Does anyone have pics of what that strip looked like before the Taco Bell and Hardees were built?

 

This is the best I could find so far, http://www.cincinnativiews.net/images-2/UC%20BEV-6.jpg. You can see there appears to be some shotgun houses where the Shell is now.

Might I refer everyone to page 24 of this thread where I asked about photos of what was there before. There are some great photos of the buildings that were by Shell.

 

Lights are on in the west parking garage and the east garage appears to be a week or two behind that one.  The massing is looking better and the brick quality is fairly high.  It looks like this might turn out okay and not bad, but I still can't see how this turns into a knockout project. 

 

My hope in the future is somebody will buy stop & go and/or Pomodori's and put up something nice in those locations which could take some attention away from this project, but for the time being McMillan is really going to be hodge-podge. 

 

^I was thinking the same thing. The quality is a step above any of the newer construction along the south side of campus which is nice. So far everything is turning out a lot better in person than in the renderings that are all over their website. I'm a little worried about the finishes of the garages and the plaza, but that will have to wait to be seen. Based on what has been done already though it hopefully won't be bad.

 

Calhoun feels a lot more like an actual urban street now though, that's for sure. Even without completed storefronts, proper sidewalks, street poles, trees, etc. it feels so much more complete. It's a nice feeling.

 

My hope is that someone will buy the Shell station and put something around the height of the garages on that lot. That would really transform the feeling of entering the university area from the Taft exit of 71.

My hope is that someone will buy the Shell station and put something around the height of the garages on that lot. That would really transform the feeling of entering the university area from the Taft exit of 71.

 

That Shell station has some of the highest gas prices around at times. They regularly gouge the student population who don't know their way around to find cheaper gas. I would love to see that station go away and something else built in it's place.

It really does. I'll fill up there occasionally when I need gas and am in a hurry, but it's regularly anywhere from 10 cents a gallon to 40 cents a gallon more than less populated parts of the city. It's insane. Part of the reason I drive as little as possible.

 

As for the project, windows are being put in the upper floors along the Calhoun street side of the residential building and the storefronts are receiving glass on both sides. Brickwork is complete on the office building and has started on the Calhoun side of the residential building. Things are progressing pretty quickly.

Anyone else noticed how intensely patrolled this project is at night?  It went from having one or two night security guards up to last night at least 4.  For some reason they never put fencing around the whole thing, which is probably part of the issue.  I don't know if they're having problems with people stealing tools and materials or what. 

^ Maybe just watching out for LQ and her film crew looking for more scoops?

here is the website for U Square with a list of restaurants to open.

 

Among them:

Firehouse Subs

bd's Mongolian Barbeque

LIME - Fresh Mexican Grill

DiBella's Old Fashioned Submarines

Waffle House

HWY 55 (Burgers, Shakes, and Fries) - Formerly known as Andy's and it is a 50's style restaurant

Mr. Sushi

Orange Leaf (Frozen Yogurt place at The Banks too)

Keystone

 

Retail:

Altar'd State

rue 21

Great Clips (should do well imo)

Moksha Yoga

 

______________________

 

I really don't think we need more sandwhich shops around UC's campus. We already have 3 Subways, Potbelly, Penn Station, Jimmy Johns, Quiznos. Now DiBella's and Firehouse Subs. Seems ridiculous.

bd's is a big get, imo.  rue 21 is as well, atleast for an entry clothing store.  if it does well it could attract better brands. 

Also, the website says that the 161 apartments will be unfurnished. Which I think is great. Furnished apartments always seem a little dirty even when you move into them. Does anyone know if 65 West is furnished?

That's a good college list of restaurants/shops.  They should do well.

Meanwhile, McMillan Manor or whatever it's called now is renovating its lobby.  The place is only about 4 years old and I bet they're worried about this and the other new complexes going up. 

^Not at all surprising. That place is barely a step above a cheap motel. I remember touring that place with a friend (not for me, for them) and laughing at how the room they show people on tours is nothing like the real rooms. Quite a few of my friends lived there and every single one of them hated it. The (incorrectly advertised  as heated) pool was always FREEZING because the courtyard got almost no sun. The hallways were always in disrepair. The rooms themselves were cheap as can be. Awful.

 

This list of places opening in U Square is pretty good. I'm excited about Keystone and my guilt pleasure side is excited about Waffle House haha. It'll be nice to have 13 places already there soon after opening instead of having to sit around and wait for things to come in. How many available spots are there total? Does anybody know?

With Waffle House going in, as well as the Columbus-based HangOver Easy in the old Holy Grail space, the uptown area will get a decided boost in the breakfast genre.  http://www.hangovereasy.com/

http://www.bizjournals.com/index.php/columbus/morning_call/2012/11/hang-over-easy-restaurant-expanding-to.html

>a good college list of restaurants/shops.  They should do well.

 

Lots and lots of credit card and loan debt will be accrued at U Square.

 

HWY 55 (Burgers, Shakes, and Fries) - Formerly known as Andy's and it is a 50's style restaurant

 

 

As if today's college kids give a crap about the '50s. I sure as hell hope that when I'm in my 70s that everything revolves around imagery from my and all the other '80s kids' childhoods  -- but somehow I don't see that happening.

 

We've been forced to look at pictures of old-timey gas stations with attendants in white suits, the milkman tipping his hat at old laides, kids skating around on those skateboards with the crate on the front and people on sunday drives in Buicks all our lives instead of the cool old blocky purple Decepticons and Heathcliff beating up the fish dealer that we actually want to see.

HangOver Easy is awesome. Good food and a cool atmosphere. I am beyond stoked thay are coming to Cincy!

As if today's college kids give a crap about the '50s. I sure as hell hope that when I'm in my 70s that everything revolves around imagery from my and all the other '80s kids' childhoods  -- but somehow I don't see that happening.

 

I can see it happening.  In Chicago there are already two 80s themed cafe's that I know of and in a lot of other big cities there are old style arcades melded with bars or Barcades (as the original one in brooklyn was called).

 

HWY 55 (Burgers, Shakes, and Fries) - Formerly known as Andy's and it is a 50's style restaurant

 

 

As if today's college kids give a crap about the '50s. I sure as hell hope that when I'm in my 70s that everything revolves around imagery from my and all the other '80s kids' childhoods  -- but somehow I don't see that happening.

 

We've been forced to look at pictures of old-timey gas stations with attendants in white suits, the milkman tipping his hat at old laides, kids skating around on those skateboards with the crate on the front and people on sunday drives in Buicks all our lives instead of the cool old blocky purple Decepticons and Heathcliff beating up the fish dealer that we actually want to see.

 

Didn't you see Back To The Future 2?  Oh course that's going to happen!  Now where's my hoverboard?

Half of the people's apartments you visit today have a lineup of action figures across the mantle or other toys and kitch objects from the 80's or thereabouts.  People pay more money now for some Batman figurine still in its original packaging than for a piece of hand-crafted antique furniture. 

 

Make an 1980's pro wrestling cafe and cash in.  Posters of Supefly Jimmy Snuka OFF THE TOP ROPE.  Wrestlemania 3 on continuous loop on a flatscreen.

I always thought that the reason Pizza Hut did well during the '80s and '90s is that Pizza Huts were really cool to be inside back then. Certainly not because of the pizza itself. Then they went and changed 'em to be boring inside. Maybe they'll do retro '80s Pizza Huts to save the company.

^ They always had the Turtles arcade game when that came out, lol.

^I could see Quiznos folding first. The subways are safe (one near Skyline/Ludlow, one on campus, and one in a gas station). Penn Station, Jimmy Johns, and Potbelly meet a different market than the others. If any fold it will be Quiznos, Firehouse, or DiBella.

^ They always had the Turtles arcade game when that came out, lol.

 

That undoubtedly led to kids eating cold pizza.

 

"Pizza's here!"

 

"But I neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed to beat Bebop and Rocksteady!"

i wonder if the new lime in u square is the same lime in covington

i wonder if the new lime in u square is the same lime in covington

it is not

^lame

^I could see Quiznos folding first. The subways are safe (one near Skyline/Ludlow, one on campus, and one in a gas station). Penn Station, Jimmy Johns, and Potbelly meet a different market than the others. If any fold it will be Quiznos, Firehouse, or DiBella.

 

You think they are safe even though they don't slice their meat... IN THE STORE!?!?!?

I'm surprised about the new (third?) Keystone location. Mac and Cheese monday will be popular with the students.

 

And yay for BD's Mongolian Grill!

everyones gonna get fat.

^Haha my friend and I were actually joking about that. UC's student population is generally in pretty good shape. I'd attribute a lot of that to an awesome rec center combined with most students walking everywhere and the area being hilly. But with the announcement of Keystone and Waffle House I would bet that trend is over haha.

People talk about fast food being bad, but I guarantee these gigantic, rich fast casual portions are worse for people. All those calories and carbs.

^ There's nothing wrong with calories or carbs. Your body craves them for a reason. The problem is lethargic lifestyles. The human body did not evolve to eat big meals every night, and then lay on the couch. The human body evolved to milk as much energy out of as little food as possible. Until relatively recently humans mostly knew only famine, and lived very physically demanding lifestyles (hunting, farming, constant warfare, etc).  Because Americans don't do real physical labor anymore we do fake physical labor and call it "exercise."  :wink:

Some photos taken around U Square today.

 

I just wish they wouldn't put that EIFS stuff on there, just instantly says cheap to me. Otherwise I think it'll be okay.

Now that this project is far enough along to form a real opinion of it architecturally, I can say that I REALLY wish two things happened here differently. I wish the commercial building had one more story on it as it's a little short compared to everything else. Overall that building isn't bad looking so far though. Nothing that will have anyone studying its architecture, but certainly not offensive either. But if it were a story taller I think its proportions would work a lot better.

 

The other thing I wish had happened was the residential building had ANY sort of rhyme or reason to its elements. It is as if they came up with all these ideas, threw them together into one building, then called it a day. No refinement, no trimming of concept. Just ideas mashed together. There are certain elements, individually, that are decent and if a pattern or rhythm was set up they'd definitely work, but as it is the building is just a mess. I like what it does from an urban standpoint as it is definitely going to bring a lot more life to the area, but its an ugly building. Hell, I'd have enjoyed it if it was just the commercial building's design modified to be taller and to fit residential units. At least that building has an overall idea to it and everything, although not exciting, works together. This building, however, does not have that going for it. That and there are some really odd things happening up at the top. The second picture shows it best. That extension of the bump out that's a full story above the rest? Does anyone know if that's for something? There are several of those and they all look really out of place.f

They're probably built in pilot houses for roof access. 

Ah, that actually makes sense. I should've guessed that. I just wish they were somehow better integrated into the building. They're just so goofy looking proportionally and act as this random vertical element  in a LONG horizontal building. Hopefully in a few years once everything is finished and the trees are all planted and starting to reach the size of the trees already out front of UPA things will look better and more coherent/like a neighborhood.

I agree that the office building should have had a fourth floor. Looks so short and bizarre.

 

Other comments:

It looks better than the banks I think....glad there's more red brick, but wish there was less EIFS.  As a side note, City Council had put an IDC over Pleasant Ridge (my former neighborhood) business district when there were rumors that Anchor properties wanted to tear down half the business district for a super Walgreens last summer.  Because of that IDC still being in place, when the hideous Burger King came to the city for approval for a teardown and rebuild the city was able to push for solid brick cladding and almost no EIFS (only on back of building).  Wish they could have done that here!

 

Also, I'm really worried about the garages.  They are so hideous.  They seem to be cladding the very bottoms of them in a dark red brick, but I can't tell if they plan to continue or just do the pedestrian level in brick.  Any ideas?  I'd hate for that to stay concrete.

They should just go ahead and change the name to The Banks North.

^^I can't seem to find them online anymore (I'll try looking again later) but the renderings of the elevations that used to be on the former construction fences showed something more than what is done with the garages at the moment. If I remember correctly it appeared to be some sort of metal mesh screen that covered most of it. I haven't seen anything in person though to show any sort of point of connection for this. Hopefully it comes to fruition because they are MASSIVE and characterless at the moment.

^Is this what you're looking for?

 

Ugly garage is ugly. I didn't realize they were doing that. Boo.

>Also, I'm really worried about the garages.  They are so hideous. 

 

Drive on WM H Taft over by Euclid/Auburn and look across the dip.  The garage towers above the Shell station.  What a total disaster.

^Is this what you're looking for?

 

Yep, thanks.

 

Although certainly not this super amazing, attractive thing, there appears to be at least enough going on that they won't feel quite as monstrous when finished. I have literally no idea what those red panels actually are, but they could possibly be somewhat interesting. Hopefully haha.

 

I still abide my my hopes/dreams that some developer will buy the Shell station and build an apartment building there that completely blocks out the garage. If that happens all will feel right again from the East.

^ we can only hope. Should be noted however, that might take awhile. Developer owns several more acres along Vine between Calhoun & McMillan which extends all the way past Scioto St. They would likely develop that before buying more property. Also, the shell would've pretty expensive as its one of the only gas stations in uptown.

The garage towers above the Shell station.  What a total disaster.

 

I agree. I was very disappointed with the way that looks.

 

I have literally no idea what those red panels actually are, but they could possibly be somewhat interesting. Hopefully haha.

 

Seems kind of a waste if it's just a red square. I wonder if they're something like what the Moerlein Lagerhouse has on its building, but UC related?

 

^That would be an interesting idea. They could change with whatever major is happening around UC. They'd certainly be fun and would help cover the garages at the same time.