Tag: uptown

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News

Happy Holidays to all those who are Proudly Cincinnati

UrbanCincy will be taking a few days off for the holidays (and travel plans). In the mean time I’ll leave you with this video clip of the new television commercial that the University of Cincinnati is rolling out and will air during the Orange Bowl to an estimated 11 million viewers.

There is a corresponding radio ad, and the two will be featured prominently in not only Cincinnati, but Cleveland and Columbus as well. UC is looking to maximize their Orange Bowl exposure for their current fundraising drive themed ‘Proudly Cincinnati.’

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Arts & Entertainment News

FS Ohio turns off Bearcats, upsets fans

The Bearcats basketball team had a thrilling come from behind victory over Eastern Kentucky University on Saturday night to improve to 9-2 overall. Unfortunately though the only people to see the late rally and win, by the Bearcats, were the roughly 7,000 fans in attendance as Fox Sports Ohio decided to cut away from the game with 1:20 left in regulation.

FS Ohio cut away for a Columbus Bluejackets NHL game. As a result the thousands of TV viewers missed the late rally and last second alley-oop dunk (Vaughn to Gates) to tie the game and send it into overtime. The Bearcats controlled the extra session and won by eight, and it was a truly thrilling end to see in person.

The many fans who missed the finish were none too happy and reportedly flooded FS Ohio’s office with complaints and thoughts of the Heide Game in mind. My suggestion – show up to the games in person. Fifth Third Arena has a 13,176 capacity (filled only once this year). The average attendance is somewhere in the 6,000-7,000 range. As a result there are plenty of good seats available for a young team with lots of talent that is quickly rising in the polls.

The Bearcats next home game is tomorrow night (12/22) at 7:30pm. UC will play host to Arkansas Pine Bluff in their last non-conference home game before Big East play begins. It is a crucial game that the Bearcats need to win.

The Bearcats need to head into Big East play with a minimum of 10 wins and no bad losses. So far, so good as a win against Arkansas Pine Bluff would be win number 10 and the only two losses have come to Xavier and Florida State. If the Bearcats can then manage another 10 wins through the remainder of the season and get to the 20 win plateau then they’ll be sitting pretty for a NCAA Tournament birth (see schedule/results here).

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Photo Credit: AP Photo/David Kohl

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News

Tis the season to experience Cincinnati

Like every holiday season, there is a ton of stuff to see and do in Cincinnati. Of course you have your long-standing traditions like the train display downtown, carriage rides, the Christmas Tree and ice rink on Fountain Square and the Cincinnati Zoo’s Festival of Lights. In addition to these goodies I’m going to recommend a couple of other things to check out before this holiday season expires.

The Ensemble Theatre is hosting a special holiday show called Expectations of Christmas. This show covers the many interesting facts, stories and songs of the holiday season. There will only be one performance on December 15th at 7pm. Tickets are $10 and all proceeds benefit Tender Mercies in Over-the-Rhine. You can order tickets by visiting the Ensemble Theatre’s Box Office (GoogleMap), or by contacting boxoffice@cincyetc.com or 513.421.3555.

Holly Jolly Trolley and Fountain Square Ice Rink – Randy Simes

The Krohn Conservatory always is a must for my family during the holiday season. This year will be no different. They will have their live nativity scene on display from December 5th through January 4th, Santa will be there on December 13th and 20th at 1pm, and there is the always lovely holiday floral show that is open daily from 10am-5pm until January 4th.

In addition to all that there will be a holiday craft making event from 1-3pm on Sunday, December 14th. At the craft making event you will be able to join a park horticulturist for an educational program on how to make unique holiday crafts.

Check out pictures from my family’s visit there last year at this time. The pictures show the holiday floral show as well as the live nativity scene outside. You can also view pictures from the train display downtown, ice rink on Fountain Square, Santa and some other holiday scenes from Downtown during the 2006 holiday season.

If you feel like sharing any additional holiday events please share them in the comments section for this article.

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Business Development News

Uptown Commons details emerge

Towne Properties recently announced some details regarding their development plan for the empty site right now in between McMillan and Calhoun (GoogleMap) streets in Clifton Heights. The $100 million project is proposed to include roughly 150 apartments, 77,000 square feet of retail space, 2 hotels and about 100,000 square feet of office space.

A public plaza near the western most terminus of the University Park Apartments (UPA) building across the street would also be an important feature of the development that would be privately managed and operated. The development would consist of mid-rise buildings that would sit atop parking garages serving not only the development but the surrounding uses as well.

Uptown Commons – Public Plaza Perspective

The Clifton Heights neighborhood business district (NBD) is already a great node for the community. A quality development here, with the right mix of uses could potentially create one of the biggest and best NBDs in Cincinnati (and that’s saying something given the competition).

Rents for the apartments will exceed the $1 per square-foot range which is comparable to the rents charged at UPA. Those apartments actually have a waiting list while also boasting some of the highest prices per square-foot of any rental units in the city. The hotels and office space will add some much needed year-round traffic in an area currently dominated by seasonal students.

Towne Properties cited that work could begin as soon as next Fall if financing is in place. Financing that they feel confident will be there even amidst the financial crisis and lending freezes being seen across the nation. Towne also noted that the development has been drawn up with the streetcar in mind as they are expecting the streetcar system to loop their development.

You can download the detailed site plans courtesy of by Cole + Russell at the following links:

Uptown Commons – Site Plan
Uptown Commons – Upper Floors Plan
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News

Can Nippert Stadium really be expanded?

With the success of the Bearcat football program combined with the already tight confines of Nippert Stadium it is only natural that talks have been in progress about expanding the stadium. The expansion would not only add more seating capacity, but take care of some other much needed improvements for concessions, restroom facilities and luxury suites.

Recently University of Cincinnati Athletic Director, Mike Thomas, described Nippert as the Wrigley Field of college football. The small and intimate setting certainly agrees with that. The surrounding buildings that are incorporated into the stadium also plays along with that theme.

Well the University had some drawings done by a Baton Rouge architecture firm a little while ago and have been sitting on those drawings ever since. There have recently been rumors flying about that Coach Brian Kelly has met with UC officials about these plans. What are your thoughts? Too soon, not enough, awesome, tacky, too modern?

Personally I think it works pretty well with a few exceptions. The area behind the west concourse that is sandwiched in between the stadium and Tangeman University Center (TUC) will become a dark and damp place as a result of this. It would also block out much of the sunlight that floods TUC via the giant glass wall on that side of the building.

The other issue I have is with covering most (or all) of the CCM building that is in the south endzone. The building is one of the coolest features of the stadium and I think could be manipulated in some way to incorporate luxury suites and avoid being blocked out (get creative).

Images from Trahan Architects – Click to view larger sizes