Cincinnati: Northside: American Can Factory Lofts

[taestell]

[morganjr]

I actually called to get information on a one bedroom here. There is currently a 75 person waiting list for a one bedroom.

[John S.]

I actually called to get information on a one bedroom here. There is currently a 75 person waiting list for a one bedroom.

 

Every rehab developer in town should be reading your message. Between projects like this and the OTR renaissance, there's without question a robust market for "cool" housing for those wanting the excitement and experience of living in the urban core. I expect this strong housing demand to continue as more folks (especially those in the younger demographic) seek to live in an urban environment rather than the sprawling Suburbia of their parents. The back-to-the-cities movement is alive and well in Cincinnati.

[jmblec2]

I actually called to get information on a one bedroom here. There is currently a 75 person waiting list for a one bedroom.

 

Every rehab developer in town should be reading your message. Between projects like this and the OTR renaissance, there's without question a robust market for "cool" housing for those wanting the excitement and experience of living in the urban core. I expect this strong housing demand to continue as more folks (especially those in the younger demographic) seek to live in an urban environment rather than the sprawling Suburbia of their parents. The back-to-the-cities movement is alive and well in Cincinnati.

 

 

This was my thoughts excatly.

[UncleRando]

 

Too much grass. If there are two things I generally dislike in urban environments it is 1) grass and 2) use of wood as a building material.

[JohnClevesSymmes]

Too much grass. If there are two things I generally dislike in urban environments it is 1) grass and 2) use of wood as a building material.

 

I agree if you mean there is room for more structures but I don't think the grass is more terrible than extra pavement. Hopefully something will be built on that huge lot in front on the Hamilton side, which could distract from the grass.

[Quimbob]

Too much grass? Maybe in a car-centric world view. Why shouldn't a resident have access to a lawn?

There have been several plans for the area between the building & Hamilton. A shopping center kinda thing with office space included. That Cavel guy was talking about a project. A year or so back a micro brewery was talking bout going in. As the economy has gyrated, plans have kept changing.

[OCtoCincy]

Ya that grass comment is pretty ridiculous.  Northside is suburban.  1890's suburban, but suburban none the less.  There are lawns and lots of 80 year old big trees and single family homes with fences.  This is not OTR or downtown. 

 

Northside:

[seicer]

And not everyone loves being in a concrete jungle, far removed from their natural surroundings :)

 

http://www.minnpost.com/second-opinion/2012/05/rural-teens-less-prone-allergies-study-finds

Rural teens less prone to allergies, study finds

Children who grow up in rural areas are less likely to develop allergies than those who grow up in urban towns and cities, according to a new study from Finland.

 

The possible reason: Children raised in the country are exposed to a broader array of friendly microbes, which may protect their bodies against allergies, asthma and other inflammatory diseases.

 

--

 

More grass, more greenspace = healthier bodies

[nati streets]

Ya that grass comment is pretty ridiculous.  Northside is suburban.  1890's suburban, but suburban none the less.  There are lawns and lots of 80 year old big trees and single family homes with fences.  This is not OTR or downtown. 

 

 

Just to clarify- Lawns/Turf does not make somewhere suburban.  By density, proximity to the cbd, and history Northside is very urban.  To be sub-urban was to have less density, as in a 1 acre lot a shed etc etc.... not living on a "high street" with shopping and bars...

 

I've lived in quite a few places and I have to say that Northside while not a downtown area is definitively urban.  Think of DC neighborhoods which are very urban and have yards or all of zones 2-6 in London.

[Quimbob]

Northside - the urban Yellow Springs

[John S.]

Northside - the urban Yellow Springs

 

Yeah, its got that kind of hip, cool, vibe to it and that's a major selling point appealing to multiple demographic segments. I personally think the Northside someday could give the OTR a serious run for the residential money. (and commercial too in some aspects as in along Hamilton Ave.) It just needs more investment and new residents. Just a week ago, I learned the City was going to demo 1317 and 1526 Chase-two neglected but once grand brick Victorian era townhomes-which in other places might have been nicely rehabbed into choice dwellings. Cincinnati is both blessed and cursed with an overabundance of historic homes and buildings. With the City's aggressive "nuisance property" enforcement and abatement program-which often leads to demolition-the supply and demand equation should soon come into balance.  The American Can Factory Lofts are a rare exception to the routine practice of razing old industrial buildings and sites. It's success indicates maybe more of these old buildings Should have been repurposed and adapted to residential uses by more creative developers. Some of those already razed represented missed opportunities, IMO. Industrial lofts are very popular in some cities; why not add Cincinnati to that list?

[Guest jmecklenborg]

Also, if Spring Grove Cemetery had never happened, there would have been a contiguous neighborhood between Northside and Spring Grove Village.  The part of Winton before the hill might have grown into something like Hamilton through Northside.  Also, the Rapid Transit Loop would have been compelled to be built directly through that whole area instead of on the Miami-Erie Canal, and might still exist. 

[GCrites]

I bet American Can wouldn't have shut down if they had shortened their name to the much-wittier AmeriCan.

[dmerkow]

Of all the what-ifs, I must say the 'no Spring Grove' might be the most. It predates everything else. I get what you are saying, but the real what-if for Northside is what if the '37 flood doesn't crush the Mill Creek Valley.

[CincyGuy45202]

A more modern concern would be that Northside needs a better grocery store... Families care about that kind of thing.

[Guest jmecklenborg]

Dave, I was looking at the sea levels on CAGIS and saw that the Mill Creek Valley doesn't reach the same altitude as Downtown Cincinnati until approximately Arlington Heights.  The first locks of course were in Lockland, just a mile north of that point.  In my book I made the point that when we talk about Cincinnati's hills, the most important of all is the "upper alluvial plain" upon which downtown and Over-the-Rhine sit.   

[dmerkow]

No wonder Northside (well Cumminsville as it was known then) was hit so hard.

[UncleRando]

Too much grass. If there are two things I generally dislike in urban environments it is 1) grass and 2) use of wood as a building material.

 

I agree if you mean there is room for more structures but I don't think the grass is more terrible than extra pavement. Hopefully something will be built on that huge lot in front on the Hamilton side, which could distract from the grass.

 

My point is that there can be better landscaping done in lieu of grass.

[OCtoCincy]

The area in front of American Can Lofts, at Blue Rock and Hamilton is being shopped to developers by the City. I believe there was an RFP process and everything to see how people would develop the site. Would be INCREDIBLE for northside to get ground floor retail, 3-4 stories of apartments (all along hamilton and blue rock) and perhaps some townhomes (along Knowlton and Langland). No idea what the timeline is on this.

[taestell]

Continuing this conversation here:

 

I just don't like being called a "wealthy white gentrifier" like I was on Twitter today by this anti-gentrification guy. First of all, it's making an assumption about my income level. Secondly, it's saying that my goal in moving to OTR was to gentrify the neighborhood, eradicate diversity, and turn the entire neighborhood into a playground for other "wealthy white" people, which is the opposite of the reason that I actually live there.

Cincinnati is so harsh to change even a lot of progressives can't accept it. My argument to them is that Cincy isn't San Francisco - it will die if it doesn't change which is worse for everyone. I wish urbanism was more accepted there, seeing it change over the last few years is why I follow news down there

 

The new $13M mixed-use development in front of the American Can Factory will break ground on May 28. Will all of the people complaining about "wealthy white gentrifiers" in Over-the-Rhine complain when the same type of people move into this new development in Northside?

[Quimbob]

The new $13M mixed-use development in front of the American Can Factory will break ground on May 28. Will all of the people complaining about "wealthy white gentrifiers" in Over-the-Rhine complain when the same type of people move into this new development in Northside?

 

I am sure the Marxist anarchist wing wang contingent of Northside is already gnashing it's teeth over this.

Where did you see the start date?

[taestell]

The new $13M mixed-use development in front of the American Can Factory will break ground on May 28. Will all of the people complaining about "wealthy white gentrifiers" in Over-the-Rhine complain when the same type of people move into this new development in Northside?

 

I am sure the Marxist anarchist wing wang contingent of Northside is already gnashing it's teeth over this.

Where did you see the start date?

 

It was tweeted by Oliver Kroner, the Northside Community Council President (according to his Twitter profile).

 

BTW, the name of this development is "The Gantry" -- http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2013/10/30/developers-to-build-13m-apartment.html

[natininja]

BTW, the name of this development is "The Gantry"

 

Pshhh, might as well call it the Landed Gentry. :mrgreen:

[Quimbob]

The new $13M mixed-use development in front of the American Can Factory will break ground on May 28. Will all of the people complaining about "wealthy white gentrifiers" in Over-the-Rhine complain when the same type of people move into this new development in Northside?

 

I am sure the Marxist anarchist wing wang contingent of Northside is already gnashing it's teeth over this.

Where did you see the start date?

 

It was tweeted by Oliver Kroner, the Northside Community Council President (according to his Twitter profile).

 

LOL, yeah, he's the NCC president, I think his sister runs the Slurring Bee (Sleepy Bee?) and he also organizes the Northside kids soccer.

[PAlexander]

It was tweeted by Oliver Kroner, the Northside Community Council President (according to his Twitter profile).

 

BTW, the name of this development is "The Gantry" -- http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2013/10/30/developers-to-build-13m-apartment.html

 

Sweet Fancy Moses, that design is insipid.  Slightly prefer that it not be built.

[taestell]

It was tweeted by Oliver Kroner, the Northside Community Council President (according to his Twitter profile).

 

BTW, the name of this development is "The Gantry" -- http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2013/10/30/developers-to-build-13m-apartment.html

 

Sweet Fancy Moses, that design is insipid.  Slightly prefer that it not be built.

 

USquare West

[Quimbob]

ALL their projects look the same...

[Ram23]

ALL their projects look the same...

 

There are very few big architectural firms that will tackle large scale residential work, be it condos or apartments, because the profit margins aren't very high and the liability insurance is very expensive compared to most commercial and institutional projects. Most firms won't touch condos at all, as the LLCs that build them usually dissipate after construction, and individual owners who have the majority of their savings invested in the property sue architects for every leak or popped drywall screw.

 

Anyway, that's why you end up with a couple of firms doing all the mixed use/residential work in the city, and thus it ends up looking the same.

[Guest jmecklenborg]

I just got a call from the company that manages this building -- I forgot that I applied for an apartment back in 2011 or early 2012.  It took this long, more than two years, for them to get to my spot on the waiting list. 

[jmicha]

That's pretty crazy. I would imagine low turnover + a long waiting list is why. It's a good sign that there is a huge demand for this style of living. And with the amount of vacant/underutilized buildings in that general part of town it'll hopefully fuel a lot of residential conversions.

[Guest jmecklenborg]

Well something really weird would have to happen now for this project to fail.  Being 100% rented for several years means the rent can be raised and the ownership is able to pay back the commercial loans on or ahead of time.  This kind of performance makes banks that much more likely to lend money for similar project, especially the nearby Crosley Building. 

[OCtoCincy]

A new 25 unit apartment project is being planned across the street north on Knowlton.  So we'll have Gantry, American can and this new smaller project all adjacent to each other.  Very exciting for Northside.  When I get more details ill pass them on.  But the new project is on several vacant lots- roughly 1518 Knowlton.

[Quimbob]

here's a rendering - a home for the elderly is supposed to go in a bit further east on Knowlton, too

[CincyGuy45202]

Is that rendering the senior home being built at Mad Anthony & Knowlton or the additional apartment building being built at roughly 1518 Knowlton?

 

EDIT: based on google street view it's clear that's the apartment building at 1518  knowlton. Looks the same as Gantry so I'm guessing the LLC who owns that land is actually just them.

[OCtoCincy]

Correct, it is an expansion of the gantry.

[OCtoCincy]

Does anyone in Northside have photos of the Gantry construction to share?? I feel like they should be decently far along, right?

[jmicha]

I don't have photos but I drove through the other day and it's coming along pretty nicely. The scale (at least from my quick drive by) seemed to fit in better than similar projects in other neighborhoods. There's still a lot to do so we'll see how the final product turns out, but it filled in that corner nicely.