Real estate in Greater Cincinnati is booming. Here at The Enquirer, we aim to bring you in-depth real estate coverage about the developments and neighborhood issues you care about the most. Going Up is a series that introduces you to the need-to-know projects around the region.
Submit suggestions to sfranklin@enquirer.com or tag @Enquirer on social media. Please include the address or cross streets of the project you want us to look into.
The basics of the Lockard
Address: 1422-1450 Walnut St., Over-the-Rhine
Building type: Mixed use (Residential apartments and commercial space including a refurbished Grammer’s bar)
Owner/Developer: Over-the-Rhine’s Urban Sites and Triversity Construction of Walnut Hills
Size: 129 apartments; 3,500 square feet of commercial space
Cost: $35.7 million
Estimated completion date: Third quarter of 2027
What to know about the Lockard: Historic Grammer’s bar returns
The 115-year-old ornate, leaded glass and mahogany bar in the old Grammer’s bar will shine once again.
This time, there’ll be 129 apartments around it. Developers have started construction with the goal that by summer or fall 2027, the complex will open as the Lockard. As part of the Lockard, Grammer’s bar will be restored and will reopen 15 years after it last closed. The original bar front along Walnut Street will be preserved while the post-1950s addition along Liberty Street will be demolished.
Generations of Cincinnatians dined and drank at Grammers, a landmark restaurant and bar that originally opened in 1872. It moved to the Walnut Street location in 1911 and went through several owners and versions, from restaurant, to dance/club bar and back to restaurant. Former owners included “Mr. Cincinnati” and former Cincinnati City Councilman Jim Tarbell. The most recent incarnation closed in 2011, leaving the building vacant for the past 15 years.
Will contain old and new buildings
New buildings will rise around four historic structures. The site plans show a four-story new building around the Grammer’s building and three other old buildings along Walnut. A five-story building will be constructed next to that at the corner of Liberty and Walnut streets.
The old and new buildings will have 129 apartments, which will be a mix of studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units. The complex will have a fitness center, bike storage, mail and package room, dog wash, on-site parking, and a community social room.
“The Lockard will feature a mix of new and thoughtfully restored historic apartments,” Urban Sites President Kate Greene said in an email to The Enquirer “Many of the units will include balconies, ample storage, and unique architectural details, specifically in the historic spaces where original character will be preserved and celebrated.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Grammer’s bar returns to OTR in ‘The Lockard’ project | Going Up
Reporting by Scott Wartman, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
