Posted July 29, 200420 yr I found a rendering of the proposed project at the NW corner of Columbia Parkway and Delta Ave. (across from the Precinct). It's hard to judge by the rendering, but I don't much care for it and don't think it fits in too well with the other buildings in the area.
July 29, 200420 yr ^I agree, I don't think it fits too well with the Columbia-Tusculum neighborhood. Am I correct that this is going on an empty lot? Help me out here, the other corners are a YMCA building (still there?), the Precinct, and what else? Is this project still part of the plan that Neyer has been proposing?
July 29, 200420 yr yes, it's currently an empty lot. i passed the billboard for it whilst on my way to riverbend a few days ago and only caught a glimpse. looked good from what i saw. now that i can see it better, i think it's quite possibly the ugliest thing i've ever seen in my life. tell me it's a joke. and wtf is up with the setback???
July 29, 200420 yr That is awful. Looks like something from the 70's. Yuck the worst decade for architecture ever! I could picture a few old Buick station wagons in the parking lot...
July 29, 200420 yr Well, whatever it is, it's better than an empty lot. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
July 30, 200420 yr Well, whatever it is, it's better than an empty lot. Normally I would agree, but once this beast is built there won't be a chance for anything else on the site for decades, most likely. Opportunity cost!
July 30, 200420 yr I havn't been out to that intersection in a while, so I may be wrong here. Isn't there a retaining wall on that property? I thought that the Columbia Parkway retaining wall ended at or very near to that intersection.
July 30, 200420 yr Well' date=' whatever it is, it's better than an empty lot.[/quote'] Normally I would agree, but once this beast is built there won't be a chance for anything else on the site for decades, most likely. Opportunity cost! They are building an equally disgusting mini-commercial district across from the Precinct as well (for a "downtown Columbia-Tusculum" ish type of thing) so I say hell, it fits. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
August 4, 200420 yr I just past this corner this weekend. Some of you are wrong, there is no surface lots. It is a corner filled with greenery and trees. Please stop the madness. I would rather have trees than that huck of 70's crapola on that corner.
February 22, 200520 yr UPDATE: I drove by the corner of Columbia and Delta today, and nothing at all was happening with Columbia Square. The parcel in question (NW corner of intersection) was overgrown and has a "For Lease" Al Neyer sign. Neyer's website said nothing other than the couple of news stories from over a year ago. Neyer is listed as the "tax bill mailing address" on the auditor's website. The auditors website didn't show any information for the other three corners, which I thought was odd. I also found this PDF file with leasing information and building specs on it: http://www.clcrealty.com/listings/CSBroch+FS.pdf
February 23, 200520 yr Grasscat, I found it. Like all the others around it, it is owned by Neyer/Columbia Square LLC. It took some digging, but the exact parcel number of the old YMCA is 028-0005-0001-90. Sometimes parcels are tied to other parcels and show a "no record". As for the other two corners, I know the Junior League owns their building and the Precinct is probably owned by a Jeff Ruby holding company, "The Precinct Associates".
February 23, 200520 yr ^ Thanks. Admittedly, I didn't spend more than 15 seconds trying to find them.
March 29, 200520 yr Looks like this project is gaining some real momentum...... Columbia Tusculum square may be just around corner By Steve Kemme Enquirer staff writer COLUMBIA TUSCULUM - For thousands of motorists a day, this neighborhood is nothing more than a blur of houses, decaying storefronts and billboards to drive past on the way to and from work. But now, the Columbia Parkway corridor of Cincinnati's oldest neighborhood is on the verge of being transformed into a landscaped boulevard with a town-square atmosphere.
March 29, 200520 yr For all of Neyer's willingness to develop properties around here, they certainly have awful architects. The Delta Call Center is hideous, as well as the garage they designed on 7th street. This project on Columbia Parkway is just another one of Neyer's bland designs. As much as I would like to see it happen, I wish someone other than Neyer were designing it. Although in all fairness to Neyer, I do like his design for the Michigan Terrace Condos in Hyde Park.
April 1, 200520 yr Here is some new info from Neyer's website..... Columbia Square Urban Development - Mixed-Use - Office, Residential, and Retail Columbia Tusculum neighborhood, Cincinnati, Ohio Eight acre mixed-use development 50,000 square feet of Class A office 25,000 square feet of retail 60 upscale residential units in two phases 6 to 12 luxury townhomes Off-street parking for shoppers, residents and employees Columbia Tusculum, first settled in 1788, is Cincinnati's oldest neighborhood, rich in history and unique character. Columbia Square will be a mixed-use project that creates a new downtown area, conducive to walking, working, shopping and meeting. Working closely with the City of Cincinnati and the Columbia Tusculum community, Al. Neyer is taking a comprehensive development approach to this project. We plan to break ground on Columbia Square early this fall. Everything looks good to me except the final picture of the office building, that thing is hideous!
April 1, 200520 yr That and the shitload of surface lots. It's about damn time Neyer got around to putting this thing on their website.
April 1, 200520 yr must say i agree completely with brutus on this one. neyer has the interest and ability to make things happen, but apparently lack the knowledge and experience to create genuinely urban places.
June 19, 200519 yr I just noticed the sign on the corner of Col. Parkway and Delta now says "Construction Starting Fall 2005".
June 20, 200519 yr Neyer sets $9M East Side project Office building, 'European-style plaza' to be featured at Columbia Square Laura Baverman Courier Staff Reporter Construction will begin in October on a nearly $9 million office building at Al Neyer Inc.'s Columbia Square development -- and downtown professional service firms are interested in being tenants. The 51,000-square-foot building and an adjacent two-story parking garage are the first pieces of the project, planned for the northwest corner of the Columbia Parkway and Delta Avenue in Columbia Tusculum. The crossroads also houses The Precinct restaurant and the historic Junior League building. http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2005/06/20/story4.html
July 16, 200519 yr Oldest city neighborhood awaits widening Columbia Tusculum project a go By Steve Kemme Enquirer staff writer COLUMBIA TUSCULUM - The project to widen Columbia Parkway in Columbia Tusculum's business district, which the city had hoped to begin last month, will begin in late August or early September. Besides widening Columbia Parkway between Delta and Stanley avenues, the project involves adding a landscaped median, brick sidewalks, new trees, boulevard lighting and a traffic signal at Columbia and Hoge Street. http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050716/NEWS01/507160400/1056
July 16, 200519 yr Good news for Koka Coffee House on Eastern...I guess they get a ton of business from folks dodging traffic on 50... But losing the YMCA building? I guess there's no way to widen it without doing so...anyone have a picture of the place handy? If not, I'll try to get one later today...
August 21, 200519 yr The road project has begun, and I STRONGLY RECOMMEND avoiding the area, especially approaching via Delta. They had it shut down to one lane in every direction with traffic being directed by a police officer. Priority is given to traffic on Columbia Pkwy, and I sat at the intersection waiting for a good fifteen minutes.
November 15, 200519 yr I just drove by this site and earth is being turned on the south side of Columbia Parkway, just east of Delta (behind the old YMCA). About time!
April 7, 200619 yr I drove through here a couple of times last week and the roadwork is coming along very quickly. To the east of Delta Avenue, the street widening is complete and the new curbs and sidewalks look to be almost done. Nice to see this finally moving along.
June 16, 200618 yr I think there might be some action soon. Neyer has applied for a demo permit to take down 3500 Eastern Ave (sometimes referred to as 314 Delta). It's a shame they couldn't incorporate this building into the design. Instead, they are tearing it down and putting a two-story office building in its place. :wtf:
June 16, 200618 yr I considered (to the point of drafting a letter) contacting those involved with this project. This is one of those projects that if it's not done right now, it won't be corrected for a long time. I worry and wish I had more influence.
June 16, 200618 yr what a horrible shame....how in the world could that property not have been working into the plan
June 16, 200618 yr ^ That I don't know, and that's a good question. From the site plan it doesn't appear that that intersection will be much different than it is now. This is looking like a fucking disgrace. This should be a real CENTER that complements all of the surrounding housing development. Instead it's Anderson Township West.
June 19, 200618 yr Yeah Neyer is disappointing on this one. Who at Neyer thought this looked good? Did someone dig this up from the pile of 1970's failures? I don't care how long ago the 1970's were, that style will never look good. It is up there with "burnt orange" and "drab green". Please bury the whole decade, archetecturally speaking. I am going to coin the term "Neo 70" Anything within this style will offically suck. So if you see another building that has remnants from that decade, just post in all caps, "NEO 70" and we will know what you are talking about.
June 19, 200618 yr id say the burnt orange is brick, the light orange is wood, and the green is the tint of the glass...seems right on pace with any other building in the city
June 19, 200618 yr I don't think that the building on the northwest corner is that bad, all things considered. I don't care for it's relation to the street, but it's tough to pull off since there's no sidewalk. Tearing down the Y is the disgrace. And it's not for traffic purposes, either. The replacement is hideous. Actually, the best thing about the project so far has been the new sidewalks and slightly reoriented Parkway.
June 19, 200618 yr Anyone else think "Columbia Square" was an uninspired choice? How many of those are there in the U.S.? I would have gone with the more prosaic Tusculum, which brings to mind the practical philosophy and wise patriotism of Cicero: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tusculum I would have gone with something with an interior loggia (underrated and underused in the U.S.) with a couple of stories of apartments and one storefront. Basically I would have ripped off the Plaza Real in Barcelona. I tried to post a picture of it I found on the internet but I don't have the web skills to pull it off, so here's the link: http://www.donquijote.org/album/rate.asp?id=744 I don't know who that person is or who took that picture.
June 30, 200618 yr I noticed they just started tearing down the YMCA building yesterday. The streetwork is moving along very quickly and is really going to help the area.
July 3, 200618 yr I drove past (well, rode past) on Saturday, and thought I was going to get a picture of the demo, but it turns out my camera was set on movie-mode. So, I got a video clip of the building in mid-demolition. Sorry for the wobble - as I said, I thought I was just snapping a shot! Here's the video...
July 3, 200618 yr LOL, that was great. I thought I was watching a "B" movie about Detroit Ruins... Nice finish with the peace sign at the end.
July 13, 200618 yr From the 7/12/06 Eastern Hills Journal: Prep work begins on Columbia Square BY FORREST SELLERS | COMMUNITY PRESS STAFF WRITER COLUMBIA TUSCULUM -- It may not be a groundbreaking, but the demolition of a YMCA last week may be a start. Demolition crews removed the YMCA at the southeast corner of Delta Avenue and Columbia Parkway to make room for the Columbia Square development. http://news.communitypress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060712/NEWS01/607120728/1002/RSS01
November 20, 200618 yr Wholesale clearing on this project has begun! The main parcel(s), on the SEC of Delta and Columbia Parkway are being cleared of all remaining trees, structures, fill, etc. Nice to see this thing moving forward. Also, the street improvements are great. A new light at Stanley and traffic islands and new curbs and sidewalks.
November 21, 200618 yr nice...finally some action down there. i agree the improvements to the area have been nice. i wish some of the properties on the north side of columbia see this as an opportunity to do a little developing of their own. on another note...if this development is as crappy as the gateway condos i will forever despise the folks at neyer. looking at their renderings a little closer it seems this will be right on par.
November 25, 200618 yr I grabbed a few shots today of the site being cleared A bonus shot of the homes going up on the other side of Columbia Parkway
November 25, 200618 yr Nicely done! I'm gonna miss that YMCA building for a long time, but hopefully whatever they end up with will make me forget...
November 25, 200618 yr what's the deal with the roofline on that last house? looks like a movie set prop facade.
November 25, 200618 yr what's the deal with the roofline on that last house? looks like a movie set prop facade. I noticed that too, but not until I was already back at home. My guess is they put on a rooftop deck, either that or just crappy design.
November 26, 200618 yr Man that rendering posted earlier looks like crap...not only is it a bad graphical image, but the design sucks...especially for this area!!!! I am sometimes totally shocked by the crap that "professionals" throw out there.
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