liberty street – UrbanCincy

On the 63rd episode of The UrbanCincy Podcast, Travis, Randy, and John discuss some recent news stories affecting Cincinnati’s urban core.

We talk about the potential demolition of Cincinnati Gardens, as how younger Cincinnatians have stepped up to fight to save historic buildings like The Dennison Hotel and the Davis Furniture building. We discuss the proposed LibertyElm development and whether the originally-proposed six story design was appropriate for Over-the-Rhine. We give a preview of some of the changes coming soon to Main Street and the eastern half of OTR. And finally, we discuss the changes to this year’s MidPoint Music Festival, which has had a long history of being integrated into the urban core but will take a much different format this year.

Photo: The original proposal for the LibertyElm development.

As the winter comes to an end, work has begun or will soon begin on a number of new developments around Over-the-Rhine. Today, we’re sharing 16 panoramas, taken over the past month, that show how the neighborhood is evolving. You can click on each of the images to view them full-screen and read the full description about each project.

3CDC will soon start work on the 15th and Vine development. The historic buildings will be saved and the parking lots will be filled with new construction.

This parking lot will be replaced by a new office building as part of Mercer Commons Phase IV.

The 15th & Race site is being developed by 3CDC. The first phase includes a new 3-story building featuring 17 condos and 2-3 commercial storefronts.

Towne Properties is building seven townhomes along Elm Street in Over-the-Rhine. (See what this block looked like in 2002.)

This old firehouse will be rehabbed as part of the Elm Street Townhomes project.

The Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati will soon start a renovation of its buildings on the 1100 block of Vine Street, which will include the construction of a new building in the gap near the center of this photo.

Developers have proposed a nine-story building for this site on Central Parkway, replacing this now-vacant two-story office building once occupied by the Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority. The new building would include 40,000 square feet of retail space (potentially a grocery store), 70,000 square feet of office space, and 235 parking spaces.

The former Drop Inn Center homeless shelter has now been demolished and will be replaced with a new theater for the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. To the left is the Central Parkway YMCA, which is undergoing renovation. To the right is The Transept, a recently-opened bar and event space in a former church.

The corner of 12th and Elm was previously home to the Drop Inn Center. The non-historic building was demolished and will be replaced by a new theatre for the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company.

The former Ophthalmic Hospital and Free Dispensary will soon be developed into a boutique hotel featuring 20 guest rooms and a bar and restaurant on the first floor.

The skywalk linking Music Hall to the Town Center Garage is expected to be demolished during the renovation of Music Hall.

The former Queen City Radio building (left) is being redeveloped by Urban Expansion, and Grandin Properties plans to convert the historic Strietmann Biscuit Company building (center) to an 88,000 square foot office building.

It looks like some preliminary interior demolition work is going on inside the historic Wielert’s building, although no plans have officially been announced.

This corner could look very different in a few years if the proposed Liberty Street Road Diet and LibertyElm project (left) move forward.

Editor’s note: These photos were taken by Travis Estell for UrbanCincy between February 11 and March 8, 2016.