There is a Margaritaville in the French Quarter.  Its on Decatur near the French Market. 

It fits in pretty well, it isn't obnoxious.

Has anyone seen a rendering or map that shows where the hotel is eventually going to go?

 

I have been told the drawings currently show it going on the south side of the casino against Court Street. Might explain why that part of the casino is extra hideous.

 

In other news, they've spent the week planting a ton of evergreens around the site, making things look a little better. Also street trees (barren due to the season) have been planted along much of Reading.

Does anyone know if the Greyhound station is going to stay in that location indefinitely? I remember about a year ago dropping someone off there and, while we were getting his things out of the trunk, a cop approached and warned us to be careful in that parking lot and she warned my friend not to leave his bags alone even for a minute.

 

That doesn't seem like something the casino is going to be thrilled about. And how many people are going to miss their bus because they're wandering around the casino?

 

 

Does anyone know if the Greyhound station is going to stay in that location indefinitely? I remember about a year ago dropping someone off there and, while we were getting his things out of the trunk, a cop approached and warned us to be careful in that parking lot and she warned my friend not to leave his bags alone even for a minute.

 

That doesn't seem like something the casino is going to be thrilled about. And how many people are going to miss their bus because they're wandering around the casino?

 

It is my understanding that the casino tried to buy the land, Greyhound didn't bite.  From someone who use to work at greyhound corporate, the Cincinnati location does very well. My guess is the casino who need to pony up more cash to buy the site.

^ I've heard the same.  It's a busy location, they have the land, it's a good spot for them, they aren't going to sell unless it's big $$.  The best hope is that the property value gets raised dramatically in the next major evaluation (2014) and it starts to eat into their profits.  But Dusty undervalues land so much and puts all the valuation on the structure so I doubt their values will go up much.

 

Around the same time the casino hotel opens (5 years after opening) it would be great if Chavez properties (Parking company of America) sold off and developed the land at Court & Gilbert (they own almost all of that parking).  Could be a cool little area in 5 years.

 

woof.  Are there any sustainable features, green roofs, blue roofs, pervious pavings, rain cisterns, anything stormwater/site related they're doing for this? 

 

 

 

"Green" is overrated. It may not be the prettiest thing but it beats the parking lot

 

Why is green overrated?

 

I dont care what they choose to build it out of, so long as they improve the land from an empty parking lot. If they want to use "green" materials because they are efficient, and cheaper, great. I just think building "green" for the sake of calling yourself "green" is overrated and pandering to the politcal correct class.

 

In my opinion of course.

LEED is overrated.

The roof of the casino sticks out like a sore thumb. A green roof would be better.

 

LEED is overrated.

 

True.

woof.  Are there any sustainable features, green roofs, blue roofs, pervious pavings, rain cisterns, anything stormwater/site related they're doing for this? 

 

 

 

"Green" is overrated. It may not be the prettiest thing but it beats the parking lot

 

Why is green overrated?

 

I dont care what they choose to build it out of, so long as they improve the land from an empty parking lot. If they want to use "green" materials because they are efficient, and cheaper, great. I just think building "green" for the sake of calling yourself "green" is overrated and pandering to the politcal correct class.

 

In my opinion of course.

 

Green for the sake of calling yourself green is indeed bad. But being greener in anyway is an improvement. Green is not a political movement, it's a necessary shift we are going to need to make in order to continue to exist on this planet. Being green to actually reduce your carbon footprint is important.

No one cares about reducing their carbon footprint, developers and financers do care about the cost-benefit of being “green,” which is slowly leading to new standards for most construction that would comply with a lot of LEED requirements, but not paying the extra 2-5% of construction costs just to get the certification stamp.  A lot of the HVAC and lighting efficiency standards of LEED have become mainstream because the added cost up front pays for itself after 5 years or so.  Reducing ones carbon footprint is just a political, marketable, feel-good term though.

LEED is overrated.

 

I agree that LEED is overrated and, as demonstrated by any number of suburban buildings with LEED designations, can completely miss the point.  However, the fundamental concept of having standards to certify green developments is valuable.  LEED-ND is an example of progress, in my opinion, because it quantifies and combines the components of green design with smart growth principles.  A project can't truly be green unless it gets both parts right.

woof.  Are there any sustainable features, green roofs, blue roofs, pervious pavings, rain cisterns, anything stormwater/site related they're doing for this? 

 

 

 

"Green" is overrated. It may not be the prettiest thing but it beats the parking lot

 

Why is green overrated?

 

I dont care what they choose to build it out of, so long as they improve the land from an empty parking lot. If they want to use "green" materials because they are efficient, and cheaper, great. I just think building "green" for the sake of calling yourself "green" is overrated and pandering to the politcal correct class.

 

In my opinion of course.

 

I'm more concerned with green site improvements - green roof, pervious pavers, rain cisterns, rain gardens, etc.  I know it was previously a surface lot, but it is still a very large building and garage footprint and it would be nice for it to be a model of site sustainability to move others in the region towards that practice as well.   

^agreed. That roof could retain so much water (reducing out combined sewer overflows).

Has anyone seen renderings for the new traffic island between Central, Reading, and Broadway? They are using the same stone as is on the casino exterior but it appears they just poured a traffic lane through the middle of it. Too much activity in the area to get a worthwhile picture...

^agreed. That roof could retain so much water (reducing out combined sewer overflows).

 

Each roof plane is so large that the cost of additional structure would outweigh any benefit to the owners/developers of using a green roof.  The only way to get them to consider it would be some sort of tax credit for preventing runoff, but that's a whole other issue.  It does look like they used a "cool roof," which is one of those LEED things that is now basically standard.  You really don't see any black/tar roofs on commercial construction these days. Overall, I'd imagine runoff will be less after completion than it was when the site was a parking lot, which is what the currently existing stormwater infrastructure is designed to handle. 

^ The current system is not designed to handle the current runoff. That is where the problem is. It should be an almost identical runoff as before as it is all hardscape. The water won't disappear because there is a building there instead of a parking lot. The only space that will benefit is where trees will line the streets and the grassy spot in front of the casino.

 

Green roofs are very expensive, and though that would be my favorite option for the roof space, I would have at least liked to see water catchment systems that could do one of three things:

 

1) Reuse the rain water for urinal/toilet use.

 

2) Capture the rainwater and release it into the system after a rain event to prevent the overflows.

 

or at the very least,

 

3) Use captured rainwater to water the new lawn out front.

 

While green/sustainable development is a buzzword and used for political reasons, there are some real solutions that could have been utilized with this site to help out the region. It does not appear that they attempted anything close to this, though.

2) Capture the rainwater and release it into the system after a rain event to prevent the overflows.

 

They are building a pretty decent storm water detention basin on the I-71 side of the site.

 

City will review casino sign today

Watching it online.

 

Sign is on Gilbert against greyhound and behind garage. It looks as though the only people who will really see it are Mt Adams residents, not OTR or Pendleton. It's possible people on upper floors in Pendleton will see the top 10-15 feet of the sign over the rest of the casino building, but that's about it.

 

Also, looks like its going to pass.

http://www.horseshoe.com/info/cincinnati/

Horseshoe Casino Cincinnati plans complimentary shuttle service with partner hotels

 

With less than a month to go until the Horseshoe Casino Cincinnati opens, management took another step forward Wednesday in the final preparations for the grand opening.

 

The casino will partner with seven downtown hotels to offer a complimentary shuttle service to and from the $400-million facility, which will operate from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. Sunday through Thursday, and from 8 a.m. to 4 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, according to a statement released by Rock Gaming LLC and Caesars Entertainment Corporation.

 

The Cincinnatian Hotel, the 21c Museum Hotel Cincinnati, Garfield Suites Hotel, Hyatt Regency Cincinnati, Residence Inn Marriott Cincinnati, SpringHill Suites Cincinnati and The Westin Cincinnati have all partnered with the casino.

 

Cont

Drove by the casino last month during a visit to Cincy.

 

Man that is one butt-ugly building. 

 

I dont see how this is any assett at all to the city aside from a tax revenue generator.

 

It has ZERO relationship to the nearby neighborhoods.  Essentially you could pick it up and plop it in some suburban development and it would fit in better than it does.  In  fact for a city location it would fit in nicely in Queensgate.

 

What a POS!

 

 

Downtown Roulette

Will Casinos Be a Win for Ohio Cities?

 

Last year, after Ohio became the latest state to legalize casino gambling, its first gaming complex opened in downtown Cleveland. Casinos in Toledo and Columbus appeared soon thereafter, and another is slated for Cincinnati. But will these glitzy institutions deliver the new tax revenues that political and business leaders expect? And more generally, do casinos even belong in urban downtowns, especially those in search of a viable economic development strategy?

 

http://nextcity.org/forefront/view/downtown-roulette

Everybody in Cincy complains about everything that gets built in this great city. Cincinnati casino looks better than the other casino's in Ohio

Everybody in Cincy complains about everything that gets built in this great city. Cincinnati casino looks better than the other casino's in Ohio

 

Have you seen Clevelands?  They repurposed an old Department store, it looks great.

Cleveland casino and Cincinnati casino are the best looking. Columbus looks like a super WalMart

Everybody in Cincy complains about everything that gets built in this great city. Cincinnati casino looks better than the other casino's in Ohio

 

Have you seen Clevelands?  They repurposed an old Department store, it looks great.

 

Isnt that just a temporary location.  I thought that they are constructing a new building later that will be the permanent casino?

^They are indeed building a new building, but there will be two different casions. The Horseshoe in the department store and another in the new building.

The casino's design makes me think of.... Egypt. Maybe that was intentional?

Every design is ugly to someone.

 

The casino's design makes me think of.... Egypt. Maybe that was intentional?

 

 

De-Nile.  A river in Egypt. 

 

Or what the design does to the urban context.

 

I was expecting the "it's ALL good" spin and y'all aint disappointing!  ;-)

 

 

^Go back and re-read this thread. The prevailing attitude is certainly not that the casino is "all good", especially when commenting on the design. Most people here, and urbanists that I've talked to about the casino think it's a horribly designed fortress.

 

I personally don't think it's so bad given its context. Next to a freeway, Greyhound bus station, and the jail on three sides (yes the side facing Pendleton leaves much to be desired). Given these constraints, and the fact that it's replacing a huge surface parking lot that realistically would have probably sat vacant for many more years, I don't hate it.  The view of the casino from Central Parkway is actually pretty cool, and I think it will really be striking at night. 

 

Even if the casino doesn't spark any proximal development, it still offers residents and visitors alike something else to do in the city.  It's employing something like 1,600 people, and adding revenue into the city and county coffers, which is sorely needed.  The casino was the catalyst for getting ~$22 million worth of streetscape improvements and the installation of public art in Pendleton.  These are all positive outcomes of having the casino here.  Previous suggested uses for Broadway Commons would have also had their limitations.  A ballpark sits empty for half the year, a big box retailer (remember when Ikea was being floated around as an idea for BC?) is just as insular, if not moreso than a casino, and doesn't bring the entertainment options that the casino does.  If the Cincinnati casino can draw people down from Dayton, and up from Louisville and Lexington, we're talking about a market of about 5 million people...surely greater exposure to Cincinnati will be a good thing for the city.

^Model is creating something like 80 market rate units with streetlevel commercial at Broadway and 12th

 

also - casino sneak peek event is feb 27

Why do the new intersections have traffic lights dangling from wires? Most of the rest of downtown has fixed pole traffic lights, but here we have the obnoxious wires with the bouncing lights. I've noticed the same thing at The Banks. The wire traffic lights outside Holy Grail at the entrance to GABP are hideous. Why not do it right at construction and install the fixed lights we see elsewhere downtown?

Its because people will try any and every way to shave off expenses.  If it means dangling wires, then they'll do it.  The only time more money is spent is when people have to.

Once the casino opens, who has a prediction as to the casinos across the border in Indiana? I predict they will be fairly rapidly on life support? If you think this is wrong - Why?

kjbrill, some people view going into the city as a hassle, regardless of how convenient it is made. Will that be enough to keep IN casinos going? Not sure.

 

Frankly, I'm okay with the IN casinos dying. I would be more okay with it if I thought the downtown casino would definitely bring some collateral benefit to Pendleton or greater downtown. I'm not confident that will be the case, though. I do think a casino downtown has more revenue potential than the IN ones, though, which means regionally it would be a net benefit to trade the Horseshoe for the boats.

^ The area is getting too saturated with casino's and Racino's. 3 in Indiana and soon to be 3 in Ohio. Riverdowns, Downtown and Lebanon. Then again there is a casino in Orange county Indiana in French Lick that seems to be going ok with very low population in the region there.

Why do the new intersections have traffic lights dangling from wires? Most of the rest of downtown has fixed pole traffic lights, but here we have the obnoxious wires with the bouncing lights. I've noticed the same thing at The Banks. The wire traffic lights outside Holy Grail at the entrance to GABP are hideous. Why not do it right at construction and install the fixed lights we see elsewhere downtown?

 

The span wire traffic lights drive me crazy.  They should be abolished city wide.  They belong on country roads in the sticks.

Its because people will try any and every way to shave off expenses.  If it means dangling wires, then they'll do it.  The only time more money is spent is when people have to.

 

I actually wondered about this myself. Cincinnati seems to have the same traffic light and signage policies of Dayton and Toledo, where most traffic signals are span-wires. I don't mind them - they have tight cable loops that leads the spans themselves to be as unobstructive as possible, unlike Kentucky's. They are much thinner than a mast arms, especially those in downtown.

 

That said, ODOT has been using mast arms in rural areas (to Sean's comments). I'm not for sure of the recent switch, but these new mast arms are appearing on OH 32 and throughout the state on routine signal replacements. It may have to do with upgraded infrared traffic detectors that are mounted on the mast arms.

Mast arms may be "cleaner" but they're also a lot bulkier than span wire setups, and they can really overwhelm the streetscape, even if they're decorative.  As long as the span wire setup is done with some craft then it's pretty unintrusive and clean.  An extra wire tether across the bottom is all that's really needed to prevent the signals from flapping around in the wind, and it keeps everything more tidy.  I will say though that if back plates are going to be used, then mast arms are the way to go.  Back plates aren't needed so much in a downtown area because there's usually something else blocking the sun though. 

I should see if I can find my gallery of mast-arms. Some are really quite obtrusive and larger than simple span wires for Ohio. I have come across mast-arms in Lexington, Ky. that span a five lane road and are joined in the center with a sleeve (http://goo.gl/maps/KpK86), and another that is over six lanes (http://goo.gl/maps/7Ob6l). There is also one in Elizabethtown, Ky. that spans six lanes (http://goo.gl/maps/E1FAK).

I should see if I can find my gallery of mast-arms. Some are really quite obtrusive and larger than simple span wires for Ohio. I have come across mast-arms in Lexington, Ky. that span a five lane road and are joined in the center with a sleeve (http://goo.gl/maps/KpK86), and another that is over six lanes (http://goo.gl/maps/7Ob6l). There is also one in Elizabethtown, Ky. that spans six lanes (http://goo.gl/maps/E1FAK).

 

You can see them in the overhead.  Interestingly enough, if you go to streetview they are wire strung.  Derp.

Yes - it's more of a state-wide initiative to replace some of the longer span-wires with mast-arms, and to replace the wooden poles with steel.

^ The area is getting too saturated with casino's and Racino's. 3 in Indiana and soon to be 3 in Ohio. Riverdowns, Downtown and Lebanon. Then again there is a casino in Orange county Indiana in French Lick that seems to be going ok with very low population in the region there.

 

And now one in Dayton.

Casino's High-Limit Gaming Area to Pay Homage to Chinese Sister City:

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2013/02/11/horseshoe-casino-pays-homage-to.html

 

Arguments over the blandness of the exterior aside, this is a very encouraging sign that we might find a more unique atmosphere inside IMO.

They are adding more translucent panels to the east side of the garage today, it successfully blocks the view of the inside of the garage, but in doing so draws more attention to itself. It might look good at night when it glows, but when I drove by today it looked like cheap white rice paper screens you would see at a Chinese restaraunt.

^Its casing for the many temporary banners they plan to put over the garage.

They are adding more translucent panels to the east side of the garage today, it successfully blocks the view of the inside of the garage, but in doing so draws more attention to itself. It might look good at night when it glows, but when I drove by today it looked like cheap white rice paper screens you would see at a Chinese restaraunt.

 

The big sign is also now under construction....

Horseshoe Casino Cincinnati parking may come with heavy price tag

 

Horseshoe Casino Cincinnati is expected to release information about parking rates in the next few weeks, but if they are at all similar to the parking rates at the Horseshoe Casino in Cleveland, patrons will have to pay anywhere from $10 to $40 for parking.

 

The $400 million casino will house a 2,500-space parking garage, which will be operational when the casino opens on March 4.

 

Representatives of Horseshoe Casino Cincinnati suggest that the parking operations may be similar to  Cleveland's Horseshoe Casino. Parking at the Cleveland casino can be validated only if a patron spends $25 in the gift shop, plays one hour of poker or uses their reward card member status after gambling for 30 minutes.

 

Cont