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It looks like a small European village with parking lots!

That is going to be a great student 'hood when it's finished, it will integrate nicely into the surrounding neighborhood (which is already mostly students) as well as an existing park toward the bottom of the hill.

 

I take the bus past this everyday and construction is moving very rapidly, the foundations are almost all there and some vertical concrete block construction is going up.

 

Around the corner on Calhoun St., demolition has begun on old fast food restaurants and a few run-down row houses to make way for another development in the Clifton Heights business district.

  • 3 months later...

Here's one pic of the Clifton Ave. construction across from McMicken Hall which I got a few weeks ago when I went up to check out the new Tangeman and Steger Centers.

 

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^ Are you sure that's not in Green Twp.? :D

that angle does look extremely suburban.

It does look very different on that part of Clifton Ave. than it did when I was a student. I couldn't get a good clear shot because of the trees and I didn't walk down the hill and cross Clifton Ave. so I could get a better shot.

Thanks for the photo...I was just being a smartass.

  • 7 months later...

University of Cincinnati students will have the chance to catch a glimpse of the new Stratford Heights Community housing development next week. The University Heights Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation will host an open house and tour.

 

Students will be able to tour the various suites, and ask questions about the new facilities, as well as participate in giveaways from 3 to 6 p.m. Feb. 17.

 

http://www.newsrecord.org/news/2005/02/07/News/Stratford.Heights.Development.Opens.Soon.For.Student.Tours-853820.shtml

 

Also see   

 

http://www.stratfordheightscommunity.org/

Wonderful!

"You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers

  • 2 weeks later...

UPDATE:

 

It appears that about half are completed and the other half are in their final stages (only needing exterior work).  Of course, I couldn't see the ones that are far back from Clifton Ave., so this is only a guess.

 

I'm thinking they'll be able to begin landscaping in a couple of months.

 

The insides are a middle between dormish and fraternity.  Usually, cheap materials with a couple stainless steal touches, the outsides will fool you.  The prices are also pretty high for college kids my friend and I thought about a lease but at 625 a month plus between the two of us (around 1300) total and no separate kitchen and shared rooms we passed. 

625 a month plus between the two of us (around 1300) total and no separate kitchen and shared rooms we passed.

 

Wow...that's a lot of money for a place that's missing some pretty basic features.  My wife and I rented a huge place (two floors, 1.5 baths, 1400 sf, two porches) in a beautiful house (pre-1900's with four beautiful tile fireplaces and hardwood floors and tons of woodwork, etc.) right on Ludlow in the gaslight for less money than that.  But you aren't across the street from school in the gaslight - it's more like a 20 minute walk.

 

Hell, there's gotta be lots of places a few minutes from campus that are far less than that.  How many bedrooms do you get for $1300/month?

How many bedrooms do you get for $1300/month?

 

In Stratford Heights, 1

Hmm...makes a house on Victor look much more enticing....

Wow...yeah, that's gotta be double what any other place in CUF goes for...except maybe the houses at the end of Fairview...

Here are a couple of shots taken today.

 

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Yeah those exteriors look nice but their is definitely an incongruity between outside and in.  I know at least one structure is struggling for tenants.  Students like the option but when it comes to signing a lease we cant get pass the financial hole will sink into.  For those of us who will be on co-op or international this year this development just didnt make sense.

Yea the price is ridicules.  I am glad that they are trying to improve the area, but there is no way I could ever afford something like that in college.  The place I am in now is probably not as nice, but it is A LOT cheaper than Stratford Heights and is about the same distance away from campus, depending on which building you would stay in.  I wish they had built smaller houses that 5 or 6 people that know each other could rent/lease together.  Try to start a small "ghetto" (mostly university owned houses), like they have at UD. 

College just isn't college without living in a shitty house.

  • 3 months later...

Some pics from today (across from McMicken Hall on Clifton Avenue)

 

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Copy of photos taken today....

 

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nice pics.  looks pretty nice down there

  • 2 months later...

I believe people are starting to move in now.  Most of the work I've seen being done is landscaping and other finishing touches.

 

With that, I'm moving this to Completed Projects.

  • 2 weeks later...

Some pics from yesterday.  People are in or are moving in and the place looks fantastic.

 

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A funny thing came up in the 9/8/05 council meeting.  A letter from the CUF Neighborhood Association, dated 8/29/05, stated that they became aware of a liquor license permit for 2634 Stratford, which is in the new development.  They were told by Miller Valentine (the builders) that it was going to be for a bar.

 

The CUFNA has worries about students and drinking (think Cinco de Mayo), and worries about a bar being in such a dense concentration of students.

 

I wasn't aware of this component of the plan, either.  Expect news on this in the future.

 

Here's the letter in full:

http://city-egov.rcc.org/BASISCGI/BASIS/council/public/child/DDD/15880.pdf

 

Living Stratford style

Sorority bets new housing will lead to Greek growth at UC

Dan Monk

Senior Staff Reporter

 

Mary Schap says the move was worth it, if only for the circuitry.

 

Schap is president of the Kappa Delta House Corp., a nonprofit that sold its old sorority house on Clifton Avenue so it could rent a new home in the Stratford Heights student housing complex. The move not only helped the University of Cincinnati sorority reduce overall housing costs, but it also improved safety and provided a host of new amenities that could help the sorority recruit members and generate alumnee contributions.

 

http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2005/09/19/story1.html

 

New housing option impresses students

Independent developments open for 1,500 at UC

By Lori Kurtzman

Enquirer staff writer

 

The dining area is huge.

 

The kitchen is loaded with stainless-steel appliances. A big, shiny gas grill sits on the deck outside, and in the bedrooms, everyone has Internet and phone outlets and little refrigerators.

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050919/NEWS0102/509190328/1077/NEWS01

  • 1 month later...

I have been past this developement in the evening, and the metal halide exterior lighting is far too bright and harsh.  I know there is lots of talk about more lighting near campus to fight crime but this is ridiculous.  The glare could have been eliminated if they had used full cut-off fixtures.

So I've noticed that they're going to tear down three perfectly good houses there on Stratford Ave., just north of the new development.  These homes at at 2707, 2709 and 2715 Stratford Ave. and were built in the middle-to-late 1920s.

 

So I figured that with the new Stratford Heights development and the overhaul that's going on to improve nearby Coy Field, that they're probably just tearing these down for parking.

 

Then I look up the owners, listed as Peak 8 LLC.  Their address is 633 W. 3rd in Covington.  And what is there?  Lexus Rivercenter!  Huh?

 

So I have no idea what's going on.  Anybody heard anything?

 

Here are the houses they're tearing down:

2707stratford4dv.jpg    2709stratford5bt.jpg    2715stratford5kr.jpg

 

Grasscat:

As a member of the greek community at UC, I can tell you that those 3 homes will be torn down and replaced by PIKE's new house.  I believe they are spending around $2.5-3 million on the house.  I heard from some of their brothers it should be open for next fall.

Thanks for the info.

  • 1 year later...

Slow start for UC's Stratford Heights

BY LORI KURTZMAN | [email protected]

January 22, 2007

 

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS - Life in the old frat house involved showers leaking through the ceiling, boiler problems, no central air and a bunch of guys sharing a bathroom.

 

It left Dave Sullivan with this memory: Waking in the morning, grabbing a 16-gallon bucket, hurrying to catch the water dripping from the third floor.

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070122/NEWS0102/701220331

This article raises an interesting point....that Greek organization are hesitant to commit to a more controlled environment.  I know of one inparticular that started off small in Stratford, and now has increased its presence there (now taking up an entire bldg) and also LOVES the amenities that Stratford offers.  Its been a nice draw for the Frat.  Believe it or not, some students do not want to live in dumps, and would take this environment anyday.

 

I would expect to see this trend continue...and for this project to continue its success (rather than the negative connotation the title of the story has).

As a member of UC's Greek community, I would never even think of moving into Stratford Heights. Too expensive, too restrictive and many Fraternities are upgrading/rebuilding their houses. These Stratford Heights buildings are way to small for the big fraternities that are close to 100 members. Plus whenever I walk through Stratford, it smells like sewage.

Stratford Heights sounds like a pretty cool concept, and 70% doesn't sound all that bad!

I have actually heard that the number is more like 80%...3 new student organizations have moved in this year, with others expanding their presence!

I too am a member of the Greek community. We have grown accustomed to the restrictions (which are basically just, your party has to be cleaned up by 1-2 the next day, not too tough) other than that, no restrictions. secondly. Our house holds 36 beds...there are very few Greek houses that are larger than that. We don't have to collect rent either, Stratford does that for us (one less thing to worry about). Recruitment is up, bills are down (not having to deal with leaky pipes/expensive utilities lets us save money), we still have had a great time, there is a bar across from my house  :-D  overall i am glad we made the decision to move in Stratford Heights....iu can see why some houses may not want to move in though...my rent is 400 after a scholarship that basically everyone who lives in the house gets...that's not that bad, for a new 1.5 million dollar house.....as for the smell....they had a sewage problem early on...ithe "smell" hasn't been back since early december

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