Author: Jenny Kessler

Jenny is a local designer who has a passion for people and for Cincinnati. She began writing for UrbanCincy in September 2009, and served as the website's operation manager until March 2012. Jenny currently works for ArtsWave and manages the OTR Urban Kickball League.

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News

Rookwood Pottery Assumes Auction

The internationally recognized Cincinnati establishment Rookwood Pottery announced today that it will take on the biannual Cincinnati Art Galleries Auction. These sales are the largest Rookwood Pottery auctions in the world, and curators, designers and collectors come in from around the country in their search for the perfect pottery piece.

Cincinnati Art Galleries has hosted this auction for many years, but has decided to streamline their product offerings by focusing more exclusively on 19th and 20th century European and American paintings. According to the press release, Riley Humler, currently the Gallery Director of Cincinnati Art Galleries, will assume the position of Director of Auctions at Rookwood Pottery, bringing with him his team of art pottery and art glass experts.

“We have always had a great working relationship with Rookwood Pottery and applaud Christopher Rose and his vision for Rookwood,” said Humler. “It is incredible that I can say that I now work there, having been an enthusiastic Rookwood fan all of my adult life.”

Cincinnati Art Galleries Auction photos provided

Christopher Rose and his team have been working hard since 2005 to bring back the amazing legacy of Rookwood back to Cincinnati. The company recently relocated to a 100,000 square-foot facility in the heart of Over-the-Rhine earlier this year. They have plans to turn the auction into a three day art pottery conference-style event, complete with receptions, speakers and studio tours.

“Moving this (event) to Over-the-Rhine and expanding it to be more of a conference will only further the Over-the-Rhine’s reputation as a vital center for the arts – something that means a great deal to us at Rookwood,” said Suzanne Blackburn, Marketing Manager for Rookwood Pottery.

It means a lot to Rookwood, but it means even more to the community of Over-the-Rhine. It is absolutely energizing to see dedicated business members establishing themselves in the heart of the City. Rookwood is another step forward into revitalizing our city center, and it adds another dimension to the company that they have committed to producing their work in the center of Cincinnati, rather than fleeing to the wide expanse of the suburbs.

Stay tuned for a future opportunity to get an exclusive tour of Rookwood’s new digs in OTR, and get a behind-the-scenes look at their famous operations. If a tour/history lesson/social outing at Rookwood Pottery interests you please leave a comment below and let us know what you would like to experience.

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News

Trinity Flats Project Moving Right Along

The newest phase of the Gateway Quarter redevelopment has been under construction since the beginning of this year, and 9 months later the Trinity Flats building is well on its way to looking absolutely fabulous.

Trinity Flats will consist of 25 residential units and 7,500 square feet of store front street level retail space. The project, located at Vine and Mercer Streets (map) in Over the Rhine, is slated to cost around $8.9 million.

One aspect of this project which makes it stand out from the rest of the Quarter is that Trinity Flats is a clever mix of adaptive reuse and new construction. The Model Group is doing a fantastic job of highlighting the original building’s historic features while simultaneously adding a progressive new structure to the mix. The new construction building adds a modern update to classical building elements such as window detailing, but manages to keep a clean aesthetic overall. According to the building elevations (credit Building Cincinnati) the new construction project will include a community rooftop deck. This will provide a definite draw to those wanting to move into the city but who are not completely wanting to give up their outdoor space.

The commercial space in the infill building will be the new home of the Gateway Quarter leasing office, opening up the corner of Vine and 12th streets to new endeavors. Model Group has an estimated completion date of April 2010 for the Trinity Flats development.

Trinity Flats photos by Jake Mecklenborg

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News

Glass House Lofts and Dandridge Town Homes Come Together for Final Friday

In combination with the Final Friday festivities this evening, you have the chance to check out two terrific residential developments near the Pendleton Arts Center. The first is the newly opened Dandridge Studio Town Homes which features price points ranging from the mid- to high-100’s. Homebuyers there can take advantage of grant money for new graduates to stay in Ohio and stimulus money benefits to help make the finances work for you.

The new town homes were celebrated by community leaders yesterday at a ribbon cutting ceremony where some people believe this is a moment where the neighborhood is “taking back” their community from the bad elements that once had a strong grasp of the neighborhood a decade ago. The Dandridge Studio Town Homes also feature a variety of unique features like cut outs to let in daylight, spiral staircases to media rooms, large windows, front and back decks, and overall well laid out interior spaces.

Also available to check out is the Glass Houses Lofts development around the corner. Only a few units remain in this gem of a restoration, but visitors will be able to check out a model unit, common spaces and the newly finished wine room in the basement designed by yours truly. There will be a DJ, food, and wine at Glass House and will make for a perfect jumping off point for your Final Friday festivities.

Dandridge Studio Town Home photographs by Jenny Kessler
Categories
News Politics

Little by Little, Cincinnati Improves Recycling Program

Last week the city of Cincinnati announced changes to its current curbside recycling program. Members of City Council, Mayor Mallory and representatives from Rumpke and the Office of Environmental Quality gathered at the original LaRosa’s pizza location on Boudinot Avenue to make their announcement. In partnership with Rumpke Recycling, the City will now collect more items than ever before including all plastic bottle types (still no lids), jugs and pizza boxes (no leftover pepperoni or banana peppers please). Additionally, households can put out multiple recycling bins if their recycling needs exceeds the single green bin.

Click here to order your extra recycling bin.

Acceptable Items for Recycling:

  • All plastic bottles and jugs (no lids)
  • Glass jars and bottles of any color
  • Aluminum, steel and bi-metal cans
  • Empty aerosol cans with lids and tips removed
  • Brown grocery bags
  • Computer paper, and other mixed office paper
  • Corrugated cardboard, broken down to 3′ X 3′
  • Envelopes, with or without windows
  • Junk mail
  • Magazines
  • Newspapers with inserts
  • Paperboard, such as cereal boxes
  • Telephone books
  • Pizza boxes (free of food residue)

Download the list of acceptable recycling materials and guidelines to keep around the house or post for your tenants.

Please be sure to rinse out and dry all jars, jugs and bottles before placing them in your bin. Bottle caps are not currently accepted in the City recycling program, however, plastic lids (i.e. milk jugs) can be taken to any Aveda Institute for recycling. Metal lids (i.e. spaghetti sauce jars) can be recycled at any scrap dealer in the area who accepts steel.

For those residents who do not currently have curbside recycling services (households who have private trash service dumpsters) can collect their recyclables and take them to various recycling drop off locations around the city. Signage at the drop off centers will be updated within the next few weeks to reflect the changes in materials accepted.

Rumpke has not expanded these changes to the entirety of its service area. These changes are only reflected for the City of Cincinnati. According to Sue Magness from the Office of Environmental Quality, “Technically, the new sorting facility is still under construction and they are temporarily warehousing the materials. So Rumpke will expand as new contracts are established (as in the case of the City), or after the installation of the “state of the art” equipment is complete.”

The announcement comes on the heels of tumultuous budget discussions that backtracked on a funding promise that would have provided new larger recycling carts for Cincinnatians and gotten the city started with a RecycleBank program that rewards users for the amount they recycle. Those upgrades to the City’s recycling program would have paid for themselves almost immediately through the higher payments the City would have received from Rumpke Recycling for higher recycling volumes.

Cincinnati Recycling Program Announcement photograph by Jenny Kessler.

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News

AIA Debate Displays Tone of Issue 9 Campaigns + Volunteer Night!

This past Thursday evening, the Cincinnati chapter of the American Institute of Architects held a traditional debate discussing Issue 9. Arguing for Issue 9 was former SORTA board member Stephan Louis, as a representative for the Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending & Taxes (COAST). University of Cincinnati Board of Trustees member and Cincinnatians for Progress chairman Rob Richardson argued against Issue 9. UC Professor Terry Grundy acted as moderator, and did a fantastic job in moving the points right along and keeping things official.

Nearly 50 students, professors, architects and concerned citizens filled the lecture hall, each one interested in what the two men had to say for and against Issue 9. Mr. Louis opened the debate stating that Cincinnati had already built three transit failures (the subway, Union Terminal, and Riverfront Transit Center), and pulled out the ever popular phrase “boondoggle.” Sitting calmly up at the front of the room, Mr. Lewis seemed very straightforward and full of “facts,” which were later completely debunked by Gordan Bombay, writing for the Phony Coney (read his fantastically detailed write up here).

Rob Richardson was an entirely different story in practically every way. Hardly had Professor Grundy given him the floor than Richardson was up out of his chair, coming down off the stage to look students in the eye and speak to us directly. He spoke passionately of Cincinnati’s future, stating quite frankly that our fair Queen City will face serious setbacks in practically every way if Issue 9 passes. The language is too broad and too over-reaching. The point of a representative democracy is to elect officials you trust to make decisions, and Mr. Richardson warned the room of what could happen if Cincinnati allowed Issue 9 to convert our current system into a California style government.

There were several excellent questions coming from various people in the audience, directed toward both debaters. Overall it was interesting to note that the general overtone of the “Yes on 9” conversation was incredibly accusatory and negative. Mr. Louis was not able to state how in fact he supported public transit, or what he saw for Cincinnati in the next 5 years concerning rail. He was only able to repeat sound bites intended to affront and astound – warning of the horrors of public money being spent, and even once comparing the streetcar to abortion. It’s okay if you’re confused – I was there and I didn’t quite understand the reference, much less comprehend why he thought it was okay to compare the two in the first place.

The overriding theme of Rob Richardson’s tone and message when voting against Issue 9 was one of hope and promise for Cincinnati. He spoke with conviction on how passenger rail will bring development and retain talent in our community, and how it can only help Cincinnati, not diminish its value. The difference in demeanor and attitude between the two debaters was incredibly palpable, and it’s an important difference.

Choose negativity and fear, or hope for the future. Vote No on Issue 9.


Urban Cincy Volunteer Night!!
Tonight a few of the staffers at UrbanCincy will be gathering at the Cincinnatians for Progress office located on 1344 Vine Street in Over-the-Rhine. We will be making phone calls from 6pm to 8pm, and tentatively going out to grab a drink and/or food afterwards. Be sure to bring your own phone, or laptop computer (using Skype-$3) from which to make phone calls. If you’re interested in helping but don’t want to do it alone, tomorrow night will be a great opportunity to help this cause and hang out with some like-minded people!

Issue 9 debate photo by David Cole via The Phony Coney