Free Parking.. at a Price

I know that this shouldn't grate my nerves the way it does. My mom tells me it's "not my battle" and that I shouldn't worry about it. But I have to face it EVERY SINGLE TIME I walk in or out of my house. And EVERY SINGLE TIME, my insides die a little.

Wait... what exactly am I talking about, here?

The empty lot across the street from my house, owned by Towne Development Group, has a large sign on the corner of Hartshorn and McMillan heralding a new development called "Uptown Commons." According to the Business Courier of Cincinnati It will entail a gigantic office building on the corner of Vine and Calhoun, with parking, housing, retail and more along the strip of deserted land that stretches from Hartshorn to Vine. Back in the day, this area used to be Fast Food Central, with Hardees, Boston Market and some local bars. Those places are all torn down now, but I still walk across the Hardees kitchen tile on my way to class every day.


thanks to UrbanCincy for base picture

The development looks okay, though I don't think that the developers paid enough attention to the context of the site. According to the article, they will keep the new apartment complex at "student friendly prices" - i.e. $800 for a studio apartment, and $1,300 for a two bedroom....

Excuse me? Go up to any college student on UC's campus and ask them if they think that an $800 is a reasonable price for a studio apartment... but don't be offended when they start laughing. I live in a five bedroom house, and OUR total rent is $1500 a month. Divide that among six girls and you've got the low, low price of $250 a month for rent, plus utilities.

Sorry, Uptown, but you're going to be facing a lot of competition... namely, the entire neighborhood of Clifton. You can even get a really nice place in Ludlow for $500 a month or less!

So Towne Properties has this really great scheme in a really crappy economy... and they are obviously not going to be breaking ground any time soon. They've got this empty lot, and, being the entrepreneurs that they are, have divided up a portion of the land closest to the Shell station as a permit parking lot. It worked out okay in the beginning, but is not really monitored. There is a sign warning people that violators will get towed, but it's not taken very seriously.



If you've ever been to Clifton, you know that finding parking is really hard, and paying to park in the garages are expensive. Some people have taken over aforementioned Hardees lots and charge 5$ for parking. People are getting desperate. And now, they are parking on the grass NEXT to the Shell parking lot. The barriers that denote where the lot begins and ends are wooden posts that have been knocked over by large Jeeps. It's a great deal! Free parking, no one bothers you, no tickets, lots of space...





However, the lot itself is paying the price for the parking. It used to be all covered with grass. This time last year, people would play soccer or football, tailgate, go on picnics, tan, etc in this area, because it was really nice. UC's done a great job landscaping the rest of the areas in and around campus, and they are utilized by the community (think Sigma Sigma Commons)

This lot has a lot of opportunity, and it's being ruined by cheapskates who don't give a rodent's rear end about the destruction they are causing.


Part of the lot not being driven on


Disgusting Dirt Hole *you should see it when it rains...*

Towne Properties has tried in vain to get people to stop. They put papers on cars and EVERYTHING!


However, they have not followed through on their threats. No one has been towed, or even ticketed, and so it continues.

I know it's none of my business. I know people reading this are thinking "Why the heck does she care so much?" It's because I've looked out on that lot every day for the last two years. My roommates and I jokingly refer to it as our "front yard" (seeing as how our real front yard consists of Mr. Tuxedo)

I'm angered by the lack of respect by people driving on the lot, and by the lack of action on the part of Towne Properties and the City to just "let it slide." It has a lot of potential, and now it's being squandered. I mean, at the very least, TP could make some money off of their land by ticketing violators, ACTUALLY having them towed (though that would tear up the grass even more...) or charging a fee daily.

I don't know what else to do, on my end of things. I've emailed and called, to no avail. Maybe this will catch the attention of someone more important than me, who can actually get things done.

I am the Lorax. I speak for the grass.