Cincinnati City Council last Wednesday passed a resolution declaring its intent to appropriate several Over-the-Rhine properties for the streetcar system's maintenance and operations facility.

The properties, located , are a series of four interconnected industrial buildings. The easternmost building – closest to Race Street – would be demolished.

Nineteen Ten Elm St LLC of Newport Beach, Calif. (Orton Development, Inc.) purchased the complex of buildings, which includes the former Christian Moerlein bottling plant, in October 2008.

According to the Orton Development website, the company is marketing the complex as a small business hub for the Over-the-Rhine Brewery District:

"In line with its industrial history, the East Building of the development will house light manufacturing tenants with their own newly installed storefront entrances and grade-level, drive-in dock with direct access to parking and yard area, as well as access to the common area dock-high bays," the website says. "The Central and West Buildings will be home to a vibrant community of businesses, trades-people, artists, craftsmen, and merchants who can make, store, wholesale, and ship assets and inventory, and have the marvelous synergy of simply swinging open their doors for weekend retail sales to the tens of thousands of customers of Findlay Market. The original three-story part of the building on the southwest corner of Elm and Eton offers premises for a brew pub, production brewery and keg plant, banquet and party space, as well as private offices and live/work for the brewmaster, owner, or key employee."

The City has offered $1.4 million for the properties, its assessed value as determined through a third-party appraisal. Orton Development has made a counter-offer, and the two parties remain in discussions.

The resolution is required in case negotiations break down and the City has to acquire the properties through eminent domain.

Councilmembers Sittenfeld, Smitherman, and Winburn voted against the resolution.

Project negotiations continue on two other fronts. The City remains in talks with preferred vendor CAF USA on a contract for streetcar vehicles, and is in continuing discussions with Duke Energy over the costs of utility relocation along the streetcar route.

When operational in 2014, the first phase of the $110 million streetcar project will serve an area between --> --> -->The Banks --> --> --> and Findlay Market. A request for federal funds has been submitted to study a connection to the University of Cincinnati, Uptown's hospitals, and the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden.

Previous reading on BC:
UC lecture to examine broader effects of streetcar project (5/1/12)
Cincinnati selects preferred vendor for streetcar vehicles (4/11/12)
Streetcar team to hold DBE outreach on Thursday (3/20/12)
Winburn: Scrap streetcar, look into 'trolley' buses (4/4/11)
Streetcar stops announced, advocacy continues (2/21/11)