the Metropole's conversion to a boutique hotel is MUST, in order to complete that area of downtown as a destination.  This is not our only opportunity.  Other areas of downtown are crying for reinvestment.  The city's economic development department should be working with the Louisville company to seek out incentives for other sites in the neighborhood.

Please read and comment on my latest journal entry:

 

Metropole Apartments to become a boutique hotel?

I don't know why they keep on insisting that there needs to be hotel there.  This spot would be great for housing.  Boutique Hotels, if they mean classy "nice" hotels should stick to the eastern edge or new construction on some of the existing lots.  Boutique Hotels are a term too often thrown around.  If 21c does have an intent to do something in that space, great but if not turn more attention to housing.  If people really want to see downtown develop into this 24 hour/ grocery store / great shopping environment then Cincinnati needs to have more housing space and more diverse housing at that.

 

Housing would additionally offer support to the retail/restaurants that are in that area.  I would think rent's in the $650 - $900 range would work but I'm just throwing out a number. 

Please read and comment on my latest journal entry:

 

Metropole Apartments to become a boutique hotel?

 

I don't see why you correlate opposition to the relocation of low-income residents with not being progressive.  In fact, low-income dwellers are almost *always* relocated for high ROI opportunities.  I'd love to see an infographic on the relocation of the poor in Cincinnati and other cities.  Resources should be pooled to provide better living conditions for low-income residents and ensure better management of such facilities.

Keep it clean everyone.  Lets not turn this thread into yet another pissing match about affordable housing, and please refrain from any and all personal attacks.  Thank you.