Carolyn Rolfes, president of Milford-based Potterhill Homes, has announced that her company will soon begin building at Northwind, a new single-family development in Northside.

The 7.1-acre development, to include 25 houses of both traditional and neo-traditional design, will be built .

Houses will be priced from the $140s.

"I am particularly excited about this because the Northside community as a whole seems to really 'get green'," says Rolfes in Builders Gone Wild, the Potterhill Homes blog. "People who live there put their money where their mouths are by buying green and eco-friendly not because it's trendy but because it's the right thing to do."

Each house will be eligible for the City of Cincinnati's 10-year tax abatement. Those wanting to have their homes LEED-certified will be eligible for a 15-year tax abatement.

Green features include geothermal heating and Energy Star appliances.

"Our homes are 50 percent more energy efficient on heating and cooling than other builders, and we have a third-party certifier to verify this," Rolfes says. "There is no question our homes will save you money on your utility bills when compared to other builders."

Potterhill is currently accepting lot reservations, and the company expects to open a model this winter, Rolfes said.

The Northwind property is part of a right-of-way originally set aside for the Colerain Connector project, a scaled down roadway proposal that would have connected the I-74/Colerain/Beekman interchange with Kirby Avenue at North Bend Road.

Fierce neighborhood opposition to that proposal, and to subsequent --> --> --> proposals, successfully stopped the land from being used for future roadways.

In December 2008, Robley I, LLC (NorthPointe Group) emerged as the only bidder with the capacity to develop the land, which City council sold to them for $1.


Citirama infrastructure approved

At its August 5 meeting, Cincinnati City council approved unanimously the creation of a capital improvement program project account to pay for public infrastructure to support , tentatively scheduled for next June as the site of Citirama 2010.

Because of the timeline, infrastructure work is required has to begin this fall. However, funding for the infrastructure is part of the 2010 budget and cannot be spent.

The ordinance allows for the transfer of $700,000 from surplus housing development accounts, with next year's housing development accounts to be replenished with Citirama funds.

2010's home show will be the ninth held by the Home Builders Association of Greater Cincinnati.

In addition to Rockford Woods, past Citirama events have been held at Betts-Longworth and St. Ann's Common I and II in the West End, Brodbeck Park and Woodcrest Park in Westwood, Spencer Hill in Mount Lookout, and the Villages of Daybreak in Bond Hill.

Previous reading on BC:
Ordinance would fund infrastructure for Citirama 2010 (7/28/09)
Cincinnati approves $1M for Rockford Woods improvements (8/12/08)
Cincinnati to vote on Citirama road improvements (7/30/08)
Land sale could bring 25 homes to Northside (12/2/08)
Northside: Colerain Connector redevelopment update (3/28/07)