UC hires development coordinator

Alumna worked for city of Covington

By Mike Rutledge | Cincinnati Enquirer, October 22, 2007

 

University of Cincinnati graduate Beth Robinson, who has worked on developments for the cities of Covington, Cincinnati, Springdale, Fort Thomas and Bellevue, is returning to help the school develop properties around campus.  Robinson worked as Covington's business retention and recruiting specialist for three years.

 

She will be the real-estate development coordinator in the Community Development Department, working with community and neighborhood groups to develop land, especially along Calhoun and Short Vine streets.  Gerald Siegert, UC's associate vice president for community development and Robinson's new boss, said many people have told him good things about her.

 

Read full article here:

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071022/NEWS0102/710220365/1058/NEWS01

I thought about creating a thread for this in Projects/Construction, but I figure we'll give this some time first.  It is after all just a sale of the property...hopefully this comes to fruition and adds a productive use to that piece of land.

 

Office building to rise in Clifton

By Cliff Peale | Cincinnati Enquirer, November 8, 2007

 

A local developer has agreed to buy a prominent 2.4 acres in Clifton and plans an environmentally friendly building for offices, stores and graduate-student housing.  Painter Development Group, run by brothers Mitch and Matt Painter, has signed a contract to buy the land at Jefferson Avenue and Ruther Street from a neighborhood development group for $1.65 million, Mitch Painter said.

 

[glow=yellow,2,300]The site at one point was considered for a laboratory operated by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.[/glow] Through a complicated financing deal, the University of Cincinnati had secured some of the loan and provided some operating costs.  The sale is the latest in a series of deals that UC hopes will spark new construction and generate cash as those groups repay UC loans.

 

Read full article here:

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071108/NEWS01/71108017

This should be good for Fries, maybe Sunday nights won't be quite so slow. 

^I've only been to Fries once, but I thought it was a great place...lots of charm.

It was much better before they cleaned up the place. Though its 'charm' was less noticeable before the smoking was banned.

Let's hope these painter kids do a good job, Hopefully its something like whats going on in northside but on a more grander scale I wonder if they can get some extra funding for going Green

Uptown on the move

BY RANDY SIMES | URBANCINCY

January 17, 2008

 

UPTOWN - Quietly, while no one has been paying attention, the movers and shakers in the Uptown area have pieced together some development agreements, bought up land, and kept things moving on a couple of potentially bold changes for the area.

 

The first of the news came last week when the Clifton Heights Community Urban Redevelopment Corp. announced that they have selected Towne Properties to be the developer for the long-trouble McMillan Park site. You know the one...it sits sandwiched between Calhoun and McMillan streets and boasts a new grassy lawn and two boarded up structures (former Arby's and Hardee's restaurants).

 

The second piece of news is hot off the presses, and this one presents one of the greatest opportunities to transform Corryville. The University Plaza redevelopment is Uptown Consortium project on Short Vine. Currently the site boasts one of the worst Krogers in the city, and a hideous strip mall of sorts. Likewise with CHCURC, the Uptown Consortium has selected Towne Properties to take on the role of transforming this current mess.

 

The vision that the Uptown Consortium has for the site is an amazingly different site that includes a reconnection of Short Vine with Vine Street and most importantly the demolition of the Kroger and strip mall...which would be replaced by an urban project that makes you yearn for more.

 

This is all well and good, but it actually needs to happen. Luckily it seems that Uptown has about as much momentum as ever right now with the successful completions of several large projects like Stratford Heights, University Park Apartments, Stetson Square, and a few major hospital expansions.

 

For renderings and explanations GO HERE!

That's cool, that Kroger is ghetto as hell.  It would be crazy if vine and short vine where connected.

Property owners bet students will pay for quality

By Laura Baverman | Cincinnati Business Courier, March 14, 2008

 

For the partners of Gaslight Property, adding new kitchens, floors and bathrooms to apartments near the University of Cincinnati will help them raise monthly rents from $400 to $600. The 29-year-old Clifton apartment owner and property management firm, run by three brothers, bought a 200-unit complex on Lowell Avenue last May with plans to increase the value of the property and attract more students.

 

"We believe students are really wanting better apartments than they did before, and the parents, too," said Rob Taylor, Gaslight's property manager. Students, having grown up in their own bedrooms with a television, a computer or an Xbox, expect more out of their living spaces, and they're willing to pay for it. That's one reason Gaslight has doubled its property holdings in the last year. It now owns more than 900 units in the Clifton area, specifically in the Gaslight district.

 

Read full article here:

http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2008/03/17/focus1.html

^Crap, premium living is a crock and a statement to raise prices on rent a month.  I guess it's nice to have mommy and daddy hand you money to pay for it. 

$600/month isn't a very high monthly rent.  If more college students worked through college today they might be able to afford this - or gasp even have fewer loans.

 

Aside from my tangent, yes...many students are HEAVILY reliant on mommy and daddy.  In Baton Rouge, LSU is responsible for much of the new stuff on the Southside.  New condo lowrises and what not being paid for by mommy and daddy.

^I'm thinking 600 a person for like a 3-4 room place, but you are talking 1 person or studio?

I disagree.  $600 is high.  Where are these people going to get a job that will pay this and still be able to cover simple living costs and go to school.  If you don't want to have a life, then its possible.  I work 20 hours a week and make $1,100 a month with total living costs around $500 (rent and utilities) and I still have money shortages all the time.  I probably make more than most college students and if I worked more hours / payed less, I would have no life / be broke.  And if my rent increased to $600...well then that would be it.  I would never be able to incur large costs every now and then like books and things related to medical expenses.  It would force me to go to the parents.   

^I'm thinking 600 a person for like a 3-4 room place, but you are talking 1 person or studio?

 

It is really based on $ per square foot more than anything.  $1/sf is reasonable if you ask me...especially given the central location.  If you're paying $600/month for a studio and/or 1br with only one person living there then yes...that is financially difficult.  But if you have two people you then chop that cost in half and $300/month is not bad at all.

Taylor is one of the better Clifton landlords, though his places tend to be on the expensive side. He did some real city-saving work on Brookline.

 

I was in agreement until the last paragraph about tanning beds and crap. Real students with real budgets are more interested in proximity to campus, safety, and the ability to drink cheap alcohol to an unhealthy level.

I disagree.  $600 is high.  Where are these people going to get a job that will pay this and still be able to cover simple living costs and go to school.  If you don't want to have a life, then its possible.  I work 20 hours a week and make $1,100 a month with total living costs around $500 (rent and utilities) and I still have money shortages all the time.  I probably make more than most college students and if I worked more hours / payed less, I would have no life / be broke.  And if my rent increased to $600...well then that would be it.  I would never be able to incur large costs every now and then like books and things related to medical expenses.  It would force me to go to the parents.   

 

I agree with you. These places aren't for everyone. But there are plenty of parents out there that are going to pay for their child to live in a place like this. There is plenty of affordable housing around campus. This is just adding to the mix. I am glad to see that these smaller projects are popping up, i think it is good for the neighborhood. Right now i pay right around 465 for rent and utilities. Mommy and Daddy Pay for it.... That is a lot of money going into the economy that Mommy and daddy pay for... you get my drift...

I live with two other guys, we pay $384 a month a piece.  It is one floor, 3 bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths, full kitchen, free laundry(in our apt), off street parking, it is in a "nicer" part of Clifton, Ohio Ave.  I think it is a great deal.  I am not complaining at all about it.  Maybe just seeing prices jump from 400 to 600, average, rattles me a little.  I work hard, I go to school full time and  someone like me could never afford to live in a place like that.  Frustration, I guess, that I don't get help like that from the parentals, but it makes me appreciate things a little more that I have to do majority on my own, being only 23.

^Good for you...I'm bitter about the lack of parental hand-outs for myself as well.

 

On a side note, I'm pretty sure that is Clifton Heights you're talking about - not Clifton.  :-D

I live with two other guys, we pay $384 a month a piece.  It is one floor, 3 bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths, full kitchen, free laundry(in our apt), off street parking, it is in a "nicer" part of Clifton, Ohio Ave.  I think it is a great deal.  I am not complaining at all about it.  Maybe just seeing prices jump from 400 to 600, average, rattles me a little.  I work hard, I go to school full time and  someone like me could never afford to live in a place like that.  Frustration, I guess, that I don't get help like that from the parentals, but it makes me appreciate things a little more that I have to do majority on my own, being only 23.

 

I probably live like 60 feet away from you; which house on Ohio is yours? (unless you're worried about my supreme stalker skills). I have a friend that lives in the white house with the sillouette in the window; I also have a friend in one of the large brick victorians a little south of it (Brian Powell).

 

I used to think there wouldn't be a market for condos on McMillan and that the neighborhood should cater to students but my friend Nelson next door is the associate dean of the school of education, he said his peers think he's crazy for living in this neighborhood but you know, if we cleaned the place up I think that perception would change and more professionals would move in. It is a good thing in a sense that homeowners and professionals tend to care more about the neighborhood.

 

If Obama becomes president and reduces the cost of college, the strain on students would be less. I say we continue to develop Clifton and subsidize education more by voting Obama :)

^I'm thinking 600 a person for like a 3-4 room place, but you are talking 1 person or studio?

 

It is really based on $ per square foot more than anything. $1/sf is reasonable if you ask me...especially given the central location. If you're paying $600/month for a studio and/or 1br with only one person living there then yes...that is financially difficult. But if you have two people you then chop that cost in half and $300/month is not bad at all.

 

who cares who is paying, I really think grandparents should

pony up for college and have their grandkids inherit nothing

I would cosign that.

 

Wow guys. Sometimes it's not easy for parents to pay for college tuition. College is very expensive. When I went to college, I never asked my parents to help. I helped myself with student loans, grants, scholarships and jobs. If your parents (or grandparents) can help out out or offer, then that's great. But just to assume that it is their financial responsibility almost borders selfishness IMO. They've got themselves to think about too. To expect them to just pony up the costs could be a financial strain...especially in today's world. Go easier on your parents. They took care of ya for at least 18 years. That's a long time.

>he said his peers think he's crazy for living in this neighborhood but you know, if we cleaned the place up I think that perception would change and more professionals would move in. It i

 

It used to drive me crazy in college how there would be some sort of riotous flare-up (overturned cars or whatever) and the administration wouldn't see the incident with their own eyes, they'd go totally by what the police said. 

 

People have to remember that rent is money that is building someone else's equity or is income above their expenses.  That's why you should pay as little of it as possible.  This whole business with parents paying the rent is inflating the overall market with nothing but soft-handed kids being the result of this coddling.  I know a guy up at UC right now who has actually paid every single $ of his education and room & board there (a dying breed)...he works 40 hours/week as a salesman for some place and is totally exhausted every time I see him.  I bet he makes over $30K.  His parents won't cosign on the Stafford loans so he can't get them and they make too much money for him to get the Pell grants or whatever those other loans are.  I had that exact same situation as an undergrad where my dad wouldn't cosign on the loans or on an apartment lease and so I was stuck having to get my grandparents and even my friend's mom to cosign.  But he and my mom had a combined income that was too high for me to get whatever those other loans and grants are.   

 

I would pay for quality if I also got a beter district for my money. You pay for place so if there really isn't any difference in the area around my home I wouldn't pay more.

I really think grandparents should

pony up for college and have their grandkids inherit nothing

 

That was the case with me. 

New Mt. Auburn study shows great potential for Uptown

http://www.soapboxmedia.com/devnews/1027mtauburnstudy.aspx

By Randy A. Simes | Soapbox Cincinnati, October 27, 2009

 

A new study out from the University of Cincinnati's Economics Center for Education & Research shows there is "substantial potential for new retail businesses" in Mt. Auburn.

 

The study concluded that the neighborhood that is home to Christ Hospital and borders the University of Cincinnati has the greatest potential in developing and attracting food services, clothing and merchandise stores, and other retailers including book and electronic stores.

 

The Mt. Auburn Community Council and Mt. Auburn Chamber of Commerce pushed for the study, paid for by the University of Cincinnati Institute of Community Partnerships, with the goal of determining the feasibility of revitalizing Mt. Auburn's beleaguered retail and business district.

 

"We're looking for convenient shopping and employment/business opportunities in the neighborhood," said Dr. Stanley Broadnax, chairman of the Mt. Auburn Community Council.  "We don't want people to just come and leave the neighborhood."

 

The Mt. Auburn study identified 7,750 people living in just over 3,280 households in the neighborhood, with an average household income of $41,416 in 2008.  The study also discovered that more than 9,300 people work within the study area, with nearly half of those working at Christ Hospital.

 

Broadnax says that the University of Cincinnati has offered similar help in providing this type of neighborhood study to the Avondale and Over-the-Rhine neighborhoods, and that efforts in Mt. Auburn have been ongoing over the past twelve months.

 

"We saw a need to revitalize the district and take advantage of Christ Hospital - which is really the driving force behind the study's findings," said Broadnax.

 

The hope now is to market this data to potential investors looking at the neighborhood, and use it as a tool to secure confidence from lending institutions that might make or break any new investment.  Broadnax noted there are a number of locally owned businesses flourishing in the neighborhood and the potential for the relocation of new businesses is even greater.

 

"There is still lots of work to be done, but this is a critical step to understanding Mt. Auburn's potential," he said.

 

Christ Hospital will expand, add doctors

Business Courier of Cincinnati - by James Ritchie Staff Reporter

 

 

Christ Hospital plans to expand both its physical plant and its reach as it rolls out its first strategic plan since becoming an independent hospital in 2008.

 

The hospital will grow its Mount Auburn campus, bring on “hundreds” of new doctors and open outpatient sites throughout Greater Cincinnati, Christ officials said. The plan comes as Christ, having regrouped following its protracted breakup with the Health Alliance, tries to solidify its position in the market and build more robust patient referral patterns.

 

http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2010/02/08/story3.html

I see http://uptowncincinnati.com/

 

What other areas have websites like this made by the Cincinnati USA people?  I see the tri color arch on the Uptown site and that makes me think it is part of a larger effort.

I see http://uptowncincinnati.com/

 

What other areas have websites like this made by the Cincinnati USA people? I see the tri color arch on the Uptown site and that makes me think it is part of a larger effort.

Wow, I wish the rest of the Cincinnati USA stuff were put together as well.

 

The Cincinnati USA site is shameful. They take so many things which should be secondary or ternary "attractions" and make them primary. It's disgusting...sorry, but rural Indiana is not rightfully a part of "Cincinnati USA".

 

This Uptown site looks like it was made by a totally different crew. It's not exactly how I would make it, but it's a huge improvement over the main site.

 

Perhaps because it has such a narrow, well-defined scope.

I thought about creating a thread for this in Projects/Construction, but I figure we'll give this some time first.  It is after all just a sale of the property...hopefully this comes to fruition and adds a productive use to that piece of land.

 

Office building to rise in Clifton

By Cliff Peale | Cincinnati Enquirer, November 8, 2007

 

A local developer has agreed to buy a prominent 2.4 acres in Clifton and plans an environmentally friendly building for offices, stores and graduate-student housing.  Painter Development Group, run by brothers Mitch and Matt Painter, has signed a contract to buy the land at Jefferson Avenue and Ruther Street from a neighborhood development group for $1.65 million, Mitch Painter said.

 

[glow=yellow,2,300]The site at one point was considered for a laboratory operated by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.[/glow] Through a complicated financing deal, the University of Cincinnati had secured some of the loan and provided some operating costs.  The sale is the latest in a series of deals that UC hopes will spark new construction and generate cash as those groups repay UC loans.

 

Read full article here:

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071108/NEWS01/71108017

 

Funny... Randy has been talking about that new NIOSH facility since 2007. And according to the latest reports, they may be close to selecting Uptown as the site of that facility... finally!

The Verve apartments had "guaranteed Aug 1 move-in" banners hung on them through the past few months, but they do not appear to be ready.  No lights on in any of the units and no U-Hauls lined up on Clifton or McMillan. 

Verge!

Verge!

 

There were no less than 20 guys working on it on Sunday night, July 31.  Crews are still blocking the street as of this morning. 

Well, I guess it's a bittersweet symphony then.

Well, I guess it's a bittersweet symphony then.

 

:roll:

Looks like they are still two weeks out dude, major bummer. Yo, sorry about that dude stuff the #VERGELIFE must be catching. https://www.facebook.com/LiveAtTheVerge/

 

Have you reserved your parking spot at The Verge yet? Don't let your car suffer the Clifton streets (tickets, missing rearview mirrors and towing etc, etc.) and park underground at the Verge! Call 513-428-2238 to add parking today!

 

If I had a nickel for every time a passing car hit my rear-view mirror...

 

Roommate matching program...live with other white people or pleasant minorities!

 

#VergeFam

Do your parents pay for everything?  Come live with other kids whose parents pay for everything at The Verge:

It's also near a Pokestop! #thepurge

 

refer your bae

I don't blame anyone for wanting to live in apartment complexes like these in Clifton.  The off campus area is still not very safe and most of the houses available for students to rent are complete dumps.  Maybe these new apartments will get the housing landlords to actually fix up their places. 

I don't blame anyone for wanting to live in apartment complexes like these in Clifton.  The off campus area is still not very safe and most of the houses available for students to rent are complete dumps.  Maybe these new apartments will get the housing landlords to actually fix up their places. 

 

I think it's actually having the opposite effect. These buildings drive down rents in the existing student housing, which only makes landlords less likely to clean up their properties.

 

What's crazy to me is that some of these kids' parents are paying as much in rent as I pay for an entire monthly mortgage on a house in CUF. They could literally buy their kids a house and profit by renting out the spare rooms for a similar amount of money.

A lot of SSU parents did that in Portsmouth. Houses were 25-35K.

The student rental situation could be greatly improved if UC created a small agency that inspected and then certified rental properties near the university.  Landlords could charge a small premium to gain this certification. 

 

So the inspection and certification would indicate that a property has:

 

-proper attic insulation

-modern insulated windows or storm windows over original wood windows

-zero knob & tube wiring

-zero roof leaks and properly maintained gutters with nothing growing in them

-a dry basement

-zero lead paint

-annual inspection of plumbing and H/VAC

 

That's what I could think of immediately.  An independent certification by UC would give parents the peace of mind to let their kids live in the houses.  Instead, the endless hillbilly and/or reluctant landlords (women who win rentals in divorces, etc.) are getting away with all kinds of nonsense.  Some of it is malicious, but some of it is just plain incompetence. 

 

 

 

^Good luck certifying there is no lead paint in a house in Uptown.

It is less of an issue with adults living in the building. The problem is that these property owners just keep putting off everything, decade after decade.  The place has a pseudo-New Orleans look to it since everything is leaning and warped a little. 

Also even these brand new expensive apartments are still cheaper than living in a dorm. 

The student rental situation could be greatly improved if UC created a small agency that inspected and then certified rental properties near the university.  Landlords could charge a small premium to gain this certification. 

 

So the inspection and certification would indicate that a property has:

 

-proper attic insulation

-modern insulated windows or storm windows over original wood windows

-zero knob & tube wiring

-zero roof leaks and properly maintained gutters with nothing growing in them

-a dry basement

-zero lead paint

-annual inspection of plumbing and H/VAC

 

That's what I could think of immediately.  An independent certification by UC would give parents the peace of mind to let their kids live in the houses.  Instead, the endless hillbilly and/or reluctant landlords (women who win rentals in divorces, etc.) are getting away with all kinds of nonsense.  Some of it is malicious, but some of it is just plain incompetence. 

 

There have been multiple attempts to do exactly that. It appears that none of them have gone anywhere. There was something called the "landlord accreditation program" run by UC when I was in college. And then I remember hearing a year or two ago about another similar program being started up. The problem is, I don't think landlords really care about being accredited by UC, and UC is going to drive students towards these mega-complexes anyway.