I think UC could eventually reach OSU levels of enrollment though that might take over 20 years. And it's not going to come out of OSU's enrollment. Gen Z is far more pragmatic about their education so UC being located in an important city coupled with the best networking tool there is in co-op. Small town schools in towns with no jobs and tiny alumni networks scattered all over the country are so over.

 

Still any type of big extrapolation like that is subject to this meme:

 

On 3/22/2023 at 9:26 AM, Lazarus said:

 

This is why a lot of the parties I recall were in houses with linoleum in the kitchen and sometimes other areas of the house. 

 

I had a party where someone found a wheel barrow somewhere in the neighborhood and started giving wheel barrow rides in the house (actually now that I remember it it morphed into wheel barrow limbo).  It had been raining so tons of mud was brought into the house, but I recall that it was pretty easy to clean because of the linoleum.  

 

 

Ran across photos of this on my circa-2004 external hard drive...

 

 

Proposed $125 million UC housing project could add 450 student beds

 

The University of Cincinnati is planning a new multimillion-dollar student housing project in Uptown, the latest move to bolster its inventory of beds amid record-high enrollment.

 

The project, named the “Bellevue Gardens redevelopment” by UC, will look to redevelop a 0.89-acre site at the corner of Martin Luther King Drive East, Eden Avenue and Gerard Steer in Corryville. The land, currently vacant, sits directly adjacent to the west of Bellevue Gardens, an apartment community owned and operated by the university.

 

The development could add roughly 450 beds and would include 200 parking spaces, student communal space and other amenities.

 

UC last week issued a request for proposals for an architect/engineer to evaluate the project’s potential. The response deadline is April 20.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2023/03/29/uc-rfp-uptown-redevelopment-student-housing.html

 

The total cost has yet to be determined but UC’s funding amount is listed at roughly $125 million, depending on final scope.

 

$125,000,000 for 450 beds = $277,000 per bedroom.  So...over $500k for a 2-bedroom apartment.  

 

 

6 minutes ago, Lazarus said:

The total cost has yet to be determined but UC’s funding amount is listed at roughly $125 million, depending on final scope.

 

$125,000,000 for 450 beds = $277,000 per bedroom.  So...over $500k for a 2-bedroom apartment.  

 

 

That's crazy. Unnecessarily expensive. Are they making everything marble?

3 minutes ago, Dcs3939 said:

That's crazy. Unnecessarily expensive. Are they making everything marble?

 

Those numbers have to be wrong.  A real number would be closer to $300,000 per 2-bedroom unit.  

 

Also, the article describes how UC has leased large sections of the various new apartment complexes (101 E. Corry, VP3, etc.), which would explain why UC students have started calling Short Vine "on campus".  I was completely startled the first time I heard this, but it actually makes some sense if someone rents a dorm room and they end up living at the corner of Corry & Euclid.    

 

 

 

Does the article go into more detail about what "student communal space and other amenities" means? If I had to guess, based on that price tag the building will be more than just a simple apartment building. Otherwise someone is being taken advantage of.

22 hours ago, jmicha said:

Does the article go into more detail about what "student communal space and other amenities" means? If I had to guess, based on that price tag the building will be more than just a simple apartment building. Otherwise someone is being taken advantage of.

Probably be comparable to the building next door, Stenson Square. So that includes a pool, gym, communal spaces such as lounges or conference rooms, etc. There's also a parking garage portion to this project, not sure if it'll be above or below ground though.

That still seems quite expensive, even for a fully amenitized building. $125 million can get you a 20-25 story, 200 unit tower on a parking podium with a full amenity deck, retail spaces, and secondary mixed use spaces such as tens of thousands of square feet of office space. For a simply apartment building that'll most likely be 5 over 1 construction, something seems off.

Looks like Uptown will be converting 237 William Howard Taft Road into apartments.

35 minutes ago, tonyt3524 said:

Looks like Uptown will be converting 237 William Howard Taft Road into apartments.

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2023/04/03/uptown-office-conversion-uc.html
 

Here is the link to the story. Im assuming Christ hospital if not already will be moving from that location. I hope they do something with that giant parking lot on the East McMillan side of the building. 

17 minutes ago, Ucgrad2015 said:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2023/04/03/uptown-office-conversion-uc.html
 

Here is the link to the story. Im assuming Christ hospital if not already will be moving from that location. I hope they do something with that giant parking lot on the East McMillan side of the building. 

 

I wonder if the skipping of the tax incentives is being done to enable to do whatever they want with the lots.  It might be the case that the acceptance of tax incentives would lock them in to keeping the parking lots the way they are for 30 years.  

 

 

 

16 hours ago, Lazarus said:

 

I wonder if the skipping of the tax incentives is being done to enable to do whatever they want with the lots.  It might be the case that the acceptance of tax incentives would lock them in to keeping the parking lots the way they are for 30 years.  

 

 

 

Fair point. Even though I think City Council and the administration actually want to encourage car-free / car-light development, you’re correct that if there is any kind of prolonged public comment, we might see what happened to the Hallmark project, which had to increase the parking:bed ratio to win the support of neighbors, in order to get Planning Commission approval for their proposed planned development.

^There is space in this footprint to do two new-construction complexes atop parking, each about as large as any of the recent student apartment complexes.  That new construction would interrupt whatever incentive could be negotiated today, so the developer is playing a long game.  

Huge parcel. I wonder where the health department is going.

It looks like they will be needing to go to at least the Zoning Hearing Examiner:
 

Quote

L1

For new construction, permitted only above the ground floor in mixed-use building on arterial streets. Modification requires conditional use approval pursuant to the procedures and criteria of Chapter 1445, Variances, Special Exceptions, and Conditional Uses. Pre-existing permanent residential uses are permitted.

1 hour ago, Miami-Erie said:

Huge parcel. I wonder where the health department is going.

 

The other prime piece of property in Corryville is the Talbert House at 3009 Burnett.  The parking lot is a profound waste of space in the middle of an otherwise walkable area.  

 

https://www.google.com/maps/place/3009+Burnet+Ave,+Cincinnati,+OH+45219/@39.1341131,-84.5029592,276m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m6!3m5!1s0x8841b395f7be216d:0xc1fce98e441143e2!8m2!3d39.1347463!4d-84.5021597!16s%2Fg%2F11c5mmx9ht

 

 

In other news, with almost all of the buildings gone on the south side of E McMillan between Vine and Auburn Ave., it's plain to see that there is some potential to restore the obscure MaCauley St. as an almost-level connection between McMillan and E. Hollister, with new construction atop "underground" garages.  We're probably not going to get this, but rather suburban-style apartments down in a ditch.  

 

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1267113,-84.5096794,3a,75y,225.5h,92.17t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sQ5rmMthnDoGomrVPdV21sg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

 

It's also worth mentioning that this staircase aligns with MaCauley St., meaning there is potential to create a pedestrian alley between McMillan and Taft, and then punch under the berm an bypass this staircase with a pedestrian tunnel.  

 

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1280353,-84.5097047,3a,75y,208.41h,87.79t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1syIgBTHU92mENqVkpThW-mQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

 

...but mediocrity is the name of the game in "uptown", where no historic structure is safe, and where all new construction is plywood.  

 

 

 

1 hour ago, Lazarus said:

The other prime piece of property in Corryville is the Talbert House at 3009 Burnett.  The parking lot is a profound waste of space in the middle of an otherwise walkable area.  

 

https://www.google.com/maps/place/3009+Burnet+Ave,+Cincinnati,+OH+45219/@39.1341131,-84.5029592,276m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m6!3m5!1s0x8841b395f7be216d:0xc1fce98e441143e2!8m2!3d39.1347463!4d-84.5021597!16s%2Fg%2F11c5mmx9ht

 

UC Health bought that parcel in September 2022: https://wedge.hcauditor.org/view/re/0920004026800/2022/summary

 

The parcel ID is newly created, so it looks like UC Health must have consolidated a number of properties into a single parcel for the entire block bound by MLK, Burnet, Donahue, and Highland. All together, it's a bit over 5.5 acres. 

31 minutes ago, Lazarus said:

to restore the obscure MaCauley St. as an almost-level connection between McMillan and E. Hollister, with new construction atop "underground" garages

 

That's an interesting idea to raise Macauley up to be almost level... but I wouldn't call it a "restoration" unless you know it definitely used to connect. Looking at the Sanborn maps from 1891 and 1904, Macauley did NOT connect to Hollister. Interestingly, they used to call that little street "Sycamore" and sure enough it's in perfect alignment with the lower portion of Sycamore St. The way the property lines were drawn, I suspect there was had been a big hole/hill there for quite a while, which explains why Macauley didn't connect to Hollister.

 

As an aside, I know the current site of Inwood Park was quarried for limestone in the mid-1800s, so perhaps the "Macauley depression" was also created by quarrying (this is purely conjecture on my part). 

UC athletics gets ‘transformative investment’ from Herche family as it enters Big 12

By Steve Watkins  –  Staff reporter, Cincinnati Business Courier

Apr 5, 2023

 

The University of Cincinnati’s athletics department has received what it calls a “transformative investment” that will result in the donors' name being displayed on the Bearcats’ basketball court and creation of a premium seating area.

 

Dave and Wendy Herche made the large investment in UC’s $100 million Day One Ready Campaign aimed at getting the Bearcats prepared to compete for championships as soon as they enter the Big 12 Conference on July 1.

 

MORE

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2023/04/26/uc-sheakley-indoor-practice-approval-costs-jump.html
 

Cost jumps to 134 million. 90,000 sq. ft. indoor training facility and 100,000 sq. ft. Performance center. I’m going to assume the performance center is going to be a couple floors. 

13 minutes ago, Ucgrad2015 said:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2023/04/26/uc-sheakley-indoor-practice-approval-costs-jump.html
 

Cost jumps to 134 million. 90,000 sq. ft. indoor training facility and 100,000 sq. ft. Performance center. I’m going to assume the performance center is going to be a couple floors. 

It’s hard to assume anything with UC Athletics right now. It’s wacky from top to bottom and this project is a perfect example. Delayed, Delayed and Delayed. This is the 2nd time the cost has jumped and now they are talking about a summer start to it lol. And we still haven’t seen designs or true plans outside of some square footage numbers.

On 3/22/2023 at 12:47 PM, tonyt3524 said:

 

Mid-April most likely

Looks like not. As I’ve suspected more delays and confusion along with another 30 millions bucks. 

32 minutes ago, 646empire said:

Looks like not. As I’ve suspected more delays and confusion along with another 30 millions bucks. 

They say the additional cost is to be more competitive with other P5 facilities opening at other schools soon. 

24 minutes ago, Brutus_buckeye said:

They say the additional cost is to be more competitive with other P5 facilities opening at other schools soon. 

I follow athletics closely and P5 facilities at major programs are very well known. The Original price tag for this facility was always too low, the competition are building 150 million plus performance facilities in their sleep which touches on my more central point which is the messaging and coordination in UC athletics is so strange right now. Oklahoma State(Also in the BIG12) just announced upgrades (300Million+) but the messaging is clear the price tag makes sense and they have details already out to energize fans and the donors. Another example is they have apparently* started completely re-doing the men’s and women’s basketball locker rooms and other team spaces in 5/3rd arena we haven’t seen any real details on scope or designs. On the other hand if this was Xavier or P5 competition they would splash it everywhere for recruiting and to get donors and fans more engaged.

Edited April 26, 20232 yr by 646empire

5 minutes ago, 646empire said:

I follow athletics closely and P5 facilities at major programs are very well known. The Original price tag for this facility was always too low, the competition are building 150 million plus performance facilities in their sleep which touches on my more central point which is the messaging and coordination in UC athletics is so strange right now. Oklahoma State(Also in the BIG12) just announced upgrades (300Million+) but the messaging is clear the price tag makes sense and they have details already out to energize fans and the donors. Another example is they have apparently* started completely re-doing the men’s and women’s basketball locker rooms and other team spaces in 5/3rd arena we haven’t seen any real details on scope or designs. 

 

Some of those other facilities are all-encompassing (like the Varsity Village project) which is why those price tags are so much higher. They've also been receiving $40m+/year in TV revenue for 10+ years longer than us so we're just trying to play catch-up.

 

As for the renderings, who the heck knows right now. There are definitely conceptual ones but I believe they are waiting on all of them to be completed before they share anything. That's my guess at least..

One thing I'll add is that there has been a strong open line of communication both with staff and with the top supporters of this project so far. 

2 minutes ago, tonyt3524 said:

 

Some of those other facilities are all-encompassing (like the Varsity Village project) which is why those price tags are so much higher. They've also been receiving $40m+/year in TV revenue for 10+ years longer than us so we're just trying to play catch-up.

 

As for the renderings, who the heck knows right now. There are definitely conceptual ones but I believe they are waiting on all of them to be completed before they share anything. That's my guess at least..

Cunningham is starting to irk me , it feels like UC Athletics has turned very Vanilla unfortunately. I guess I was spoiled by the Mike Bohn Era which is why USC came I got him lol.

12 minutes ago, tonyt3524 said:

One thing I'll add is that there has been a strong open line of communication both with staff and with the top supporters of this project so far. 

? Well staff is on the payroll so I would hope there is strong communication there it’s their job. “Top Supporters” is where the mistake is, they need to engage the general public a lot more. As someone who has a 200.00 donation taken out of my checking account quarterly I expect more. I know I’m not a million dollar donor but show the small folks some attention too listen to our opinion too.

Edited April 26, 20232 yr by 646empire

1 hour ago, 646empire said:

? Well staff is on the payroll so I would hope there is strong communication there it’s their job. “Top Supporters” is where the mistake is, they need to engage the general public a lot more. As someone who has a 200.00 donation taken out of my checking account quarterly I expect more. I know I’m not a million dollar donor but show the small folks some attention too listen to our opinion too.

That's fair and can understand. I'm certain that there's a plan in place for this project both with donors of every level and the general public.

1 hour ago, 646empire said:

Cunningham is starting to irk me , it feels like UC Athletics has turned very Vanilla unfortunately. I guess I was spoiled by the Mike Bohn Era which is why USC came I got him lol.

 I agree, I don't think Cunningham is the right person for the job. Satterfield gives me Tuberville vibes all over again. I like Miller but the recruiting needs to step up, hard with the stupid portal and NIL crap ruining college sports. 

I saw a rumor that we are going back to Jordan brand for the uniforms, if that is Cunningham's doing and he gets the classic 90s bball uniforms back then he's great. 

Last note I'll add is that technically this project wasn't approved by the board officially until yesterday. I think that might have been part of the hold up on renderings from more conversations. They only approved the preliminary design work.

2 hours ago, ucgrady said:

I saw a rumor that we are going back to Jordan brand for the uniforms, if that is Cunningham's doing and he gets the classic 90s bball uniforms back then he's great. 

Jordan for Basketball, Nike for all other sports is the agreed athletic vendor provider starting this fall. 

2 hours ago, savadams13 said:

 I agree, I don't think Cunningham is the right person for the job. Satterfield gives me Tuberville vibes all over again. I like Miller but the recruiting needs to step up, hard with the stupid portal and NIL crap ruining college sports. 

So Wes’s first full class would be this year. He has signed the 5th and 6th highest rated recruits ever and just missed on the #1 player in the class. He also has the #1 Juco player signed. We will see about transfers but recruiting seems to not be the issue. UC NIL from what I hear is not elite but more than workable at the moment.
 

Too early on Satt, may take a couple to see how that plays out. Not really put in a good position as the school moves up in competition as he is in first year. He could actually do well but results may not match. Nice start to his first year recruiting so far though. 

The 5/3 Arena locker rooms are being renovated this summer.  They are taking a little used premium lounge area and increasing the overall size of the men's and women's locker rooms.  They're adding player's family lounges, women's hair salon, game rooms, etc.  Good for recruiting.  

2 hours ago, savadams13 said:

Jordan for Basketball, Nike for all other sports is the agreed athletic vendor provider starting this fall. 

 

They only took Under Armor because they paid more money, which was needed at the time.  It definitely set back recruiting, because what college athlete actually wants to wear Under Armor.  Glad to see Nike and the Jordan brand are back.  Another positive step for the programs.  

UC to spend $190M on Old Chemistry building rehab as two-year construction project ready to begin

 

The total cost to renovate and rehabilitate the Old Chemistry building on the University of Cincinnati’s campus is expected to approach $200 million as the two-year construction effort prepares to begin next month.

 

UC’s board of trustees Tuesday approved the remaining $179.7 million funding request for the building’s renovation. John Seibert, the university’s associate vice president for planning, design and construction, said the measure would allow officials to execute a guaranteed maximum price, or GMP, agreement for construction.

 

The total anticipated project cost is $190 million. 

 

The funding approval comes eight weeks after UC’s board approved a $15 million request to pay for early construction work at Old Chem. That allotment covers specialty abatement, site demolition and clearing and the temporary relocation of the building’s tenants to nearby Edwards Center during construction. 

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2023/04/26/uc-old-chemistry-building-rehab.html

 

31 minutes ago, nicker66 said:

The 5/3 Arena locker rooms are being renovated this summer.  They are taking a little used premium lounge area and increasing the overall size of the men's and women's locker rooms.  They're adding player's family lounges, women's hair salon, game rooms, etc.  Good for recruiting.  

This project is already underway, it’s not starting summer. They needed to have this all wrapped up in time for fall which is why they’ve already begun demo and such.

Edited April 26, 20232 yr by 646empire

1 hour ago, 646empire said:

This project is already underway, it’s not starting summer. They needed to have this all wrapped up in time for fall which is why they’ve already begun demo and such.

 

Lol.  You have all the facts.  Go look through my past posts and please never reply to anything I post again.  

41 minutes ago, nicker66 said:

 

Lol.  You have all the facts.  Go look through my past posts and please never reply to anything I post again.  

??? Look at your past posts why? And Lol why so angry? I don’t recall replying to many of your post previously outside of today. It’s ok to be wrong sometimes we all get outdated or bad info. I heard late last month demo of the locker rooms/that project had commenced. It’s the point of this forum to share info conflicting or not. Let’s be grown ups.

Uptown Consortium investing $10M in New Markets Tax Credits to finance UC Medical Center expansion

By Liz Engel  –  Staff reporter, Cincinnati Business Courier

Apr 28, 2023 Updated Apr 28, 2023, 7:07am EDT

 

Uptown Consortium has allocated nearly a quarter of its $45 million in recently allocated New Markets Tax Credits to help bring UC Health’s largest-ever capital project to fruition. 

 

The consortium, a nonprofit community development corporation, said April 26 it has invested $10 million in credits to finance the completion of the emergency department expansion at UC Medical Center. The expansion is part of a $221 million, multi-year effort at the Corryville hospital, first announced in October 2019.

 

Uptown Consortium said the investment will fund the build-out of the emergency department’s second floor, which will feature a new flexible intensive care unit and observation unit. UC expects to serve up to 8,842 patient visits annually in the space. 

 

MORE

On 4/26/2023 at 4:06 PM, ColDayMan said:

UC to spend $190M on Old Chemistry building rehab as two-year construction project ready to begin

 

The total cost to renovate and rehabilitate the Old Chemistry building on the University of Cincinnati’s campus is expected to approach $200 million as the two-year construction effort prepares to begin next month.

 

UC’s board of trustees Tuesday approved the remaining $179.7 million funding request for the building’s renovation. John Seibert, the university’s associate vice president for planning, design and construction, said the measure would allow officials to execute a guaranteed maximum price, or GMP, agreement for construction.

 

The total anticipated project cost is $190 million. 

 

The funding approval comes eight weeks after UC’s board approved a $15 million request to pay for early construction work at Old Chem. That allotment covers specialty abatement, site demolition and clearing and the temporary relocation of the building’s tenants to nearby Edwards Center during construction. 

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2023/04/26/uc-old-chemistry-building-rehab.html

 

 

 

Maybe just as important from this article. We haven't heard much about this in a few years.

 

Quote

UC also plans to deconstruct the 16-story Crosley Tower, once ranked by Architectural Digest as one of the “7 Ugliest University Buildings in America.” The demolition will take place in or around 2025, UC said

 

^That will be a sad day if it happens, but part of me keeps not really believing it will ever happen. 

If land wasn't at such a premium, they probably wouldn't do it. From my understanding, they have already prioritized that space for one of the bigger colleges and their anticipated growth.

The biggest issue Crosley Tower is facing is spalling concrete from the top. That leads to chunks of concrete falling below.

 

They applied a chemical treatment to slow the decay, but that's essentially only good for a single use. After that, the material in the concrete that reacts is already spent, and can't be done again. Repairing the tower to a point where it would be safe for the future is pretty expensive. And quite frankly, the building is pretty rigid for reuse. It's not a great learning environment from my experience.

 

I love the strange design, and will also be sad to see it go, but it's probably for the best for the University.

 

IIRC, there were originally plans to make like 3 or 4 of these towers in a cluster, but that obviously never materialized.

My cousin was the Lindner School of Business Class of 2023 commencement speaker:

 

I just checked and she has a pretty bad typo in the first sentence of her Linkedin profile.   

On 4/28/2023 at 10:09 AM, ryanlammi said:

The biggest issue Crosley Tower is facing is spalling concrete from the top. That leads to chunks of concrete falling below.

 

They applied a chemical treatment to slow the decay, but that's essentially only good for a single use. After that, the material in the concrete that reacts is already spent, and can't be done again. Repairing the tower to a point where it would be safe for the future is pretty expensive. And quite frankly, the building is pretty rigid for reuse. It's not a great learning environment from my experience.

 

I love the strange design, and will also be sad to see it go, but it's probably for the best for the University.

 

IIRC, there were originally plans to make like 3 or 4 of these towers in a cluster, but that obviously never materialized.

It's a rather... phallic... design. Won't miss it - would love to see UC build a more modern "statement tower" somewhere on campus though.

https://gobearcats.com/news/2023/5/11/football-uc-sets-indoor-practice-facility-and-performance-center-groundbreaking-date.aspx

 

Edited May 11, 20232 yr by tonyt3524