Year: 2011

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Arts & Entertainment Business News

2011 Bockfest Parade rolls on without a hitch

The largest Bockfest celebration in North America took place in Cincinnati this past weekend. The three-day collection of festivities gathered beer lovers in celebration of the coming of spring and Bock beer.

Thousands of Cincinnatians and visitors converged in historic Over-the-Rhine for more than just beer though. Tours guiding people through Cincinnati’s beer history and the history of the neighborhood entertained many. Others came for the food and drink. But others came to enjoy the more eclectic activities that took place over the weekend like the annual Bockfest Parade which kicks off the festival.

UrbanCincy contributor Thadd Fiala was there to capture it all. Enjoy 26 of his photographs during the wet and rainy 2011 Bockfest Parade. Also, be sure to check out Thadd’s photographs from last year’s Bockfest Parade.

Categories
Business Development News

New year brings heightened expectations for 3CDC

The Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation (3CDC) has helped spark a transformation of Cincinnati’s urban core in less than 10 years. To date, the non-profit development group has largely been defined by the success that has taken place on and around Fountain Square and the Gateway Quarter for which they are responsible.

Since their founding in 2003, 3CDC has invested more than $250 million into the center city. That investment has led to the renovation of scores of new restaurants and bars in the on and around Fountain Square, hundreds of new residential units and dozens of new businesses in Over-the-Rhine, and the renovation and expansion of Washington Park which is now underway. Even with all of that work to date, the development group says that they are only just now getting started.

“2010 was certainly a watershed year for us,” said Stephen Leeper, president and CEO of 3CDC. “Our development agenda has expanded to more complex real estate transactions. The physical assets we own, lease and/or manage continue to grow.”

In 2011 3CDC will get started on the long-anticipated, $51 million Mercer Commons development that will renovate 20 historic structures and infill 26 existing vacant lots in a two-block area of Over-the-Rhine. The group will also renovate a cluster of buildings along 6th Street into entertainment and office space, and a $48 million project will transform the former Metropole Apartments on Walnut Street nearby into a 21c Museum Hotel.

Some neighborhood residents and business owners do hope for additional neighborhood involvement on the part of 3CDC as they continue their efforts.

“I would like to see some sort of movement toward helping those being displaced obtain the skills or education to earn enough to be able to live in the new Over-the-Rhine,” said Original Thought Required owner James Marable. “I fear the area could become overdeveloped and lose the culture that makes OTR, OTR without them.”

With that said Marable welcomes the additional investment and see a bright future for the neighborhood he now calls home and operates his own small business.

“The amount of investment is a very good thing for the area. I’ve been in Cincinnati for ten years and the first five years of that I wouldn’t step foot in OTR,” Marable explained. “Now I am entrenched in the area and feel as much of a part of it as it is a part of me. I believe all the investment and hard work of the small business owners and development companies are paying off 10 fold and not only making OTR better but providing a shining light for the type of change the entire city should be working towards.”

The $48 million renovation and expansion of Washington Park is expected to be complete in 2012. And in addition to all of that, 3CDC is requesting $85 million in federal tax credits to keep the momentum rolling.

Categories
Business News Politics

Mayor Mallory: Welcome to Cincinnati

The City of Cincinnati has put together a new video that welcomes people and businesses to Cincinnati. The video comes during a time at which city leaders are trying to figure out how to brand the city and region.

Within the video, Mayor Mark Mallory talks about Cincinnati’s vibrant and walkable downtown, The Banks development, recent progress in Over-the-Rhine, the arts, the future Horseshoe Casino and Cincinnati Streetcar.

So, the question begs to be asked. How do you think this message brands Cincinnati, and does it do so successfully? The next question is, whether or not this is even the image and brand the city should be promoting?

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Business News

The bloggification of the Cincinnati Enquirer

Let me start this week’s op-ed column off by saying I love print media. I love newspapers and magazines. Some might even call me a news junkie, but I have long been disappointed with the Cincinnati Enquirer – the region’s last surviving daily print newspaper.

Early on it was the Enquirer’s pro-suburban/anti-urban coverage that got me bent out of shape. The move was justified by Enquirer leadership that saw the region’s growth becoming increasingly suburban, and they seemed to aspire to steal market share from the Dayton Daily News as the two markets begin to merge.

Over time this situation has leveled off, but then the paper shifted its attention to the web. This was a seemingly smart move in an increasingly digital world, but I felt that taking professional journalists and writers off of their beats and giving them blogger duty did not do the staff or newspaper any justice.

The Enquirer is not going to beat the bloggers, nor should it try. What bloggers have proven is their ability to cover hyper local news extremely well. What bloggers have not been able to do is cover substantive stories or conduct investigative reports. This is where, I believe, the Enquirer needs to focus its attention. UrbanCincy will continue to cover on-street bike corrals and small business openings, while the Enquirer should dive into stories that pose public concern and act as a public watchdog. Deal? Deal.

Unfortunately, it appears that leadership at the Enquirer finds it more beneficial to go after the exact opposite. The Enquirer has put forth an aggressive push to gobble up as many local blogs under their mighty Cincinnati.com network. (UrbanCincy remains independent by the way)

Then you have their newly debuted website which includes a lot of new things – more ads, larger font type and many more visuals. One thing has decreased on the new website though. There are noticeably fewer of those pesky news stories.

If you look to the Enquirer’s print edition it is not much better. The print newspaper is often filled with stories picked up from the Associated Press, other nearby newspapers or syndicated columnists. The bottom line is that the last remaining daily newspaper in Cincinnati is getting thinner and weaker, and the leadership there appears content with going after what they probably see as low hanging fruit.

This was recently highlighted by the debut of the Enquirer’s new blog aggregator. CincyBlogs.com has taken blogs from all over the region and used their RSS feeds to set up a one-stop shop for blog content. This is a great tool and one that many had hoped Cinplify would debut first.

The problem is that those resources may have been better spent empowering the Enquirer’s professional journalists that are capable of doing so much better work than what they are currently being assigned. To Enquirer leadership: your professional staff, Cincinnatians, and your readers deserve better.

Enquirer Building photograph by UrbanCincy contributor Thadd Fiala.

Categories
Business Development News Transportation

Take a tour through Minneapolis’ urban core

I spent a quick two-and-a-half days in Minneapolis in mid-January to study their light rail system and explore the city’s urban core.

During my stay I was able to explore Midtown, Lowry Hill East, Downtown, Warehouse District, Loring Park, Uptown and some other areas very briefly. The city was expectedly cold, but I quickly learned why Minnesotans are such a hearty and down-to-earth bunch. The winters humble and challenge you.

The Hiawatha light rail line was small but well executed. The system utilizes modern rolling stock that includes low floors and is ADA accessible. The stations are nice, although suburban and off the beaten path in many locations. The best element, of the system, is that it connects major nodes with one another. The Mall of America, airport, football stadium, ballpark, arena, central business district, nightlife and government operations are all connected. The system will be vastly improved when it is expanded to St. Paul in the near future.

I will discuss specifics on Minneapolis’ transport network in a forthcoming op-ed. But for now, enjoy this brief collection of 37 photographs from my trip to the upper Midwest in the dead of winter.