No, there will be a private drive. The DOTE is prohibiting curb cuts due to a proposed bike lane.

Oh nice, wheres the bike lane going?

I'm not totally sure, but I think the bike lane will be parallel to the existing sidewalk. The document states that the properties will be 90' deep, but the existing greenspace (NOT including the sidewalk) is 100'. So that means that an additional 10' will be available for the bike path. I'm not sure how far the bike path will go, since the ROW won't extend east of Strathmore or west of Kennedy. So, at most it'll be a quarter mile long, unless there's some plan to acquire land that I'm unaware of.

The bike lane is on Duck Creek Road itself - I am assuming that a westbound lane will be removed to accommodate two bike lanes (one eastbound, one westbound) where it's four lanes with a center turning lane. I'm not sure how it will be handled at Red Bank or where the road tapers to two lanes with a center turn lane. jjakucyk[/member] ?

This is the first I've heard of it.  I've been assuming no new bike lanes with Cranley in office. 

The bike lane is on Duck Creek Road itself - I am assuming that a westbound lane will be removed to accommodate two bike lanes (one eastbound, one westbound) where it's four lanes with a center turning lane. I'm not sure how it will be handled at Red Bank or where the road tapers to two lanes with a center turn lane. jjakucyk[/member] ?

 

Are you sure you're thinking of Duck Creek? Duck Creek has one eastbound lane, one westbound lane, and a center turn lane.

 

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1653942,-84.4176539,3a,75y,285.54h,82.3t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sdGnQpRX5u6I2iaTZGZay9A!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Further east the roadway expands to four lanes with a center turn lane.

I looked at the city's bike plan, and there's a loop of bike lanes marked out for the roughly square block of Duck Creek, Oaklawn, Madison, and the new Kennedy Connector as a route to get from Madison across I-71 and up Kennedy Avenue.  Nearly all of Madison is designated to have bike lanes, which would be tough between Ridge and Whetsel, and Duck Creek would be a squeeze too without moving the north curb line, which does not appear to be part of this development's plan.  Kennedy and Oaklawn can get bike lanes easily just by narrowing the existing lanes and/or additional striping. 

Here are the proposed bike routes around that area. You can see that Duck Creek wouldn't have bike lanes east of Oaklawn. I believe the bike path on Duck Creek between Kennedy and Oaklawn would be separated from the road (Cranley's preference is for off-street bike paths) in the 10' of greenspace north of the sidewalk that would be available.

 

The proposed bike plan network (from 2010) is on page 2 of this PDF: http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/bikes/bicycle-transportation-plan/chapter-3-the-bicycle-network/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

^ Yes but the site plan for this housing development doesn't show anything like that.  The houses are actually very close to the sidewalk. 

^True... so where do you think the bike lanes/path would go?

 

I doubt the City would pay to widen Duck Creek for that .25 mile stretch. I also doubt they would get rid of the center turn lane and put the bike lanes on street. That seems unlikely given the Administration's stance towards on-street bike facilities. So... I'm assuming the developer left the off-street bike path out of the renderings out of a combination of a) being lazy and b) not knowing for sure what the city's plans are. 

Cincinnati’s 1st Dolce Hotel moving forward

 

 

Plans for Cincinnati’s first Dolce Hotels & Resort Lifestyle Collection hotel in Madisonville are moving forward.

 

RBM Development Co. LLC, owned by Medpace founder Dr. August Troendle, has been redeveloping the old NuTone brownfield site at the southeast corner of Red Bank and Madison roads since 2009. The plan for the hotel includes converting the rainbow-colored parking garage into a 239-room hotel with a conference center. The eight-story hotel also will have 160 parking spaces.

 

More below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2016/02/05/cincinnati-s-1st-dolce-hotel-moving-forward.html

20-home Madisonville development is 'bringing the alley back'

 

 

Twenty new single-family homes are coming to Madisonville after the Cincinnati Planning Commission approved a needed zoning change on Friday.

 

In-Line Development Company will buy 2.4 acres from the city for the development, which will create 20 lots measuring 30 feet by 90 feet. The development will be along Duck Creek Road, east of Kennedy Avenue and west of Strathmore Drive.

 

More below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2016/02/05/20-home-madisonville-development-is-bringing-the.html

Business Courier reports that bids for the "Duck Creek Connector" are coming in higher than the ODOT budget anticipated:

The Duck Creek Connector project, which will extend Duck Creek Road from its existing end point at Red Bank Expressway to Madison Road, was estimated to cost $5.6 million. The bids submitted for the project ranged from $7.4 million to $10.1 million. At $7.4 million, Prus Construction Co. had the lowest bid.

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2016/03/01/exclusive-east-side-road-plans-blow-through.html

 

 

^Let's hope it continues to come in over budget and gets killed.  Cincinnati and ODOT shouldn't be in the business of building a $5-10 million road that saves some employees one traffic light on their way to work.  All one needs to look to is a mile the other way on Duck Creek to the Kennedy Connector.  If there's a more lightly-used five-lane road in Cincinnati, I haven't seen it.

^ Six with those damn right turn lanes that are too short and angular to actually be of any use. 

^ Six with those damn right turn lanes that are too short and angular to actually be of any use.

 

Which right turn lanes are you talking about?

Mill Ridge, Ibsen, also ones they added at Ridge/Ibsen and Ridge/Madison. 

Madisonville mixed-use development grows to $200M, adds apartments

Mar 9, 2016, 6:31am EST Updated Mar 9, 2016, 6:36am EST

Tom Demeropolis

Senior Staff Reporter

Cincinnati Business Courier

 

The redevelopment of remaining acreage at the former NuTone property in Madisonville is now expected to be a nearly $200 million project.

 

That’s a more than 60 percent increase from the planned $124 million mixed-use Madison Center project that RBM Development LLC announced in May 2015.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2016/03/09/madisonville-mixed-use-development-grows-to-200m.html

For some reason, I am having a hard time picturing the rendering and how this fits into the intersection of Madison and Red Bank

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2015/05/19/get-a-first-look-at-the-124m-madisonville.html#g2

 

There's a rendering of the old site plan there which should help.

I don't understand the quote about people not being able to access the site without the Red Bank Connector project being built?

 

All you do is turn left on Madison from the existing road and there is MedPace. The new road would save maybe 30 seconds?

^^Jmicha,

 

 

Great thank you, that helps a lot.  So the rendering they are showing of the actual building is really from the new road they are building with that pedestrian overpass.

 

It doesn't seem like it will have a very good presence from Madison Road or Redbank Road with the car lot fronting the roads.  That's a bit dissapointing in my mind as it would have been nice to build up that corner with a large development like this.

^Ha! That's a nice wish, that the building would be built in a some sort of form resembling an urban format. Hell will freeze over before the city insists on that.

It seems silly for the City to finance the construction of the Duck Creek Connector. If Medpace needs to improve access to their site, there are other steps that can be taken that would have much bigger benefit to the city.

 

In the <a href="http://easterncorridor.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Red-Bank-Corridor-Preferred-Alternative-Implementation-Plan-12-21-13.pdf">Easter Corridor plan</a> (page 10), there are two elements that I actually like (most of the rest ought to be scrapped):

• Extension of Hetzel St
  
• Re-building of Old Red Bank Rd bridge over the rail road tracks
  

Together, those two projects would do much more to alleviate traffic pressure at Madison.

 

Additionally, the City could add a signal (and a crosswalk) at the <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1602292,-84.4044701,3a,75y,190.48h,85.93t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s7g4Yy89eLaloL_NBLL5tpQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656">intersection of Red Bank Drive (road name confusion!!!) and Red Bank Expressway</a>.

 

In the <a href="http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/planning/about-city-planning/city-planning-commission/dec-4-2015-packet/">Dec 4, 2015 Planning Commission Packet</a>, there was a schematic (page 65) showing how Hetzel St might be extended.

 

The City would be much better off spending their money on projects that would help connect the <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2015/12/01/developer-advances-plan-to-build-apartments.html">RED development on the west side of Red Bank</a> with Medpace. Building the "Duck Creek Connector" would not actually connect anything... and worse, it would render a huge parcel of land (northeast corner of Madison/Red Bank) unusable for future development.

The Duck Creek Connector reminds me of the little road that connects Jefferson to MLK and results in a non-standard, complex intersection that confuses people that don't use it often.

The Duck Creek Connector reminds me of the little road that connects Jefferson to MLK and results in a non-standard, complex intersection that confuses people that don't use it often.

Yeah... it's like that.. but WORSE since it's so much bigger and takes up so much more land. It's like a highway interchange in its disregard for the surrounding area.

^Jwulsin, I have a couple thoughts on your post (a few back at this point). One, I mostly agree that there are other ways to alleviate traffic congestion at Madison and Red Bank, and I think your suggestions make a lot of sense. However, I do think that the Duck Creek connector could be a good thing for the area. Given the revamped Kennedy Connector, Duck Creek is primed to be much more of a thoroughfare than it has been in the past. People coming from 71 north could use the lightly used Ridge exit, and take Duck Creek all the way over to Madison/Medpace, which would allow those cars to completely bypass the whole Redbank/Madison intersection. People coming from the Norwood Lateral (and basically all points to the west) could also use this same path to Madisonville. Right now, there are literally only two roads into Madisonville, coming from the west: Madison and Erie. Adding a third route to the neighborhood makes sense, as does reducing the strain that is put on the clusterf*** intersection of Madison and Redbank.

 

Second thought. Having been very involved with MCURC and the Madisonville Community Council in the past, I know that the community at large, and especially the families of John P Parker school are dead set against that corner being developed at all. They're against a road being built, and they're very much against any development. They see that mostly unused grassy area as the "lawn" for the school, and they are adamantly opposed to losing even a portion of it. The road might not be the best idea or a panacea for traffic congestion in that area, but losing that parcel for development isn't a dry strong reason against it, simply because it's highly unlikely that the lawn will ever see development, as long as the school is still there and has any say in the matter.

Well if traffic is supposedly so bad at this intersection, why are they approving a large commercial development that will increase rush hour travel? 

A very busy highway exit and two of the busiest streets in Cincinnati converge all at one point. Of course there's going to be traffic. A single development shouldn't impact traffic THAT much- I think the single best thing that could be done to reduce traffic would be to reduce the amount of people that have to funnel through the exit to get to other places on the east side. If the Duck Creek connector is built with the intention of funneling people away from the Redbank exit, it could be a decent project.

The road is idiotic. Even the cities main traffic engineers will privately say it's pointless and won't save time.

Near the end of this Courier article, it mentions that the City might be pursuing federal funding for:

 

As a part of the Eastern Corridor project, connecting several streets, including Babson to Hetzel and Hetzel to Old Red Bank Road Cost:$9.2 million, with the city kicking in $3.1 million

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2016/03/30/eight-lanes-on-martin-luther-king-jr-drive-some.html

 

 

Former bank building gets new life in Madisonville

 

 

A $644,000 project to transform the former Fifth Third Bank building at the corner of Madison Road and Whetsel Avenue in Madisonville opened its doors to the public on Thursday.

 

The Madisonville Community Urban Redevelopment Corp. led the project that turned the building at 5900 Madison Road into a street-level restaurant space with two, two-bedroom apartments on the second floor.

 

More below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2016/04/28/former-bank-building-gets-new-life-in-madisonville.html

Cranley proposes funding for Madisonville business district development

 

 

The city will kick in $4 million to jumpstart the redevelopment of Madisonville’s business district along Madison Road spearheaded by Ackermann Group, Mayor John Cranley announced Wednesday.

 

The money will help complete a long process begun under former Mayor Mark Mallory in which the city quietly bought 7.5 acres of property and four blocks of the once-thriving business district.

 

More below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2016/05/25/cranley-proposes-funding-for-madisonville-business.html

Just came from the public meeting unveiling the initial plans Ackermann has put together for this project:

 

Phase 1 comprises the northeast and southwest corners of Madison and Whetsel.

40,000 sq ft office/retail on the ground floor, all oriented to the sidewalks.  (Madisonville has a form-based code.)

180 residential units, primarily one-bedroom.

The existing plaza at the northwest corner (including the health clinic) remains, but the city owns it and has committed to updating it.

they went to great pains to repeat that the conceptual drawings are only for a sense of scale, that materials haven't been chosen.

It all hinges on the competitive New Market Tax Credits.

The southeast corner will be phase 2, once the success of phase 1 has been demonstrated.

 

Ideally I guess I'd like to see less parking, but Madisonville isn't dense enough yet to be truly walkable and car-free.  The ratios are 1.4 spaces per residential unit and 4 per 1000 sf of commercial/retail.  It's great that it's behind the buildings and there are no curb cuts on Madison itself.  FYI the first photo looks south-southeast, with the current plaza/clinic in tan.

 

Edit: don't know why the last one is getting turned upside down - tried twice.

 

 

So I'm guessing that means the 1-story retail on the northeast corner next to the bank will be demolished if this plan goes forward? Nothing particularly worthy of salvaging, just curious.

I had a slight moment of panic before I enlarged those plans when I thought the bank building was going to be demolished as part of this. A sigh of relief was let out when I saw it was indeed staying.

 

I'd also like less parking, but the fact that it's entirely behind the buildings is good enough for a first phase of redevelopment and won't be a huge issue. Overall I like it. It looks like it could really reactivate a business district that has a ton of potential but is quite desolate at the moment.

​Another hotel (Holiday Inn Express) planned for Madisonville

 

 

Developers are planning another hotel in resurgent Madisonville.

 

More below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2016/05/31/another-hotel-planned-for-adisonville.html

Where in Madisonville is that Holiday Inn Express going?

Where in Madisonville is that Holiday Inn Express going?

 

At the corner of Red Bank Rd. and Hetzell St.

Interesting... that location is on Old Red Bank (I initially thought it was going to be on Red Bank Expressway) is definitely off the beaten path, so it's hard to imagine anybody using that except for Medpace. I hate when two parallel roads have almost the exact same name (Red Bank Rd vs Red Bank Expressway) because it leads to lots of unnecessary confusion, so hopefully they'll use Hetzell as the street address... but I digress. 

 

Does Medpace really generate enough demand for two hotels: the more luxurious Dolce Hotel with 239 rooms plus this more budget Holiday Inn Express with 96 rooms? I know the developers of the Dolce Hotel want to market it as a wedding/event destination. If that's the case, it would be nice to be able to have a wedding there and let your more cost-conscious relatives stay at the Holiday Inn which will still be within walking distance.

 

Streetview:

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.157937,-84.4038739,3a,75y,116.95h,83t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1seTypVaZsDm7ieywmc3Xokw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

 

Site plan (from <a href="http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/planning/about-city-planning/city-planning-commission/jun-3-2016-packet/">page 181 of the June 3 Planning Commission Packet</a>):

 

Hetzel is actually cut off by a steep hill between RB Expressway and Old RB, but I believe part of the Medpace hotel development required the connection to be made.  As long as that connection is made, this formerly obscure lot seems to work much better for a (second) hotel development.

 

http://easterncorridor.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/P2-BabsonHetzel.pdf 

But is that Hetzell extension actually going to happen? It sure would help connectivity, so I'd like to see it move forward but I haven't heard much about it lately.

 

Look at how that proposal has Hetzell do a little curve east of Old Red Bank. In the Holiday Inn Express site plan, it definitely is not built around that kind of curved property line. So... if that Hetzell extension is going to happen, it sure doesn't look like the Holiday Inn Express is planning around it.

 

 

Tree removal and earthworks underway for the Duck Creek Connector.

Also, the residential building on the site of the old drive-in has began construction. I think the MedPace site has still yet to move any dirt. Also a new Taco Bell and what looks to be a knock off Friendly's called Freddy's opened on Red Bank across from the Walmart, in case anyone cares about that. Still no action at Madison and Whetsel despite several announced development proposals there in recent years. Madsionville is Walnut Hills Jr. in that regard.

Tree removal and earthworks underway for the Duck Creek Connector.

 

Was a final design approved for that road segment? Here's the most recent rendering I could find and it still said "preliminary", from a <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2016/03/01/exclusive-east-side-road-plans-blow-through.html">March 9th article from the Business Courier</a>. I don't know if that became the final design or if it has been modified since March.

 

Also, the residential building on the site of the old drive-in has began construction. I think the MedPace site has still yet to move any dirt. Also a new Taco Bell and what looks to be a knock off Friendly's called Freddy's opened on Red Bank across from the Walmart, in case anyone cares about that. Still no action at Madison and Whetsel despite several announced development proposals there in recent years. Madsionville is Walnut Hills Jr. in that regard.

 

Only Cincinnati would get people trying to knock off Friendly's. I just saw another Frisch's shut down in a very busy Columbus suburb. Trying to make it without a liquor license is tough up here.

Also, the residential building on the site of the old drive-in has began construction. I think the MedPace site has still yet to move any dirt. Also a new Taco Bell and what looks to be a knock off Friendly's called Freddy's opened on Red Bank across from the Walmart, in case anyone cares about that. Still no action at Madison and Whetsel despite several announced development proposals there in recent years. Madsionville is Walnut Hills Jr. in that regard.

 

Only Cincinnati would get people trying to knock off Friendly's. I just saw another Frisch's shut down in a very busy Columbus suburb. Trying to make it without a liquor license is tough up here.

 

Freddy's is a national chain. https://freddysusa.com/locations/

Oh, it's not quite the same then. More like Steak 'N Shake but with custard instead of milkshakes.

Well they use the same font, have the same color scheme, and have basically the same food/ice cream concept as Friendly's.