Social media gives us many gifts. Take this video, for example, shared by many of SoapboxCincy's friends, that features our city's evolving landscape from Smale Riverfront Park to Washington Park. Video courtesy Rob Woodward, a full-time photographer for FOX19.
On Nov. 8, Cincinnati Public Schools auctioned 13 school buildings and four land parcels, valued at more than $27 million, according to the county auditor's office. Eleven of the buildings sold, along with one piece of land. Bidding opened on Nov. 5 at $50,000; at the close of the auction, CPS made $3.5 million, which was more than enough to complete the district's Facilities Master Plan. The FMP was part of a bond levy that was passed in spring 2003 that combined state and other funds for a $1 billion build-out of the district. In the next 18 months, every school currently in use by CPS will either have been renovated or rebuilt to create a better environment for students, faculty and staff. As part of the FMP, many of the schools that were sold at auction were “swing” schools, which means they were used for classes while other schools were being renovated. After renovations, CPS no longer had a need for the schools, but wanted the buildings to have second lives. “As part of the plan, we knew we couldn’t overbuild, and we didn’t want to under-build,” says Janet Walsh, director of public affairs for CPS. “The consequence of that was that there were some beautiful buildings that we weren’t able to use as school buildings, but could be used by the community in other ways.” The district's approach, as it has been before, was to put the buildings up for auction. CPS held a successful auction about three years ago, but this one included more buildings and raised more money than expected, says Eve Bolton, board president of CPS. Some of the schools that didn’t sell in the 2009 auction sold this time around. “The reality is that the economic upturn in this region and the interest in Greater Cincinnati leaves a stock of historic, well-built schools empty,” says Bolton. “We want to see our buildings reused and recycled so that they can be beneficial to the neighborhoods they are a part of.” State law allows CPS to auction off unused buildings, but only after they have first been offered to local charter schools. Those left after auction can be sold on the public market as pieces of real estate. Buyers have no legal restrictions regarding what the school buildings can be used as—some of the buildings will become other schools, residential housing or office buildings; others will be torn down and something else will be built in their places. CPS schools and land included in the Nov. 8 auction:Burton Elementary School, 876 Glenwood Street, North Avondale: sold for $305,000; built in 1966, last class in 2008Central Fairmount Elementary School, 2475 White Street, South Fairmount: sold for $310,000; built in 1900, last class in 2012Heberle Elementary School, 2015 Freeman Avenue, West End: sold for $60,000; built in 1929, last class in 2007Hoffman Elementary School, 3060 Durrell Avenue, Evanston: sold for $200,000; built in 1922, last class in 2011Kirby Road Elementary School, 1710 Bruce Avenue, Northside: sold for $230,000; built in 1910, last class in 2005Lafayette Bloom Middle School, 1941 Baymiller Street, West End: sold for $60,000; built in 1915, last class in 2006Linwood Fundamental Academy, 4900 Eastern Avenue, Linwood: sold for $75,000; built in 1927-29, last class in 2005Losantiville Elementary School, 6701 Elbrook Avenue, Amberley Village: sold for $525,000; built in 1954, last class in 2008Old SCPA, 1310 Sycamore Street, Pendleton: sold for $1.3 million; built in 1910, last class in 2010Old Shroder Junior High School, 3500 Lumford Place, Kennedy Heights: sold for $150,000; built in 1956, last class unknownParadrome Street parcel, Mount Adams: sold for $135,000Winton Montessori School, 4750 Winton Road, Winton Place: sold for $265,000; closed in early Nov. 2012George F. Sands School, 940 Poplar Street, West End: not sold, valued at $1.89 million; built in 1912, last class in 2007North Fairmount Elementary School, 2001 Baltimore Avenue, North Fairmount: not sold, valued at $2.2 million; built in 1954, last class unknownE. Apple Street parcel, Winton Hills: not sold, valued at $485,628Terry Street parcel, East Price Hill: not sold, valued at $13,400Site of old Millvale school building, 3277 Beekman Street, Millvale: not sold, valued at $135,550By Caitlin Koenig Follow Caitlin on Twitter
Eight of the nine spaces in Bakery Lofts, the historic 1421-23 Race St.building just a half block from Washington Park, are already on "hold," according to developer 3CDC, as interest in and development around living spaces in Over-the-Rhine continues its brisk pace. 3CDC is currently working on a three-phase, $62 million project that encompasses two city blocks on 14th Street between Vine and Walnut, says Anastasia Mileham, communications director for 3CDC. Included in the Mercer Commons project are 19 historic building renovations and new construction on 26 vacant pieces of land. The project will ultimately contain 96 market-rate apartments, 30 affordable apartments, 28 condominiums, 17,600 square feet of commercial space and 359 parking spaces, says Mileham. The first phase of development began on June 30—it will yield a 340-space parking garage; 11 condos housed in four historic rehabs on Mercer, which will open in March 2013; a mixed-use building on Vine that will have 12 condos and 3,900 square feet of commercial space; and Mercer Townhomes, with five living units. The mixed-use building and the townhomes are slated to open in September 2013. Phase 2 includes 13 historic rehabs that will house 46 mixed-income apartments, 6,000 square feet of commercial space and a mixed-income building on Walnut with 21 apartments and 4,600 square feet of commercial space. Phase 3 of the project includes two historic building rehabs with eight apartments; eight new construction, three-story townhomes with 16 apartments; and a new building with 35 apartments, 3,100 square feet of commercial space and 19 parking spaces. One of the highlights of the project is the affordable housing that will be available. It’s also the first of its kind with a mixed-income building. “We worked really hard to get low-income tax credits for affordable housing,” Mileham says. “It was difficult because OTR is saturated with low-income tax credits and vacant housing. We wanted to show the community that you can have affordable units that at the same time are nice.” The new development in OTR will help create a walkable community with residential, commercial and office space all in one area. It will also help rejuvenate yet another part of the neighborhood. In all, 3CDC has completed four phases of development in OTR, including 186 condos and 91,000 square feet of commercial space. All but three of those condos have sold and about 90 percent of the commercial space is leased. 3CDC also has seven other projects around OTR, with 65 condos, 23 apartments and 17,900 square feet of commercial space. By Caitlin Koenig Follow Caitlin on Twitter
With 10 restaurants and bars launched in 10 years, and more set to open soon, Four Entertainment Group (4EG) continues its successful run with Igby’s downtown, at 122 E. Sixth Street in between Main and Walnut streets. 4EG founders Bob Deck, Dave Halpern, Dan Cronican and Ben Klopp have two spaces reserved in the new U Square development in Clifton, one of which will be the group’s third Keystone Grill (other locations are in Covington and Hyde Park) and an adjacent bar. “I think Cincinnati’s just moving in the right direction,” says Deck. “I grew up here, so, just seeing the city change over the last, you know, six or seven years, with all the independent restaurants and all the independent owners, it’s pretty cool.” Deck and his partners cemented their commitment to the city by opening a central business office in Over-the-Rhine, across the street from The Anchor-OTR restaurant and above Zula, a bistro and wine bar slated to open soon. “We moved our offices down here because we’re invested in the city,” Deck says. “We didn’t have a central office, so we thought, ‘Hey what better place than to put our offices down in OTR, and support the whole area and movement.’” Just across downtown, Igby’s represents 4EG’s collaboration with Core Resources, Beck Architecture and 3CDC. Think its name sounds mysterious? That’s the point. “We called it Igby’s because we really wanted to come up with a name that didn’t really give you any idea of what the bar would be before you walked in,” Deck says . “We’re really designing this bar around good beer, and good wine and good craft, fresh cocktails,” Deck says. Open Monday through Saturday, Igby’s weekends ramp up the energy by opening its second and third floor open up and featuring a DJ. The space itself is huge—approximately 7,500 square feet. The Civil War era building posed challenges, but developers persevered through massive restoration work to create a wood-filled, modern and hyper-stylized space. Igby’s atrium features balconies around each level so that patrons can look up or down onto the other floors. Igby’s also has an outdoor patio with a lounge. Cincinnati Chef Lauren Brown has a five-item menu, featuring oysters, sodabread and cheese and even seasonal salads, that is served from 4 to 10 pm. “It’s really meant to accompany people coming in and having some drinks,” Deck says. “It’s all very high-quality and fresh, and everything we can source locally, we try to source locally. It’s hard to source West Coast oysters locally, though.” All of the juices for the extensive cocktail list are also fresh. Mixologist Brian Van Flandern from New York created the craft cocktail menu, which includes the bourbon-tinged Black Cherry Sling (with a kick of nutmeg), the Apple Toddler, which has Gerber Apple baby food in it, and locally themed drinks like RedsRum and Naked in Newport. Igby’s has 16 beers on tap, including craft beers, imported bottles and cans. By Stephanie Kitchens
A group of eight University of Cincinnati students have designed seven projects that will bring creative elements to existing, underutilized spaces in Covington. The projects this semester focus mainly on the area around Pike Street and Madison Avenue, but in the future, the class hopes to have a continued impact and involve community members in Covington and other areas in the region. The students are members of Matt Anthony’s Tactical Urbanism class at the UC Niehoff Urban Studio. It’s the first year for the class, but many elements of it have been seen in other classes where students have engaged and built projects that focus on changes in urban areas. Soapbox sat down with Anthony to discuss the impact of the class. Q: Why are the projects based in Covington when there are opportunities in Cincinnati to revitalize the city’s urban core? A: “Recently, the CDC has been engaged with a few projects in Covington, including some involvement in the studies or development of their Center City Action Plan. Covington itself offered a unique set of issues to address and also a territory that was largely unfamiliar to students, even though we are so close to this very central and urban area. When we first started talking about doing this project, Frank Russell, director of the CDC, was the first to suggest Covington as a prime location. We’ve been fortunate to have a great relationship with some city officials, such as Natalie Bowers, who is the arts district director in Covington. She has been a great internal champion of arts projects and knows the right channels to get more official approval for some of our projects that require it. Katie Meyers from Renaissance Covington has also helped organize some business and commercial-oriented work. There are more communities in our region on both sides of the river that we’d like to work with. Our hope is that there is some excitement with these projects and we can take what we learned in Covington and apply it elsewhere. There was interest in some temporary installation projects around the Pendleton neighborhood recently, so that is a possibility.” Q: Has anything like this ever been done at UC before? A: “I don’t think there have been many projects of this specific type at UC. There have been many design/build activities over the years for both architecture and art projects, especially in urban areas, but I think this is one of the few that have allowed the students to identify the opportunity area themselves through personal research and viewing existing urban studies and then planning a temporary installation. The studio is called “Tactical Urbanism” after a more recent movement to try to empower people to create temporary projects that have a potential to create long-term change. The idea itself isn’t new, but there is a renewed interest and a growing movement around it right now—I recently heard someone call it ‘urban prototyping.’” Q: What about in Covington? A: “In Covington, I know there have been various arts engagement projects around the city, including a class from NKU that created an installation under one of the train overpasses, so I don’t think we’re claiming a lot of firsts. The Awesome Collective has also been talking a lot about doing more subversive positive messaging and advertising to make people aware of Covington. But again, I think the student’s control of the projects and the kind of blitz we’re putting on with eight projects is more unique.” Q: Does the Tactical Urbanism class partner with any organizations for projects and/or events? A: “We’ve done a lot of work with the people from Renaissance Covington and the City of Covington, CSX for train overpass inquiries and various small businesses have been generous with their support of projects in effort and materials. One of our students is collaborating with holiday storefront installations that Covington merchants are planning, and another is working with the Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts Center to transform student drawings into life-size renditions that will enliven a train underpass. So the students have been a whirlwind through Covington and various organizations there.” Q: There are lots of rejuvenation efforts going on throughout the Tri-State area. Why do you think it’s important for students to get involved in rejuvenating a city? A: “I’ve seen more and more students looking for a way to make a difference in the world by utilizing the skills they are learning in school. I wanted to find a way to connect students with real problems that they could identify and physically make something that could make a difference that they can and should detect, even if it’s limited in scope. I think it’s important from a civic engagement perspective both from the city’s and the student’s sides. Design and creative problem solving will continue to grow in importance as our cities grow, and empowering students now with experiences in affecting their environment is an important step.” Q: What do you hope to see come out of the tactical urbanism class? A: “I’d like to see students execute successful projects that are well attended that positively influence the City of Covington. But of equal importance is that the students understand the impact it had and the implications or suggestions they could make to the city regarding the issue they hoped to affect. A number of students have projects aimed at changing perceptions of areas or creating some awareness around spaces and problems, so I think seeing people gather or talk about those things would be good as well. A number of students have ideas that they are documenting that could successfully be executed again, or have a version that with a few more local champions and perhaps a small cash infusion could scale up to be nice civic projects. So we’re looking for partners whose interest may have been peaked by some of the events to keep the ball rolling.” The projects for this semester kicked off on Nov. 16 with Chalk Walk in the Arcade, and Covington’s first urban golf tournament was held on Nov. 17 on top of City Center Garage. The other projects will be popping up in Covington throughout the month of November. Through Nov. 31, images of what Covington looked like in the past will be juxtaposed with what the vacant commercial properties look like today.Weekends in November: Empty planters along Madison will see new plant life and help beautify the area.Until Nov. 23, signs were on display along sidewalks to encourage people to visit local attractions.Friday, Nov. 23: The Covington Urban Spaces Installation Project put up holiday storefront installations in windows near the corner of Pike and Madison, which will be on display until New Year’s.Wednesday, Nov. 28: A pop-up park and café will appear under the overpass on Pike to bring together residents and visitors.By Caitlin Koenig Follow Caitlin on Twitter
Imagine a group of folks who take artists out of backstreets and basements and introduce them to arts patrons and established organizations. Imagine these artists getting paid for their work and giving back to Cincinnati. And imagine these artists staying in Cincinnati to grow their work as well as the arts and culture of the city. Meet Urban Impresario, two brothers and a former gallery director, whose plan is to do just all that and more. The group is a creative talent agency, which hopes to provide connections and opportunities for raw talent. “In order for young artists to survive and thrive, it is essential to provide professional development and economic opportunities to these young creatives,’’ says Derek Peebles, co-founder of the brand new talent agency. “We want to serve as their mentors and managers and link them to institutions.” Urban Impresario’s non-profit status is currently pending, but that is not stopping the group from moving forward at lightning speed. Peebles and his brother, Domonique Peebles, and Cate Yellig, a friend and former director at the Phyllis Weston Gallery, saw an unmet need and formally created the group earlier this month. They are kicking off their launch next week with an exhibit at Switch in Over-The-Rhine. The show — which is the first of a series dubbed "The Investment" - will display canvas and paper works from 13 young artists. The show will feature work by Max Unterhaslberger, a student at the Art Academy of Cincinnati. “I am proud to contribute to a community that has given me so much,’’ Unterhaslberger says. Artists will receive 60 percent of each sale. The other 40 percent will go back to fund Urban Impresario, Peebles says. Peebles, 30, says Urban Impresario has four goals: To provide performing and visual artist outlets to develop their talents; provide platforms for artists to become marketable; provide mentors and support for artists, and ultimately, to provide opportunities for artists to make money. “We want to bring people in the arts together. We know that the more connected they are the more economically viable they become,’’ he says, noting that there is a $9 economic impact for every $1 invested in art. The approach is not solely to introduce the larger community to emerging artists, but also to introduce artists to concepts that will help them enhance their artistic skills and bolster community-building skills – including engaging younger students. The group plans to partner with area schools to target at-risk youth. “We are starting to discover that kids learn better from youth,’’ he says. The show next week is just the beginning of what Peebles says he is confident will become a viable patch of Cincinnati’s artistic quilt. “We want to build a platform for artists to be social entrepreneurs,” he says. “And we are excited to make this happen.” Do Good: • Attend the launch party and urban-style art exhibition featuring 13 emerging local artists. Show is from 5-9 pm, Nov. 30, at Switch Lighting and Design store, 1207 Vine St. • Like Urban Impresario on Facebook. • Be one of the first to follow them on Twitter. By Chris Graves Chris Graves is assistant vice president of digital and social media at the Powers Agency.
A parade of cherry-pickers greeted Northside business owners and shoppers last Friday at the unveiling of the city's first CoSign Project. Artisan-crafted signs took the shape of everything from intricately carved tumbleweeds to airplanes to jackalopes in this celebration of signage, small businesses and collaboration. Soapbox's Scott Beseler takes a tour.
Match passionate locals, creative entreprenuers and a petite force of nature known as Cat Amaro and you get The Bird Haus, a migratory classroom where learning is fun, fascinating and, yes, cheap.
As brewery equipment rolls into Over-the-Rhine, the Christian Moerlein Brewing Company is just weeks away from reaching another milestone in reviving the Christian Moerlein and Hudepohl names in Cincinnati. The former home of the Kauffman Brewing Company and Husman’s Potato Chip factory at 1621 Moore Street is nearly converted to brewing headquarters for Moerlein and Hudepohl beers. With this building, “exponential growth is possible,” says Josh Baker, marketing director for Christian Moerlein. The lingering question in many beer fans’ minds, though, is simple. What will be the first beer off the new production line? “Whichever beer we need will be first to be brewed,” says Baker, who hints at a secret ale likely to emerge from the brewing lines soon. While the Lager House at the Banks will continue brewing to fulfill the restaurant’s beer needs, all other brewing will happen on Moore Street. At first, the Moerlein lagers and ales and Hudepohl seasonal beers will be brewed on Moore Street, but eventually all the Hudepohl beers will roll off the lines there as well. Beer won’t be the only focus of the expanded space, Baker says. The location will also feature a banquet hall (in the space that has served as Bock Fest Hall the past few years) as well as a tap room, slated to open next spring. Brewery visitors will be able to purchase their favorite beers in cases, growlers and kegs from the tap room, located in the old Kauffman malt drying room. Since the building was a pre-refrigeration era brewery, it also offers access to lagering cellars, which are currently featured in several Cincinnati tours, including those given by the Over-the-Rhine Brewery District Community Urban Redevelopment Corp., a nonprofit organization dedicated to preservation and redevelopment of Cincinnati’s rich beer brewing roots. Moerlein and The Brewery District are closely tied with Steve Hampton, executive director for The Brewery District and project architect for the new brewery, and Gregory Hardman, CEO of Christian Moerlein and president of The Brewery District. They plan to incorporate tours and history into the new brewery, which allows visitors to simultaneously experience Cincinnati beer, past and present. The Brewery District CURC is in charge of the annual Bock Fest, as well as the seasonal Biergarten at Findlay Market. The nonprofit will be in charge of beer sales at an open house for the brewery from 4 to 8 p.m. on Nov. 21. If all goes smoothly, brewing is set to start “within two weeks after the open house,” says Baker. “People have been knocking on our door wanting to see what is happening. The amount of support and cheers has been overwhelming the past year.” Guests at the open house can enter a drawing to win one of the first 100 bottles off the production line. The bottles will be numbered, signed and accompanied by a letter of authenticity. Registration for the contest will take place until the open house and can be done at Findlay Market or by mail. After the open house, the next brewery-related event will be the Third Annual Hudepohl Thanksgiving Eve Turkey Trot featuring $2 Hudepohl Amber Lagers at bars along Main and Vine streets. By Blaire Mynear Blaire Mynear is an aspiring biologist and a resident of Walnut Hills
This year, Black Friday will be a “Bright Friday” for the community of Northside. Up and down Hamilton Avenue, businesses will unveil fun and funky new signs that bedazzle Northside’s main drag. In an unlikely collaboration of 11 businesses, local artists, several zoning officials and one museum, the CoSign project is now a proven success in creating attractive, cohesive street signage with hopes to shape future signage projects in city neighborhoods locally and across the nation. What started as a broader grant application to ArtPlace America for several city neighborhoods became a personal quest for Northsiders after the city-wide application went unfunded last spring. Stepping up with funding support, the Haile US Bank Foundation, Northside partners and the American Sign Museum created a pilot project that paired local businesses and visual artists with sign fabricators to design and install a critical mass of new signage along Hamilton Avenue. With an idealistic launch date of November 23, this year’s Black Friday, Eric Avner knew this would be a challenge. “We wanted to do multiple things at once,” says Avner, vice president and senior program manager of the Haile/US Bank Foundation. “Help the sign museum, help local business districts gain vitality and give the creative sector of Cincinnati more opportunities to make a living.” The American Sign Museum played a vital role in the project, serving as the primary grant recipient and providing staff as content specialists for the design process. The museum held two August training workshops for artists and businesses, put together a team of professional sign fabricators and installers, and participated in a judging panel to decide upon the best signage proposals from business/artist teams. “Part of our mission is to educate the public and special interest groups about signs,” says Tod Swormstedt, founder of the American Sign Museum. “The workshops helped to educate the business owners on why signage is so important for marketing, as well as to educate artists about what is a good sign. Artists may create an aesthetically-pleasing sign, but it may not identify the business well.” The week before their unveiling, the American Sign Museum displayed the signage in its brand-new facility near Camp Washington at 1330 Monmouth Street. CoSign documented the progress of the project from start to finish with help from The Queen City Project so other communities have the opportunity to replicate the project and broadcast their own creativity and collaborative spirit through signage. And the sign museum plans to go after that ArtPlace grant again - the one it lost just a few short months ago. Says Swormstedt, “The application is much stronger now, given the learning curve we experienced, the lessons learned and the project’s success.” By Becky Johnson
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