They're always talking about how business-savvy they are. If they could get that electrical substation across from their Oakley building moved they could build something really impressive there. It's not like anybody's going to try to save their old Builder's Square or whatever as a historic church. And their members would follow them over to their new church in an old Service Merchandise.

Is their building in Oakley new construction? Or was it a car dealership or something originally?

Somewhere on here somebody said it was a Builder's Square home improvement store, I think.

It was an HQ warehouse http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_Quarters_Warehouse. Basically the original Home Depot.

I'm worried that Crossroads Church is going to buy Bogart's.  They've started having Sunday services there. 

 

Someone is getting rich off of that venture, I smell a rat with that church, unless someone is here who actually goes there?

 

 

I was briefly on the premises at Bogart's on Sunday.  They had guys giving motivational speeches with power point slides projected on a pair of screens.  It reeked of a scam.  For unknown reasons they had two off-duty police officers guarding the door.  I don't know if they opened up the bar or not.  Agreed though that this is easy money for Bogart's.  It nevertheless is disturbing to see these sorts of characters taking the same stage where I've seen performances by the likes of GWAR and The Legendary Pink Dots.     

I'm still suspicious that Crossroads is just a giant real estate scheme disguised as a non-denominational church.  Taking advantage of the property tax exemption to sit on prime property. 

 

lol, jmeck, are you serious??? There's no way you're serious ....

It nevertheless is disturbing to see these sorts of characters taking the same stage where I've seen performances by the likes of GWAR and The Legendary Pink Dots.     

 

Those weren't the only legendary performers to take that stage.

 

Yeah I cannot believe anyone could go from the good plan that increases density and vibrancy and water it down to what its become. Shame on them. Makes me think of what happened with oakley station.

The current state of University Plaza:

 

 

Well, it looks better than the charlie brown christmas tree....

Well, it looks better than the charlie brown christmas tree....

 

We should break in and decorate it.

I love the braces holding up the existing business walls...

This doesn't feel like it should even be allowed by the city. It looks like s*!t. It's insulting to the university and the people who live by it. I get that Kroger is a huge employer in Cincy, but they're a really selfish company that doesn't seem to give a crap about the state of the stores closest to their headquarters. It's a load of garbage.

It'll be a shiny new parking lot soon.  This site could have been a transit center for Uptown surrounded by mixed use development, probably for the same level of costs we routinely spend on other projects, but with our transit agency on a shoestring budget and elected officials unwilling to go to bat for them, it didn't happen.  Even with plans in place for years to build the streetcar to this site.

Here's the same lot in 2011, for reference.

 

I hate that they are being shortsighted with the parcel but... I just want to see SOMETHING happen with the spot:

 

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1280069,-84.5106917,3a,60y,24.16h,91.47t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1s16GndO2l2tk9PaxAXz7-vQ!2e0

I really hope that 70's-looking University Plaza sign ends up in the Sign Museum.

Cross-posted from the Corryville Development thread:

There was a demo permit pulled at the end of January for "DEMO EXITING COMMERCIAL BLDG (KROGER/WALGREENS/RETAIL CTR)" (sic) and a permit for a new building, as well. I've worked on similar projects, and I'd say Kroger will probably have to be closed for 9 months to a year, unless they somehow revised the plan in such a way that they can build the new building without demolishing the old one.

 

Here's a link to all the permits (I'm not positive this will work, if not just go to Cagis EZTrak and search for 1 W. Corry).

 

Personally, this will be a sad project for me. That Kroger is basically the only place I've bought groceries for the last 10 years, aside from a handful of co-ops and that brief moment I could afford rent in OTR.

I really hope that 70's-looking University Plaza sign ends up in the Sign Museum.

 

It was torn down around February 20. 

 

Cross-posted from the Corryville Development thread:

There was a demo permit pulled at the end of January for "DEMO EXITING COMMERCIAL BLDG (KROGER/WALGREENS/RETAIL CTR)" (sic) and a permit for a new building, as well. I've worked on similar projects, and I'd say Kroger will probably have to be closed for 9 months to a year, unless they somehow revised the plan in such a way that they can build the new building without demolishing the old one.

 

Here's a link to all the permits (I'm not positive this will work, if not just go to Cagis EZTrak and search for 1 W. Corry).

 

Personally, this will be a sad project for me. That Kroger is basically the only place I've bought groceries for the last 10 years, aside from a handful of co-ops and that brief moment I could afford rent in OTR.

 

A friend who works at Kroger told me that he's under the impression that they'll remain open. It's more hearsay than anything at this point. It looks like they might be turning the old Blockbuster site into a parking lot and adding the slip road from Taft in first.  Then I would guess they'll start building on te old parking lot and have customers walk through that tunnel to get there.

 

I do think it's possible to remain open with this site plan. It's just going to be a mess for a while.

They're doing construction work around the continuous right turn lane from Taft onto Jefferson... which means that (temporarily) cars have to drive up to the intersection and turn right at the light, like you would at a normal intersection. It makes the intersection much more compact... and really makes me wish they'd lose that continuous right turn lane there. If somebody is in the area and can snag a photo, please do so. Thanks!

^ I wasn't sure if that was a temporary or permanent closure. Eliminating it permanently sure would be a lot better for pedestrians.

There's been a few places where they took those right turn slip roads out, like at Madison and Woodburn, and also the Dana to I-71 northbound ramp.  Still there's others they seem to have no interest in removing, such as Dana and Duck Creek, right across from the one I previously mentioned.  I believe there's also one planned for MLK eastbound to I-71 southbound, but that may or may not be ODOT's doing.  I do know that all were eliminated from the new I-75 Mitchell Avenue interchange, but someone at the city made ODOT add one back in from I-75 southbound to Mitchell westbound, for some reason.  Then of course there's Clifton and MLK which is just a disaster in every possible way. 

Vine and Calhoun/Taft is also really bad. Those need to be eliminated.

 

I can understand the continuous right turn when you are entering a highway or something, but going on a thoroughfare doesn't necessitate a continuous right turn.

Vine and Calhoun/Taft is also really bad. Those need to be eliminated.

 

I can understand the continuous right turn when you are entering a highway or something, but going on a thoroughfare doesn't necessitate a continuous right turn.

 

Especially right next to a major university and retail shopping area that is supposedly trying to create a walkable environment!!

$20M revamp planned for University Plaza Kroger store

 

The existing store at 1 West Corry St. will close for 12-14 months on Sept. 12 as work begins on the new 69,000-square-foot development.[...]

 

New offerings in the story include a drive-through pharmacy, The Little Clinic services, beer taps and growler stations, Murray's Cheese, a Natural Foods section, a Starbucks, a bistro with a grab-and-go entrance and a floral department. Current expansions in produce, meat/seafood, dairy and frozen foods will also take place./quote]

From the Business Courier article. Looks like they are misinterpreting the renderings.

 

The latest renderings of the new store won’t be available until next week, according to a Kroger spokeswoman. On its website, Uptown Consortium – the community development organization funded by the major hospitals, the University of Cincinnati and the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden – has a small rendering showing a store whose front faces Jefferson Avenue with parking apparently in the back along Euclid Avenue. A new Walgreens also is expected to be located at the site.

$20M revamp planned for University Plaza Kroger store

 

The existing store at 1 West Corry St. will close for 12-14 months on Sept. 12 as work begins on the new 69,000-square-foot development.[...]

 

New offerings in the story include a drive-through pharmacy, The Little Clinic services, beer taps and growler stations, Murray's Cheese, a Natural Foods section, a Starbucks, a bistro with a grab-and-go entrance and a floral department. Current expansions in produce, meat/seafood, dairy and frozen foods will also take place./quote]

 

That new store will be a very impressive upgrade.

Did the updated renderings of the new Kroger ever get released? I thought something was expected to be made public last week.

The temporary Walgreen's pharmacy in the trailer appears to be open. 

When I heard Walgreens was going to have a "drive-thru" pharmacy, that isn't exactly what I thought they meant.

Great news.  That Kroger is awful.  Hopefully they get people to run it who actually care.

This is what you'll be looking at from Short Vine for anyone interested in the updated renderings.

 

 

That's much more Short North Kroger-like.

Those truck docks will be facing that new apartment complex to the north.  Not a great view

Where is Vine Street on that elevation?

That's much more Short North Kroger-like.

 

That Short North Kroger isn't great, but it's somehow way better than this.

Where is Vine Street on that elevation?

 

I believe if Vine were to continue south, it would pass right by the front door of Kroger. But it's going to face their parking lot since Vine Ends at Corry. Basically where the line of doors to enter the Rent-A-Center and other miscellaneous shops are now is where the front door of the new Kroger will be. I guess it's better than the current configuration, but still. They could at least pretend there is a business district next to them.

That's much more Short North Kroger-like.

 

Yes it does; very similar design.

I mean, how hard would it be to have a corner entrance so the building at least partially fronts Corry and the Short North Business District instead of a wall of brick.

Those truck docks will be facing that new apartment complex to the north.  Not a great view

 

Good compliment to the terrible architecture of said apartment complex :/

 

tbh, this is generally an improvement over previous renderings where they'd pretty much plop a standard suburban design.

 

In a better world they'd flip the storefront to face corry not jefferson/vine.

I mean, how hard would it be to have a corner entrance so the building at least partially fronts Corry and the Short North Business District instead of a wall of brick.

 

From the other views on the Business Courier's website, it looks like that corner (northwest) is the Starbucks, so it may have it's own entrance on the corner where the glazing is shown coming down to the ground. I hope there are still plans for the outbuilding along Corry to the corner of Jefferson.

 

Meanwhile, I have to figure out where to buy my groceries now. This Kroger was pretty much the only one I've gone to for most of the last decade, minus the few years I lived in OTR. I guess I'll be back at the OTR Kroger for a year or so.

I mean, how hard would it be to have a corner entrance so the building at least partially fronts Corry and the Short North Business District instead of a wall of brick.

 

From the other views on the Business Courier's website, it looks like that corner (northwest) is the Starbucks, so it may have it's own entrance on the corner where the glazing is shown coming down to the ground. I hope there are still plans for the outbuilding along Corry to the corner of Jefferson.

 

Meanwhile, I have to figure out where to buy my groceries now. This Kroger was pretty much the only one I've gone to for most of the last decade, minus the few years I lived in OTR. I guess I'll be back at the OTR Kroger for a year or so.

 

I've been wondering if the OTR and Walnut Hills Krogers will see an uptick in customers while the Corryville one is under construction.

Here's the Business Courier article with the latest renderings: http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2015/09/02/kroger-reveals-a-new-look-for-its-corryville-store.html

 

 

I predict most people with cars will go the Kenard Ave (Northside/Clifton/Spring Grove Village/St. Bernard), Oakley, or Newport ones. Anyone without a car will likely go to OTR or Walnut Hills.

Is there a site plan for this project?

If the decision was made to reconnect Vine Street to Short Vine, it would really transform Corryville for the better. Since that option was taken off the table, I don't really have an opinion on what is built at University Plaza. It will be auto-oriented garbage and be torn down in 30 years when it looks outdated and Kroger needs to modernize it. Hopefully we will get it right in 2046.

I predict most people with cars will go the Kenard Ave (Northside/Clifton/Spring Grove Village/St. Bernard), Oakley, or Newport ones. Anyone without a car will likely go to OTR or Walnut Hills.

 

Walnut Hills closes when this one opens.

This brings up the problem I've brought up elsewhere about cities depending on privately-owned grocery stores.  A network of neighborhood public markets owned and operated by the city would eliminate several problems. 

Not sure if this 2008 site plan is still accurate, but it seems to line up pretty closely with the latest elevations of the Kroger. http://www.uc.edu/cdc/images/community_projects/environment/univ_plaza/univ_plaza_redev_hist.pdf