Monthly Archives: August 2008

Historic Enquirer Building to See New Life

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The historic art deco style Enquirer Building, built in 1926, has seen better days. What used to be home to Cincinnati’s daily newspaper until the 1980’s, is now a class “C” office building with an abysmal 16% occupancy rate.

With nearly three decades of hard times, the “Grand Lady of Vine Street” is ready for her makeover. In May 2007, Middle Earth Developers (MED) purchased the building with plans to renovate and develop the historic structure into a mixed-use building consisting of apartments, office and retail space, and parking. Thanks to some historic tax credits and private financing the $37,399,000 project is now ready to move forward, with a projected completion date of Mid-2009 (office) and May 2010 (apartments).

Retail space will remain at street-level, 53,400 sf of office space will take up floors 2-3, and 152 apartments will take up floors 4-14. 170 parking spaces will also be made available by retrofitting the basement mezzanine levels (previously held 10-ton printing presses) into a 3-level private parking garage.

Glenn Kukla, partner of MED, says that there will be a mix of studio, 1br, 1br/1 den, and 2br apartment units. These units will boast features such as free/dedicated wi-fi access, stainless steel appliances, washer/dryer hookups, hardwood/polished concrete floors, lofted kitchen and bathroom areas, and private parking.

While the project has lots of amenities, Kukla states, “the biggest amenity by far is that the building is a half-block away from the newly renovated Fountain Square.” The building will also be modified to include a new rooftop deck, clubhouse and fitness facility next to the rooftop deck, public conference room and business center, and coin operated laundry/vending facilities.

All images provided by Middle Earth Developers

Over-the-Rhine Revisited: Designing Infill for Historic Districts

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On Thursday, September 4th, the Mercantile Library will be hosting an informative session regarding Over-the-Rhine and the challenges facing new development in the historic neighborhood. Over-the-Rhine Revisited: Designing Infill for Historic Districts will be held at 5:30pm at the Mercantile Library (GoogleMap).

The session is a continuation of discussion that started at the January 2008 charrette and is being hosted by AIA Cincinnati, Architecture Foundation of Cincinnati, Cincinnati Preservation Association, Mercantile Library, and the Over-the-Rhine Foundation.

Light refreshments will be served , but reservations are required. The session costs $8 for members and $10 for non-members. You can make reservations by either calling 513.621.0717 or by emailing mercantileinfo@mercantilelibrary.com.



Images from Architecture Foundation of Cincinnati – http://www.architecturecincy.org/Programs/charrette.html


$3.5 BILLION

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That is roughly the valuation of current and proposed construction projects in Cincinnati’s urban core (Downtown, OTR, parts of Nky’s riverfront, Mt. Adams, parts of Uptown). The area is roughly 6 square miles that includes hilly terrain, a mighty river and is the heart of a 2+ million person metropolitan area. That averages out to roughly $574-million worth of investment per square mile.

Projects highlighting this list are The Banks, Cincinnati Riverfront Park, Queen City Square, SouthShore, Ovation, and the Cincinnati Streetcar. In addition to those big projects, the list is filled out by a potpourri of rehab and infill projects that would tickle the fancy of any urbanite.

While you simply can not project development valuations as a signal of a city’s success or failure, it is hard not to be impressed by the shear amount of activity going on now and in the coming months/years. It is not often that a Midwestern city sees this kind of activity, and it isn’t something Cincinnati has seen happen in many decades.

+++ SEE FULL LIST HERE +++
*Note that this list does not include projects going on in the East End, West End, Dayton, or Bellevue.

+++ SEE RENDERINGS FOR MANY OF THE PROJECTS HERE +++

Support the Know

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There is a fun opportunity coming up that will help a local non-profit arts organization. Kona Bistro, in Oakley, will be hosting the Know Theatre of Cincinnati on August 27th as part of a weekly fundraiser (see Community Nights) that starts at 6pm and lasts until 9pm.

The Know Theatre of Cincinnati describes itself as, “Just left of off Broadway” in terms of their productions. The theatre is also one of three theatres (Ensemble Theatre & New Stage Collective) along a 3-block stretch in Over-the-Rhine. A stretch of theatres that I consider to be Cincinnati’s off Broadway district.

The Know needs support though, and what better way than by going to the very cool Kona Bistro (GoogleMap) and enjoying some great food, drinks, and conversation? There will also be a raffle where you could win free tickets, subscriptions, and more for the Know Theatre’s 2008-2009 season.

Gotta love the ‘Tazz’

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The former Lange Jewelers location has opened up an opportunity for a new business. Tazza Mia is where “Fresher Coffee Meets Better Food.” Their second location (GoogleMap) opened last week (7/31) and owner Bob Bonder described the spot as a great location, a location so great that it was the lure in bringing his local business to Downtown.

Tazza Mia boasts their fresh coffee, and when they say fresh…they mean fresh. They get the raw coffee (aka green coffee…because it arrives in a green color) shipped to their West Chester store direct. Once it arrives they roast it on site and Mr. Bonder delivers the roasted coffee down to the Downtown store every 2-3 days. So while most places brag about their coffee being only 2-3 weeks old, Tazza Mia is talking 2-3 DAYS.

The store has a great atmosphere, with great presence at street level (on Vine), interior access from Tower Place, and a really cool lofted second level that I had no idea was there. The second level offers a great place for casual meetings, reading, relaxing, etc. When you go you absolutely need to try their Pot Roast Panini or their Belgian Waffles (straight from Taste of Belgium at Findlay Market). Once you try their super fresh coffee and fantastic food at their great/new location, you’ll be saying to yourself…”I love the Tazz.”

Store Hours:

M-F — 6am – 6:30pm

Sat — 8am – 5pm

Sun — 9am – 2pm




Point A to Point B – How UrbanCincy readers get to work

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Not a big surprise here from July’s poll. The majority of UrbanCincy readers commute to work by car (47% of 327 total respondents). A strong response came from those who walk and/or bike to work, as well as those riding the bus for their means of transportation. Combined those two categories made up for roughly 32% of the total responses.

That actually is a better breakdown than I expected, and to top it all off there were 14% of you who selected the ‘insert rail here’ option. So if you really break it down as car vs. alternative transportation then there was actually a pretty decent response. The comparison would then be 47% (156 total votes) to 46% (155 total votes).

How did you vote, why did you vote the way you did? Most importantly what do you see as an important tool to help tip the scales even further and get people out of their cars? I think the streetcar is an important first step that will further reduce the need for an automobile in the urban core. For commuting purposes light rail needs to be considered again, and soon.

Coming home

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This weekend is bound to be great. Not just for the typical joys of the weekend, but because I’m going to be coming home for the weekend. So much to do, so many people to see, and so much Skyline to eat. Just what am I to do?

Well here’s the game plan. First when I get in on Saturday I’m going to try not to faint as I take in the view from the famous cut-in-the-hill spot on I-75. From there I’m going to be getting some lunch (I’m thinking Cilantro right now). After that it’s family fun time.

Then Saturday night will be upon us…and it will be time to do some bar/club hopping with friends (as many as possible). After a night full of fun it will be time to retreat to a bed somewhere and crash. Then more family time on Sunday with some friend stuff mixed in.

Oh Cincinnati how I miss you so…but this short trip should allow for some interesting content and what not for readers of UrbanCincy. See you next week, and enjoy Cincinnati this weekend like you’re visiting for only a few days. I bet you’ll have a blast.