20 hours ago, ryanlammi said:

UC has set a preliminary demolition timeline for Crosley Tower

 

Crosley Tower to be demolished in 2025

 

 

John 11:35

Clifton court hall renderings have been shown. It’s actually smaller than I expected for 93 million. 
https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2021/01/05/massive-uc-project-grows-reveals-design-slideshow.html

Any word on what will replace the current College of Law building once that college moves into the former College of Business building?

11 minutes ago, taestell said:

Any word on what will replace the current College of Law building once that college moves into the former College of Business building?

I think the original plan was to tear it down. It is a bit of a fortress inside and it is hard to recongfigure to something else and use it effectively. It really struggled with Wi-Fi connection in there (they had it, but was never great) because of how the building was set up. 

 

I just cant see how they can effectively use it for anything else.

It'll definitely be torn down. Taking an existing building and building a new addition that completely surrounds it isn't a recipe for easy adaptability in the future. Every mention of future plans for that area mentioned a new building and never a renovation. Its days are for sure numbered.

59 minutes ago, Ucgrad2015 said:

Clifton court

 

Was there originally a chalet of some sort on Swiss Chalet?  

 

One of my cousins is in a sorority right next to Swiss Chalet and she's never heard of it.  

59 minutes ago, Ucgrad2015 said:

Clifton court hall renderings have been shown. It’s actually smaller than I expected for 93 million. 
https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2021/01/05/massive-uc-project-grows-reveals-design-slideshow.html

 

From an architectural/design perspective, I have one primary complaint, and it's a common complaint with some of the other newer buildings on UC's campus (especially Marian Spencer Hall). They don't have proper "tops" or roofs. There is nothing to visually terminate the building and nothing to help shed bulk water. To my eye, it looks like they ran out of funds and just stopped a few stories short of finishing with a proper roof. Are they designed in this way so that additional floors can be added in the future? I know aesthetic critiques are subjective and I'm not an architect... so I'm curious to hear from trained architects. Is there something I'm missing? Is there another way of viewing the design that would help my eye not be so bothered by what feels like a missing element?

 

53 minutes ago, jmicha said:

It'll definitely be torn down. Taking an existing building and building a new addition that completely surrounds it isn't a recipe for easy adaptability in the future. Every mention of future plans for that area mentioned a new building and never a renovation. Its days are for sure numbered.

It was quite interesting how many different corridors and paths there are inside that building when you get inside the old part. The floor plan is very disjointed and uneven too. sometimes, you do not even realize what floor you are on when you are in certain parts of the building.

On 1/5/2021 at 2:51 PM, Brutus_buckeye said:

I think the original plan was to tear it down. It is a bit of a fortress inside and it is hard to recongfigure to something else and use it effectively. It really struggled with Wi-Fi connection in there (they had it, but was never great) because of how the building was set up. 

 

I just cant see how they can effectively use it for anything else.

 

Before the pandemic there were discussions to place the Alumni Association on that corner and make it essentially the "gateway" into the campus. 

2 hours ago, tonyt3524 said:

 

Before the pandemic there were discussions to place the Alumni Association on that corner and make it essentially the "gateway" into the campus. 

But that still involves tearing the building down I would believe. The building really cant be configured too well into much else. The original building has very thick walls and are like a bunker making it hard to really do much retrofitting. It is cheaper to tear down and rebuild.

 

 

On 1/5/2021 at 3:20 PM, jmicha said:

Taking an existing building and building a new addition that completely surrounds it isn't a recipe for easy adaptability in the future.

 

Does anybody have a picture of the original building before the wraparound addition was built? I'm having a hard time picturing it.

25 minutes ago, taestell said:

 

Does anybody have a picture of the original building before the wraparound addition was built? I'm having a hard time picturing it.

Edit: Found this image of the entrance and an illustration. Looks like it probably went through various renovations over the years since these don't perfectly align in design.

 

 

Edited January 7, 20214 yr by jmicha

2 minutes ago, jmicha said:

Edit: Found this image of the entrance and an illustration. Looks like it probably went through various renovations over the years since these don't perfectly align in design.

 

 

They have a bunch of old photos hanging inside the building. It is quite interesting how the wrap around took place. You would never have realized it until you were told about it, and then it made sense as to why things were laid out the way they were inside. The old building was tiny. The wrap a.round was still a small building, but obviously made it usable.  Almost the entirty of the old building became offices and the library and physical plant. The classrooms were all inthe wrap around area that was added later.

3 hours ago, Brutus_buckeye said:

But that still involves tearing the building down I would believe. The building really cant be configured too well into much else. The original building has very thick walls and are like a bunker making it hard to really do much retrofitting. It is cheaper to tear down and rebuild.

 

 

Oh yes sorry it was definitely going to be demolished. Just mentioning that there were some early discussions on what to do after the building was torn down.

 

On 7/1/2020 at 10:34 AM, jwulsin said:

The plaza in front of Langsam Library is getting re-done... does anybody know if there's a new design for the plaza, or are they just rebuilding the previous design? They removed a bunch of fairly mature trees, which always bums me out. I hope there's a good plan for this space because it has a lot of potential if done well. I like how the surrounding buildings create a natural sense of enclosure. 

 

Photos from July 1:

 

 

 

Aerial photo from March 2019 for comparison:

 

Finally saw somebody post the after photos today of this project. 

 

 

Edited January 7, 20214 yr by tonyt3524

Doesn't really look any better tbh.

Let's hope it looks better come spring and everything starts blooming...but those stairs are awful

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2021/01/07/uc-plans-to-invest-10m-for-more-innovation-space.html

 

My first ever apartment was across from this building. I was hoping they would eventually tear it down and put apartments here but renovating it is better than nothing. 

1 hour ago, Ucgrad2015 said:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2021/01/07/uc-plans-to-invest-10m-for-more-innovation-space.html

 

My first ever apartment was across from this building. I was hoping they would eventually tear it down and put apartments here but renovating it is better than nothing. 

wow that buildings relationship to McMillan St. could really be improved. In the article you can see it used to have a grand entrance facing the street. Restoring that would change the feel of the whole block

Knowing how they oriented the 1819 building, I don't see them making any changes to the buildings orientation unfortunately. 

15 hours ago, thebillshark said:

wow that buildings relationship to McMillan St. could really be improved. In the article you can see it used to have a grand entrance facing the street. Restoring that would change the feel of the whole block

When it was converted to a dentist office much of the original openings were bricked in, and in the case of the main entrance the stairs were removed and the interior was completely reconfigured. Outside of the stairwells and boiler room there are no original interior walls left and the all the first floor windows/doors were bricked in and area wells were filled with concrete. I don't know what people were thinking in the 70s... but the idea is to open up as many of the original windows as possible that were covered with EIFs and fix the main entry. It's unfortunately cost prohibitive (and ADA near-impossible) to make McMillan the main entrance again, both on the interior and exterior.

2 hours ago, ucgrady said:

the idea is to open up as many of the original windows as possible that were covered with EIFs and fix the main entry

 

 

Great news! I'm thrilled that UC is going to renovate this building. Opening up the original windows will be great, but it seems like back when it was a church a lot of the street-side (north) facade was bricked in with fairly small windows. The east/west facades appeared to have the larger windows. Anybody know if that gorgeous entrance (maybe marble or some kind of cast stone) is still in tact behind the EIFS?

 

21 hours ago, tonyt3524 said:

 

Finally saw somebody post the after photos today of this project. 

 

 

 

 

Do they still have Nerf Wars here at night like they used to 10-15 years ago?

On 1/8/2021 at 11:50 AM, GCrites80s said:

 

 

Do they still have Nerf Wars here at night like they used to 10-15 years ago?

 

On 1/8/2021 at 11:50 AM, GCrites80s said:

 

 

Do they still have Nerf Wars here at night like they used to 10-15 years ago?

Nah, that was nixed by former UC president what's-her-face for "promoting violence" or whatever. My freshman year roommate in 2007 was super into it and it died I think the following year.

Nancy Zimpher

 

I suppose that's why the UC Nerf Wars thread died in 2008.

Those sword guys used to do mock-battles on the Burnett Woods lawn across from DAAP every weekend for a few years.  I had the sense that there might have been some overlap between the sword guys and the frisbee golf dudes.  

I don't recall if these renderings of the new Law School (which will be in the old Lindner Hall) have been shared previously: https://www.uc.edu/news/articles/2021/02/uc-to-break-ground-on-new-college-of-law-march-1.html

 

I'm glad that UC is re-purposing the old Lindner Hall (as opposed to demolishing it and building from scratch). I hope they can manage to save a few of the mature trees (I believe they're honey locusts, if my memory serves) in the front of the building, even though the rendering seems to show them all removed. 

 

 

Edited February 23, 20214 yr by jwulsin

Glad to see some love being given to that area. Excited that they're going to keep adding more group study rooms to buildings since study space is becoming a premium on campus.

Covering up the old helipad!

2 hours ago, GCrites80s said:

Covering up the old helipad!

They're building a new, larger rectangular helipad on top of the old one. :)

 

EDIT for clarification: I do not believe there are any plans for a helipad. My comment was meant to be a sarcastic joke. 

Edited February 23, 20214 yr by jwulsin

When do you think the last time was that it was used? I figured they just used the ones on the medical campus now.

58 minutes ago, GCrites80s said:

When do you think the last time was that it was used? I figured they just used the ones on the medical campus now.

Wait... now I'm confused. I was being sarcastic about the old helipad. Was there actually a helipad on Lindner at some point? Was it on top of the lecture pavilion? For as long as I remember, there were always tables on that rooftop patio.  Or are you just (successfully) trolling me?

 

 

That's what they call it -- the helipad. I've never seen it used either and it's had those tables since at least 2006. It has a circular cut in the brick as if they could rotate the center. Also lights built into the surface if I remember right. The only thing is, wouldn't the rotor wash be hard on those windows and doors? Harder to land a helicopter with that wall there too.

UC sets groundbreaking for College of Law's new $45.6M home

 

The University of Cincinnati will kickstart construction March 1 on a new home for its College of Law – a $45.6 million project that’s scheduled for completion in August 2022.

 

The UC board of trustees voted Tuesday morning to approve the use of more than $29 million in state funds as part of the $45.6 million plan to renovate the former Lindner College of Business building, located in the middle of campus along Martin Luther King Drive.

 

The former six-story Lindner Hall – replaced by a new facility that opened for the business college in 2019 – was built in 1986 to accommodate 1,800 students. The 84,000-square-foot existing facility, plus additions, will offer ample space for the College of Law’s 406 students, officials said.

 

By reinventing and building onto the existing facility, the university will create a state-of-the-art law school designed with the technological and spatial needs of today’s law students in mind, including completely upgraded classroom technology, expanded library facilities and centralized student services.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2021/02/23/uc-to-break-ground-college-of-law-project-march-1.html

 

17 hours ago, GCrites80s said:

That's what they call it -- the helipad. I've never seen it used either and it's had those tables since at least 2006. It has a circular cut in the brick as if they could rotate the center. Also lights built into the surface if I remember right. The only thing is, wouldn't the rotor wash be hard on those windows and doors? Harder to land a helicopter with that wall there too.

Not sure who you mean when you say that's what "they" call it. I can't say for certain... but I seriously doubt a helicopter ever landed there. I know next to nothing about helicopters, but that just seems like a dumb place to try to land one with trees and taller buildings immediately adjacent. Especially since there are nearby flat places with fewer immediate obstacles. I suspect somebody was pulling your chain. 

I'm not even a pilot and I can settle this right now. That is not a helipad.

"They" were people around the business school and it probably was some kind of inside joke.

A friend of mine told me that they're fencing off the YMCA on Calhoun right now. Anybody know what's going on with that?

18 minutes ago, jc22 said:

A friend of mine told me that they're fencing off the YMCA on Calhoun right now. Anybody know what's going on with that?

 

They haven't taken out any permits on it, so I don't think they're demolishing it. But I have no idea. I have heard the building would cost more to demolish than preserve because the foundation of the building is keeping up that portion of Calhoun Street. I don't know how true that is.

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2021/04/28/uc-to-buy-union-institute.html
 

UC is buying the 3.3 acre Union Institute campus on E McMillan. This is interesting and frankly surprising. As the crow flies, this isn’t super far away, but due to topography and 1-way streets, it feels VERY FAR from the rest of the “innovation corridor” up on Reading. I hope UC pushes to remove the 1-way streets and improve pedestrian/bike connections for this part of the neighborhood. McMillan, Taft, and Reading all need to be reconfigured to be more pedestrian/bike friendly. 

I wonder what will happen with Union Institute

2 minutes ago, Brutus_buckeye said:

I wonder what will happen with Union Institute

I am also curious. Their website has a big banner saying “100% Online”. Perhaps they transitioned to online due to COVID and have decided to just stay all virtual. 
 

10 hours ago, jwulsin said:

UC is buying the 3.3 acre Union Institute campus on E McMillan. This is interesting and frankly surprising.

Thinking about this a bit more, this should also be good news for Essex Studios. There's a natural relationship and it'll be neat to see students/staff interact organically with some of the artists/artisans at Essex. 

 

In January, UC also announced plans for purchasing the building at 121 E McMillan, roughly half a mile away. I really hope that UC's "expanded footprint" means they'll advocate for better connectivity and street design through this area. The "western edge" of Walnut Hills has a lot of "unrealized potential". If medium density commercial tenants can occupy the space closest to I-71 (creating a "buffer") and the 1-way streets get converted to 2-way, I can envision the area between Reading and Gilberts filling in to support a variety of residents and uses.

 

 

 

10 hours ago, jwulsin said:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2021/04/28/uc-to-buy-union-institute.html

 

I feel like the buried the lead here a bit:
 

Quote

Also this week, UC’s board approved the sale of its central receiving facility located at 792 E. McMillan in East Walnut Hills. The property, which consists of approximately 1.13 acres, a 17,400-square-foot warehouse and associated parking, has become a desirable target of local developers, Ambach said.

 

@Dev- good point about 792 E McMillan! I think it's a good sign for Walnut Hills that there's market demand for that property at 792 E McMillan. Any idea where UC will set up their new "central receiving facility"? I imagine they could get cheap warehouse space in Fairmount or Camp Washington, which would still be roughly the same distance to main campus (~1.5 miles).

I've often heard recently this area that UC is expanding into as the "Super Square" I think. Clifton to 71, Med Campus to McMillan. 

Edited April 29, 20214 yr by tonyt3524

12 hours ago, jwulsin said:

I am also curious. Their website has a big banner saying “100% Online”. Perhaps they transitioned to online due to COVID and have decided to just stay all virtual. 
 

I thought they had been virtual for years and the space was strictly administrative. I thought they downsized a few years back because they also had the building across the street and I beleive they got rid of that one a while back. 

What would happen in this city if there was a two lane cycle track and BRT on this route? Cars can have a lane for driving and a lane for parking.

 

What would happen in this city if there was a two lane cycle track and BRT on this route? Cars can have a lane for driving and a lane for parking.

 

my first thought was seasonal usage of cycles. A dedicated lane for cycles would probably be underused during the late fall, early spring and winter months. It is a pretty flat route for cincy. that may make it more attractive to bikes. Maybe a better idea would be to eliminate the loop. Make one lane from Clifton to East Walnut Hills. One lane should be plenty for bikers. The BRT loop idea sounds great and would work well if the lanes were truly designated BRT. That means a divider between BRT and cars.

UC's board green-lights $5.5M campus renovation project

 

 

University of Cincinnati is moving forward with a $5.5 million project that will upgrade a popular on-campus amenity for students. 

 

UC’s board of trustees approved Tuesday the multimillion-dollar renovation of MarketPointe dining hall, located between Calhoun and Siddall residential halls. UC, Greater Cincinnati's largest university, plans to close MarketPointe this winter to complete the work and reopen it in time for the fall 2022 semester, John Seibert, associate VP of planning, design and construction at UC, told me. 

 

The project will modernize the main level of the MarketPointe facility, roughly 37,200 gross square feet. UC wants to leverage new outdoor plaza spaces, provide more flexibly during off-peak times and offer more grab-and-go options for students.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2021/06/25/uc-plans-marketpointe-dining-hall-renovation.html