Last Saturday, I had the pleasure to participate in the Gateway Quarter blogger tour hosted by Michael & Holly Redmond, Jim Moll and several other developers that are responsible for the redevelopment of Over-the-Rhine’s Vine Street corridor known as the Gateway Quarter.  The tour included the Gateway Condos, Deveneck Flats, Duncanson Lofts, Centennial Row and several buildings that are part of phase II.  I had been on the previous Over-the-Rhine home tour so I was familiar with several of the buildings but the unique aspect of this tour made for a more informed walk through.  One thing I noticed during the meeting was the passion and dedication that the developers had for the project.  Many of them live in the neighborhood, many of them truly care about the existing residents as well as bringing Over-the-Rhine back to life.  I think we can sometimes forget how decayed that part of Vine Street used to be.  If you need to be refreshed, I suggest you visit the Gateway Quarter visitor center and see the photos on the wall of how the area used to look.  They are very powerful photos and I hope 3CDC makes them more prominent in the visitor center to remind people just how much they have accomplished in such a short time.  The momentum of this project is in full force and I look forward to watching it take shape.  With the Banks project, Queen City Square, Fountain Square, City West, the Cincinnati Streetcar Project and the Over-the-Rhine Gateway Quarter, Cincinnati is sure to look different in the next five years and from all signs, the city is on the up and up in not only quality of life, but pride.  Just look to the internet, people are coming around, blogs are popping up that are positive about the city and people are tired of the Enquirer dictating a negative mindset that is no longer acceptable.  If you haven’t been to Over-the-Rhine in a while, make sure you visit the Gateway Quarter’s visitor center and ask to be shown several of the redeveloped lofts and while you are there, visit some of the great retail that has opened up along Vine Street.

 

Here are the photos from the Tour:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are photos I took on the same day throughout the city:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last but not least, the infamous Cut-in-the-Hill shot of the Cincinnati Skyline:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hope you enjoyed viewing the Queen City as much as I have.

 

 

Nice set of pictures, as always! The Gateway Quarter in OTR looks spectacular.

Couple things,

 

First I love, love, love the bright colors they have painted many of the exteriors of buildings in OTR...just fantastic and really helps to show off the architectural details that make those buildings so great.

 

Secondly, that shot of the Cincy skyline (with the suspension bridge) never seems to get old...good stuff.

 

Thirdly, I LOVE CINCINNATI!

Wow - the Gateway Quarter is looking great.  Those are some crisp, clear shots of the city.

Thirdly, I LOVE CINCINNATI!

 

Yeah ya do.

 

Great pics Monte, thanks for giving me a great new desktop background. 

Couple things,

 

First I love, love, love the bright colors they have painted many of the exteriors of buildings in OTR...just fantastic and really helps to show off the architectural details that make those buildings so great.

 

Secondly, that shot of the Cincy skyline (with the suspension bridge) never seems to get old...good stuff.

 

Thirdly, I LOVE CINCINNATI!

 

Getting all homesick down there in the ATL?  :-D

 

 

 

I took a tour of some of the units in The Gateway Quarter and fell in love with it. They were empty though, it's nice to see what they look like furnished. I especially liked the ones with upstairs lofts. The prices are very reasonable and the units are a great investment.

 

Monte those transformation tools you used are trippy  :-o

Beautiful pictures!

Gorgeous pics.

Love love love the lighting from Covington.

 

And the OTR shots are nice too ;).

So, I don't know why I never noticed that Carew is lopsided before, but does anyone know why it was built that way?

Lopsided? What do you mean by that?

amazing pics.  Cincinnati's skyline always cheers me up

By lopsided, I mean that the top portion is not symmetrical.  The west side is larger and has less setbacks than the east side.

great work with the colors and contrasts and those other happy technical terms winner

By lopsided, I mean that the top portion is not symmetrical.  The west side is larger and has less setbacks than the east side.

 

You are right, the west side is flat at the top, and the east side has setbacks. I'm wondering if it was designed this way to leave enough room at the top for the observation deck.

bump

Great pics... But now I'm all homesick again, dammit. At least I'll be back in Cincy for a visit in less than two weeks, and if all works out the way I hope it does, I'll be living back there this time next year.

 

By lopsided, I mean that the top portion is not symmetrical.  The west side is larger and has less setbacks than the east side.

 

You are right, the west side is flat at the top, and the east side has setbacks. I'm wondering if it was designed this way to leave enough room at the top for the observation deck.

 

The tower is shaped that way because the elevator/stair core, rather than being in the center of the floor plate, is offset to the west (toward the Netherland Plaza portion of the complex, where there isn't much of a view from the lower portions of the office tower) so that the remaining leasable space is more efficient. Carew's floor plates on the upper floors are very small for an office building, and having the elevator core and mechanical services in the center of the floor would make the space unusable for office tenants. Setbacks can't occur on that side of the building because the elevator shafts are adjacent to the exterior wall.

 

Note how when you go to the observation deck and transfer to that tiny elevator on the 45th floor, the main elevator lobby on that floor has an exterior window at one end, and the other end opens to the hallway. If the elevator core were in the center of the floor, there would be a hallway at either end and no window.

<3 my Emery building

There are less than 3 Emery Buildings!?!

Gorgeous photos, impressive tour. Although I've only been there once since I started hanging out on UO, I'm delighted to see the changes in OTR that the photos show. It's been quite remarkable in a comparatively short time.

yeah looks like otr is getting more and more redeveloped. i loved the "insider" apt tour shots.

Great and amazing photos. It looking fantastic and also Gorgeous photos, impressive tour.. Thanks for sharing...

I'll be G D'd if Cincinnati doesn't look like a miniature New York!