19 May 2008

First Concrete at 14th and Vine





This is what it is supposed to look like next year:


It is to be called 14th and Vine Lofts, and will contain 11 condos with garage parking and 1250 SF of retail. By Model Co. See my previous post on the buildings that were demolished here.

[Where: 1331 Vine Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202]

12 comments:

VisuaLingual said...

Ugh. The rendering reminds me of a really similar [and similarly ugly] building near where we used to live in East Cambridge [switch to Bird's Eye view and rotate around to look at the corner of Cambridge St. and 1st St.].

CityKin said...

Architects, trained to be retro-modern, have a difficult time figuring out how to fit in a neighborhood like OTR. It takes a practiced skill that is no-longer taught. I think the scale and shape of this building is good, but I'm pretty sure that details will not carry. I also would like more than 1200SF for the retail. I guess that cannot be bigger, because they are trying to fit-in 11 parking spaces.

I do think this project is somewhat mind-blowing. This has been a very rough corner for as long as I know, and this will be the first new construction on Vine Street north of 12th since the Med Center replaced the White Castle at Liberty Street in the 80's. Pretty much everything else on the street is over a century old.

VisuaLingual said...

Maybe the real thing will look better than the candy-colored rendering but, to me, this looks like a run-of-the-mill bit of contemporary half-baked historicism. It's entirely possible to design a building that is both of its own moment in time and respectful of its historic neighbors. The only good thing I can say is that, as you mentioned, the scale fits the rest of the streetscape.

Anonymous said...

I don't understand the turret. This is something I have seen a lot of when it comes to neo-historic design, there are at least two in City West and I think it is what VL is referring to with E.Cambridge reference.

It might make sense at a more prominent intersection, where extending the height creates a bookend effect. But this intersection is low key and it doesn't seem to fit well.

It will be interesting to see how the details at the street level work out. The scale seems appropriate, I just hope the details are a more inviting than the rendering.

Anonymous said...

That project looks like quite an undertaking. I wish the builders well and look forward to the seeing the completion photos.

OTRFAN said...

Very exciting - I appreciate these updates - really helps me understand because you have both a professional and a personnel point of view as a resident. Let's keep the parade up Vine St. going!

Next stop, Wielert's !!

CityKin said...

OTR fan;
Glad to see you back in the blogoshere. haven't seen you around here much lately.

Paul Wilham said...

This building has that very "New Urbanist/Retro" look. Unfortunately you can find the same architecture at just about any "lifestyle mall" these days. Its a fine line to walk when you build in historic areas. You want the new construction to be redily identifiable as new, but you want to complimemt existing historic arhcitecture. I hope the rendering doesnt reflect the actual color pallete of the building. I would think however that level of investment should spur other redevelopment efforts.

OTRFAN said...

love this blog & learn always from entries like above ^ - always lurking about..

Randy Simes said...

Wow...I had no idea that they were starting actual construction this soon. This is great.

BTW, that color palette (on the rendering) is not what the final colors will look like. The colors will be reflective of what the materials are (brick and what not). The building should contextually fit nicely with the surrounding historic buildings (I think).

I can't wait to see the final product of what looks to be an interesting infill project in an exciting part of OTR.

Anonymous said...

To all of you nay-sayers out there...this building could be a lot worse *cough* gateway condos *cough*

this building just reinforces my opinion that architectural design in Cincinnati is incredibly lacking compared to the vibrant arts/cultural scene.

Anonymous said...

These comments are very interesting. I have been reading them with some interest considering my connection with the project. I have had the opportunity to speak with a lot of young professionals concerned with the history, integrity, and uniqueness of OTR. Just to update everyone of the success of the project, 5 of the 9 units have sold on 14th and Vine.