February 11, 201510 yr New topic specific to Mt. Auburn. Should this be moved to the projects and development section, instead of architecture / preservation?
February 16, 201510 yr ^ But that's exactly what makes the intersection SAFER. It's so tight that everyone has to be extra slow and careful when driving through there. Yes, big vehicles turning onto Auburn from McMillan is a problem, but widening the lanes, broadening the curves, improving sight lines, etc. only makes people drive faster, endangering everyone even more. That's when you end up with an intersection like Clifton and MLK, which we all know is an unmitigated safety disaster, precisely because it was engineered only for automobile safety and easy turns. This is exactly what I was talking about... http://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2015/2/15/lower-speed-limits-wont-solve-this
February 20, 201510 yr Yeah, I live in Mt Aub and drive 'round that corner - what concerned me most was the narrow sidewalk. The poor bus riders at that stop were wedged between the road and the church wall with major traffic going by. It's a pain to drive, but a wider sidewalk with the curb maybe rounded off a little more would be fine with me. No more lanes. Much worse is the intersection down by my block - Sycamore meets Auburn and Dorchester. The whole intersection is absurd, 20 years overdue for re-engineering.
February 20, 201510 yr Much worse is the intersection down by my block - Sycamore meets Auburn and Dorchester. The whole intersection is absurd, 20 years overdue for re-engineering. That intersection would probably work better as a small roundabout.
February 20, 201510 yr ^Wouldn't the sharp drop off in elevation at Sycamore hill make a roundabout challenging?
March 17, 201510 yr Council: $9M to help Mt. Auburn's 'renaissance' http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2015/03/16/council-9-million-will-help-mount-auburns-renaissance/24861919/ At Monday's budget and finance committee meeting, council members Charlie Winburn and Chris Seelbach introduced a motion Monday to finance the improvements over a two-year period. The proposal would tap money available through the city's 2016 and 2017 capital budget. Under the proposal: • Inwood Park, which connects CUF and Mount Auburn along Vine Street and is a gateway between Downtown and Uptown, would receive a $5 million renovation. The goal: reduce crime, increase the quality of life and provide more recreational opportunities for Mount Auburn residents. • The city would improve the traffic flow and pedestrian walkways on Auburn Avenue throughout the neighborhood. Improved street lighting, safer intersections and street trees will help connect Auburn with the rest of Uptown to improve traffic flow and pedestrian safety.
July 20, 20159 yr Titan Capital LLC (owned by Jamal Daoud) just closed on 1745, 1749, 1751, 1753, and 1755 Sycamore. They are all vacant lots. He helped develop the homes at Pendleton and Spring streets.
July 20, 20159 yr Glad to see sycamore hill hopefully adding some buildings in the future. Will be curious to see what the talbert house is proposing as well.
April 25, 20169 yr The best house in Mt. Auburn is up for sale...hard to believe this is for sale immediately next to a house on Helen St. that is listed for $20,000. https://www.sibcycline.com/Listing/CIN/1491234/2316-Auburncrest-Mt-Auburn-OH-45219
April 26, 20169 yr The best house in Mt. Auburn is up for sale...hard to believe this is for sale immediately next to a house on Helen St. that is listed for $20,000. https://www.sibcycline.com/Listing/CIN/1491234/2316-Auburncrest-Mt-Auburn-OH-45219 Proof of how undervalued Cincy real estate is- this is simply outstanding. What a gracious home.
April 26, 20169 yr It's a bit too HGTV for me, but sure, it's nice. What exactly does that mean? Not being snarky. I just hear a lot of people say that, but I feel like they all mean something different depending on the actual property it is said in reference to.
April 26, 20169 yr I'm curious as well. Because I'm seeing a lot of original details and very little "quick and cheaply renovated with reckless abandon" like what would actually come from something on HGTV.
April 26, 20169 yr How is that area of Mt. Auburn crime wise? I am looking at housing and want to get into a place where it is safe enough to walk around at night but at the same time is stabilizing. I was looking throughout Columbia Tusculum and it is just too expensive. Looking for around $150k
April 26, 20169 yr The best house in Mt. Auburn is up for sale...hard to believe this is for sale immediately next to a house on Helen St. that is listed for $20,000. https://www.sibcycline.com/Listing/CIN/1491234/2316-Auburncrest-Mt-Auburn-OH-45219 Interesting side-note. The home was once owned by John F. Deatrick.
April 26, 20169 yr Just my opinion, y'all are so sensitive! And how about I replace HGTV with "traditional and a bit boring", clear now?
April 26, 20169 yr Don't think anyone was being sensitive, your comment was just confusing. But traditional makes sense. It was built in 1819.
April 26, 20169 yr Don't think anyone was being sensitive, your comment was just confusing. But traditional makes sense. It was built in 1819. Is it really that old? County says 1865, but I know many dates aren't correct. Yes Yves, not sensitive, just trying to understand what HGTV exactly means to folks. Like is it a specific thing or not, because I'm confused when people use the term, but they all seemingly mean something different. I'm just going to say people use the term to comment on something they individually think looks over styled. There should never be sensitivity associated with style, as it's simply personal taste. I didn't take the original comment as being negative in the least.
April 26, 20169 yr You guys are alright :). And just to put an end to this, someone said "best house in Mt Auburn" or something to that effect. I just think it looks a lot like something that would get built today in Indian Hill. It's beautiful, but to me there are probably more exciting or unique homes in Mt. Auburn.
April 26, 20169 yr You guys are alright :). Ha ha Yves! I just had 600 people through my house for the Westwood Home Tour this past weekend.....I know what it's like to hear "comments" about renovation and decorating choices in ones home. Doesn't bother me at all, and I actually love the discussion created when somebody doesn't like something. It helps me learn why I like what I do, and even helps me see another argument for a differing style.
April 26, 20169 yr The type of photography done for these real estate listings is also very particular (peculiar?) in that they always seem to use a very wide angle lens, sitting low to the floor, making the rooms look a lot larger than they really are. I just drove Auburn Avenue yesterday and with all the demolitions that have happened in the neighborhood (Glencoe Place, the medical office on Wellington, the church at Auburn and McMillan) it's a lot more open and suburban looking. You get a better sense of the lay of the terrain (not unlike a lot of the rural hills and hollows of Campbell County Kentucky), but it's almost looking more like the neighborhood when it was first being built up, very haphazard and unfinished. Unfortunately that's the wrong direction for an urban neighborhood to be going, and I fear for its future, especially with Christ Hospital looming over it all.
April 26, 20169 yr Are there better houses in Mt. Auburn? Sure, but they aren't used as houses anymore -- Wm H Taft birthplace, etc. along Auburn Ave. and then the random large houses that dot the area but have been chopped up into apartments or simply poorly maintained. In other news, the flatiron building at Dorchester and Sycamore looks pretty close to ruin. There is a huge hole in the roof and the tarp flew off at least a week ago, so it'll be done after this week's storms. This building sold in 2014 or 2015 and the new owners didn't do jack other than throw some Katrina-surplus tarps on the roof.
April 26, 20169 yr Are there better houses in Mt. Auburn? Sure, but they aren't used as houses anymore -- Wm H Taft birthplace, etc. along Auburn Ave. and then the random large houses that dot the area but have been chopped up into apartments or simply poorly maintained. In other news, the flatiron building at Dorchester and Sycamore looks pretty close to ruin. There is a huge hole in the roof and the tarp flew off at least a week ago, so it'll be done after this week's storms. This building sold in 2014 or 2015 and the new owners didn't do jack other than throw some Katrina-surplus tarps on the roof. I love visiting the Taft House and it is stately as hell from the outside, but relative to the modern real estate market, I'd argue it never even belonged in the same class as the house you shared earlier in the thread. Just on account of how narrow and janky (read: well-preserved) the interior layout feels.
April 26, 20169 yr Are there better houses in Mt. Auburn? Sure, but they aren't used as houses anymore -- Wm H Taft birthplace, etc. along Auburn Ave. and then the random large houses that dot the area but have been chopped up into apartments or simply poorly maintained. In other news, the flatiron building at Dorchester and Sycamore looks pretty close to ruin. There is a huge hole in the roof and the tarp flew off at least a week ago, so it'll be done after this week's storms. This building sold in 2014 or 2015 and the new owners didn't do jack other than throw some Katrina-surplus tarps on the roof. Regarding the flatiron, I am constantly amazed at how I can get city orders for a dying tree, a flake of paint, or the occassional high grass on property I own. Yet, somehow, this BS is allowed to go on. I just do not understand.
April 26, 20169 yr It makes you wonder if they want it to fall down so that they can redevelop that weird wedge of land between Sycamore and the Dorchester retaining wall. There were still one or two other buildings just downhill from it through the mid-2000s. You can still see their outline on the retaining wall.
April 26, 20169 yr Not too sure but it seems like only 3 or 4 years ago that the last two adjacent buildings were removed. There's also an arch from an old stairwell that is still there.
April 26, 20169 yr Somehow I doubt it. There's so many geotechnical challenges to building on a site like that, on top of the whole wedge-shaped building issues and lot coverage and setback restrictions, not to mention off-street parking requirements. Remember Bombay Oven at Nixon and Jefferson that burned down? That wasn't even a wedge-shaped building, but it's certainly a narrow lot, and it's just been sitting fallow since. I wouldn't expect to see anything built there unless someone consolidates it with the old Adriatico's building and does a full redevelopment of the whole thing.
May 23, 20169 yr Did anyone else notice this (literally) sketched out "development plan" from the former Developer who started Kenwood Towne Place? http://nebula.wsimg.com/2182fe22b95d2c8e8ff459b3a53e9ce6?AccessKeyId=42515753DAC9BEC5148E&disposition=0&alloworigin=1 http://www.meridianrealtycap.com/developments.html http://www.wcpo.com/news/insider/cincinnatis-changing-retail-landscape-on-display-in-las-vegas-this-week
May 23, 20169 yr Did anyone else notice this (literally) sketched out "development plan" from the former Developer who started Kenwood Towne Place? http://nebula.wsimg.com/2182fe22b95d2c8e8ff459b3a53e9ce6?AccessKeyId=42515753DAC9BEC5148E&disposition=0&alloworigin=1 http://www.meridianrealtycap.com/developments.html http://www.wcpo.com/news/insider/cincinnatis-changing-retail-landscape-on-display-in-las-vegas-this-week Here is the listing for the large parcel, $2.9 million. https://www.sibcycline.com/Listing/CIN/1464532/1905-Bigelow-St-Mt-Auburn-OH-45219
May 23, 20169 yr Is it normal for developers to propose projects on land they don't own like in Mt Auburn above? I see the one for listed for Cold Springs is marketing the Furniture Fair store for redevelopment and even has a note not to call the current business but to call the developer. BTW the McDonalds on that cold springs plan dosent exist. It is an empty lot where the worlds slowest Burger King used to be.
May 23, 20169 yr what does it all mean? ^ Mid-High rise development. Looks like to me the way the have the sketches oriented looking 3D to the south they are interested in making them with views. ???
May 23, 20169 yr This looks interesting: http://www.meridianrealtycap.com/developments.html • Mid- to high-rise development in within minutes of major hospitals, medical facilities and the University of Cincinnati • Convenient to downtown shopping, restaurants and professional sports Aside from 1905 Bigelow (which is pending) all of the other parcels are owned by different owners and don't appear to be on the market... so I have a feeling this is a very preliminary idea/plan. Mt Auburn has some large tracts of vacant land, like at the corner of Josephine and Carmalt, that could support infill. Will be interesting to see how this proceeds. Mt Auburn has a lot going for it (nice architecture, close to UC and hospitals, close to OTR and downtown, some nice hillside views)... but one major weakness is that it has no "center" or business district for retail. Where are you going to go if you want a coffee or a bite to eat? In terms of pure distance, it's not very far to Short Vine or Calhoun, but it feels insurmountable to walk due to the design of McMillan and Taft as thoroughfares. Mt Auburn needs its own mini retail center, even if it is just a few storefronts. The City has been talking about funding "improvements" to Auburn St, but I haven't seen any proposals about how (if) they're going to make it more conducive to pedestrians and retail.
May 23, 20169 yr This looks interesting: http://www.meridianrealtycap.com/developments.html • Mid- to high-rise development in within minutes of major hospitals, medical facilities and the University of Cincinnati • Convenient to downtown shopping, restaurants and professional sports Aside from 1905 Bigelow (which is pending) all of the other parcels are owned by different owners and don't appear to be on the market... so I have a feeling this is a very preliminary idea/plan. Mt Auburn has some large tracts of vacant land, like at the corner of Josephine and Carmalt, that could support infill. Will be interesting to see how this proceeds. Mt Auburn has a lot going for it (nice architecture, close to UC and hospitals, close to OTR and downtown, some nice hillside views)... but one major weakness is that it has no "center" or business district for retail. Where are you going to go if you want a coffee or a bite to eat? In terms of pure distance, it's not very far to Short Vine or Calhoun, but it feels insurmountable to walk due to the design of McMillan and Taft as thoroughfares. Mt Auburn needs its own mini retail center, even if it is just a few storefronts. The City has been talking about funding "improvements" to Auburn St, but I haven't seen any proposals about how (if) they're going to make it more conducive to pedestrians and retail. I don't think the city has plans to make Auburn Ave more conducive to pedestrians. DOTE wants to widen it, actually.
May 23, 20169 yr Now that they are gone I doubt anyone would ever step up to build the 5+ story foundations needed to support buildings at the top of the hill again but I'd love to see a restored recreation of this view in person some day.
May 23, 20169 yr ^That'd be awesome. If somebody does build there (the views would be sweet), it'd be neat if the City used its 25' right of way to rebuild those steps. Further west along Dorchester, Christ owns a huge vacant lot. I wonder what their plan is for that space. Whatever it is, it'll have a huge impact on that block and the top of that hill.
May 24, 20169 yr Regarding the Auburn Ave streetscape, a year ago City Council asked for funding for the project, but it <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2015/05/19/city-manager-ignores-city-council-budget-requests.html">wasn't included in the Manager's budget</a>. I haven't heard anything since then. Does anybody know if there has been any effort to get this funding into the budget this year? Here's the <a href="http://city-egov.cincinnati-oh.gov/Webtop/ws/council/public/documents/Record?rpp=10&upp=0&m=1&w=NATIVE%28%27DOC_DESCRIPT+ph+words+%27%27inwood%27%27+and+doc_type_codes+%3D+%27%27MOT%27%27%27%29&order=native%28%27doc_no%2FDescend%27%29">City Council motion</a>, which specifically mentions improving pedestrian connectivity along Auburn Ave: MOTION, dated 03/18/2015, submitted by Councilmembers Winburn, Seelbach, Murray, Smitherman and Young, that the Cincinnati City Council direct the City Administration to assist with the 100 million dollar private residential and commercial office project in Mt. Auburn, in order to leverage the city's investment in Mt. Auburn, regarding the following: 1. Include in the FY 2016-2017 capital budget that appropriate funding based upon administrative review for street improvements relative to the Northern Gateway to Mt. Auburn including Auburn Avenue streetscape. This will also provide substantial improvements to pedestrian connectivity as well. 2. Include in the FY 2016-2017 capital budget based upon administrative review regarding Inwood Park improvements pursuant to the 2006 Uptown Park plan and updated January 2015 to facilitate new housing to be constructed adjacent to the park.
May 26, 20169 yr Nothing new, just an old photo showing the above scenic view from the opposite direction (if you zoom in on the one in the link it is pretty clear). Lots of infill needed to get back this crazy amount of density again. but id love it if someone built a signature building at the top of the hill at the curve. Might tick off people across the street who have grown accustomed to the view though. https://drc.libraries.uc.edu/handle/2374.UC/726254
May 26, 20169 yr ^great photo! Thanks for sharing. Totally agree about the great opportunity for a signature building there, though it does pose plenty of site challenges due to its shape and topography.
June 1, 20169 yr Here’s a closer look at $35M Mount Auburn apartment projects One of those projects is Wellington Place, a $35 million development that would add 60 renovated apartment units and 259 new units to the neighborhood. Schimberg, president of Uptown Rental Properties, said the apartments will bring workforce housing to the community, a type of apartment product that currently does not exist there. http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2016/06/01/here-s-a-closer-look-at-35m-mount-auburn-apartment.html?ana=twt
June 1, 20169 yr More details on the Wellington Place project is on <a href="http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/planning/about-city-planning/city-planning-commission/jun-3-2016-packet/">page 116 of the June 3 Planning Commission Packet</a>. The project is going before the Planning Commission, requesting a change in zoning to become a Planned Development. Their preliminary site plan looks like it was designed to conform to the old zoning of <a href="https://www2.municode.com/library/oh/cincinnati/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIXIZOCOCI_CH1405REMUMIDI">Residential Multi-family 0.7</a>, which requires 25' setbacks. I'm hoping that they're granted the zoning change and that as part of the Planned Development they reconsider the excessive setbacks in the current design (appears to be ~35' from property line on Wellington Place). Wellington Place is a beautiful street that deserves to have buildings built up closer to the sidewalk. I like that there isn't just one huge building taking up the whole block. It's nice to have 4 smaller buildings breaking up the space visually, allowing for some variation of height (~15' of elevation change between the 4 buildings). I like that the parking garage is behind the buildings and there's only one curb cut on Wellington for residents to use for parking. There are a few other curb cuts for service vehicles. The buildings are going to be four levels and the garage is also going to be 4 levels, but the garage will be "sunk" down due to the topography of how the hill drops down to Glencoe to the south. So, the top of the garage will be level with the courtyards of the apartments, which is a nice way to minimize the presence of the garage. The big thing that stands out though is the empty surface parking at the corner of Wellington and Auburn Ave. I'm hoping that that parcel is being left as parking temporarily for a new, mixed-use building to go in there... but who knows. Maybe they'll just leave it as surface parking forever. I'm curious what the plan is for Glencoe Place. Ideally, something would be built on the north side of Glencoe Place that would cover up the 4-story garage. That 450'x60' parcel is owned by an LLC with a mailing address at 421 E Fourth St (the Guilford building, home of Western & Southern). In the Planning Commission's notes, it says: The site can be maximized by taking advantage of additional properties in the residential zoning district that is on the south side of the proposed site. Here's the site plan:
June 7, 20169 yr After lengthy discussion, $30M Mount Auburn apartments move forward Plans for 259 new apartments in Mount Auburn moved forward last week, but not before a lengthy discussion about the possible impact of the project. Uptown Rental Properties and its partner North American Properties went before Cincinnati Planning Commission asking it to accept the concept plan and development program statement for 111 Wellington Place and approve a change in zoning to planned development. The planning commission unanimously approved the concept plan and zoning change after hearing from concerned neighboring property owners. More below: http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2016/06/06/after-lengthy-discussion-30m-mount-auburn.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
June 13, 20169 yr I was looking at satellite images of Mt Auburn and noticed a massive retaining wall on the west (downhill) side of Walker St that cuts across about 25 property parcels. I didn't know anything about the history of the project but a bit of googling revealed a <a href="http://city-egov.cincinnati-oh.gov/Webtop/ws/council/public/child/Blob/26817.pdf;jsessionid=6B6182040BEE0A338519C1AE555A2B67?m=25733">motion submitted by Roxanne Qualls</a> and <a href="http://city-egov.cincinnati-oh.gov/Webtop/ws/fyi/public/fyi_docs/Blob/2413.pdf;jsessionid=807C4DF10513DFC4BD5B1EE92BF725F0?rpp=-10&m=1&w=doc_no%3D%272003%27">more detailed report from Dohoney</a> back in 2009. Apparently a series of small landsides resulted in lawsuits against individual property owners. To prevent further landslides, the property owners decided to have the City build the entire length of wall, assessing the property owners to cover the costs, financed over 30 years. This type of financing is enabled through <a href="http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/727.11v1">section 727.11 of the Ohio Revised Code</a>. You can see how the Special Assessment was levied on each of those properties (ex: <a href="http://wedge3.hcauditor.org/view/re/0870004004400/2015/special_assessments">1835 Walker</a>), with a full payoff by 2044. I couldn't find any information on this project after 2009... so I'm not sure how the final costs/financing came out. This might not be interesting to other people, but to me it's a fascinating (and unusual) method for shared financing where the benefits and costs (of the wall) are shared by the property owners, with a long term amortization through a tax assessment. If anybody knows more about this project, I'd be curious to hear the details. 2012 (pre-wall): 2013 (construction begins): 2014 (construction complete): March 2016 (latest imagery):
June 13, 20169 yr You've got to wonder if that slide happened in part because the city tore down everything on the east side of Sycamore 20 years ago. In other Mt. Auburn news, some Mt. Adams-type hillside residential construction is underway on Boal and Peublo streets.
June 13, 20169 yr You've got to wonder if that slide happened in part because the city tore down everything on the east side of Sycamore 20 years ago. In other Mt. Auburn news, some Mt. Adams-type hillside residential construction is underway on Boal and Peublo streets. The <a href="http://city-egov.cincinnati-oh.gov/Webtop/ws/fyi/public/fyi_docs/Blob/2413.pdf;jsessionid=807C4DF10513DFC4BD5B1EE92BF725F0?rpp=-10&m=1&w=doc_no%3D%272003%27">Dohoney report</a> says "The property at the lower portion of the hillside between Alma and Sycamore Street is owned by the Park Board. Buildings in the area were demolished and replaced with a compacted earthen buttress in the mid to late 1970's." I'm don't know much about "compacted earthen buttresses", but some cursory research makes it seem like a decent approach to preventing further landslides. The issues to date all seem to be above Alma (not below). With City-owned property on hillsides that aren't easily build-able (like the Alma right of way), I think it'd be neat to create a network of hiking / mountain biking trails.
June 13, 20169 yr It's interesting how thoroughly that hillside was scraped clean of buildings. Not like it was always that way.
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