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Most of the replies above reflect projection rather than prediction. There is considerable difference between gentrification and restoration. Gentrification requires a neighborhood, with amenities. Restoration requires only deserving structures. That is what has stalled OTR.
Another area of job growth will be consolidation of current companies ... a good example of this is P&G bringing 600+ jobs to the Cincy region. There are thousands of employers that work for companies based in Cincinnati, but residing in cities throughout the U.S.
Consolidation to me means shrinking. When times are good companies put their employees out where their customers are located. When times are bad they consolidate to reduce costs. For every 600+ jobs P&G brings to Cincinnati they sell something off which exceeds that.
Consolidation to me means shrinking. When times are good companies put their employees out where their customers are located. When times are bad they consolidate to reduce costs. For every 600+ jobs P&G brings to Cincinnati they sell something off which exceeds that.
That was my reaction. That they bring a few hundred jobs to Cincinnati to offset the thousands of jobs sent out of the city in the past twenty years is really not all that great.
A looooong time ago, I was partying it up at McFaddens and the place was packed. Towards the front there were large groups of people that seemed to be there for some sort of event. Eventually we ended up striking up a conversation with a few of the people there. Low and behold, they were just one group of many more that have come and gone from the previous days. When Macy's (then Federated) acquired May's, they offered current May's employees the opportunity to relocate here from St. Louis and retain their job. Btw, many of the St. Louisans(sp?) were excited to move to Cincinnati and loved the city so far.
Mays?
Bloomingdales?
Gillette?
Zirh?
Natura Pet Products?
Max Factor?
Vicks?
Wella?
Art of Shaving?
Mr. Clean?
Carnettes?
Ambi Pur?
Duracell?
Iams?
Charmin?
Food Network?
uSwitch?
Shopzilla?
Vinci Surgical Systems?
Recipeczaar?
Travel Channel?
Lifestyle Ltd.?
Metro Pulse?
... I could go on and on and on ...
What do these brand names have in common? First right answer gets a rep point!
Think PNC and National City. What did PNC do with many of its Nat City locations and why?
But while office-based jobs are being outsourced, more and more folks are working from home. I joined those ranks (reluctantly at first, but now joyfully) last December. In theory nothing's going to prevent me from unplugging all my "operating systems" and taking them anyplace I want. Over the past six months I've needed to report back to the old home base exactly one time. Lotsa people now aren't restricted even that much, what with Skype and other online programs that enable meetings between individuals in different time zones to go on as though they were all gathered around the same table. For a staff meeting next Wednesday I'll be kickin' back in my spare bedroom while my co-workers and managers will be in their own spaces in their respective domiciles. At present we all, naturally, dwell in Massachusetts. This time next year, if everyone's left the state the same meeting could still occur. If I won swampland in Florida and decided to raise alligators out of a shack for extra coin, my primary occupation would go with me. Telecommuting has opened up relo possibilities for untold thousands who love their jobs but despise where they reside.
But, let's bring the thread back on track here!!! It's interesting to me that gentrification is thought of in terms of only one thing: refurbishing old buildings to draw the young + moneyed + trendy, and altering the commercial landscape to reflect their sensibilities. Neighborhoods can and do sometimes experience revitalization in a more family-friendly way, which sounds like what may be occurring in Sayler Park. When childless yuppies who'd be "bored to tears" there turn forty and have the needs of children to bear in mind, they look at such communities in a different way. I think this is what's behind an uptick in home restorations around Hartwell, the city's northernmost enclave, which has never been known for having the latest martini bars. You may not be able to find a salad made with sustainably-grown arugula at Frisch's, the Dragon Inn, Penn Station, Wendy's, Lee's Famous Recipe, or Empress Chili. But in Hartwell you can find an abundance of cheaply-priced houses from ornate Victorian to pre-WWII bungalow. And Kroger's is Kroger's, whether on Vine St or at Hyde Park Plaza. When kids preclude "adventurous dining," one might just as easily raise them two blocks from fast-food joints as two blocks from Boca. Plus, now even historically blue-collar Hartwell has an "ethnic" eatery to call its own, that being the "West African" Teranga in the old UDF. Incongruous to the diversifying but still largely White (and famously Appalachian) surrounding neighborhood it may be, but Teranga has prospered for over a decade.
goyguy fans and detractors know that I looooooove the South Indian restaurant Amma's Kitchen and "gots" to try the Vietnamese/Chinese spot-with-a-fan-club Song Long. Both of these are situated in Roselawn, a hop skip n' jump from Hartwell across Galbraith Rd and down Reading Rd. The "adventurous" aspect of eating in "Woes Lawn" is grossly overstated, bullets fly only at Club Ritz on Seymour Ave. Matter of fact, I'd put this area itself on more people's places-to-look-for-a-house lists if only it hadn't gotten so sketchy (decidedly) north of Summit Rd. The "garden district" between Summit and Seymour is chock full of beautiful and underpriced homes ranging from Cape Cod to Tudor, on streets lined with mature shade trees and populated by friendly folks who are OWNERS. But it has to be said that the "funny business" which goes on in the deteriorated Reading Rd motels and the Section 8'd apartment complexes and brick boxes doesn't always magically vanish south of Summit. And gentrification and the Black community are natural enemies (who is it that gets pushed out of East Walnut Hills, OTR...?) So not everyone, even in this still somewhat "mixed" area and not for that reason alone, would necessarily welcome a White household's moving in with open arms. But nothing should prevent an evening spent sampling recipes from Madras or Saigon. And you'd be back in Hartwell paying the sitter within ten minutes of settling the tab.
I s'pose one might say that there are two forms of gentrification, one for the artsy/trendy/yuppie and another for families/elders and anybody who's sick of suburbia. (Yet another thread by someone looking to bail from West Chester has been launched here.) The first form will play out over the next decade in Camp Washington and the adjacent tiny enclaves of Mohawk and Brighton (aka "Brewery District," so there ya go.) Evanston, laugh all you want, could well turn "hot." EWH and O'Bryonville can only hold so many places to be seen and homes for those being seen. The XU expansion won't send every pair of developer's eyes looking northward from Montgomery and Dana. Each pair that glances south will see spacious and solid 2 1/2 story brick or wood houses, with wide front porches - along with architectural "afterthoughts" like a stained-glass window on a stairway landing. How long will those places sell for the ridiculous prices they fetch today? Only for as long as the Woodburn/Montgomery crime pit taints the perception of the entire community. All it takes is a handful of "urban pioneers" with remodeling knowhow and the willingness to put up with completely understandable race/class resentment. (If ever AA urban pioneers, other than those who were the first to "integrate" an area, existed it's news to me.) When an Irish pub opens at Montgomery and Duck Creek Rd, and the Bonbonnerie launches an annex at Woodburn and St Leger Place, you can say goyguy told you so.
As for the second form, it's already manifesting in Madisonville and notoriously scrambling to gain a foothold in Westwood. Hartwell is quietly transitioning on a relatively small scale, under the radar, just as Sayler Park has apparently been doing under my own radar. OTOH this doesn't appear to be the case in Mt Airy, Carthage or Woes Lawn, yet I wouldn't rule out the possibility in any of the three. (It's remote but it's there.)
People overuse the term "gentrification" the implication being that it is a bunch of 500K houses. What you are seeing in many neighborhoods will be the return of a largely owner occupied neighborhood. That being a point at which the ratio of owners exceeds the number of renters. That doesn't necessarily equate to a high dollar house, it juts means there are enough people who realize the value of neighborhood. and want to live there as opposed to renters who are usually looking for the 'best deal".
"Turnaround" is clearly occuring in OTR, but its happening largely without displacement , because OTR was emptied out years ago. Washington Park's redo is driven by the fact there is finally enough political will to "throw the bums" out. Not a "politically correct "statement but one that is true.
City Officials can say publically that the Park will be "inclusive' but the reality is that things like dog parks are clearly geared toward a particular demographic and its not the homeless.
The days of homeless shelters clearly will be a thing of the past in OTR in a decade.
There may be one or two left, but the reality is that when neighborhoods improve "better behavior" is expected because people with investment have no problem calling the cops. The typical homeless person "moves on" because they can no longer "get away" with the behavior. No clients, the homeless shelter move where the homeless people go. If other cities are a indicator, poverty usually moves out to the townships and near burbs. Look for more restrictive zoning and tougher panhandling laws soon downtown.
"Amenities" generally are a by product of restoration because when you get people dropping 150-200 K on restorations you have a demographic that business is attracted to.
As for jobs whenever a job is brought back or created here thats a job some other city didnt get.
I own my own business, and I consult all over the country, but I chose Cincinnati for home base because I see the direction its going.
People like to throw the "You are gentrifying" at me as a historic preservationist.
Well, if that means the prostitutes, the drug dealers and the gang bangers are pushed out....I have no problem with that because it means my 82 year old neighbor across the street can sit out on her porch without being in fear and her house will eventually be worth what they paid for it in 1952!
I think that Pleasant Ridge is right behind Oakley when it comes to gentrification. :-)
Disagree. Norwood is coming on faster. It has closer and easier access to Oakley/Hyde Park. Streets such as Floral are now called "prestigous", trendy restauarants like Gordo's are getting a foothold, and the schools aren't any worse than CPS. You're starting to first time home buyers, young professional couples who can't quite afford Oakley making the leap accross I-71 for cheaper, but similar housing stock to Oakley.
Pleasant Ridge seems a little stagnant, although the homes seem pricier than Norwood. Not much has changed there in about 10 years, which is better than going down hill.
Disagree. Norwood is coming on faster. It has closer and easier access to Oakley/Hyde Park. Streets such as Floral are now called "prestigous", trendy restauarants like Gordo's are getting a foothold, and the schools aren't any worse than CPS. You're starting to first time home buyers, young professional couples who can't quite afford Oakley making the leap accross I-71 for cheaper, but similar housing stock to Oakley.
Pleasant Ridge seems a little stagnant, although the homes seem pricier than Norwood. Not much has changed there in about 10 years, which is better than going down hill.
There's no doubt that PR will "be there," but I'm with t45209 on this ... Norwood is SOLD. The property owners are sold, they're eager, and it's already "there" in their backyard ... Drive down any random street in Norwood, seriously any one ... on any given Saturday/Sunday and count the homeowners beefing up their homes - getting ready to ride the new wave of appreciation. It's insane.
As to the term "gentrification" I take that term to mean to bring civilization to the uncivilized, to drive crime or of the crime ridden area, etc. For people to move in who care about their property and surroundings. And, that meaning would apply well to the process at work in Fairmont or Northside or East End. But, it is unfair to describe what is happening in Norwood or Pleasant Ridge, already nice areas, as "gentrification." Nor would I apply the term to the wave of renovation occuring in Hyde PArk and Mt. Lookout. Those places have a much faster pace of improvement than any of those named above and with a heck of a lot more money spent. I barely recognize the neighborhood from what it was a decade or two ago. But, it is not gentrification in my lexicon.
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Matter of fact, I'd put this area itself on more people's places-to-look-for-a-house lists if only it hadn't gotten so sketchy (decidedly) north of Summit Rd. The "garden district" between Summit and Seymour is chock full of beautiful and underpriced homes ranging from Cape Cod to Tudor, on streets lined with mature shade trees and populated by friendly folks who are OWNERS. But it has to be said that the "funny business" which goes on in the deteriorated Reading Rd motels and the Section 8'd apartment complexes and brick boxes doesn't always magically vanish south of Summit. And gentrification and the Black community are natural enemies (who is it that gets pushed out of East Walnut Hills, OTR...?) So not everyone, even in this still somewhat "mixed" area and not for that reason alone, would necessarily welcome a White household's moving in with open arms. But nothing should prevent an evening spent sampling recipes from Madras or Saigon. And you'd be back in Hartwell paying the sitter within ten minutes of settling the tab. 
