August 27, 200816 yr You can view our web-site for more information on the project. Components of the project include, 1. The new Hoff Quad 2. Brockman Hall Renovation 3. Xavier Square
August 27, 200816 yr Seicer, I didn't know you worked for XU. All I can say is it's changed a heckuva lot since I first set foot on campus way back in 1995.
August 27, 200816 yr Just started in July. I'm a web-developer here, so I maintain all of that. I should start posting up more of our PR's, because they are informative.
August 27, 200816 yr I think it's a crime that they're tearing down all of those houses when there is so much open space/brownfields around the campus. This street was one of the few intact streets left around XU.
August 27, 200816 yr Many of the houses were not in the best of condition, were not accessible -- since many housed offices for Xavier -- and were not part of the expansion plan for Xavier. The goal is to build the new Quad, which will greatly increase the amount of classroom space, close Ledgewood and Herald to all traffic, build Xavier Square on the brownfield (the open space you speak of), demolish the ROCKET building (post office) and the police station, and replace it with open space, and build future housing along Herald. Dana will also be getting a makeover in the next few years as well, to make it more pedestrian friendly and to slow traffic.
August 27, 200816 yr I think it's a crime that they're tearing down all of those houses when there is so much open space/brownfields around the campus. This street was one of the few intact streets left around XU. I understand the sentiment, but I also think that it's a much more natural progression for XU to build out from Ledgewood. Putting anything up at, say, the corner of Dana and Montgomery right now would be really disconnected from the rest of campus. Especially as the campus has expanded, this little section of houses on Ledgewood has become more and more out of place--and since they were mostly university functions anyway, I think it makes sense to integrate it more. I really look forward to any efforts that can slow down the traffic on Dana.
August 27, 200816 yr Well XU's just making the same mistakes UC did so far as tearing down everything. I'm also against taking out streets. When universities convert residential streets to pedestrian walks, it creates a non-space. At least a blank canvass has 4 sides, but when universities erase all signs of what predated them, they have absolutely nothing to respond to and you get crap. And given XU's design "scheme", get ready for some more Quaker Oats.
August 27, 200816 yr I disagree. Ledgewood was closed north of Herald several years ago after heavy traffic caused quite a few near-accidents due to students crossing the roadway. With classrooms on one side and residence halls on the other, the number of conflict points was pretty high. Adding speed humps and other traffic calming devices on an otherwise busy street wouldn't have made much fiscal sense -- given that Victory to Dana was an easy and uncongested alternative. The pedestrian mall that replaced it is heavily utilized as a social gathering point and as a crossover -- and it does get congested, as I have seen already today. Before the Ledgewood closure, Herald Avenue once cut through the heart of Xavier's campus and was converted into a pedestrian-only venue. Beautifully landscaped, it unifies the campus together and removes any evidence of automobile presence -- sans the @#%^ing idiot who drove through campus, killed his oil pan, and dragged its contents across the pedestrian mall. No one can deny that the pedestrian mall has only benefited campus -- enabling students to have wider paths, eliminating conflict points and increasing safety. The same can be said for Ledgewood and Herald. Both carry low amounts of traffic, sans traffic dumping out of Cintas. Herald will be preserved until the turn into Cintas, but will otherwise be closed, because Xavier Square will introduce a lot of student housing into the mix. Hundreds of additional pedestrians will be walking along Herald, and keeping conflict points to a minimum is all the better. It does get congested along the tiny sidewalks that exist today, and that is without the Quad or the Square even complete.
August 28, 200816 yr I have nothing against Xavier expanding, and having just been on campus, I can definitely say that a development like Xavier Square is SORELY needed. However, what I think Xavier needs the most is a real student neighborhood. Evanston is not a student neighborhood, and there are only a few streets in North Avondale and Norwood that are real student streets. Go up to the University of Dayton and see their lively student neighborhood, and the connection that the students feel to the university as a whole, and that is what I want for Xavier. I think these new developments will help, but more must be done to get a college atmosphere around XU like there is at UD, UC, and OSU. I was unaware that most of the houses on this street were being used by the university, and assumed, because they were houses, that students lived there. Now that I know this Isn't the case, I'm not as disappointed by their being demolished.
August 28, 200816 yr Yeah, when I first scouted Xavier as an employer, I was shocked that Montgomery Road was completely dead. Nothing. Nada. Zip. A gasoline station, a BBQ joint, and a pizza restaurant that is haphazardly open. Empty lots, abandoned buildings. Building Xavier Square, which will be mixed-use and will have units available to the general public -- it isn't entirely for students, will be a huge boom to the streetscape and will spur additional development. Metro Scooters is doing very good business right now, and they are highly anticipating the Square to be completed for additional visibility. Most students that live off-campus are east of Montgomery from what my boss and a co-worker have said -- both are graduates of Xavier. It doesn't feel like a partying campus like UC or OSU though.
August 28, 200816 yr It has a surprisingly small economic effect on the surrounding community - besides Dana's bar. Even though it has increased on campus housing - it is further behind the schools noted at developing an on campus atmosphere. It also has rather unfriendly neighbors. My sense is that a look of XU students (from Cincy) stay connected to the home neighborhoods rather than XU itself.
August 28, 200816 yr Plus you can't forget that it's still a small school. When I went, our class was the largest incoming freshman class ever at XU, and we were just shy of 800. It's getting bigger, but it still has a ways to go to achieve that critical mass. Add to that that a lot of the off-campus housing is scattered about--I lived in a house in Norwood for two years where neighbors on both sides were just regular Norwood residents--and it's hard to achieve some of that stuff you see elsewhere. But it's slowly heading down that road.
September 9, 200816 yr Demolition begins for Xavier’s Quad project http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2008/09/08/daily6.html Xavier University will begin demolishing rows of houses this week to make way for its Hoff Academic Quadrangle, which will include a new Williams College of Business building. Click link for article
September 13, 200816 yr Seicer, any pics on the XU website that you know of? I'm not banking on a live cam or anything.... :)
September 17, 200816 yr Outside of http://www.xavier.edu/construction/, I don't have any more photos :( Quad groundbreaking set The official groundbreaking ceremony for the James E. Hoff, S.J., Academic Quad is set for Friday, Sept. 26, from noon to 12:45 p.m. at the cleared lot on Ledgewood Avenue near Bellarmine Circle. All members of the Xavier community are invited to attend. Square signage going up Signage for the Xavier Square project at the corner of Dana and Montgomery avenues is slated to be installed by Tuesday, Sept. 23. While a construction timetable has not yet been set for the 20-acre project, Corporex Companies Inc. is currently in the process of pre-leasing its retail sites. Here is an older article on the Ledgewood housing removal, which is approximately 50% complete. Houses Coming Down on Ledgewood Demo scheduled to start next week September 5, 2008 Demolition of the homes along Ledgewood Avenue is slated to begin the week of September 8. The contract with Messer Construction was signed on Friday, Sept. 5, clearing the way for the start of development of the Hoff Academic Quad. Crews will begin removing trees and homes near Bellarmine Circle and move up the street toward Dana Avenue. The demolition will make way for construction of a new Williams College of Business and the Learning Commons. Nearly 60,000 yards of earth will be moved in the process. Much of that earth will be sent to Owls Nest Park in O'Byronville. Completion of the Hoff Academic Quad is slated for the fall of 2010.
September 26, 200816 yr GROUNDBREAKING TODAY ALONG LEDGEWOOD, NOON-12:45 PM Hoff Academic Quad facts Xavier University press release, September 24, 2008 JAMES E. HOFF, S.J. ACADEMIC QUADRANGLE September 2008 Demolition of houses on Ledgewood and Dana Avenues, Cincinnati Bell structure October 2008 Concrete foundations laid for new structures 2008-2010 Ongoing construction–built to LEED Silver certification standards Includes 12 acres of site improvements–walks, roads, parking, landscaping, fountain 2010-2012 Renovation and Relocation Renovations of Hailstones Hall, Schott Hall, Alter Hall and McDonald Library WILLIAMS COLLEGE OF BUSINESS • Four levels for undergraduate and graduate business education • 88,123 square feet • 200+ parking spaces • 110 offices • 18 classrooms • 17 project work rooms • Suites for three executives-in-residence • Multimedia trading room • Home to the Center for Entrepreneurship, Cintas Institute for Business Ethics and the Center for Investment Research LEARNING COMMONS • Five levels, a portion of which will be open 24/7 to facilitate today’s learner • 84,453 square feet • 1,200 square feet of open space for informal student learning (Magis Plaza) • 66 offices • Three classrooms • 200-seat auditorium • 11 specialized learning spaces • Home to the Information Resource Center, Center for Teaching Excellence, Center for Student Excellence, Honors Seminar, Center for Community Engaged Learning and te Pedagogical Institute for Jesuit Education CENTRAL UTILITY PLANT • 19,160 square feet to provide electrical distribution and hot and chilled water to campus • Initially will serve the new Learning Commons and Williams College of Business, as well as Alter Hall, McDonald Library and Schott Hall • Large enough to accommodate additional equipment to serve a 2.5 million-square-foot campus SITE IMPROVEMENTS • 12 acre site • Large open space bearing name of James E. Hoff, S.J., 33rd president of Xavier University • Large water fountain • St. Ignatius Steps: stairs leading from existing Academic Mall to the Quad • Brick and concrete pavers surrounded by native plant materials, consistent with Xavier’s award-winning landscape SUSTAINABLE PROJECT FEATURES • Projects designed to LEED Silver standards (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, U.S. Green Building Council) • Reduce “heat island effect” by maximizing open space, limiting paving, and using landscaping and reflective roofing materials • Reduce water demands by using low-flow plumbing fixtures • Heating and ventilation systems free of CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) • Optimize energy performance through use of high-performance windows and an energy-efficient building envelope • Divert more than 75 percent of construction waste from landfills • Project materials sourced regionally, reducing energy required for transport • Buildings have excellent indoor air quality: use of low-VOC paints and carpet reduces off-gassing of volatile organic compounds. Use of composite wood products reduces formaldehyde and uses recycled wood products • Designs take greatest advantage of natural light • Buildings feature thermal and lighting controls • Site optimal for the use of public transportation facilities located nearby • Xavier donating excavated soil to the development of a local park GRAND OPENING First phase complete summer of 2010 TOTAL COST $115 million Funded by: “To See Great Wonders” capital campaign and bond issue GENERAL CONTRACTOR Messer Construction Co. ARCHITECT Shepley Bulfinch Richardson & Abbott, Boston
September 26, 200816 yr If light rail goes in, Xavier is right at the hub, that place is going to take off
September 29, 200816 yr Hoff Quad ground broken Xavier Today, September 29, 2008 The University officially kicked off the construction of the James E. Hoff, S.J., Academic Quad on Friday, Sept. 26, with a groundbreaking ceremony on the site's northwest corner. University President Michael J. Graham, S.J., blessed the site and then ceremoniously broke ground along with Board of Trustee Chairman Joseph Pichler, Capital Campaign Chairman Robert Kohlhepp, Academic Vice President and Provost Roger Fortin, Associate Provost for Student Life and Leadership Kathleen Simons, Information Resources Technician Annie Jackson, Williams College of Business Assistant Karen Menkhaus, Associate Professor of Education Leslie Prosak-Beres and Student Government Association President Craig Scanlon. Video | Photographs (includes renderings) | Fr. Graham's remarks
September 29, 200816 yr Drove (unlike me I know) by there on Saturday, it looks like there is some potential
September 29, 200816 yr Fr. Graham came to my place of employment a couple weeks ago to meet w/ XU alums & current grad students to go over the new projects at XU (and to ask for money in a roundabout way). Most of what he said jives w/ what has been listed in this thread, but it was nice to hear it from the horses mouth. He said the new "main" entrance to the university would be at Ledgewood and Dana. They're bringing the library (now called the "learning commons"....ugh) around to frame one side of the entrance, and the new Williams College of Business will frame the other side. Both will have towers on the corners to further the effect of a "main" entrance. He said they plan on having both of those buildings, along with Fr Hoff Quad online in time to coincide with the first buildings in Xavier Square. I've decided to string my grad school out over the next few years so I can see all this completed..... Definitely not the same XU as it was when I got there back in '01.
September 29, 200816 yr ^ Interesting. Fr. Graham's speeches are pretty nice, and he is a very personable character. What I find funny, is the parallels between his President's Opening speech (for new hires) and the one he gave at the groundbreaking :D I can't wait for the buildings to be formed!
September 30, 200816 yr Xavier's 'most sweeping project in 177 years' breaks ground http://www.soapboxmedia.com/devnews/hoffquad0930.aspx Ground was broken on Friday for Xavier University's $115 million Hoff Academic Quadrangle project, which the school bills as "the most sweeping project in the university's 177 years". The centerpieces of the project, located in the area around Dana and Ledgewood avenues, are the new Williams College of Business and the Learning Commons. The four-story, 88,000-square-foot business college will house both undergraduate and graduate business education programs and will be home to the Center for Entrepreneurship, the Cintas Institute for Business Ethics, and the Center for Investment Research. In addition to classrooms and offices, the building will include project work rooms, suites for executives in residence, and a multi-media trading room. "The new Hoff Academic Quad, including the new Business School building, will allow us to continue to attract superb students," says Ali Malekzadeh, dean of the Williams College of Business. "Today's students would like to see a business school building with a trading room, with an ethics center, and with facilities for entrepreneurships student to manage innovative businesses. The new building will help do all of that." The five-story, 84,000-square-foot Learning Commons will be open 24/7 and will house the Information Resource Center, the Center for Teaching Excellence, the Center for Student Excellence, Honors Seminar, the Center for Community Engaged Learning, and the Pedagogical Institute for Jesuit Education. Offices, classrooms, informal meeting spaces and specialized learning spaces will share space with a 200-seat auditorium. The McDonald Library, Hailstones Hall, Schott Hall and Alter Hall will also be modernized, and a new, modern Central Utility Plant will be constructed. Designed by architects Shepley Bulfinch Richardson and Abbott of Boston and to be built by Messer Construction, the Hoff Academic Quad will be constructed to LEED Silver certification standards. The first phase will be completed in the summer of 2010.
October 22, 200816 yr To be demolished: Map Parking expansion Today at Xavier, October 17, 2008 The University is preparing to tear down the former Kroger building in the Norwood Plaza on Montgomery Road in an effort to create more parking spaces for basketball games and other University functions. Abatement work on the building is now underway, and demolition is scheduled to begin immediately thereafter. A pedestrian walkway from the west side of the plaza to the Cintas Center parking lot is also being constructed using some of the dirt excavated from the site of the new Williams College of Business. The goal is to have the parking area and walkway completed by the first men’s basketball game on Friday, Nov. 14. When completed, the entire plaza will provide more than 1,100 parking spaces.
October 22, 200816 yr They are planning for I think two with the Xavier Square and Hoff Academic Quad projects.
October 22, 200816 yr The original plans for the Cintas Center included an underground parking garage. Unfortunately, that was removed from the plans because of the expense.
October 22, 200816 yr The original plans for the Cintas Center included an underground parking garage. Unfortunately, that was removed from the plans because of the expense. That's funny because a similar story is true for me. I had planned to buy most buildings along Race Street north of Liberty, and then renovate them. Turns out the expenses are too high for that type of an endeavor right now.
October 23, 200816 yr A parking garage is planned for Phase II of the Hoff Academic Quad work. The parking garage that was to be part of the Phase I work was eliminated for budget reasons.
October 23, 200816 yr All I'm saying is I can't wait for basketball to start. Got my season tickets in the mail this week. I don't care if I have to park in a surface lot, parking garage, a ditch, or have David West valet my car.....I'm just happy to be there.
October 23, 200816 yr All I'm saying is I can't wait for basketball to start. Got my season tickets in the mail this week. I don't care if I have to park in a surface lot, parking garage, a ditch, or have David West valet my car.....I'm just happy to be there. My season tickets also arrived this week. :) While it would be nice to have a parking garage, I can understand why they didn't build the garage right away. Honestly, I would love to be able to take light rail to get to the games and not even worry about parking, but that is another story.
October 23, 200816 yr Light rail? We do have train tracks going right across Cleanay, I wonder if that right of way is still intact along the entire line.... Let's get some street car action right up victory parkway. Make the line start in Mt Adams (maybe connect with a new Incline??) and end at XU. You could even connect it to whatever Uptown loop is going in. I can see a line like that being very well used.
October 23, 200816 yr Let's get some street car action right up victory parkway. Make the line start in Mt Adams (maybe connect with a new Incline??) and end at XU. You could even connect it to whatever Uptown loop is going in. I can see a line like that being very well used. As long as it's convenient to get there from downtown/otr. :)
November 21, 200816 yr Gone Sweet Home By Greg Schaber, Xavier Magazine, Fall 2008 Tradition and memory are handy tools for giving life context and, by extension, meaning. Each generation carries its particular set of memories, built on the foundations provided by previous generations. For some Xavier graduates, it may be the old Red Building; for others the post-World War II military–style housing. Still others may recall the houses on Herald Avenue or the old student center. Click link for article
December 16, 200816 yr Note: Xavier Square is the mixed-use, student-oriented development planned for the former BASF plant towards Montgomery Road. Hoff Academic Quad, which is under construction, is not affected. Xavier Square project delayed By Cliff Peale, Cincinnati Enquirer, December 16, 2008 Xavier University will delay construction of the Xavier Square project on Montgomery Road until the economy improves. But in a sign that XU has the financial strength to continue to expand, it sold $55.8 million in bonds earlier this month to complete financing for a new library and business school that will straddle a new grand entrance to its Evanston campus. Click link for article
December 16, 200816 yr Work progressing at Xavier's Hoff site http://www.building-cincinnati.com/2008/12/work-progressing-at-xaviers-hoff-site.html Work is progressing on Xavier University's Hoff Academic Quad project at Dana Avenue and Ledgewood Drive. Mass excavation for the Williams College of Business has been completed, with drilled piers nearing completion and foundation work underway. Foundation work will continue through March. Earth shoring is being installed behind McDonald Library and work on drilled piers underway, allowing for excavation work for the Learning Commons to proceed in earnest. The university also reports that Duke Energy is on site relocating public utilities and that work on a utility tunnel, planned to run from the new Central Utility Plant to an area near the Learning Commons, has begun. The project, which will also include renovations to Alter Hall and University Library, greenspace, and parking, is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2010. Also, parking for Xavier events is now available at the Norwood Plaza on the site of the old Kroger store. The store was demolished last month, and fill dirt from the Hoff site was used to create a gravel walkway that connects to the northeast side of the Cintas Center parking lot.
December 17, 200816 yr A spin on yesterday's article. Xavier moves ahead on expansion $55.8M raised despite economy, but 2nd project on hold By Cliff Peale, Cincinnati Enquirer, December 17, 2008 Xavier University plans to continue its campus expansion in the face of a national recession, just a little more slowly. In a sign that XU has the financial strength to continue to expand, it sold $55.8 million in bonds in early December to complete financing for a new library and business school that will straddle a new main entrance to its Evanston campus. Click link for article
January 28, 200916 yr It goes without saying that Xavier is currently in the midst of a financial issue that dates back several years, exaggerated by today's financial and economic recession. With that, Father Graham has released a letter outlining just what may and what will happen to Xavier in the future -- including job terminations. I've heard rumors of possible job cuts, but this is the first tangible evidence that it will happen. http://www.urbanup.net/docs/XavierLetterJan2909.pdf
January 28, 200916 yr Xavier University will delay construction of the Xavier Square project on Montgomery Road until the economy improves. Removed rest of article - xumelanie This might be still moving forward. Xavier is currently interviewing architectural firms to move forward with the project without Corporex.
January 28, 200916 yr ^I don't know if they backed out, or just couldn't do it at this time. The gist that I got was that Xavier is going alone on this.
January 28, 200916 yr Interesting. Well, at least Xavier is doing what it can to move forward. I think these projects are pretty important to XU's future.
January 29, 200916 yr Mcmicken- do you have any more information on XU moving forward with Xavier Square without Corporex? I was just reading through Father Graham's letter, and from what he mentions in that letter, it seems like XU is on hold with Xavier Square? However, it mentions something to the effect of XU beginning discussions on how to solve their residence hall shortage? Every time I drive by this site, I just imagine how nice the area is going to look as you drive down Dana toward the campus from Montgomery Road. Once Xavier Square is complete (whenever that occurs) along with the Hoff Academic Quad work, it'll be a site to see. I was all excited to see some progress on the Xavier Square site once the implosion of the Zumbiel Plant took place last spring, but it's been pretty quiet on the site ever since.
January 29, 200916 yr ^ Unfortunately, I don't have much more than the fact that they are interviewing local architects for the project and it may be still moving forward. I'll see if I can find out more, but my source is on the architect side, not the Xavier side.
January 30, 200916 yr Yeah, XU is moving forward, but without Corprex. They are interviewing local architects, as already stated, but instead of building out the development in one swift move, it may occur in phases over a great number of years.
January 30, 200916 yr Honestly, for an urban spot that XU is trying to redevelop, I think a longer process might end up with something more interesting and fit to needs of the students and the neighborhood.
April 3, 200916 yr At Xavier, sprucing up ‘front door for campus’ Dana Avenue facelift to have 2 new gateway buildings Business Courier of Cincinnati - by Steve Watkins Staff Reporter People driving by the Xavier University campus on Dana Avenue soon won’t recognize the place. Xavier is undergoing a facelift. The first phase of the James E. Hoff, S.J. Quadrangle, under construction now, will include two prominent buildings, each about 85,000 square feet. The new Williams College of Business and a Learning Commons will flank Ledgewood Avenue along Dana Avenue. Click link for articlehttp://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2009/04/06/focus11.html
April 3, 200916 yr Bah. I reported on this yesterday in the random Cincinnati developments thread regarding Dana Avenue. Good to hear though!
Create an account or sign in to comment