Is 444 3rd St (Old Dunhumby HQ) slated to be demolished? 

Yes. Why?

I thought that the latest plans for the BSB worked around the building so demolition wasn't necessary. Are they demolishing it anyway?

I had not seen any revised drawings, but any BSB construction is years off. Demolition for it wouldn't happen this soon.

Yes. Why?

 

I was told they had demo fencing around it by someone in casual conversation today.  I certainly hope that's not the case. 

Well, I guess this confirms that

 

http://www.dot.state.oh.us/districts/D08/Newsreleases/Pages/Dunnhumby-building-demo-prep-work-begins.aspx

It doesn't indicate if this is for BSB or for I-75 north modifications. But it's from ODOT, so I wonder what's up?

ODOT owns the property. The demo permit states: "MASS DEMOLITION ONLY - FUTURE PARKING LOT UNDER SEPARATE PERMIT AND REQUIRES ZONING HEARING EXAMINER APPROVAL"

Former DunnhumbyUSA HQ in downtown Cincinnati to be demolished

 

 

The former home of DunnhumbyUSA in downtown Cincinnati is being prepared for demolition.

 

Groundwork for the future demolition of the Dunnhumby building at 444 W. Third St. started this week. Crews are performing general survey work and installing temporary chain link fence along the perimeter of the project.

 

More below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2017/03/31/former-dunnhumbyusa-hq-in-downtown-cincinnati-to.html

Kind of amazing how much has been spent on the Brent Spence Bridge project and it might never happen. 

The building at the corner of Reading/Kinsey (2365 Reading) has been torn down:

 

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1250763,-84.5019276,3a,86.5y,228.75h,82.25t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s9DjrEgIyDRUT1OX5xcJSlw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Damn. That was one of my favorite stretches of road and now it's become every bit as soulless.

I have very little hope for historic preservation in Uptown. It isn't even on the radar of the Uptown Consortium, and they are perfectly fine with the hospitals, the Zoo, UC, and Uptown Properties demolishing historic buildings and building whatever they want. To make matters worse, the new stuff that's getting built in Uptown is dense but not actually that walkable.

They've started demolition on two of these three on Vine:

 

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1542621,-84.5065343,3a,75y,91h,92.64t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sbk2pz3HG7VGZiQicsDZ3vg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

 

They've started demolition on two of these three on Vine:

 

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1542621,-84.5065343,3a,75y,91h,92.64t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sbk2pz3HG7VGZiQicsDZ3vg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

 

 

Those have been vacant since 2009, if not earlier.  They looked like they were going to do work on them a year or two ago. 

 

 

And I think it's this little one on Mulberry:

 

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1186932,-84.5162538,3a,75y,232.95h,80.38t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sFWtLRvMPLUXSLBmfZVeVrg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

 

What about that one on Mulberry? They just repainted it and have been renovating it slowly.

41 E Clifton is in the process of being demolished.

 

http://wedge3.hcauditor.org/view/re/0940005014400/2016/summary

41 E Clifton is in the process of being demolished.

 

http://wedge3.hcauditor.org/view/re/0940005014400/2016/summary

 

Meanwhile, there have been a few renovations on E. Clifton over the past year.  But many of the buildings are in absolutely horrible condition. 

And I think it's this little one on Mulberry:

 

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1186932,-84.5162538,3a,75y,232.95h,80.38t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sFWtLRvMPLUXSLBmfZVeVrg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

 

What about that one on Mulberry? They just repainted it and have been renovating it slowly.

 

EDIT: It's that one on E Clifton. Whoops!

Why are otr buildings still being demolished? Smh. Shouldn't this be approved by the hcb at the very least? It's covered by the historic boundaries no?

Facebook post from BrewRiver GastroPub:

 

Two days ago, the city tore down the house that adjoined our patio. We were given less than 24 hours notice and it has been stressful and chaotic (we were forced to close on Thursday.) However, as the great comedy troupe, Monty Python, says..."Always Look on The Bright Side of Life..."

 

BrewRiver's patio now has a fabulous breeze, and even more importantly, an extended river view that is incredible! Also, our entire 2nd floor main dining room now has a river view! We have really been struggling with all the construction traffic, and are so happy to see a positive come from many negatives!

The hillside slipping that's going on there along Riverside is frightening.  It's entirely possible the house was on the verge of falling over.  I just biked through there on Sunday (I don't recommend it, what with all the gravel and mud from construction) but I saw sidewalks buckling as far east as the newer townhouses/East End condos, which I think is beyond the work area.  Google Street View has only caught the very beginning of the problem at the old Verdin building.  It now stretches hundreds of feet in either direction.  https://goo.gl/maps/tWsri1MwDvA2

Looks like this one's gone as of this morning:

 

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1423641,-84.5083097,3a,75y,187.07h,86.05t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sL3ZMxqrpRfTxFtzkOzG0WQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1

^Yeah I used to live in a house in that expanding parking lot. 

Why was that building demolished? Looked pretty healthy to me? Is land being organized for some larger project?

^^Expanded zoo parking?  I presume that from the zoo's perspective, they'd love to buy every one of those houses in the surrounding block(s) to control that land?

Yep. The Zoo loves to brag about how "green" they are, but they don't seem to realize that buying up dense urban housing and demolishing it for parking is possibly the least green thing they could do.

^They do realize it. They are just stuck with regard to parking. Almost all of the visitors to the zoo are families that drive to the zoo for the day, and they bring their cars, or more likely, their SUV's and Minivans.

 

If you are the zoo, what could you do better? Tell your visitors to ride the bus? Build a parking garage? Turn them away when the parking lots are full?

 

Give them credit for staying in Cincinnati, please. They could have moved to Warren County and built a giant parking lot like Kings Island.

A garage would still be better than surface lots.  They can put solar panels over it too. 

^They do realize it. They are just stuck with regard to parking. Almost all of the visitors to the zoo are families that drive to the zoo for the day, and they bring their cars, or more likely, their SUV's and Minivans.

 

If you are the zoo, what could you do better? Tell your visitors to ride the bus? Build a parking garage? Turn them away when the parking lots are full?

 

Give them credit for staying in Cincinnati, please. They could have moved to Warren County and built a giant parking lot like Kings Island.

 

The Zoo gets their funding from Hamilton County. I'm not sure how they could even move to a different county logistically. There's no chance that the surrounding counties with their anti-tax attitudes would ever enact a tax to fund the Zoo.

A garage was planned for the solar panel parking lot.  Vine St. was widened expressly to enable construction of that garage.  The zoo never publicized why the garage was dropped from the plan.  OKI also studied construction of light rail on Vine and Erkenbrecker as an alternative to light rail parallel to MLK.  The station was going to be right there around Shields and Louis. 

 

I lived there 20 years ago when the solar panel parking lot was a steeply-sloped wooded ravine that separated Vine St. from Ruther.  There was a 7-story green office building right by Shields that had a surface lot at a lower level than Vine.  There was some sort of Catholic convent or or something deep in the ravine that was accessed off of Ruther. 

The zoo gets part of their funding from Hamilton County. (At one point there was a sign in the zoo thanking Hamilton County Voters). I imagine that they get a significant amount from donors, not to mention admissions. Many of the workers are volunteers.

 

The zoo currently owns a farm in Warren County that they use as auxiliary space for operations.

 

It would not be easy to move the zoo, but still possible. Maybe they could operate multiple sites, like the hospitals do. In any case, I am happy that the zoo has made a commitment to stay in Cincinnati, despite the fact that some buildings have been torn down for parking.

 

The entrance area of the zoo, called the zoo village, with the ticket building, the gate, the restrooms, the gift shop, and the bridge is one of my favorite urban design examples. It all used to be a parking lot. Do you remember the old zoo entrance off of Dury? It was a messy and overcrowded area. The gate was an automobile gate rather than a pedestrian gate, and traffic would back up into the street. Once inside the gate, visitors found themselves in a sea of parking lots. That is all exhibit space now. The zoo is getting better, and the zoo is doing pretty well in the urban design area.

 

I met the facilities director at the zoo, and he is not proud of what the zoo has done to the neighborhood over the years, and he is committed to make the neighborhood better, not worse. That said, the zoo is in kind of a predicament with regards to parking, because almost all of the visitors are families that drive to the zoo.

 

 

There was a decent, if somewhat hidden pedestrian entrance off Dury back in the day.  It was kind of a neat little sidewalk with bamboo on both sides that came in next to the drive-in lanes.  I assume there was pressure from neighbors to get rid of that so patrons wouldn't park on "their" streets and walk in.  The current bridge is very much a highway-scaled thing catering directly to the main parking lot.  It's kind of confusing if you arrive by any other means, and the berms and retaining walls along Vine and Erkenbrecher are very anti-urban.  Compare to this:  https://goo.gl/maps/W26YK4sB23J2

There was an employee parking lot that opened off of Erkenbrecker where the Schott building is now with the solar panels on the roof.  If you lived in the area you could get into the zoo for free by simply walking into the employee parking lot and then straight into the zoo since the old entrance was cars-only and you paid admission like a drive-thru. 

 

I believe that the original entrance to the zoo was at the corner of Vine & Erkenbrecker, and it might have been open through the 90s before the giant retaining wall and bridge was built.  I believe that the bridge was built with the idea that it would connect directly into a multi-deck parking garage. 

I remember the old Vine and Erkenbrecker entrance as always being closed when I moved here in '03, except maybe for the Christmas extravaganza. It had a jungle safari/thatched roof and spears kind of look, with maybe a cheetah and gorilla statue to complete the tableaux.

 

My favorite entrance was off of Forest. When my kids went to Zoo Camp, they would give us the access code to that electric gate so we could pick them up after-hours when the zoo was closed. That code continued to work for a long time after zoo camp was over.....

From the Cincinnati Preservation Association:

 

Magistrate's ruling in Davis Bldg case, requiring City to grant demo permit, upheld today by Judge Dinkelacker. Updates when available.

 

So I'm guessing, barring another miracle, the Davis Furniture Building is gone.

The city hcb and zba denied demolition for the Davis building, and typically follow suit when issuing demolition permits. Judging how the Dennison left a bruise on cranleys campaign, I feel like he will try his best to appeal and save the Davis building (if not try to purchase the building through emminent domain) if nothing more to prove his worth to urbanites.

The city hcb and zba denied demolition for the Davis building, and typically follow suit when issuing demolition permits. Judging how the Dennison left a bruise on cranleys campaign, I feel like he will try his best to appeal and save the Davis building (if not try to purchase the building through emminent domain) if nothing more to prove his worth to urbanites.

 

Not even in the realm of possibility. Not how he rolls.

The Dennison was a pure rubbing each other back move. The connection with the Joseph Auto group and mayor cranely was clear.

 

Also the city likes the defend its internal procedures with the hcb and zba, hence why this most likely isn't a done deal just become some random magistrate is saying the city should.

 

 

Downtown roads close for building demolition

 

 

Drivers in downtown Cincinnati may have to be rerouted while traveling in the Central Business District this week.

 

West Third Street will be closed from Central Avenue to the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge until 4 p.m. on Friday, May 19 as crews demolish the former Dunnhumby office at 444 W. Third St. Nearby John Street will also be closed until July 31 and parking in the area will be restricted.

 

More below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2017/05/15/downtown-roads-close-for-building-demolition.html

In progress:

What a stupid waste.

What a stupid waste.

 

So much spent to remake it into office space, and now it's being demoed.  The last vestige of what was once a wonderful commercial corridor is now a completely nasty tangle of concrete pillars and shady overpasses.

So dumb. Dunnhumby has made some spectacularly poor real estate decisions.

Dunnhumby can't really be blamed for this demolition. DunnhumbyUSA needed more space so they built a new HQ downtown. The other (British) part of Dunnhumby didn't need that much space so they moved out of that building.

 

I blame ODOT for paying a market rates to acquire that building just so they could tear it down. Just so construction of the new bridge (which may or may not ever be built) will be easier.

So with demo expected to be completed in July, does anyone know if ODOT plans to put in a temporary parking lot? Not that there aren't plenty already in this area.

So dumb. Dunnhumby has made some spectacularly poor real estate decisions.

 

Hard to know who "lost" on this investment and who won (if anybody)... without knowing how much renovation costs were, how it was financed, and how much the State paid to acquire it for demolition. The City of Cincinnati gave some tax credits to the developer for the renovation back in 2009: http://www.soapboxmedia.com/devnews/dunnhumbyusa0310.aspx

 

The building was bought for $3.5m in 2008 and sold for $17m in 2009. It was appraised for $16.6m in 2014, the most recent appraisal. So I assume the State paid at least that much for it. Unless I'm missing something, it seems like the City of Cincinnati and State of Ohio are the ones who lost on this. And of course, we citizens are losing a beautiful, old, large building ... and getting an empty lot in return. My guess is that dunnhumbyUSA (or their affiliates/owners) didn't lose much at all on this... and even in the worst case scenario, they probably got to use a nice office building for pretty cheap.

 

http://wedge3.hcauditor.org/view/re/1450004012300/2015/transfers

Grabbed this shot while I was in the building at the corner of Plum and Perry. This is the building at 313 W 5th...I think.

 

 

 

 

The last old house on Burnett Ave. near UC Hospital was torn down over the summer. 

 

Also, a house on Vernon Place was just torn down this week next to the Crisis Center house.  With the MLK interchange now open, every old house that has lingered over the past 30 years as offices in that area is in danger.  There are still about 8 mansions along Vernon and University Ave.

This address in Camp Washington on Colerain is now on the city demo list. That whole complex on the corner across from the park i assume. If i had the money i'd love to save the outer walls and bigger more intact buildings (as the roof has fallen in on parts) and make a sweet industrial courtyard complex that still keeps the presence on the corner and facade along the street wall. Sadly it will probably be an open lot. I wonder if the Rhinegeist folk would want a satellite tap room that looks like a giant version of Queen City Radio? It would be right down the block from their hopefull farm operation and in an up and growing area of industrial lofts. Maybe even kick the Crosley building plans into gear.  https://www.google.com/maps/place/Colerain+Ave,+Cincinnati,+OH/@39.1422318,-84.5378574,127a,35y,257.43h,45t/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x88404a8c20989ba1:0xd30c5ab1bb9c852!8m2!3d39.1718522!4d-84.5601155

 

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1422094,-84.5386879,3a,90y,284.18h,104.01t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s0r4B8IKFdkdHR1dodJ0pWQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656