Columbia Township - Great Things Are Happening Podcast - Tributary 50
ESP Media Podcasts
Columbia Township - Great Things Are Happening Podcast - Tributary 50
(upbeat music) ♪ I spent 20 years trying to get out of this place ♪ ♪ I was looking for something I couldn't replace ♪ ♪ I was running away from the only thing I've ever known ♪ ♪ Like a blind dog without a bone ♪ ♪ I was a gypsy lost in the twilight zone ♪ ♪ I hijacked a rainbow and crashed into a pile of gold ♪ ♪ I've been there, done that ♪ ♪ I ain't looking back on the seas outside ♪ ♪ Seven times, spending too much time on the telephone ♪ ♪ You said you can't go home ♪ ♪ Who says you can't go home ♪ ♪ There's only one place I call it while they're home ♪ ♪ Just a hometown boy, gonna roll in the storm ♪ ♪ You said you can't go home ♪ ♪ Who says you can't go back ♪ ♪ Been around the world and that's a matter of fact ♪ ♪ There's only one place left I wanna go ♪ ♪ Who says you can't go home ♪ ♪ Who says you can't go home ♪ - Welcome into another great things are happening in Columbia Township with us today is the glue of the Township. Lauren Allison and Trustee President Dave Kabiki. And Dave as always, we've got a very special guest today. - Yeah, we think they're all special, but this one I think everybody's really gonna enjoy because a lot of my neighbors over and off of Worcester Pike and my neighborhood, they see that exciting project that's gone up right on Walton Creek, right behind the Shell gas station across from Walgreens called the tributary. And we're here with the legendary, talented, young entrepreneur, the developer, visionary, Christian Dial to take a deep dive and take you guys into that project. So we have Christian Dial here today. - Hey, thanks for having me, David. I appreciate those words. - Well, yeah, sure. All right. So Christian, let's go back to the beginning of time for those of us that don't really understand how to create a vision. There was a house for sale there on an acre and a half lot, and you built what I consider almost like Disney World back there. So tell, take us back. That house is for sale. What did you do and how did this happen? - Yeah, it was actually kind of funny 'cause my wife sometimes would need a break 'cause none of our kids have napped very well. So we really love that area down there. And I personally love it. And wanted to take one of our daughters for a drive, Halle one day. - Well, how was Halle? - Halle was about two at the time. And wanted to see if I could get her to take a good car nap and that's great for a real estate developer because he can go drive neighborhoods and was driving through Walton Creek and turned to my left and there was a for sale sign at the end of the little wooden bridge there at 40, 40 Walton Creek. And drove in there and called my wife on the way home told her that I had to prep and offer when I got home. And luckily the Thomas family who owned the home for a really long time was totally on board with the vision of what I wanted to do there. And we ended up purchasing the property about a month later. - Well, thank you, Halle. And one day we're gonna give her a community achievement award for inspiring good. - Did you get her to sleep? Was it a win-win for both of you? - Oh, that was a great nap. I was out there for a while. - Win-win for everybody. - And I know Laura and I talked, well, I think that's really cool that the family that sold that house 'cause sometimes homes can be very personal to them. But you've kind of shared with us that they've embraced the whole idea of your vision and everything else. They're happy with what's turned out. - Yeah, yeah, they were very supportive. Still keep in touch with them too, their whole family. And up front I wanted to be transparent about what we planned on doing and didn't wanna try to bait and switch anybody. So they were great about it. And we had some tenants that lived in the house afterwards and they were super helpful in telling us where all the different light switches were and what they were too. And they would come take care of the property and help us out too. So very thankful for them and their relationship that we got to have with them through the process as well. - It's incredible for anybody that has not been back there. And I know we got hopefully some good video of just kind of the project and the overall project. But the very fact that how many units you have back there? - We have 27 units and then a resident lounge. - And again, just for people that don't typically understand most of the major developers that develop projects like this. I mean, they need like 200 units or 120 units. There's a scale of what they can do to put the amenities in. But you've got a clubhouse, you've got a dynamite while a dog park and all these different little places to walk through. You were able to do that with 26 units and created your own little niche 'cause I really, just going back there, feels like you're somewhere else like you're in Colorado or somewhere else. - Thanks, yeah, I'm a big believer in the active outdoor lifestyle amenities of the area and wanted to compliment those things and compliment what some of the other successful components are of that node of Columbia Township. So yeah, we drew from a bunch of different design elements and not necessarily Cincinnati architecture, but some inspiration from places out West and thought that it would work really well in that area. Another thing that my company really focuses on is a small-scale development. So this was our second project that we completed under our development company. And feel like there's a niche for residents that wanna rent but don't wanna have 200, 300 units around them. So this offers a little bit more intimate setting, a quieter setting in some cases and just a little bit different community vibe by living in a smaller building. So happy to offer that as an alternative to rental living in Cincinnati. - Yeah, the place is absolutely beautiful. So congratulations on that. - Thank you. I think that one of the things that really stood out to me whenever we did the tour a couple of weeks ago was just how each townhome or apartment was personalized based off of different floor plans, different utilities put in for, or I'm sorry. - Appliances and things. - Yeah, thank you. Different appliances for different one of the floor plans and things like that. So how did you and your team decide what, you know, how you wanted each layout to be and how you wanted them to differ? - Yeah, well, it kind of started with, I always envisioned the appearance of the building from the street to kind of resemble a large home. So it's obviously a lot bigger than a home would be, but I wanna-- - You can definitely see that. You definitely-- - $10 million project bigger. - Yeah, yeah. So I wanted it to kind of have that feel from the street and that created that courtyard, U-shaped building in the front. And so that shape of the building caused 17 different floor plan types to be developed in that building. And then the shape of the building in the back is a little more linear, but it also has 10 different floor plan types. So there's a lot of differentiation in the building, which is hard on the management side, but it does offer a uniqueness to every unit. So everyone's has a little bit of their own flair to it. - Yeah, and I feel like these days, we see so many like what you were saying, David, just the 200, the exact same thing, just over and over, copy and paste, copy and paste. - You could feel yourself living down there and now you go buy some really nice complexes, even over like Madisonville, right nearby and you go look and go, "All right, they look a little bit institutional." We go where you've really created a sense of home and purpose. So it's incredible. - Yeah, I think a lot of that was being able to uncover a site that might have been off a lot of people's radar for development. - Definitely. - And I think that that allowed us to do some interesting things with the architecture and design there. And I was really lucky that the township and the county understood the vision what we were going for. And then on the development side, we're kind of in unique position that we have very limited overhead and I call it DIY development. My brother and I do a lot of development ourselves and allows us to keep costs constrained and do these small projects and make them work. So all those things combined is allowing us to do these kind of smaller unique projects. And it's really exciting for us when people come see them and say, what you're saying right now is, these are different than what I'm seeing in other places. And that's what we strive for when we're developing projects. - No, it's interesting. I was sharing with you. I have a really well off of a good friend of mine and his family. They go to these really exotic locations. They could go stay anywhere and live anywhere, but it's funny. His kids all said that little complex right down there by Walton Creek that's in your community. My kids would love to live there. They could see themselves living there like they're being somewhere else rather than these more institutional. So that was the ultimate compliment from what I call somebody from the lifestyles of the rich and famous. They'd rather be right here in Columbia Township in Christian dials development. So how about take that visit when? - Well, it does say a lot about just the Cincinnati region, what can offer and I'm seeing a lot of our friends move back to Cincinnati and after they've gone away to places like Denver and Chicago and other other bigger cities, New York. And I think it's important for our whole region to have places that are cool and unique and wanna draw people into our city. And so I'm a big believer in that and trying to carry our region forward and carry Columbia Township forward because what was there before we built the project was already cool. But just to bring more people living in that area and see them enjoy living in that area has been really neat for us to watch. - I think it completely validates that location that you have people willing to make, that kind of investment of the rents you're able to get in that area and that the fact that you're 100% full and people are saying, this is legit, this is a place to be. So I think that really raises the brand of the Township there of just all the things you talked about. I think it's incredible. And part of it is the vision you had, part of its location, it's a lot of mixed things, but you were the one that had the vision to see what could be of that residential house. So it's incredible. - Well, yeah, and I feel like I'm piggypacking a lot of the Township's success before me and what drew me to wanna-- - Thank you for plugging the Township. We made big investments in the bike trail and in 50 West itself, so I appreciate that. - Yeah, it shows too. And there's good leadership at the Township and staff that are working hard to keep improving on itself and-- - Improve the sidewalks in touch? - Yeah, improve the sidewalks, improve the pedestrian connectability and the neighborhood feel. And I know that there's a drive to continue to do that in that area and establish even more of a sense of place. And it's really cool for me 'cause I work out of the resident lounge and in my office there. And I can see when people in other area off of our site or in our site leave the community, use the sidewalks that we're put in and go connect to other businesses easily. And I just think that that's a great quality of life and you're not having to go get in your car necessarily to go do errands and that's what people wanna do. - It is incredible. And I'll tell you what, as you mentioned, people walking by, I highly encourage it with they're allowed to. The people that do go walk by to walk into that complex, just walk around and see what a different sense of place it is 'cause it's really something to be proud of. So thank you for your big investment here in Columbia Township. - Yeah, thanks for believing in it. And thanks for all the support you guys can get as well. - All because of the car now. - There you go, and here's the holly too. And when we come back in the second half, we're gonna give you an update on some of our upcoming events and we're gonna talk about more about Christian dial and take you into the complex and show you more of the exciting things and amenities into that community. So stay with us for the second half. - A reminder to your previous podcast in this series, you said your favorite podcast provider type in the words Columbia Township. And to keep up the all day to all the great things happening in Columbia Township, go to the website, columbietwp.org. We'll have more great things are happening in Columbia Township after this time out. (upbeat music) ♪ Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh ♪ ♪ I feel a hunger, it's a hunger ♪ ♪ Just keep on making lines ♪ ♪ Are you the answer, I should wonder ♪ ♪ Will I feel it by appetite ♪ ♪ With all the power to release it ♪ ♪ It isn't sick of what the city streets alone ♪ ♪ There's some patience run through me ♪ ♪ Let's find the key and turn this edge in awe ♪ ♪ I can feel you dream ♪ ♪ I can feel your heartbeat faster ♪ ♪ Take me home tonight ♪ ♪ I don't wanna let you go to see the light ♪ ♪ Take me home tonight ♪ ♪ Just sit on it just like right inside ♪ ♪ Be my little baby ♪ ♪ Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh ♪ ♪ I can't find a chance ♪ ♪ We're never starting this ♪ ♪ I get it loud as I hate to sleep alone ♪ ♪ I need some company ♪ ♪ I'm gonna need you ♪ ♪ To keep the war we love ♪ ♪ Go with love ♪ ♪ I can feel you dream ♪ ♪ I can feel your heartbeat faster ♪ - Welcome back, end of great things are happening in Columbia Township. Dave, we've got more with our special guests and more on some events upcoming in the Township as well. - Yes, the first half you heard from Christian Dial and how his daughter, Halle, took a nap in a car one day and he was trying to get her to sleep. She took a nap and we benefited from it from an incredible, really cool project that's really validated that area. And Christian, just to give people an idea, again, trying to take a deep dive, let's first talk about, you know, you go into that clubhouse, the center being somewhere else, you walk back into the clubhouse and you see, you know, fire pit and some incredible, state-of-the-art grills and all that, to give us a little walk through that in big TVs and all these things. - Yeah, we wanted to create a space outside of the actual units and homes of people that was inviting and cozy. Kind of feels like a community living room and so it's very residential feeling inside that space. There's a living room area and a coffee bar. There's a small, what I call, like a small, nice home fitness room and there's a fire in the fireplace. - Amazing, you're able to do that in that small complex, create that many amenities. So kudos to you. - Yeah, yeah, we didn't go over the top with the amenities but we tried to execute really well on what we did put there. And one thing that I think really opens up the space is putting in a big glass garage door that opens up to the patio area in the courtyard. So then it ends up combining the patio area with the internal part of the resident lounge and creates a cool space for people to gather. - Yeah, having the indoor/outdoor option is wonderful probably for, you know, if people want to rent out the space and things like that for parties. So that's a great idea. - Yeah, yeah, it just gives a place to be outside of your unit and there's a couple of co-working spaces in there if somebody wants to take a Zoom call from there or if they're working from home that day and they don't want to bother their significant other in their unit. So yeah, it's been great to offer that and like I said, I work out of there as well right now and so it's cool to be able to say hi to residents when they walk through, go check on their mail and get their packages or they're going to work out and it's been fun to work over there so far. - Yeah, that's adding to that like home vibe. You know what I mean? Everybody knows everybody, everybody's saying hi to everyone. So I like that. - Well, the good news in addition to having a beautiful, cool project, fun project, it better than that, it's full. That's the most important thing, isn't it? - Yeah, it's full and you know, on the operation side we haven't seen too many major hiccups but it's cool to see people getting to know each other just organically and seeing people really live in a place that you started with just a vision in your head. And it's really satisfying. It's probably my favorite part of doing what I do. So yeah, it's full and we're continuing to have people reach out on joining a wait list for it. - That's incredible and it's interesting as if you can see the videos online, the reason why you're not being able to see inside a unit is because it is full, it was not a mistake on our videographers part, Robin Elliott. So just for the people that are curious 'cause I think it's eye opening for us older guys is to what kind of rents are people paying to be in these units? - Yeah, so we're not at the top of the market in Cincinnati but we're just, I think, a little bit under that in some regards. We have really big units there on average. And so the rent ranges for our smallest one bedrooms are about $1,650 and some units that are three bedrooms, two bathrooms go up to $36, $3,700. - Incredible, it's incredible to people pay that kind of rent but again, that validates Columbia Township, the area, it's incredible. - Yeah, yeah, we're incredibly thankful for it and you never know if these things are going to work like you've proform it until it's done. And so definitely excited that we're on the other side of that and seeing people live there. - Well, go take a walkthrough and if you do and you see a young entrepreneur in there working madly in the clubhouse and one of the officers, that's Christian walking and saying hello to him, he won't bite and I think he may even show you around. It's something to be proud of. Lauren, let's give a little update on what's going on in Columbia Township in terms of events and we'll come back to Christian. - All righty, so we have post-pone, our bangles event which was supposed to be September 15th, the Kansas City game which is-- - Good timing. - Which is next weekend. So we have, for the time being it is going to be postponed, the moment that we know more, we will let you guys know more. And then in October, we have our neighbor days for both of our fire departments. They're actually going to fall on October 12th, both of them are. So Little Miami Joint Fire District, they are going to be doing their chili cook-off over in Fairfax and then Deer Park Silverton, it's actually their 25th anniversary of that building. So we're having a 25th birthday party, if you will, for Deer Park Silverton. So that's going to be on October 12th, be on the lookout for mailers. And then the very last but not least, our holiday event which is the first Thursday in December and it's going to be December 5th, I believe, is what that first Thursday is. - Okay, we'll hold on to that for now. And just to be clear, the Bangles game was a scheduling conflict that we decided before this last Bangles game where they laid an egg and it's hard for me to look across from Richard Skinner. Skinny, we call him, that covers the Bangles so deeply. Skinny, lean into us for a minute. What the heck happened to the Bangles on Sunday? - Yeah, I mean, I know a lot of people have pointed the finger of blame at play calling at the offensive line, the turnover differential and all those things, but I truly, I think it comes down to Joe Barro's wrist, it's still not right. I don't have the stat in front of me. - I was worried about that. - I've got a stat, but I don't have it in front of me. I think he threw eight passes longer than six yards. It was four of eight on those and obviously he was throwing a lot of short stuff. He had some guys breaking open that it didn't like he trusted to throw the ball. I asked Dan Pitcher, the offensive coordinator yesterday, did you think he was tentative? And it took him a while to answer the question, he was very thoughtful and he certainly wasn't going to roll Joe Barro under the bus and I wasn't expecting that. Kind of downplayed it a little bit, but not as much as I thought he was going to. I don't know if you remember there was a pass to Trenton Irwin in the end zone where Joe had scrambled and Trenton Irwin was running with him and that's a pass that Joe drives and throws him open and instead he threw it almost over his head and threw behind him, Jamar Chase even said he threw a pass that slowed him down that he thought he could have scored a touchdown on. He tried to backtrack that a little bit 'cause it sounds like he was throwing Joe under the bus on that one, but I think it's just a fact of that wrist is not right. And does that mean the wrist is not going to get right? I don't know the answer to that. I remember him the year he came back from the knee surgery and the first few practice in training camp, he was awful. He was scared of the pass rush and you could see his eyes were darting everywhere and he talked to us on a Saturday and I remember he almost spoke truth to power of, I just got to stop worrying about this and go play. And I think you saw him on Sunday, he was looking at pass rush around him and trying to avoid getting hit and that's human, I get it. I mean, you don't want to fall on that wrist that was surgically repaired, a major wrist injury, but for right now, I don't think it's right and now you just got to cross your fingers that it eventually gets right. I hope so. And see, you get more than just Columbia Township stuff. That's an inside scoop. You heard it here first on our Columbia Township podcast. Yeah, I'll have a column on that on local12.com, by the way. There you go. And Lauren, so thanks for whatever scheduling conflicts we had because I think the timing to go in next week and throw a event with Kansas City, I think the Mojo or the Houdet, more of a Boudet now. We gotta get the Houdet back up. And Christian, certainly, you have the perfect little clubhouse. I was thinking this would be a great place to watch the Bangles game right then, the little clubhouse. So, sorry about that, but you'll still get some momentum in your complex for that, won't you? Yeah, we watched the game there on Sunday, actually. And yeah, unfortunately, they didn't show up to play, but we were there watching. Got it. We always show up, they don't always show up. So Christian, just, all right, let's talk again. We go back to your incredible project. Let's talk about what your renters kind of, the profile of what your renters look like of what you kept saying that they liked this area and the walkability, walk us through just kind of what drove them to this area. Yeah, I think that this area-- First of all, I think the complex is, I mean, I really think you've done a dynamite job once you walk in, you just, I wanna be here. But in addition to that, some of the other amenities you talked about. I think that's part of the draw. I think that once people get there, 'cause there's not a lot of new rental housing in this whole area of Cincinnati. So it's the first time that some people are coming out and looking at that as an option to live in and rent. So once they get there, they see that there's the bike trail nearby that they can easily access. There's just beautiful aesthetics with the woods and the trees around that area. There's a great hiking and park options within a five-minute drive of this area. So all those things combined to what all of the people that live in the community were looking for in their everyday lives. So there's that common thread among all the residents, I think, and it's just really cool to see people go out, like pull out and make a left and wall and creek on their bike to go down the little Miami bike trail. And so I think that a combination of all those things drew people to this area. - It's interesting, 'cause this is the first project I've seen it, the emphasis has not been totally on the Marymont School District. - Yeah, I think just that adds to the overall greatness of the area, but yeah, I don't. Renters, historically, there's not a lot of school-aged children with rent, but I think that hasn't been the big driver, I guess. - Well, I think it's validating to us just because of the investments we made in the bike trail, the investments we make in 50 West and the Marymont Promenade. And of course, Marymont, what they've done in the Marymont Square, and you can walk to that and all these things, it's just fascinating, and it's a reminder to the people from our great neighborhoods of Madison Place to, you know, William's Meadow and all the great places there, it's close to downtown, it's close to all those things. And to see you build a different type of project, looks like you're in a different state, different place, and see it get accepted, it's being 100% full, it's just such a validation of everything we believe in in Columbia Township, you just kind of validated it all. So that's why we're so proud to have you here and been doing what you've done. - I'm thankful for the investments you guys have made. And I mean, it's not-- - It's a team. - It's not easy to make a US highway as pedestrian-friendly as what you guys have done and continue to do. - Yeah, it's our crosswalk, though, so thank you to everybody involved with that. - Yeah, so I think that's a big element of what drives people to wanna live in this location. So, good as to you guys and all the work that you guys have done in the past and continue to do, and trying to carry that vision forward. - Well, thank you, and wait 'til you see our great services from our road crew and obviously our administrator, Melissa, you worked with and our trustee, so we've got a great, great team. Thank you for your investment. Thank you for making us look good. And as we always say, we like to bring people like you on to make the Columbia Township brand rise. So thank you. - Dear previous podcasts in this series, including individual podcasts highlighting each of the communities that make up Columbia Township, go to your favorite podcast provider and type in the words, Columbia Township. To keep up to date on all the great things happening in Columbia Township, go to the website columbiatwp.org. Thanks for listening. The great things are happening in Columbia Township. ♪ My suitcase and guitar and hand ♪ ♪ And every stop is neatly planned ♪ ♪ For a poet and a one man band ♪ ♪ Home or down ♪ ♪ Out of the showers ♪ ♪ Home or down ♪ ♪ Home ♪ ♪ When my thoughts are skipping home ♪ ♪ When my music's playing home ♪ ♪ When my love lies waiting silently for me ♪ ♪ Every day is an endless dream of cigarettes and magazines ♪ ♪ And each town looks the same to me ♪ ♪ The movies and the factories ♪