Corryville/Short Vine (Columbus, Cincinnati, Hamilton: 2015, apartments, condos)

[Chemistry_Guy]

I just got done walking the "back way" from East Campus to West Campus at UC, and I noticed that there is a ton of construction going on along Euclid, Corry, Jefferson, and the neighboring streets. When all of the dust settles, does anyone know what the area from Short Vine down to McMillan is supposed to look like? I know there is supposed to be some transit infrastructure, but clearly there is a lot more going on than that.

The development along Calhoun killed the unique/sleazy/gritty/eccentric atmosphere that the area had when I was a graduate student and I am just hoping that the Short Vine area isn't getting a similar sterilization. However, the Kroger anchored strip mall can and should be demolished at some point. The contractors will just need to be careful that they don't release any of the dust from the old Club Vertigo because I am sure some of the disease molecules are still potent.

[RustBeltOptimist]

^^ I see the area becoming somewhat similar to the Calhoun corridor, and I actually think it may wind up being more sanitized due to the proximity to Pill Hill, as there are a lot of well-salaried residents moving in. You still have some edge with Bogart's and some cheekiness with eateries like HangOver Easy, but the condos and places like Mio's, Meatball Kitchen and Taste of Belgium all show that same sort of uptown vibe that you have in the Calhoun/MacMillan corridors.

I don't know if it's necessarily a bad thing. When I first moved here the Calhoun area would be absolutely dead during the summer months, and businesses would be begging for traffic, but there hasn't been much let up this summer.

[progmac]

the powers that be in the uptown area have absolutely no interest in creating anything "unique/sleazy/gritty/eccentric." They are going for sterile, banks-style urban. The University wants something that appeals to the parents of suburban teens, the Hospitals want commuter accessibility with mid-to-high income living opportunities. It's disappointing in a way, but also nice in a way. Cincinnati could use more places that are, just, you know, "nice." With the transient college populace, there is also is a slumlord/low standard housing dynamic going on in the area...a few reliably clean and welcoming apartments are in some ways a welcome change.

[GManorborn]

Construction Work on $30M Corryville Apartment Project On-Pace for Fall 2015 Completion — UrbanCincy

[abr7rmj]

Next time you're in the area, check out Hangover Easy, located next to Bogarts. It's only a couple months old but it's already one of my favorites. It has a diner feel to it in that the menu item is breakfast-friendly all day. They serve Belgian-style waffles and all sorts of other things. And the interior is decorated with doors and chalkboards and other items taken when they demolished a nearby elementary school (not sure which one) but the look is incredible.

Oh, and they have all the must-have craft beers from Cincinnati and beyond. There's also a location in Columbus.

Hang Over Easy | Breakfast Cures All

[goyguy]

The school at Vine and University was called Schiel. I remember riding past it in the '70s and noticing that the blue panels of plastic CPS was using for a while, to replace broken windowpanes, appeared to outnumber the clear glass ones. Yep, it was "ghetto" right along with Hughes High (at least at the time) and the nearby anything-but Merry Jr High. In more recent times Schiel was being used as a magnet school for budding musicians. My hunch is that the programs there were folded into SCPA. The building was a pile of yellow bricks with character - lots of nice detailing on the eaves and window frames. But it fell victim to the recent school demolition frenzy which also didn't spare other notable structures like the North Avondale School.

Most of the redevelopment plan drawings I've seen show that the bulldozed buildings in the area are destined to be supplanted by concrete/glass cubes. Have a look at the ones which "uglify" the SE corner of McMillan and Ohio Ave, are on the drawing board for Hamilton Ave in Northside, and define The Banks and you'll see all you need to know. I guess it's a small positive that the structure going up where Schiel School stood has a brick facade and a corner turret.

At least a portion of University Plaza will be biting the dust and not coming back. Whether Kroger's will remain I can't say, but the chain's announced intention to put in a mega-store near the decidedly not trendy corner of Reading Rd and East MLK raises doubts. Between that, and the removal of the big building that was a Sears "once upon a time," it's clear that a push is on to expand the medical area eastward. The new interchange on 71 going in plays right into that.

Other articles I've seen have brought up that four new "Metro*Plus" stops are being constructed in this vicinity to promote that service and heighten visibility for the bus as an option for travel in other directions (including an express line out to Glenway Ave.) Without fail they've also gone on to stress that these boarding areas are incompatible with light rail. No further comment from me there, y'all know what I'm thinking.

What will make or break all this destruction and construction is the general quality of life in the neighborhood. Corryville has a well-earned reputation for incurring a considerable amount of street crime. It's not just the easy-opportunity stuff like mugging an inebriated undergrad as s/he staggers off a main traffic artery alone during the wee hours. There are regularly robberies along even Jefferson, Corry, and Short Vine at all times of day. Aggressive panhandlers abound. It's one of the few areas where I keep moving and stay ready to cross a street on short notice. And this is a "city kid" doing this, not a naive suburbanite. Whether or not a Lego building has a Starbucks and a Domino's on the ground floor and wifi throughout doesn't matter if Johnny and Susie stand a good chance of getting jumped whenever they walk to/from campus. Somewhat pushed aside they may be, but the trouble incubators known as Mt Auburn, Avondale, and Walnut Hills - not to mention the rest of Corryville - are still within easy running distance.

[RustBeltOptimist]

Originally Posted by goyguy

The school at Vine and University was called Schiel. I remember riding past it in the '70s and noticing that the blue panels of plastic CPS was using for a while, to replace broken windowpanes, appeared to outnumber the clear glass ones. Yep, it was "ghetto" right along with Hughes High (at least at the time) and the nearby anything-but Merry Jr High. In more recent times Schiel was being used as a magnet school for budding musicians. My hunch is that the programs there were folded into SCPA. The building was a pile of yellow bricks with character - lots of nice detailing on the eaves and window frames. But it fell victim to the recent school demolition frenzy which also didn't spare other notable structures like the North Avondale School.

Most of the redevelopment plan drawings I've seen show that the bulldozed buildings in the area are destined to be supplanted by concrete/glass cubes. Have a look at the ones which "uglify" the SE corner of McMillan and Ohio Ave, are on the drawing board for Hamilton Ave in Northside, and define The Banks and you'll see all you need to know. I guess it's a small positive that the structure going up where Schiel School stood has a brick facade and a corner turret.

At least a portion of University Plaza will be biting the dust and not coming back. Whether Kroger's will remain I can't say, but the chain's announced intention to put in a mega-store near the decidedly not trendy corner of Reading Rd and East MLK raises doubts. Between that, and the removal of the big building that was a Sears "once upon a time," it's clear that a push is on to expand the medical area eastward. The new interchange on 71 going in plays right into that.

Other articles I've seen have brought up that four new "Metro*Plus" stops are being constructed in this vicinity to promote that service and heighten visibility for the bus as an option for travel in other directions (including an express line out to Glenway Ave.) Without fail they've also gone on to stress that these boarding areas are incompatible with light rail. No further comment from me there, y'all know what I'm thinking.

What will make or break all this destruction and construction is the general quality of life in the neighborhood. Corryville has a well-earned reputation for incurring a considerable amount of street crime. It's not just the easy-opportunity stuff like mugging an inebriated undergrad as s/he staggers off a main traffic artery alone during the wee hours. There are regularly robberies along even Jefferson, Corry, and Short Vine at all times of day. Aggressive panhandlers abound. It's one of the few areas where I keep moving and stay ready to cross a street on short notice. And this is a "city kid" doing this, not a naive suburbanite. Whether or not a Lego building has a Starbucks and a Domino's on the ground floor and wifi throughout doesn't matter if Johnny and Susie stand a good chance of getting jumped whenever they walk to/from campus. Somewhat pushed aside they may be, but the trouble incubators known as Mt Auburn, Avondale, and Walnut Hills - not to mention the rest of Corryville - are still within easy running distance.

Not to nitpick, but robberies on Jefferson and Short Vine themselves are rare and I haven't heard of a daylight one on either street in at least a couple of years. The gang that's been doing the robbing in Corryville operates mostly a block or two over on Eden and Euclid where there are fewer witnesses and a faster exit if things go south, but still the more lucrative marks. This is one reason that the VP3 development is sort of interesting to me. I agree with your commentary on the banal colored blocks architecture, but it's a luxury apartment/townhouse development right where the crime seems to happen most often, something will have to give.

Mt. Auburn and Walnut Hills are hardly being pushed aside, I would add. There is a lot of money going into redeveloping both neighborhoods, the Five Points Alley Biergarten is a happening monthly event for creative types in the city and the Walnut Hills neighborhood seems to take visible steps forward with each visit. Mt. Auburn has pockets of trouble still, but also a very eclectic residential mix that includes several of the city's more prominent culture generators not to mention the Christ Hospital revamp which seems to be spilling over into the surrounding neighborhood. Avondale, on the other hand, remains one of the city's red-headed step children, and the Children's Hospital expansion doesn't seem to be having the same effect as the Christ Hospital work to date.

[franke01]

Back in the late 60's we had a third floor apartment across from the Mug Club on Calhoun and at that time the Corryville Rats was evidently the gang of choice among neighborhood youths. The Pershing Rifle (ROTC) house was also on Calhoun and there were some memorable confrontations between the Rats and the troops although I can't recall that anyone ever really got hurt.