Randy, when did you get the key to the vault with all of the renderings for the entire cincinnati area?

 

I'm good aren't I?  :-D

I had to walk across this crappy surface lot when I took the #28 Bus from Downtown to Allyn's Cafe.

Absolutely disgusting.

 

I've had a strange feeling lately.  I get so aggravated here (in SF) that such small groups of people are able to stop so many good projects for whatever reason.  I often respect their viewpoints and occasionally agree, but overall I think this anti-change attitude (progressive SF, really?) suffocates the growth of the city.  To wit, the proposed Whole Foods/residential at Haight and Stanyan, which, some of you may know, is quite a prominent corner, despite its current condition: http://sfist.com/2008/07/24/haight_neighbors_make_compelling_ar.php

 

There are hundreds of other examples here, and while I personally don't care for the architecture proposed in the above example, it's a good project that should be moving forward.  "Columbia Square" on the other hand, is a disgrace to the neighborhood and should have been vehemently fought against. 

 

People here oppose anything and everything and nothing gets built.  People in Cincy say nothing and anything gets built.  Even the absolute worst, as we see here.

^There is no way that this project destroyed the neighborhood.  Columbia Tusculum is a hillside community, meaning that the "neighborhood" is up on the hill with it's real gathering spot being Alms Park- not the commercial strip on Columbia Parkway.  This whole site was previously vacant with some billboards here and there. If this project can help draw some commercial space and even maybe some retail, CT gains.  Sure the design isn't breathtaking, but this space needed something more functional than beautiful, and that is what it got. 

^There is no way that this project destroyed the neighborhood. Columbia Tusculum is a hillside community, meaning that the "neighborhood" is up on the hill with it's real gathering spot being Alms Park- not the commercial strip on Columbia Parkway. This whole site was previously vacant with some billboards here and there. If this project can help draw some commercial space and even maybe some retail, CT gains. Sure the design isn't breathtaking, but this space needed something more functional than beautiful, and that is what it got.

 

I don't think CiNYC said the neighborhood was "destroyed" by this project.  He just said it was weak.  Basically they filled in a gulley to make a parking lot and worked on a section of Columbia Parkway.  However, the two buildings that sit in the parking lot rather than front either Columbia or Eastern are a perfect example of the incipient suburbanization of the City.

Nobody will ever know how it will turn out until people start using it...and about SF.  Being in a liberal city will do that to people;) that's not a slap towards liberals either.  Maybe I've already pushed buttons...I better run now.

Three tenants to open long-planned Columbia SquareBusiness Courier of Cincinnati - by Lisa Biank Fasig Staff Reporter

 

Three years after it broke ground in Columbia Tusculum, the office-and-retail center Columbia Square is about to welcome an energy company, a bagel shop and an all-night gym.

 

Sycamore Gas, Bruegger’s Bagels and Everyday Fitness are all scheduled to open at the center by early November. They are the first tenants at the roughly 79,000-square-foot project, developed on Columbia Parkway by Al Neyer Inc. Other leases, including one with a salon and another for a high-end restaurant, are being negotiated.

 

http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2008/10/06/story13.html

what does this mean?

   

    -“We talked to every local major guy in the city.”

 

what does this mean?

   

    -“We talked to every local major guy in the city.”

 

 

... Um yeah, I got a call from him the other day.

A bagel shop there makes a heck of a lot of sense.  I'm glad it's the local guy - Bruegger's Bagels - but at the same time I'm a little disappointed it isn't an Einstein Bagels.

A bagel shop there makes a heck of a lot of sense. I'm glad it's the local guy - Bruegger's Bagels - but at the same time I'm a little disappointed it isn't an Einstein Bagels.

 

I thought Bruegger's was a national chain.

A bagel shop there makes a heck of a lot of sense.  I'm glad it's the local guy - Bruegger's Bagels - but at the same time I'm a little disappointed it isn't an Einstein Bagels.

 

Brueggers isn't local

the site plan still bothers me.  why didnt they bring those structures up to columbia parkway?  Those lots along c. parkway could have easily been hidden.  wtf?

at the same time I'm a little disappointed it isn't an Einstein Bagels.

 

Tell me about it!  I'm dying for an Einstein Bros to open in this area.

the site plan still bothers me. why didnt they bring those structures up to columbia parkway? Those lots along c. parkway could have easily been hidden. wtf?

 

Neyer

the site plan still bothers me. why didnt they bring those structures up to columbia parkway? Those lots along c. parkway could have easily been hidden. wtf?

 

Yes, they could have.  As they could have easily incorporated the existing historic structure on the corner, rather than needlessly razing it.  It just seems lazy to me.

A bagel shop there makes a heck of a lot of sense.  I'm glad it's the local guy - Bruegger's Bagels - but at the same time I'm a little disappointed it isn't an Einstein Bagels.

 

Brueggers isn't local

 

For some reason I thought they were a home-grown business.

 

Either way...I drove past the site today and it looks very suburban aside from that one corner building.  The rest of it almost looks like a strip mall of sorts.  Seems like it would fit much better in Buckhead (Atlanta) than CT in Cincinnati.  I'll try to snap a picture when I pass later.

Here are a few pictures from a couple weeks ago.  Most of the exterior finishes are now complete (brick and siding both).

 

1. NW corner of Delta & Columbia Pwky

 

2.

 

3. The Precinct across the street

 

4.

 

5.

 

6. And now the crappy suburban portion

 

7.

 

8.

 

9. Looking back west on US 50

 

10. So long from across the street

that is so sad.

Agreed. 

 

Gee, I wonder what will go into the shopping center??  All you have to do is look at other centers for a clue.

 

They royally screwed up.

 

That new building on the corner is hideous too.  It *used to be* a historic corner...

This project shows that Cincinnati is not commited to enforcing good urban design within its own borders, specifically:

 

-Articulation standards of >4' per 30' of frontage

->75% street frontage

-Parking oriented to the rear of buildings

 

These are just three very basic ones that would have changed very little about this projects economic viability. It came out the way it did because Cincinnati has a culture of "We will approve anything if you just build it within the City." This is understandable. But please don't convince yourselves that it is good development. Understand your limitations, accept that Cincinnati is not doing things that it *could* be doing to improve urban design, and educate your population.

 

 

Cincinnati has the worst traffic lights.  There are about 8 different styles throughout the city.  Can we clean up those nasty hanging wired traffic lights with something a little more pleasing to the eye?

Cincinnati has the worst traffic lights.  There are about 8 different styles throughout the city.  Can we clean up those nasty hanging wired traffic lights with something a little more pleasing to the eye?

 

That would be nice.  I liked the downtown variety that they put in on 3rd Street.  Unfortunately the City quickly let them fall into disrepair with street name lettering falling apart.

Cincinnati has the worst traffic lights. There are about 8 different styles throughout the city. Can we clean up those nasty hanging wired traffic lights with something a little more pleasing to the eye?

 

That would be nice. I liked the downtown variety that they put in on 3rd Street. Unfortunately the City quickly let them fall into disrepair with street name lettering falling apart.

 

How do you *quickly* let something happen?

 

But really, do you have a photographic example.  I'm having trouble picturing what you are talking about.

How do you *quickly* let something happen?

 

Meaning the quickly started ignoring maintenance on them.

 

 

But really, do you have a photographic example.  I'm having trouble picturing what you are talking about.

 

No.  :laugh:

It costs between $1M and $4M per mile to bury utility lines, and high voltage transmission lines (the big ones that hum) have been quoted at up to $20M per mile.

 

Duke has stated that it would cost $4.5B to bury all the streetside lines in the Cincinnati area.

 

Even though I think hanging our power and comm wires on wooden sticks is shameful and equivalent to shitting in your backyard as opposed to your toilet, personally I don't think it's worth paying for in the United States because we don't have very high-quality built environments. It is more common to bury them in Europe, but they have a much nicer built environment and spend a lot more time in urban areas.

 

I think the demand...and willingness to pay for...buried utilities will emerge in America as urban areas repopulate and the built environment gets more attractive.

 

The Duke quote was a response to Todd Portune asking for buried utilities as a way to avoid storm outages. His more conservative associated poo-pooh'd it as too expensive.

 

 

 

That and the fact that so many European cities were destroyed in war and when they rebuilt (from the ground up) they decided to bury the lines (this was also a defensive posture . . . making bombing less effective at destroying cities electrical infrastructure . . . they were the frontline of a war for most of the century).

While burying power & comm lines would be nice, I am just asking for uniformity with street lights throughout the city with the wires being replaced with a common pole, preferably in black. 

 

Maybe something like this:

 

I find Cincinnati's span-wire systems to be quite nice, in comparison to those often used in Kentucky. Tightly spun wire hooks that leave a single stream of wires, traffic signals mounted on uniformly measured poles, along with the signage, and a rather orderly appearance. Kentucky, on the other hand, typically uses a larger wire hook, so the wires have the chance to become disorderly and messy.

 

Mast arms would be preferred, but are much more expensive. In areas where there are above-ground utilities, mast arms would be welcomed. In others, where the utilities sans the traffic signals are buried, sometimes it's not really worth the hassle.

 

Speaking of, has anyone went up to Montgomery at Cooper/Montgomery? Three of the mast spans are of one style and have been up for years as part of an earlier streetscaping effort. One was most likely knocked down, and was replaced with a regular steel pole, nothing fancy or even painted to resemble the others.

 

The city needs to update its lighting stock with LEDs. Far more efficient and bright, especially with the smaller 8 inch variants.

 

--

 

Out of curiosity, anyone notice the Sycamore and Central intersection? The left turn lane going EB was eliminated when they reconstructed Central Parkway, yet the signal remained (over the former left turn lane). I thought that the city had forgotten to remove the signal, until I noticed the sign next to it. At morning rush, it will feature a no-left-turn arrow; during other times, it will feature a left-turn-only arrow. I'm not for sure how it changes, as the sign itself is very thin but obviously different than just a regular shield.

Cooper/Montgomery was hit by the '98? tornado so that probably explains the blow down (though a drunk driver might as well)

Cooper/Montgomery was hit by the '98? tornado so that probably explains the blow down (though a drunk driver might as well)

The tornado was further east, over by Harper's Point.

Bruegger's to open at Columbia Square

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20081113/BIZ01/811140332/1055/NEWS

 

Bruegger's Bagel is expected to open by May at Columbia Square, an office and retail campus in Columbia Tusculum under development by downtown-based Al. Neyer, Inc.

 

Construction is expected to begin before the end of the year on a 4,000-square-foot building that will house Bruegger's and have room for another retail tenant, said Molly Paquette, manager of real estate development with Neyer.

Bruegger's to open at Columbia Square

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20081113/BIZ01/811140332/1055/NEWS

 

Bruegger's Bagel is expected to open by May at Columbia Square, an office and retail campus in Columbia Tusculum under development by downtown-based Al. Neyer, Inc.

 

Construction is expected to begin before the end of the year on a 4,000-square-foot building that will house Bruegger's and have room for another retail tenant, said Molly Paquette, manager of real estate development with Neyer.

 

oh yay, a generic chain for a generic development in an incredibly unique and interesting neighborhood.  wtf.  Sorry, i am pissy. 

I don't particularly understand how anyone with Neyer can actually make a public appearance or make statements at this point.  I'd be hiding in a bunker if I was involved with this thing.

Cincinnati restrictive covenant to aid Columbia Square

http://www.building-cincinnati.com/2009/02/cincinnati-restrictive-covenant-to-aid.html

 

Cincinnati City Council has passed unanimously an ordinance placing a restrictive covenant on a City-owned parking lot that bisects the Columbia Square development in Columbia Tusculum.

 

Developer Al Neyer, Inc. requested the covenant so that windows on the side walls of its office and retail buildings would remain unobstructed.

 

The restrictive covenant prohibits any improvements, outside of those required for parking lot functions, for the life of the Columbia Square buildings.

 

At buildout, the $19 million project will include One Columbia Square, a 48,000-square-foot office and restaurant building; three multi-tenant retail buildings; and a restaurant or retail outlot.

 

Another office building, called Two Columbia Square, has been proposed for the northwest corner of Columbia Parkway and Delta Avenue.

 

It's too bad the city didn't pass an ordinance to do the exact opposite: Obstruct the views of the building, so us poor citizens wouldn't have to be reminded of the complete lack of concern of urban design.

^ exactly.  what an awful, awful decision.

 

This guarantees that this will remain surface lot hell indefinitely.  Beyond the fact that there will never be infill here, I can't comprehend a) how such a development was allowed in the first place or b) who would design or approve a project that warrants infill immediately following buildout.  I seriously need to quit checking this thread.

^ agreed.  this developement is the definition of pathetic.  bring back the overgrown wooded area that used to be on this land...at least that had some integrity and purpose.

Gymboree just opened, the 24 hour gym has been open for a couple weeks and Brueggers will be open within a month or so. Is there anything going in the original building? (at the corner of delta and Co Parkwy?) It has sat empty since before they started any of the other buildings.

Not that I know of (I called last week on this). They have now outlined the last building set along Columbia Parkway, which will pretty much front the sidewalk.

Not sure if I said this earlier, but the addition of the building against Columbia Parkway makes this complex look slightly less like a travesty of urban design.

Wait, it's not fronting the parkway?

 

I guess I don't fault them. The parkway serves all but through traffic, and traffic flows at a higher pace than what is often desired for a walkable district. Too bad they didn't face Eastern either...

Wait, it's not fronting the parkway?

 

I guess I don't fault them. The parkway serves all but through traffic, and traffic flows at a higher pace than what is often desired for a walkable district. Too bad they didn't face Eastern either...

 

One Columbia Square is at the corner of Columbia & Delta.  The suburban-style strip mall buildings in Rando's photo above are set way back from Columbia Parkway.  Two buildings that I was referring to are going in front of those strip mall buildings against the Parkway.

Wait, it's not fronting the parkway?

 

I guess I don't fault them. The parkway serves all but through traffic, and traffic flows at a higher pace than what is often desired for a walkable district. Too bad they didn't face Eastern either...

 

One Columbia Square is at the corner of Columbia & Delta.  The suburban-style strip mall buildings in Rando's photo above are set way back from Columbia Parkway.  Two buildings that I was referring to are going in front of those strip mall buildings against the Parkway.

 

Yea the new Brueggers gives a good presence to the street and the new structure will at least block the surface lot behind it even more.  Still though, this could have been done a LOT better.  The design simply makes no sense, especially given the fact that Eastern is on the back of the site and easy access would have been given to a parking lot fronting Eastern instead of Columbia.  bah. 

I wonder if any thought was put into transit oriented development to provide linkages to the Eastern Corridor rail transit station planned to be located adjacent to the site?

 

Now that the Eastern corridor has stimulus money it may have some life in the future. 

Even with $20m of stimulus money the Eastern Corridor is still many years away from becoming reality given its scope.  TOD comes in after or while the given transit line is being built.  Speculation sometimes occurs with transit related projects, but the Eastern Corridor rail line is so far off and not yet defined that no one would be doing such things at this time.

Green Dog Café, a 3,250 SF restaurant, is opening in July in the retail component of Columbia Square at 3505 Columbia Parkway.

^Finally!

 

 

From: http://www.com.ohio.gov/liqr/rpts/tranproc.txt

 

LOC/OWNER 28066870010  D5 D6              04/14/2009

FOODISIT INC

DBA GREEN DOG CAFE

3543 COLUMBIA PKWY

CINCINNATI OH  45226

 

 

Restaurants set for Columbia Tusculum

Columbia Square development to get two eateries by September

By Lisa Bernard-Kuhn • [email protected] • June 24, 2009

 

COLUMBIA TUSCULUM - By September, two new restaurants and Keller Williams Realty will join the growing list of tenants at the $25 million Columbia Square retail and office development off of Columbia Parkway.

 

The recently signed leases are hopeful signs for the project's developer Al. Neyer Inc., which has been working in the face of the recession to lease roughly 54,000 square feet of office space and 25,000 square feet of retail space since last June.

 

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090624/BIZ01/906250308/1055/NEWS/2+restaurants+set+for+Columbia+Tusculum