Good question. I've looked into that area a number of times. There are some cool new bars and restaurants, perhaps art galleries, and it's occasionally a destination for my friends and I who mostly live in the Short North or German Village. The appeal is the really cheap properties (many houses for < $50k) in close proximity to downtown. If you bike, it's close to everything. In five years, if the city's plans to revitalize along the river, redo vet's memorial, the zoo, the mixed-use development, all that, some cool stuff could bleed into the neighborhood and give it some life.
However, the big problem I have is that the houses themselves just don't have any historical value or charm, the way houses in Victorian Village, German Village, or even Old Towne East do, IMOP. For this area to come back, I think smaller investors would need to buy up and remodel multiple houses per street and some larger investors would need to level and redo a handful of blocks, adding more density and room for local businesses.
In short, if you're sitting on an extra $20-50k, you might want to consider buying a property or two and then either sitting or doing enough remodel to rent out while you wait to see which way the area goes. Otherwise, I would look elsewhere. Old Town East, Schumacher, and Italian Village would be higher on my list.
