Cincinnati City Council has approved an ordinance authorizing a service agreement and a development agreement with Corporex for the Baldwin 300 project on Eden Park Drive.

Terms of the agreements require Corporex to pay equivalent exempted property taxes directly to the City to pay down debt on bonds that the City will issue. This will help finance an 1,100-space, four-story parking garage. $19.95 million of the $21.34 million garage costs will come from these Tax Increment Financing (TIF) funds.

Corporex had asked the City to establish the TIF district to get financing in place so they could start construction as soon as possible.

To expedite the process, the City removed the 4.4-acre parcel from Walnut Hills TIF District 6 and effected the new district immediately through emergency ordinances.

In addition to the parking garage, the $86 million Baldwin 300 project includes a $45 million, 250,000 square foot office building which will allow Humana of Ohio to consolidate its 900 local employees and to add up to 300 new jobs.

Also included will be a 123-room hotel on the south side of the Baldwin Center. No hotel chain has been named, but it is expected to serve primarily corporate guests.

The project is expected to be complete in 2010.

WINDOWS LIVE BIRD'S EYE VIEW

The Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) has awarded Price Hill Will a $500,000 grant for housing rehabilitation.

The grant will be used to improve up to 15 homes in the Incline District and Whittier Gardens sections of East Price Hill.

The homes to be rehabilitated have not been specified.

The rehabilitated homes will be affordable to households at or below 80 percent of the area median gross income.

Funding is supplied by HOME funds and the Ohio Housing Trust Fund and is administered by the OHFA through the Housing Development Assistance Program. This program provides financial assistance for the development and rehabilitation of affordable housing.

Cincinnati City Council has identified two sources of funding to help purchase the last four properties in the future MetroWest Commerce Park.

The City had to acquire these four parcels to be eligible to receive $3 million in Clean Ohio Revitalization (CORF) funds for demolition and environmental remediation of the site.

The City's sale of the former Phoenix International Life Sciences property in College Hill (5642 Hamilton Ave) to Children's Hospital has brought in $400,000.

An additional $13,657.59 was transferred to the Strategic Program for Urban Revitalization ’07 (SPUR) capital project account from the Columbia Square capital project account, which had a surplus due to project development costs being less than expected.

To date the Department of Community Development and Planning has spent $2.615 million on property acquisition in the project site and has paid $373,505 for tenant relocation.

The $25 million MetroWest project will consist of light industrial, flex and office space and will likely include existing businesses and buildings at 911 Evans St, 1910/1911 South St and 1908 W Eighth St. Four or more LEED certified buildings will likely be constructed. Buildings will be constructed along street frontages and parking will be screened and shared. (Look at the site plan below and tell me if that is what you see!)

The developer estimates that the redevelopment of the 18 acres could create a minimum of 400 jobs.

Buildout is expected in 7 to 10 years.

Winning CORF applicants will be announced at the Clean Ohio Council meeting on July 25.

The CORF's Round 4 has been budgeted $43 million.

Building Cincinnati: MetroWest update (4/2/07)

Sketches of the proposed 160,000-square-foot project off of Newtown Road by the Little Miami River.

Click on each one to enlarge. Images will open in a new window.






I hope you can find a parking space!

Building Cincinnati: Horizon Community Church project update (6/6/07)
Building Cincinnati: Horizon Community Church project (5/8/07)

Medallion Properties has completed this single-family home at 3798 Broadview Drive.

The home has four bedrooms and four-and-a-half baths.

When it was first listed last year it was priced at $788,000. It has since been upped to $819,900.

Two homes in the area recently sold for $685,000 and $798,000.

This neighborhood is adjacent to Seven Hills Properties' Lofts project and the Hyde Park Country Club.

WINDOWS LIVE BIRD'S EYE VIEW

Single-family homes will replace the golf course on the Lake Gloria site in Colerain Township.

Mallard Pointe, which is being developed by HPA Development Group, will consist of 29 lots on 49 acres. Homes will be attached in groups of fours*.

Access to the site from Pippin Road will consist of one street, which will be moved to the north side of the lake--about halfway between Merrittview and Merriway lanes.

Lake Gloria will remain as a retention pond.

The Hamilton County Regional Planning Commission has approved of the preliminary development plan.

The project still must be approved by the Colerain Township Zoning Commission. It has not yet been put on the agenda.


Lot layout: Click to enlarge**

WINDOWS LIVE BIRD'S EYE VIEW


* I'm not quite sure how this will work out, as 29 is not divisible by four.
** This doesn't make sense either.

Sketch of 708 Alms Gate

Here is a sketch of 708 Alms Gate, which could be yours for a cool $1.35 million.

The home will contain 5 bedrooms and 3 full/3 half baths. There's also a three-car garage, but at least it will be on the side instead of the front.

The exterior is brick with cedar shingles.

Three other homes are currently listed. An affordfable housing unit is even available for $995,000!

Alms Gate is a gated subdivision being built off of Tusculum Avenue, adjacent to Alms Park.

WINDOWS LIVE BIRD'S EYE VIEW

Cincinnati City Council will work with the University Village Association (UVA) to establish a vending district along Short Vine.

A vending district would ensure that street vendors in the area follow a standard set of rules and regulations.

The tentative boundaries for the district include both sides of Short Vine between Corry Street and University Avenue.

In August 2005, UVA Treasurer Alan Porkolab sent an e-mail to Councilmember Laketa Cole inquiring about the creation of a district. Michael Cervay, Director of the Department of Community Development and Planning (DCDP), initiated contact with Porkolab and the UVA four months later.

After that letter, contact was lost. In May 2007, Porkolab again contacted Cole, stating that he had not heard from the city for over a year and that vending activity on Short Vine was becoming problematic.

The next day, Cole submitted a motion for a report on the necessity of a district for Short Vine.

City Manager Milton Dohoney submitted a report at the June 20 Council meeting stating that City staff had visited the area and had seen a definite need for one.

The UVA will vote on the proposed district later this summer.

If the district is approved by the UVA, the City will work to amend the Municipal Code to include the new district.

The City's Municipal Code has three established vending districts. The Liberty-Dalton Vending District and the University Hospital Vending District became law in 1985. The Downtown Vending District became effective in 1997.

Tim Macy e-mailed me about a house that he has rehabbed in East Price Hill.

In between a couple of our communications, Macy informed me that the house just went under contract.

The asking price of $373,900 included nearly 3,000 square feet of living space and a great view of the city.

The house was built in 1867.

Here are a couple of "before and after" shots that he sent me. You can click on each pic to enlarge it. More can be found on this website, which probably won't be up much longer if the sale is finalized.


Exterior, before


Exterior, after


Kitchen, before


Kitchen, after


A bathroom, before


A bathroom, after

WINDOWS LIVE BIRD'S EYE VIEW (looking west)

The City voted unanimously to sell land it owns in the Burnet Avenue plan area for $1.

The buyer, Uptown Consortium (through its development arm NTP Development, LLC), has been assembling land in the area as part of the Burnet Avenue Urban Renewal Plan.

The appraised value of the land is $1.3 million, but it is vacant and not is generating any revenue. It is estimated that the developer will make $5 million in infrastructure improvements to the site, including roads and utilities.

The emergency ordinance also allows for a quick transfer of the property that will allow NTP Development to receive New Market Tax Credits, which are targeted to development projects in low-income communities.

The land is part of a $52 million mixed-use project phase which will include two office buildings along Burnet Avenue, condominiums along Harvey Avenue and a 1,450-space parking garage.

Building Cincinnati: City rezoning advances Burnet project (6/20/07)
Building Cincinnati: Avondale: Burnet Avenue Zoning Study (5/1/07)

I have added an Eden Park gallery containing 20 photos.

I have also added 12 photos to the Mount Airy Forest gallery (total now 50) and 4 photos to the Krohn Conservatory gallery (total now 17).

Click on the photo above to go directly to the Eden Park gallery. The link will open in a new browser window.

For the galleries of the parks -- or the other neighborhoods -- please scroll to the bottom of this page.

Sketch of new 214 E 4th

Antony Development of Alexandria will build a new single-family home on the northeast corner of 4th and Saratoga streets.

The three-story home will have three bedrooms and two and a half baths within its 2600 square feet.

The place will even have a elevator.

There will be a two-car detached garage for parking.

The home is being sold through Re/Max for $495,000.

WINDOWS LIVE BIRD'S EYE VIEW

315 Warner St

City Council unanimously passed an ordinance allowing Kerry Ryan to rehab a three-family building at the corner of Warner and Victor streets.

The ordinance changed the zoning on the site from SF-2 Single Family to RMX Residential Mix. Because the building had been vacant since the property was rezoned in 2004, it could not be rehabilitated and used as a multi-family.

Some neighbors objected to the rezoning due to a lack of adequate parking and an abundance of multi-family housing in the area.

The CUF Neighborhood Association also expressed concerns over the "spot" zoning, how the practice could have negative future effects on the neighborhood, and how they felt shut out of the process.

The building has been vacant for four years and would likely have been torn down if the rezoning did not occur.

Ryan took his argument for the rehab directly to the Economic Development Committee (EDC). In a letter dated April 7, 2007, he wrote:

If these properties remain “SF-2” single family zoning, we fear they will be abandoned again because no one will want to rent or purchase a single family building of this size and configuration.

Now that the zoning has been changed, Ryan has entered the permitting process.

The top two units had already been rehabbed without a permit, and they have been approved for reoccupancy.

First floor permits have not yet been received.

NOTE: The Cincinnati Beacon published a series of articles on this back in March. The first in the series included a couple of photos of the interior:
The Cincinnati Beacon: The Matrix of Cincinnati Zoning Codes: Kerry Ryan’s Renovated House Meets Resistance from CHIA

Walnut Hills Redevelopment (WHR) has applied for federal tax credits to rehabilitate the Walnut Hills Apartments.

The federal tax credits, which are distributed in Ohio through the Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA), are awarded each year for 10 years. The housing credit can be deducted from the owner's (in this case OTRCH) federal taxable income.

WHR plans to use the funds to rehab 197 low-income units at the complex at 849 Beecher Street.

The total project cost is $3.8 million.

On June 6, City Council passed a resolution supporting the application.

The OHFA is scheduled to announce the accepted applicants on August 1.

WINDOWS LIVE BIRD'S EYE VIEW (looking south)

Hooray!

Yesterday brought the first Cincitecture column, which is going to be a monthly feature in CityBeat. (Psst...go weekly!)

This weeks column is about the Diehl House in Monfort Heights, which was once part of a vineyard and was also the childhood home of Marge Schott.

I'm glad that there's another buildings feature in CityBeat. I was pissed when "Blight of the Week" went away....

Rendering of Mount Auburn Place

Condominiums at Mount Auburn Place just hit the market within the past week.

JFP Group is building the 30-unit project on the southeast corner of McMillan and Highland.

All 30 units are currently available at prices ranging from $144,900 to $214,900 for two bedrooms and two baths with an on-site 52-space parking garage.

A planned retail component does not appear to be included according to the renderings.

Buildings on the site were demolished in March 2006.

Rezoning was approved by City Council last October.

JFP Group developed the adjacent McMillan Manor project.

WINDOWS LIVE BIRD'S EYE VIEW (looking south)

The finished product

Six renovated condo units have hit the market in Prospect Hill.

The Renaissance Condos, built by Eber Development, are located at 1601-1603 Broadway.

1601 Broadway contains three units priced $119,900 to $129,900.

1603 Broadway contains three units priced $74,900 to $89,900.

All units have one bedroom and one bath.

Parking is provided in a gated surface lot.

WINDOWS LIVE BIRD'S EYE VIEW

Boundaries of PD 50: Click to enlarge

Cincinnati City Council voted unanimously to create PD 50 (Planned Development District) in order to jumpstart the first phase of the Burnet Avenue project.

The newly created district is 8.48 acres and is bounded roughly by Burnet, Hickory, Harvey and a line even with Maple Avenue. (See map.)

The Burnet Avenue Urban Renewal Plan, which was approved in August 2006, advocated zoning changes that would allow for redevelopment, and suggested specifically that a PD designation would facilitate implementation of the plan.

PD zoning allows for a wide range of uses and puts the project under the supervision of the City Planning Commission.

The previous zoning was RMX Residential Mixed District and CN-M Commercial Neighborhood Mixed District. Neither would allow the proposed uses.

Phases 1 and 1A of the project include mixed uses along Burnet Avenue and condominiums along Harvey Avenue, with a parking garage in between.

The commercial development along Burnet will consist of two buildings. A six-story medical building (125,000 sf) will be at the southwest corner of the site. A three-story office/retail building (45,000 sf) will occupy the corner of Burnet and Northern.* A pocket park will be created in between.

The condominiums will consist of up to seven buildings with up to eight units each. Parking will be accessed from behind the homes via a private drive.

The parking garage will be six levels and 1,450 spaces, accessible from Northern Avenue.

The entire development will be tied together with a new streetscape.

Since most of the area is now vacant lots, there was no neighborhood objection to the change.

A final development plan still must be submitted to the City Planning Commission and must be approved by City Council.


Phase 1 and 1A site plan, north at left: Click to enlarge


Early condo rendering: Click to enlarge

WINDOWS LIVE BIRD'S EYE VIEW (looking east)

Building Cincinnati: Burnet Avenue Zoning Study (5/1/07)

* In the future, Northern Avenue will be extended all the way to Harvey Avenue. A linear park connecting Burnet and Harvey will be created between Hickory and Northern.

Park + Vine is a green general store that recently opened at 1109 Vine Street in OTR. They sell a little bit of everything and have a large selection of locally-made products.

The place looks terrific and should really add to the positive momentum of the Gateway Quarter. Check them out.

They've been added to my blogroll.

Evanston's NBD: Click to enlarge

The City's Economic Development Committee will hear two rezoning cases at this afternoon's meeting which could alter the look of the Five Points business district.

Recently, the Evanston Community Council received $2 million* to help implement the Evanston Five-Point Urban Renewal Plan, which was adopted in 2003.

The plan recommended the concentration of commercial uses near the five-point intersection. The idea was to give the neighborhood business district (NBD) focus, to get more small businesses in existing commercial storefronts, and to help save some of the adjacent housing stock from being demolished to make way for undesireable commercial uses.

At the time of the plan's adoption, the City's zoning code was being re-written. Since no zoning designations had been included in the plan, the Evanston Community Council asked for a zoning study from the City's Department of Community Development and Planning (DCDP).

Based upon the goals outlined in the plan, the DCDP recommended in one ordinance that portions of the NBD between Fairfax and Holloway and along the eastern side of Woodburn (opposite of Merrimac) should change from CN-M Commercial Neighborhood-Mixed to CN-P Commercial Neighborhood-Pedestrian zoning. This designation would retain the commercial density of the area. It would also disallow any future auto-oriented development on the site. Existing auto-oriented businesses would be allowed to operate, but not to expand.

In the second ordinance, the mostly residential properties along Woodburn between Gilpin and Fairfax would change from CN-M to RMX Residential Mix. This would have the effect of helping to shift commercial uses farther north to the Five Points intersection. Again, existing uses could remain.

Zoning along Montgomery between Ruth and Duck Creek and along Woodburn south of Gilpin would remain the same.

After a public discussion between community members and staff from DCDP eight days earlier, Evanston Community Council voted to support the rezoning on April 18.

The City Planning Commission unanimously approved this rezoning on May 18.

City Council's agenda has not yet been posted.

WINDOWS LIVE BIRD'S EYE VIEW (looking north)


* I do not know the source of this money.

Another good local blog that I've been reading is design cincinnati.

The blog is mainly about the city's architecture and the city's small, independently-owned businesses.

In fact, this blog probably has more stuff about the local small business scene than any other blog I've come across.

I've added it to my blogroll. Check it out.

A Citi Trends store will be going into the retail space at 911-915 East McMillan Street.

Those familiar with the area may remember this as the Family Dollar and the Payless Shoes(later Flingz restaurant) spaces.

Citi Trends offers discounted apparel for men, women and kids.

The publicly-traded company, with over 160 stores nationwide, is headquartered in Savannah, Georgia.

This store will be their ninth in Ohio and their second in Greater Cincinnati. Their other local store is in the Hilltop Plaza, just north of Mount Healthy.

Citi Trends website
WINDOWS LIVE BIRD'S EYE VIEW

I have added four entirely new galleries at the bottom of this page:

* University Heights (12 photos)
* Ault Park (6 photos)
* Alms Park (5 photos)
* Winton Place (2 photos)

I have also added three photos to the East Walnut Hills gallery, bringing its total to 55.

Click on the photo above to go directly to the University Heights gallery. The link will open in a new browser window.

For the galleries of the other neighborhoods, please scroll to the bottom of this page.

Pet Athletic Club, 818 Reedy St--I believe the sign is big enough

Is a business that opened nine months ago still considered "new"?

Sunday's Enquirer ran a story about the Pet Athletic Club at 818 Reedy Street downtown:
Cincinnati Enquirer: Dogs have new spot downtown

I reported on this last September:
Urban Ohio: Random Cincinnati Developments thread

I could understand if this had been a fluff piece in the Life section, but to put this in the Business section nine months after it opened? Why now, and why call it "new"?

Queensgate Terminals (Queensgate) is looking to enter into a lease with the City for portions of 30-acres of land along the Ohio River in Lower Price Hill, but it does not have City support.

In a lawsuit filed in October 2005, Hilltop (owner)/Queensgate (lessee) wanted eminent domain declared upon itself because the right-of-way for the Waldvogel project would effectively block off access to the site from River Road, rendering it useless unless accessed by boat.

The lawsuit was settled in February 2007. The terms of the settlement required the City to buy the property for $5 million, 80 percent of which was covered by Federal Highway Administration and ODOT funds, and then enter into a lease agreement with Queensgate.

Queensgate plans to use this land for a multi-modal shipping facility that will feed freight to a larger facility that they're developing near Jeffersonville, Ohio.

Entering into a lease with the City would give Queensgate full access to the site and three years free of rent, but would require maintenance of the site and $40,000-plus per year in property taxes. After the Waldvogel Viaduct project is completed, Queensgate would have to pay for maintenance, property taxes, and market-rate rent (estimated at $200,000).

The City could terminate the lease at any time if any of the land was needed for the Viaduct or for another municipal purpose.

On March 7, Councilman John Cranley introduced a motion that the lease should be rejected and that the property should be used as greenspace.

Cranley's motion was signed by all 9 Council members.

On March 16, the ordinance for the lease was disapproved by the City Planning Commission, even though they cited its promise as a job and tax generator as part of Cincinnati's traditional "working riverfront".

In a May 8 report to Council, City Manager Milton Dohoney expressed reservations about the property becoming public greenspace, noting the four train tracks that cars would have to cross and the lack of the main access point's (Evans Street) ability to handle that much vehicular traffic.

He also adds that a 25-foot corridor along the viaduct is dedicated to a future bike trail and that a park is already planned for an area near the mouth of the Mill Creek.

The ordinance is now pending sunset and will likely die without coming to a Council vote.

Failure on the City's part to enter into a lease with Queensgate would mean that the City would have to find another way to fund the maintenance of a $5 million site that has no tenant. They could also face legal damages of $1 million or more and legal fees.

Design work for the viaduct is expected to be completed in 2009 with construction beginning in 2011.

WINDOWS LIVE BIRD'S EYE VIEW

These elevations for the Nordstrom development at Kenwood Towne Centre are by FRCH Design Worldwide for General Growth Properties. They were assembled in May 2007 for review by the Sycamore Township Zoning Commission.

You can click on any image to enlarge it. It will open in a new browser window.

As of this posting Nordstrom has not officially signed on to the project.


Existing site plan with Parisian and parking structure


Site plan with new Nordstrom


Mall elevation, Kenwood Road


Nordstrom elevation, Kenwood Road


Mall elevation, Montgomery Road


Nordstrom elevation, Montgomery Road


Mall elevation from some unspecified spot


Nordstrom elevation, east


Nordstrom elevation, north

Plans are still on for the redevelopment of the Hudepohl property at 801 West Sixth Street, though hurdles still remain.

In April pre-prosecution hearings for the condemned property, Hudepohl Square showed Buildings & Inspections (B&I) plans for the redevelopment of the site as residential lofts and commercial space.

A few days later a meeting was held between B&I and the building owners on site. Saeed Safi, a partner in Hudepohl Square, discussed an ongoing lawsuit between the owner and its demolition contractor that was contributing to the holdup on demolition.

Public safety still being the major issue, B&I instructed the owners that the site had to be fenced in. The structure has been used by the homeless and has been plundered by thieves.

Meetings with Community Development and Planning occurred soon after, and redevelopment plans were again presented.

In the meantime, Hudepohl Square will be applying for a Vacant Building Maintenance License (VBML) until building permits can be worked out and the lawsuit is settled.

Still not known is the impact the future Brent Spence bridge project might have on the property, or whether Hudepohl Square can line up financing.

Building Cincinnati: 801 W Sixth St (2/13/07)

Front elevation of new 540 Delta

C A R Construction will be building a new single-family at 540 Delta Avenue after demolishing the existing house.

The new home will be two stories with two bedrooms and two and a half baths. A two-car attached rear-entry garage will be built with access from Empress Avenue.

It's currently listed at $299,900.

The house to be demolished was built around the turn of the last century and is listed by the auditor as being only 468 square feet.


540 Delta, soon to be demolished

WINDOWS LIVE BIRD'S EYE VIEW (looking southeast)

Site plan: Click to enlarge

The City's Economic Development Committee (EDC) has scheduled a public hearing that could result in a townhome development being built in Mount Washington.

Tanner Custom Homes is seeking a zoning change that would allow for 14 attached townhome units to be constructed at 6612-6648 Corbly Road.

The current zoning, SF-6 Single-Family, would only allow a maximum of 12 townhomes on the site. A change to SF-4 Single-Family would allow them to add two extra units.

At their May 4 meeting, the City Planning Commission unanimously approved of the rezoning. Reasons cited for the approval included compatibility with the recent Mount Washington Comprehensive Plan, the support of the community council, and the need for more housing options in the neighborhood.

Some local residents have voiced concerns over increased traffic, the unstable hillsides, and the loss of green space and animal life.

The EDC meeting will be held on June 19.

A vote by City Council is likely either June 20 or June 27.

WINDOWS LIVE BIRD'S EYE VIEW (looking east)

Site plan from project website: Click to enlarge

Hearthstone Estates is a 49-lot subdivision being built off of McKinney Road in Symmes Township.

The 36-acre site features three home types--Lifestyle (patio homes), Falls, and Estate (or Showcase Homes).

The bottom end appears to be in the mid $400s and the top end somewhere around $900K.

Lots are also being offered for sale for $110,000-$120,000 for 1/6 acre.

The builders are M/I Homes, Brandenburg Homes, Capital Custom Homes, Heartwood Builders and Zicka Walker Homes.

(Yep, there's nothing more welcoming than a subdivision that's segregated by income!)


9213 Geromes Way, $919,000


Example of Falls home, no price given


Example of Patio home, $449,000

Hearthstone Estates project website
WINDOWS LIVE BIRD'S EYE VIEW (looking west)

Over-the-Rhine Community Housing (OTRCH) has applied for $7 million in tax credits which could lead to the creation of 54 affordable housing units in the neighborhood.

The federal tax credits, which are distributed in Ohio through the Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA), are awarded each year for 10 years. The housing credit can be deducted from the owner's (in this case OTRCH) federal taxable income.

OTRCH plans to use the funds to rehab 12 scattered site buildings and create 54 rental units and 5 or 6 commercial spaces.

Sixty percent of the rehabbed units will be affordable to households with incomes below 50% of the Area Median Gross Income (AMGI). The remaining 40% will be affordable to those with incomes at or below 60% of the AMGI.

The total project cost is $8.5 million.

On May 9, City Council passed a resolution supporting the application.

The OHFA is scheduled to announce the accepted applicants on August 1.

Sarah Allan, project manager for OTRCH, says that work would hopefully start in summer 2008 if the tax credits are received.


What buildings?

There are sixteen buildings according to the Council resolution, twelve according to Ms. Allan. The sixteen from the resolution are:

* 145-147 Mulberry
* 209 Mulberry
* 211 Mulberry
* 53 E. Clifon
* 216 E. Clifton
* 220 E. Clifton
* 228 E. Clifton
* 202 Peete
* 208 Peete
* 210 Peete
* 219 Peete
* 1902-1904 Vine
* 1930 Vine
* 1931 Vine
* 1636-1638 Main
* 6 Findlay

Sketch of front elevation: Click to enlarge

Stephens Construction will soon be breaking ground on two more single-family homes adjacent to its Summit Commons development.

The homes at 608 Torrence and 2121 Grandin will each be three stories with 3 bedrooms and 2.5 baths. Both will have two-car garages on the front facade.

Both houses are currently listed at $449,000.

They will also begin breaking ground soon for the detached sixth unit of Summit Commons, to be built in the same style as those below.


Summit Commons, March 2007

Building Cincinnati: Hyde Park: Summit Commons (3/18/07)

I don't know what took so long, but I finally got around to adding the link for the Cincinnati Blog.

The Cincinnati Blog is Brian Griffin's take on the news of the day, which always results in a lot of comments.

He has posted a lot of stuff about the Cincinnati Fringe Festival, too. Check it out.

Metropolitan Design and Development will be building two new single-family homes at 1236-1238 Elsinore Ave.

Permits are currently on the way, and a retaining wall will have to be built.

A home on the site built in 1880 was demolished in March.

Early in 2006 the company completed three attached homes on the neighboring lots. Both were high-end homes approaching the $700,000 range. (I think 1234 was listed at $799,000.)


1232-1234 Elsinore during construction, November 2005: Click to enlarge


1238 Elsinore, pre-demolition

WINDOWS LIVE BIRD'S EYE VIEW (looking east)

The Mariemont branch of the public library will be having a slideshow presentation of architect Samuel Hannaford's work on Saturday, June 30.

Leading the slideshow will be local historian Jane Messingschlager.

Seating for the 10:30 AM program is limited. Registration: (513) 369-4467.

I have added five entirely new galleries at the bottom of this page:

* Queensgate (2 photos)
* Roselawn (11 photos)
* Sedamsville (3 photos)
* South Cumminsville (4 photos)
* South Fairmount (15 photos)

Click on the photo above to go directly to the Roselawn gallery. The link will open in a new browser window.

For the galleries of the other neighborhoods, please scroll to the bottom of this page.

A new multi-family building is coming to 3816 Reading Road in North Avondale.

Permits are in route, but the details are sketchy.

I have been able to dig up some documents regarding HUD and I have reason to believe that this may be either a VA inpatient facility or a facility for homeless vets.

I still don't know how many units, but I do know that it will contain offices, which leads me to believe that my suspicion is true.

The land at 3816 Reading, which is across from Seasongood Square, is currently vacant and has been so for at least 11 years.

WINDOWS LIVE BIRD'S EYE VIEW

Site plan

McKinney Developers/Ray Murphy Homes are starting a 16-lot subdivision called Loveland Trace.

The subdivision, on a cul-de-sac off of McKinney Road/West Loveland Avenue, will feature upscale housing at around $600,000 and up. (To be honest, I'm not exactly sure just where this will be located. I'm thinking just west of Glen Lake Road by Hidden Creek Park.)

Two homes are currently listed:


3 Loveland Trace Ct, $699,900


16 Loveland Trace Ct, $589,900

Ray Murphy Homes project website
WINDOWS LIVE BIRD'S EYE VIEW

Part of the fun of having site stats is seeing where your readers come from.

I discovered that Dave Menninger has added me to his blogroll, so I took a look at his site. There are a lot of posts about municipal Wi-Fi, stuff about OTR and gentrification, and a few music posts.

There's some interesting ideas in there and it's definitely worth seeing. You can click his name on this post or find it in my blogroll.

A Dunkin Donuts/Baskin Robbins outlet is coming to Avondale.

The combined restaurant will be built on the southwest corner of the MLK/Harvey/Vernon intersection.

Buildings on the site were recently demolished. (These buildings can be seen on the Windows Live link.)

One, 3033 Vernon Place, was an old office building built in 1953.

The other, an amalgam of small shops at 435-439 Martin Luther King, was damaged by fire and condemned in late 2005 and wasn't able to fulfill its economic potential anymore.

The nearest Baskin Robbins locations are on Dixie Highway in Fairfield and on Buttermilk Pike, just off of the I-71/I-75 exit. The latter location is also a combined store.

The nearest Dunkin Donuts location is downtown.

WINDOWS LIVE BIRD'S EYE VIEW (looking west)

Site plan: Click to enlarge

Drees is looking to build a 199-lot subdivision in Whitewater Twp.

Glendower Place would be built on 83.3 acres off of Harrison Road, a half-mile east of Strimple Road.

The topography of the site is a challenge. Drees is proposing streets and homes along the tops of the ridges, with the most steeply sloped portions (near the I-74/I-275 interchange) remaining a greenbelt.

Three homes currently on the site would remain, as would the lake, which would be used as a detention pond.

The Hamilton County Regional Planning Commission has approved of the preliminary subdivision plan. Essentially, the project is a go unless there are changes made to the subdivision plan that cause it to no longer conform with the county's subdivision design standards.

WINDOWS LIVE BIRD'S EYE VIEW

"ekalb" is the blog of Blake Fox, Over-the-Rhine condo resident.

The blog contains links to photos almost every day. You can also link to his Flickr photo album for tons of shots of places around the OTR neighborhood.

You can also get treated to things like "Broken Toe" ("I think I broke my long toe this morning while getting into bed. I could barely sleep with the pain. The toenail is turning colors. Ouch!") and "Hungry" ("This sandwhich looks delicious!").

My thanks go out to him for adding me to his blogroll.

My feeds appear to be broken. This is just a test.

EDIT: They are now fixed.

The proposed Horizon Community Church project will have a couple of public hearings this month.

On June 7, the proposal will be reviewed by the Hamilton County Regional Planning Commission (HCRPC).

On June 18, the Anderson Township Zoning Commission will take those recommendations and hold a public hearing.

Those recommendations will be passed along to the Board of Township Trustees. This item has not yet been added to their agenda.

The purpose of these meetings is to rezone 117 acres from "H" Riverfront to "A-A CUP" Planned Residence, a zoning designation that allows churches.

Horizon Community Church would then be allowed to erect a 160,000-square-foot* church and 1,200 space parking lot on the site of the former Indian Valley Golf Course.

Building Cincinnati: Anderson Twp: Horizon Community Church project (5/8/07)

* NOTE: Previous meetings in front of the HCRPC and the Hamilton County Rural Zoning Commission described a building of 210,000 square feet. Has this been scaled down? I don't know.

(NOTE: I wrote this story yesterday. The Enquirer is going to have a story about this project in their Wednesday edition, which includes some quotes that this story lacks. Anyway, here's my version, which includes info on Erickson's other activity in Ohio.)

An informal presentation regarding the possible redevelopment of the Landmark Baptist Church property in Glendale will be held June 13.

Erickson Retirement Communities has expressed interest in building on the site, which is situated along Oak Road and straddles the villages of Glendale and Evendale.

Erickson, in the midst of an aggressive building program, currently has 19 lifestyle communities in the United States, including two in Michigan and two in Pennsylvania. The developments are generally gated, campus-styled, and upscale.

In 2006, they explored the possibility of opening their first Ohio location in Dublin, just outside of Columbus. Their plan for 1,500 units on 95 acres promised 1,000 jobs and $200 million in construction costs.

After Dublin rejected them for not fitting in with the planned Central Ohio Innovation Center development, they called on nearby Hilliard, promising 800 to 1,000 jobs from an 80 acre campus with an annual payroll of $30 million. Hilliard looks prepared to okay the development in the Ansmil district, which has been vacant since its rezoning in 1998.

In order for the development to work here, Glendale would have to increase the number of living units per acre allowed from its current number of ten.

Evendale would be required to rezone their part of the property to residential, meaning that it would require approval from both the Planning Commission and the Village Council. Officials with the village have already expressed doubts about whether the retirement community fits into the village's master plan.

An adjacent 40-acre chunk of the Landmark property had been proposed as the site of the Crossings of Glendale power center, to be built by Bear Creek Capital. Their plan contained several big box stores and outlots arranged parallel to I-75, with an ocean of parking in between.

Negotiations between Bear Creek and Landmark were going on as late as spring 2006, when things mysteriously broke off and Bear Creek removed the project from their website.

Erickson's interest in the land became widely known in March of this year.

The June 13 presentation, which is a joint session of the Council of the Village of Glendale and the Glendale Planning and Historic Preservation Commission, begins at 7 PM in the Glendale Town Hall Auditorium. It is open to the public.

Erickson Retirement Communities website

WINDOWS LIVE BIRD'S EYE VIEW

Site plan: Click to enlarge

The Symmes Township Board of Trustees will hold a public hearing on June 5 regarding a rezoning for the Symmes Green subdivision.

Rhein Properties (applicant) and Enyart Road Development (owner) are proposing 35 single-family lots on just over ten acres off of Enyart Road between Donwiddle and Bristol.

The rezoning from "A" Residence to "B CUP" Residential Community Unit Plan is necessary to accomodate the planned density of 3.86 units per acre. "A" zoning allows only up to 2.17 units per acre.

On May 3, the Hamilton County Regional Planning Commission (HCRPC) ruled that the change to "B CUP" zoning was not consistent with the Symmes Township Land Use Plan and with the existing surrounding land uses.

Also, subdivision rules state that no more than 30 units can be built on a single-access street.

Instead, the HCRPC suggested an "A-2" Residence designation, which would allow up to 3.11 units per acre. Under this designation, the project would have to be redesigned and scaled down to 28 units.

A vote on the rezoning is not currently on the Trustees' agenda.

WINDOWS LIVE BIRD'S EYE VIEW


Other notes:
* 3.5 acres of greenspace in development (38% coverage)
* Demolition of two single-family homes and outbuildings
* A Homeowners Association will be created

An occasional feature where I rant about this blog....

FeedBurner, who manages one of my site feeds, has been purchased by Google for somewhere around $100 million. They have been very reliable with my feeds and in notifying me of any problems, and I wouldn't expect that to change. Hopefully there will be some new features integrated with Blogger.

Photobucket, who hosts my photos, has been purchased by Fox Interactive Media for somewhere in the $250-$300 million range. This worries me. I just want a photo host that's quick and reliable. Recently, Photobucket has added all kinds of new features, yet they've never been able to master putting together an interface that doesn't run like molasses, even on a fast computer. I worry that having Fox Interactive Media is going to mean even more hype where there should be substance. Time will tell...I have six more months before I have to renew.

One thing that I ABSOLUTELY do not like on the Photobucket site is the "Buy Prints" feature in the top right corner. Here viewers can purchase prints of my photos through QOOP, but none of this money goes to me. So it's okay for QOOP to make money off of something that they don't own?

In the Photobucket forums I heard it explained that anybody can right click on your photo, save it, and "steal" it, therefore it's not any different if they do it with QOOP instead. Bullshit! Some random idiot downloading my photo for personal use is one thing. Officially sanctioned theft of my property, which is then compounded by a monetary payment to the thief, is quite another thing.

Now I'm starting to get mad, so I should stop.

On Friday, I shattered a record for unique visitors with 260, page views with 419 and returning visitors with 75. (I know, pretty weak relative to some of the massive blogs out there.) My previous record for unique visitors was something like 48. All of this for a story about the Cedar Grove project in Price Hill, which involves the rehab of four houses. Maybe people thought the project was something else?

(EDIT: It was pointed out to me that the Price Hill post was linked to by Cincinnati Nation, and a search through my stats proved that to be the case. Thanks to Cincinnati Nation for the referrals.)

I got two comments (well, one posted twice) in that topic and it was in Spanish. From what I could gather, the blogger has a site where you can order personalized T-shirts. Ostensibly he was offering me the opportunity to create Building Cincinnati shirts. I think I'll wait a little while on that one, and I'll probably go with a company that isn't some random blogger/blog page.

I have added galleries for Pleasant Ridge (11 photos) and Pendleton (4 photos) at the bottom of this page.

I've also added pics to some existing galleries. They are (number of new pics in parentheses):

* Oakley (11 photos)
* O'Bryonville (4 photos)
* Over-the-Rhine (5 photos)

Click on the photo above to go directly to the Pleasant Ridge gallery. The link will open in a new browser window.

For the Pendleton gallery and for the galleries of the other neighborhoods, please scroll to the bottom of this page.