The Cincinnati Northside Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation (CNCURC) has assembled a list of items needed for its third green build, and is actively seeking donations.

The "Sponsorship Wish List" for the house, which will be built at , includes:


* Appliances
* HVAC
* Interior and exterior doors
* Fixtures
* Cabinetry
* Low VOC interior paint

Donations for the two completed Northside HOME project houses at allowed them to be kept affordable yet contemporary by keeping CNCURC's costs down.

Both of those houses recently sold.

The third house will be designed by Northside architect Alice Emmons, who reworked S. Flavio Espinoza's HOME designs to fit within the neighborhood's urban setting.

The houses are part of the CNCURC's Fergus Street Homeownership Project, a redevelopment plan designed to boost homeownership and to stem the tide of foreclosures, vacancies and crime in the area bounded roughly by Pullan Avenue, Knowlton Street, Mad Anthony Street and Langland Street.

To donate, contact Michael Berry at (513) 970-2202 or by e-mail at .

Full or partial sponsorship is tax deductible, and donors' names will be posted at the construction site.

Previous reading on BC:
Inside the Northside HOMEs, 6/24/08 (7/7/08)
Inside the Northside HOMEs (3/13/08)
Northside HOME photo update, 12/17/07 (12/24/07)
Silent auction to benefit Northside HOME project (11/30/07)
Northside HOME houses hit the market (11/20/07)

Forest Park City Council has authorized unanimously the hiring of Kentainer Demolition Group to demolish two outdated office buildings along .

The demolition contract will be issued for the city-owned 640 and 660 Northland buildings as part of the city's 10-year, $15 million-$20 million corridor redevelopment plan.

The city explored the possibility of rehabilitating the Class B buildings - and was even in talks with a couple of tenants - but found that the costs would be too high for the product they were seeking.

Kentainer, which is currently demolishing the vacant Kmart on Hamilton Avenue and previously demolished the 680 Northland building, submitted the lowest written quote with a bid of approximately $28,000 for both buildings.

As the next lowest quote was for nearly $70,000, the city decided to forego the traditional bidding process to save additional time and money.

No building plans or tenants have been announced for the sites.

The goal of the Northland Boulevard corridor plan is to turn the dated strip into a place that is attractive, contemporary, and composed of mixed uses.

Next to 640 and 660 Northland, the demolition site at 680 Northland will allow for business district parking and will provide space for a future expansion of the Parkdale post office.

On the south side of the street, plans are in the works to build a mixed-use center with a regional homeland security center, a regional business incubator, and a Job Ready Site – possibly for a $2 million medical services facility.

The entire project would be tied together with a new streetscape and new gateway businesses at each end.

Previous reading on BC:
Lack of funding may alter Northland plans (3/14/08)

Single-family
DOB: 1926
Died: July 2008
Cause of death: A one-alarm fire in December 2007 caused an estimated $30,000 in damage, including compromised framing and a collapsed roof. The house was vacant at the time of the fire. The owners did not show up for pre-prosecution hearings, meaning that it was likely abandoned. Because it was impossible to properly barricade the structure, it was entered into the hazard abatement program and razed by the City.

One year ago, Inspirational Baptist Church announced plans to build a 1,500-seat worship and community center on the former site of Surf Cincinnati, and a large apartment building in Avondale, a single-family home in Over-the-Rhine, and a commercial warehouse in the West End were razed.

Cincinnati City Council is considering an ordinance allowing them to lease a new Vine Street parking lot to the Central Vine Street Business Association (CVSBA), who would operate and maintain it.

The 18-space parking lot, which is currently under construction on the vacant Empire Theater site at in Over-the-Rhine, is expected to be completed in September.

As proposed, CVSBA would lease the lot for $1 per year for a period of three years, with a mutual option for two additional three-year terms.

The Crossroad Health Center already has committed to renting 9 of the spaces for employees of the center.

The "green" lot will utlilize a pourous paver system instead of traditional asphalt.

On August 6, Cincinnati City Council will vote on an emergency ordinance to provide $1 million in capital improvement funds for road improvements to in anticipation of CiTiRAMA 2009.

The 37-home second phase of Rockford Woods in Northside would require the widening of the narrow road in anticipation of increased construction and residential traffic.

The City's Department of Transportation and Engineering currently is looking into the redesign and improvement of the segment of Rockford Place between Hamilton Avenue and the Rockford Woods development.

As the only access road into Rockford Woods, Rockford Place presents hillside and drainage problems that many of the street's residents fear will not be addressed properly, while others fear the loss of all or part of their front yards.

Neither a subdivision improvement plan nor a dedication plat for the second phase of Rockford Woods has been approved, pending soil boring tests and subsequent design work.

The subdivision's 16-home first phase was featured in CiTiRAMA 2001.

Previous reading on BC:
Rockford Woods pitting neighbor against neighbor (7/8/08)
Amendment made for, questions asked about Rockford Woods (3/4/08)
Rockford Woods aid passes unanimously (2/19/08)
City to finally resolve Rockford Woods fiasco (2/5/08)

Most of the glass and exterior walls are installed on the first phase of the SouthShore project in Newport, and the parking garage is largely completed and is being used as a staging area.

Capital Investment Group is building the $165 million complex, which will include 150 residential units in two towers and a possible retail/office component, which will be dictated by market demand.

The second tower is unlikely to begin construction until the first one is sold out and the majority of the units in the second tower are pre-sold.

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Previous reading on BC:
SouthShore photo update, 12/6/07 (12/10/07)
SouthShore photo update, 8/29/07 (8/29/07)
SouthShore photo update: Perspective (9/20/07)

Crossroads Community Church is partnering with Cincinnati Habitat for Humanity to rehabilitate a Northside home, and you can follow it all online.

The website chronicles the rebirth of the late 1880s house at through narratives, photos and video, and renderings and models.

Rehabiliation of the structure will include all new mechanicals, siding, roof and walls, and a new two-story addition will replace a poorly-built one-story addition that volunteers have razed.

Volunteers have been working on the rehabilitation for the past six weekends.

Last weekend, they removed the entire roof and began framing a new roof and the second-floor outside walls, and, within the next couple of weeks, the foundation for the addition will be poured.

The partner family on the project is Austino Lewis, Kama Quaye, and their 10-year-old son Jeffrey.

Before arriving in Cincinnati, the family spent 15 years in a refugee camp in Ghana after escaping Liberia's bloody civil war.

Lewis, a journalist by trade, provides care for disabled adults through his work with CORE, while Quaye works at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

Photo credit: Crossroads Community Church

Single-family
DOB: 1875
Died: June 2008
Cause of death: Originally condemned in 2002, it was heavily damaged by a fire on 2004. Right before a criminal complaint was filed for the original orders on owner Steven Pavelish, the house burned down, the old case was closed, and a new case was created. Since the fire, the house has had roof failure, has had siding removed, had a chimney collapse and has been open to insects, vermin, and the public. Pavelish did some repairs on the property, including some roofing, flooring and siding, but not enough to bring the building up to VBML code. In February 2008, Pavelish sold the property to Collins Riverside Development, developer of the proposed (and controversial) Harbor Lights condomimium project, as part of a four-parcel sale for $70,000. The county's total assessed value for the four properties was $16,870. Cha-CHING....

Cincinnati City Council is prepared to vote on a resolution that could help turn a Camp Washington industrial property into market-rate apartments.

E&T Real Estate Holdings owns the Harrison Terminal Building, a 60,000-square-foot building on 2.4 acres at , just south of the Western Hills Viaduct.

The building owners have proposed a rehabilitation that would pair apartments with a ground floor commercial or office use, and are working with the Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority to acquire Clean Ohio Assistance Fund dollars for a Phase II environmental site assessment of the property.

This study would provide information that could be used to prepare cost estimates and a site remediation plan.

The resolution is likely to be considered by council's Finance Committee on August 5.

The Ohio Department of Development requires a municipal resolution of support for a project to qualify for Clean Ohio funding.

E&T Real Estate Holdings purchased the 1885 warehouse building a year ago for $75,000.

Harrison Terminal sold the building in 1990.

Planning for the development of Cincinnati's hillsides is "underway", city manager Milton Dohoney Jr. writes in a report to City Council.

The report is in response to a June letter from Mulberry Views LLC president Joe Gorman to council suggesting that the City convene a Hillside Charrette to facilitate market-rate development of the hillside between Over-the-Rhine and Uptown.

The targeted area includes city view property roughly bounded by .

Dohoney says that Cincinnati's Scenic View Study has identified Mulberry, Seitz, Sycamore, Dorsey and Goethe streets as having high-quality views.

"The City agrees that the hillsides are one of Cincinnati's most valuable assets," Dohoney says. "Single-family infill development, especially with desirable views, could be instrumental in increasing the homeownership rate of the City."

The City's Department of City Planning recently began a study with the Hillside Trust to determine whether changes should be made to the hillside regulations in the zoning code to promote more responsible development, and developers such as Gorman have been invited to participate in those meetings.

In his letter, Gorman wrote that, without public participation, development of the area dense with empty lots is "impossible".

Dohoney also believes that community participation in the planning efforts will be crucial.

"The Planning Department will be starting a citywide comprehensive planning process in 2009," Dohoney says. "Hillside issues will be addressed on the local level so that citywide recommendations can be input into the plan."

Gorman also requested that the City provide the resources to build the infrastructure necessary to make the hillside attractive for private development.

Dohoney points out that financial assistance to build project infrastructure such as retaining walls, water and sewer lines, and streetscape improvements is awarded by the City's Department of Community Development through its twice-yearly Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) cycle.

The next cycle will be advertised in the fall.

"Capital funds available to provide infrastructure are very limited at this time and the NOFA process maximizes the impact of those scarce funds on the City’s homeownership rate," Dohoney writes.

Previous reading on BC:
Gorman: City needs 'hillside charrette' to connect OTR, Uptown (6/24/08)

Work has moved to the interiors of several new houses in Newport, with concrete work, sidewalks, and landscaping still to be completed outside.

The new houses are part of the 39-unit, scattered-site Liberty Homes development, a partnership effort between the Housing Authority of Newport and the Brighton Center, Inc. to redistribute public housing throughout the city following the demolition of much of the city's riverfront projects.

The three-bedroom, one-and-a-half-bathroom homes, designed by Cole + Russell Architects, are priced at $128,000.

Up to $40,000 in assistance is made available to qualified low- and moderate-income buyers.

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Previous reading on BC:
Newport affordable housing photo update, 1/22/08 (1/28/08)

The Clifton Heights Improvement Association (CHIA) wants residents to let Cincinnati City Council know their preference for a future streetcar route through the Uptown neighborhoods.

At issue is whether the connector route will climb the hillside via Vine Street or W Clifton Avenue.

Many Clifton Heights residents believe that the W Clifton Avenue route would bring the most immediate positive results.

In a draft letter sent out to community members, the CHIA says that, by using W Clifton Avenue, the streetcar would encourage homeownership along W Clifton and link the Clifton Heights business district to the Downtown and Findlay Market zones.

"A future expansion of the streetcar line could easily, in a second phase, go down McMillan Street, and then connect to Vine Street in both directions," the letter reads. "This would provide a Vine Street-W. Clifton loop that would improve the route, and allow for easy expansion to the east side of the campus, through 'Short Vine', and down past the hospitals and to the zoo."

Rob Neel, secretary of the CHIA, is asking residents to forward the letter to council.

The CHIA will be discussing the streetcar proposal at their September 11 meeting.

Previous reading on BC:
Cincinnati streetcar vote possible today (4/23/08)

Single-family
DOB: 1905
Died: July 2008
Cause of death: The house had repair orders issued in January for its chimney, roof, flashing, gutters and downspouts, soffit, lintels, siding, fence, and garage. The garage orders had been pending since late 2006. Although the house was never vacated or condemned, it was subject to numerous litter violations. I would not be surprised if this was torn down to provide more parking for the Madisonville Arts Center, though the property is owned by Oake Properties, which could best be described as a land speculator.

One year ago, Cincinnati Habitat for Humanity and the University of Cincinnati announced they would partner on their third Avondale home at 3570 Haven Street, and Building Cincinnati went to a three-column format, with an improved masthead and better access to the photo galleries.

The first annual Cincinnati Bloggers Convention was held last Thursday at the Mercantile Library Downtown.

Nearly 40 local bloggers pre-registered for the event, and at least that many showed up.

With no pre-set agenda, the convention was largely a social event with beer, wine, and an array of snacks for noshing.

It was a great to finally put some faces with some names, but, unfortunately, there wasn't enough time for me to meet everyone!

Special thanks go to the Mercantile's executive director Albert Pyle and to Chris Messick for putting together such a great event.

Not only does the library have a great collection, but it's a fantastic atmosphere for these kinds of get-togethers!

I don't know if I learned anything, but it certainly was fun....

Please click on each image to enlarge to 640 x 480. Photos will open in a new browser window.

(At the convention, Morris Tsai suggested that I find a better way of displaying photos. I couldn't agree more. He uses PictoBrowser, but that only works for Flickr photos. If anyone knows of a good slideshow-type program that won't put Hello Kitty, Barbie, or glitter on my photos, please shoot me an e-mail!)