Tag: uptown

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Bearcat Football readies for 2009 season

The Bearcats will take the football field for their 2009 season opener against Southeast Missouri State in about two months. The football program is coming off of one of the best year’s in its long history when it won the Big East Championship and earned a bid in the 75th FedEx Orange Bowl.

At the same time the program set several attendance records and recorded eight of the top-12 crowds in Nippert Stadium’s 85 year history. This success at the box office has continued as the program has sold out nearly half of the stadium to season ticket holders, and for the third consecutive year, sold out the Bearcat Lair section behind the north end zone.

There have been some other moves since the Bearcats walked off the field at Dolphins Stadium in Miami, Florida earlier this year. The most notable of which is the new contract for Brian Kelly which will extend Kelly’s contract one year and guarantee him nearly $1.5 million in salary until 2013 according to ESPN.com’s Brian Bennett.

In addition to adding in more money for assistant coaches, at Kelly’s request, the contract also eliminates the requirement for the University of Cincinnati to build a new practice facility for the program by 2010. The reason is, of course, financially driven as UC is short on the total amount needing to build the new practice facility that would include an full-size indoor field and a half size field along Jefferson Avenue uptown.

Proposed practice facility along Jefferson Avenue on the University of Cincinnati’s main campus

This move seems to buy the university some time as it tries to raise money to build the new facility. From the beginning many thought it was a rushed time line to have the facility built by 2010, but had the contract stipulation not been in place then the UC football program would probably not be this far.

The continued success and growth of the program depends upon keeping quality coaches and trainers around. UC needs to make a concerted effort to keep these talented individuals here so that they can keep attracting the talent that makes UC as Bowl Championship Series (BCS) contender year in and year out. If the new facility does not get built and Kelly gets an opportunity to bolt, then the program will be branded as a stepping stone program for some time to come. It’s up to the University of Cincinnati to decide from here how it wants to play this one.

Couple bonus pics from my trip to Miami for the 75th Orange Bowl where the University of Cincinnati lost to Virginia Tech
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News

Baby tigers at the Cincinnati Zoo

Tuesday at the Cincinnati Zoo, four baby Malayan Tigers made their first public appearance. It is a great honor to have these cubs at our zoo because they are on the endangered species list.

Currently, the cubs are unnamed, but the zoo is hosting a contest soliciting names. Check out this video, which shows the cubs’ first day in their habitat.

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News

This Week In Soapbox 6/30

This Week In Soapbox (TWIS) you can read about the future of the Kahn’s facility in Camp Washington, Nordstrom’s first Cincinnati location, the ripple effects surrounding the transition at Stratford Heights, a facelife for the 175 year-old Mercantile Library and Agenda 360’s rallying cry.

If you’re interested in staying in touch with some of the latest development news in Cincinnati please check out this week’s stories and sign up for the weekly E-Zine sent out by Soapbox Cincinnati.

TWIS 6/30:

  • The future of the Kahn’s facility in Camp Washington – full article
  • Nordstrom to open 138,000 square foot store in Kenwood this summer – full article
  • The ripple effects of Stratford Heights transition – full article
  • 175 year-old Mercantile Library to receive major facelift – full article
  • The Agenda 360 rallying cry – full article
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Business Development News Politics Transportation

Cincinnati selects streetcar development team

Mayor Mark Mallory and City Manager Milton Dohoney announced that the City has selected the Cincinnati Streetcar Development Partners as the team that will help finance, plan, design, construct, operate and maintain Cincinnati’s modern streetcar system.

The announcement was made at the new Rookwood Pottery headquarters in historic Over-the-Rhine. The location is at what will be the northern end of the Downtown/OTR circulator which will then head Uptown from there. Rookwood Pottery is an “enthusiastic” supporter of the Cincinnati Streetcar project and was more than happy to welcome the couple hundred people that showed up to hear the news.

City Manager Dohoney with some of the crowd on hand

The crowd (see crowd pictures here) was not only robust, but diverse as well. Representatives from the Over-the-Rhine Chamber of Commerce, various City of Cincinnati departments, Model Group, Cincinnati Beer Company, Metro, Cincy Energy Alliance, Mercantile Library, Hodges Law Group, Downtown Cincinnati Inc. and a slew of local business owners and investors.

The excitement was notable as Mayor Mallory and City Manager Dohoney arrived. The crowd was buzzing in anticipation of what was to be announced. This excitement continued as a large group of attendees walked over to Market Wines at Findlay Market to continue the conversation.

Development Team:
Cincinnati Streetcar Development Partners is made up of 12 companies that each specialize in a different aspect that will help lead to the successful implementation of the streetcar system. The team is made up of local and non-local companies that have been involved with roughly 80% of all recent streetcar and light rail projects in the United States, including projects in San Francisco, New York City, Atlanta, Portland, Seattle and Cleveland.

Members of the team have also been involved with local projects like Great American Ballpark, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center and the restructuring of Fort Washington Way that came in on time and under budget.

Cincinnati Streetcar Development Partners

One of the companies is Stacy and Witbeck Inc. (SWI) who is considered to be the “premier streetcar and passenger transit rail construction company in the United States.” Their involvement in the Cincinnati Streetcar project will be their first in the Midwest. As a result, SWI will be opening a new office downtown and will be relocating their executives to Cincinnati specifically for this project.

The team will also consist of local companies like Jostin Concrete Construction, DNK Architects, Megan Construction Company, Property Advisors, Wordsworth Communications and G.J. Berding Inc. The Cincinnati Streetcar Development Partners will be led by Parsons Brinckerhoff, Inc. (PB) who will also serve as the project manager. PB has led several local transit projects in the past and has a sterling record.

Funding:
The City currently has $78 million in requests to the federal government, who City Manager Dohoney says will be absolutely necessary in the implementation of the Cincinnati Streetcar system.

Explore Cincinnati reported in April that millions of private dollars have been raised thus far. According to the City’s Budget Director, Explore Cincinnati also found out that several organizations have been raising private funds that have not yet been deposited into the City’s account for the project.

This revised funding strategy is a response to the national economic downturn say City officials. The City has also established a new and more comprehensive website for the Cincinnati Streetcar that also includes an online location where streetcar supporters can make private contributions to the project.

What’s Next:
The selection of the team that will design, build and operate the Cincinnati Streetcar system is a major step forward for the project.

“The leaders of this city are taking this city’s future seriously,” says program manager Fred Craig who continues, “we are seeing a new generation working to make Cincinnati a better place.”

Craig went on to say that he and the development team welcome community input and emphasized that this is a project that should be driven by the community. Craig went as far as to say that if you have any suggestions regarding the project that you should call him personally and let him know (513-639-2100 – still trying to track down direct phone line).

Mayor Mallory addressing the crowd
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Arts & Entertainment News Politics

‘The New Neighbors’ film premier

The New Neighbors PBS documentary will premier in Cincinnati on Friday, June 5th at the University of Cincinnati’s Kaplan Theater. Cincinnatians are invited to come and celebrate the region’s diverse neighborhoods and discuss ways to maintain and grow them.

The New Neighbors: How One Town Created A Vibrant, Integrated Suburb tells the story of how a suburban town in New Jersey successfully reversed segregation and built a vibrant, integrated community. The award-winning filmmaker and Clifton resident, Andrea Torrice will be at the premier hosted by the Greater Cincinnati Commitment Alliance as part of the Agenda 360’s Transformational Dialog.

Following the screening, those in attendance will be invited to participate in a discussion about the next steps needed to strengthen and promote intentionally-integrated communities in the Cincinnati region. Those in attendance will then be encouraged to “walk the talk” and have dinner at one of the great ethnic restaurants in an Uptown neighborhood surrounding the university.

Agenda 360 has made building a more welcoming community a primary focus for improving the Cincinnati region’s future economic prosperity and quality of life. The Agenda 360 Action Plan calls for attracting 150,000 additional people to the region’s workforce between the ages of 20-34 by 2020.

The event will begin at 6pm at the University of Cincinnati’s DAAP building in room 5401. There is a $10 suggested donation, but the event is free to all UC students, faculty and staff. Proceeds will help fund the Greater Cincinnati Commitment Alliance that works towards the goals of making the Cincinnati region a welcoming and inclusive model for the nation and world.

You can sign up by calling (513) 579-3111 or by visiting this website.