The Future of the City was the theme of the inaugural Monocle + Killik debate held in London. The goal was to look at how to make a city truly livable. The session offers unique perspectives, thoughts, and views from a global perspective. Monocle is a magazine and website founded by Tyler Brûlé, a Canadian journalist and entrepreneur.
I finally got my first look at the nearly complete Lofts at Fountain Square. We all know that the location is second to none as Fountain Square is essentially your front yard and you’re within a stones throw of the region’s most unique shopping, dining and entertainment.
In addition to the location the units are some of the most spacious I have seen in Downtown. The smallest unit starts at 725 square feet with the penthouse unit boasting 2,500 square feet of living space. Most of the units, however, are around 1,500 square feet with several offering skylights and french balconies overlooking Vine Street and Fountain Square. Almost 1/3 of the 18 units have already sold and will have their owners moving in shortly. The remaining units available range from $210,000 – $795,000 (penthouse).
All units come standard with 1 parking space across the street at the Westin Hotel, hardwood floors, granite counter tops, stainless steel appliances, storage spaces in building, high speed internet access and the always popular 10 year tax abatement.
The historic art deco style Enquirer Building, built in 1926, has seen better days. What used to be home to Cincinnati’s daily newspaper until the 1980’s, is now a class “C” office building with an abysmal 16% occupancy rate.
With nearly three decades of hard times, the “Grand Lady of Vine Street” is ready for her makeover. In May 2007, Middle Earth Developers (MED) purchased the building with plans to renovate and develop the historic structure into a mixed-use building consisting of apartments, office and retail space, and parking. Thanks to some historic tax credits and private financing the $37,399,000 project is now ready to move forward, with a projected completion date of Mid-2009 (office) and May 2010 (apartments).
Retail space will remain at street-level, 53,400 sf of office space will take up floors 2-3, and 152 apartments will take up floors 4-14. 170 parking spaces will also be made available by retrofitting the basement mezzanine levels (previously held 10-ton printing presses) into a 3-level private parking garage.
Glenn Kukla, partner of MED, says that there will be a mix of studio, 1br, 1br/1 den, and 2br apartment units. These units will boast features such as free/dedicated wi-fi access, stainless steel appliances, washer/dryer hookups, hardwood/polished concrete floors, lofted kitchen and bathroom areas, and private parking.
While the project has lots of amenities, Kukla states, “the biggest amenity by far is that the building is a half-block away from the newly renovated Fountain Square.” The building will also be modified to include a new rooftop deck, clubhouse and fitness facility next to the rooftop deck, public conference room and business center, and coin operated laundry/vending facilities.
On Thursday, September 4th, the Mercantile Library will be hosting an informative session regarding Over-the-Rhine and the challenges facing new development in the historic neighborhood. Over-the-Rhine Revisited: Designing Infill for Historic Districts will be held at 5:30pm at the Mercantile Library (GoogleMap).
The session is a continuation of discussion that started at the January 2008 charrette and is being hosted by AIA Cincinnati, Architecture Foundation of Cincinnati, Cincinnati Preservation Association, Mercantile Library, and the Over-the-Rhine Foundation.
Light refreshments will be served , but reservations are required. The session costs $8 for members and $10 for non-members. You can make reservations by either calling 513.621.0717 or by emailing mercantileinfo@mercantilelibrary.com.
I thought this was an excellent photograph by 5chw4r7z, and I found it to be a quintessential ‘urban’ scene. It is a scene from the rooftop terrace on Jean-Robert’s Over-the-Rhine restaurant – Lavomatic. Check out some more photos in the same post by 5chw4r7z.
