A capital improvement program project account in the amount of $750,000 for the redevelopment of Glenway Avenue has been passed unanimously by Cincinnati City Council.

Funding for the account comes from tax increment financing (TIF) funds from a district approved by council in March 2008.

Cincinnati's Department of Community Development is currently working with Price Hill Will on a Glenway Avenue Market Study and Development Plan to identify underutilized properties .

Ken Smith, executive director of Price Hill Will, says that they're looking at mixed-use development for the area.

"Hopefully, this will be a catalyst for additional development along the business corridor in West Price Hill," he says.

Price Hill Will will be seeking input on the plan, and a public meeting likely will be scheduled within the next month, Smith says.

Previous reading on BC:
TIF money could lead to Glenway redevelopment (5/18/09)
Cincinnati rolls out three 'new' streetscape TIF projects (4/4/08)
Finance Committee discusses changes on streetscape TIFs (12/6/07)
City taking action on streetscape TIFs (11/1/07)
Council authorizes bonds for Evanston, Walnut Hills streetscapes (9/24/07)

If $1.75 million in federal economic stimulus funding comes to Cincinnati for the Ohio River Trail, the City will gladly accept it.

Cincinnati City Council voted unanimously to accept any federal funding, to create a capital grant project account, and to enter into a local public agency agreement with the --> --> --> for the $2.3 million trail segment linking in the East End, which could now begin as soon as fall 2009.

The City's Department of Transportation and Engineering would fund the remainder of the project from its capital improvement program project accounts.

In addition to the trail surface, construction would also include a controlled trail crossing at Wilmer Avenue and Airport Road, the remodeling and remediation of an abandoned freight transfer terminal and railroad tracks, landscaping, and trail parking.

As envisioned, the Ohio River Trail would connect Downtown with the Little Miami Scenic Trail, and eventually to Lake Erie.

Photo credit: "bike trail" by , courtesy of Flickr.

Previous reading on BC:
Stimulus funds could go to Ohio River Trail (5/20/09)
Planning begins to connect Ohio River Trail to Little Miami (11/12/08)
Cincinnati council supports Ohio River Trail (3/19/08)
City seeking comments for river trail funds (11/16/07)
Ohio River Trail: Three alternatives (5/18/07)

A massive streetscape project is under construction , as part of Gateway Quarter Phase III.

The project includes buried utility lines, new sidewalks and curbs, new lighting and traffic signals, street trees, new signage and meter poles, and bicycle and newspaper racks.

Apparently, the project has been delayed a couple of weeks due to shipment of incorrect bricks!

Merchants, residents, and neighborhood stakeholders hope that the sidewalks are completed in time for the Go OTR 5K Run/Walk on June 20.

There are 9 photos in this slideshow, starting at 14th Street and working southward.

Hover over the slideshow to bring up the controls. You may stop the slideshow by clicking on the square "stop" button, allowing you to scroll through the photos at your own leisure. To get a better view, click on each image to enlarge to 640 x 480. Photos will open in a new browser window.

Cincinnati City Council has passed unanimously an ordinance creating five new project accounts for the disbursement of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) funds.

The five new NSP accounts will allow for hazard abatement and demolition, purchase and redevelopment, affordable housing creation, additional financing mechanisms, and program administration in the neighborhoods of Evanston, Northside, East Price Hill, West Price Hill, Westwood, South Fairmount, Avondale, Madisonville, Bond Hill, and College Hill.

The City is receiving nearly $8.4 million as part of the $3.92 billion 2008 Housing and Economic Recovery Act to provide funding for communities to purchase foreclosed or vacant properties and to rehabilitate, re-sell, or demolish and redevelop them for homeownership.

The modified NSP Action Plan will result in the demolition of 166 housing units, the acquisition of 62 housing units, the rehabilitation of 51 housing units, and 31 units of new construction.

Previous reading on BC:
Neighborhood stabilization funding to be tweaked (5/13/09)

An examination of the role of infrastructure in our economic recovery will be presented during the 2009 Urban Land Institute/Ernst & Young Infrastructure Program on June 4 at 7:30 a.m. at the Metropolitan Club, in Covington.

Bill Hudnut, former four-term mayor of Indianapolis and congressman, will address localized perspectives on the relationship between different types of infrastructure, the link between infrastructure and land use, and the amount of money we're spending on our current infrastructure.

Breakfast and a copy of the 2009 ULI/Ernst & Young Infrastructure Report will be provided.

Admission ranges from $30 to $40 for ULI members and $40 to $40 for non-members, and registration is required.

Single-family
DOB: 1908
Died: March 2009
Cause of death: Razed to make way for the expansion of Evanston Playground and construction of the new headquarters of the Cincinnati chapter of the American Red Cross.

Two years ago:

• Krohn Conservatory and Florence were added to the Building Cincinnati photo galleries, as well as new photos from Fairview, Mount Airy Forest, MainStrasse, West End, downtown Covington, Mount Auburn, Walnut Hills, and the Cincinnati skyline.
  

One year ago:

• In the East End, Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory attended the groundbreaking of Corbin Park.
• Cincinnati City Council was considering extending its lease with Cincinnati Bulk Terminals to 2036, allowing UK-based Vertus Technologies, Ltd. to run a clean coal operation on the site.
• In Avondale, Cincinnati Habitat for Humanity kicked off construction of two new houses on Northern Avenue and dedicated one on Haven Street.
• The City of Cincinnati and the Home Builders Association of Greater Cincinnati announced that they would not be holding CiTiRAMA in 2008.
• Pleasant Ridge Community Council was conducting a survey on residents' grocery-buying habits.
• A Clifton house that was sliding down the hillside was razed privately.

Six of the latest living options in Over-the-Rhine will be open this Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. during the Gateway Expansion Tour.

Developers and sales agents will be on-hand to answer questions at each stop of the self-guided tour, which will feature the following condominiums and single-family homes from the $30.3 million Gateway Quarter Phase III:

• Mottainai,
• Trinity Flats at 14th & Vine,
• Good Fellows Hall,
• Lackman Lofts,
• City Home,
• Falling Wall,

Seventeen percent of the units in these buildings have already sold.

Visitors can also view the streetscape project under construction along Vine Street between 12th and 14th streets, also part of Phase III.

That project includes buried utility lines, new sidewalks and curbs, new lighting and traffic signals, street trees, new signage and meter poles, and bicycle and newspaper racks.

The Gateway Expansion Tour is free and open to the public.

Visitors can pick up a packet featuring a map, pricing sheets, and coupons for neighborhood retailers at a tent in the Gateway Quarter parking lot, on the , on the day of the event.

For more information, contact Holly Redmond or Stacy Rickert at the Gateway Quarter information center at (513) 621-4283.

Previous reading on BC:
Gateway III funding agreement amended (4/1/09)
Gateway III funding agreement to be amended (3/24/09)
City Home hits the market (2/25/09)
Model Group releases Trinity Flats renderings (2/23/09)
Lackman Lofts photo update, 2/7/09 (2/12/09)

Cincinnati City Council has passed unanimously an ordinance allowing it to enter into a local public agency (LPA) agreement with the --> --> --> (ODOT), solidifying its intent to cooperate on safety and capacity improvements to Harrison Avenue.

The S6.8 million project, which will reconfigure the roadway , will include the building of consistent lane widths, the addition of left-turn lanes, the smoothing of sharp curves, and signal operation changes.

According to studies by the Department of Transportation and Engineering, the accident rate on the stretch of roadway is nearly twice the City average.

The LPA agreement makes available $5.44 million in federal Surface Transportation Program funds, administered by ODOT and distributed by the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments.

The remaining local match will come from Department of Transportation and Engineering capital budget accounts, Ohio Public Works Commission funding, and Hamilton County Municipal Road funds.

In an April memo to council, city manager Milton Dohoney Jr. said that the earliest the project could start is 2012.

Previous reading on BC:
Harrison Avenue improvements could begin in 2012 (4/9/09)

Todd McFarland's rehabilitation of his 1865 Italianate at continues, and the third floor has been inspected and approved for occupancy.

The tour starts on the third floor, with a look at some new bathroom tile and some salvaged hardware. The windows have been restored with new sashes and trim. And portions of the floor have been replaced -- not quite a match, but it should blend together as the years go by.

(Oh, remember the door with the big circle cut out of it? It's been restored and is pictured after the floor.)

Next, we swing through a work staging area in what would be the family room. From there, we make our way into the kitchen, fitted out with IKEA cabinets and new recessed lighting. New trim can be found around almost every door.

From there, it's a short trip to another bedroom, full of exposed brick. Notice how beautifully the floors turned out. There's also a photo of another bathroom, complete with a claw-foot tub.

Throughout the rest of the photos, you'll see what the window exteriors will look like, the "bonus" third-floor room in the attic, and various staging areas full of tools and trim that's been salvaged for re-use. Compare the spindles that have been cleaned and stained to those that haven't -- it's a major difference.

In the window staging area, the scale is used to pare down the sash weights to match the weight of the newly-built sashes. A very scientific system!

The tour closes with a look at some of the first-floor parlor ceiling art that McFarland plans to restore/reproduce, the results of a clay pipe failure in the back yard that had to be replaced, new HVAC gear, and a new door for the cellar.

McFarland estimates that he could have the third floor unit ready for rental in about a month, so contact him at or (513) 233-3403 if you're interested.

There are 34 photos in this slideshow.

Hover over the slideshow to bring up the controls. You may stop the slideshow by clicking on the square "stop" button, allowing you to scroll through the photos at your own leisure. To get a better view, click on each image to enlarge to 640 x 480. Photos will open in a new browser window.



Previous reading on BC:
Find! at 1346 Broadway (12/29/08)
Reviving Cincinnati: 1346 Broadway, Part II (12/8/08)
Reviving Cincinnati: 1346 Broadway, Part I (12/4/08)

An additional parcel has been added to the Keystone Parke planned development district (PD-44) to accommodate parking for the new headquarters of the Cincinnati chapter of the American Red Cross.

Cincinnati City Council approved unanimously Neyer Properties' request to add a 6,750-square-foot parcel at to the development site to make room for an additional 25 surface parking spaces.

At the time the American Red Cross development was added to PD-44 in February, the parcel was not yet under Neyer's control.

Ground was broken last month for the three-story, 50,000-square-foot headquarters and disaster operations center, which will be sold to the non-profit following completion in 2010.

Neyer Properties is seeking LEED Silver certification for the building.

Previous reading on BC:
Neyer Properties requests additional parcel to be added to Keystone Parke (5/18/09)
Site of American Red Cross HQ added to Keystone Parke (2/16/09)
Cincinnati EDC considers altering Keystone Parke plan for American Red Cross (2/3/09)
City approves rezoning for Downtown hotel (9/30/08)
EDC to hear proposal for new Downtown hotel (9/19/08)

Cincinnati Preservation Association (CPA) and the Greenhills Historical Society are co-sponsoring the world premiere of "Green Towns USA: A New Deal" on Friday ay 7:30 p.m. at the Sharonville Fine Arts Center, .

Focusing heavily on the community of Greenhills, the 56-minute film explores the three "green towns" built during the Great Depression and how all three are fighting to solve the modern problems of urban sprawl, affordable housing and livable communities.

Chicago filmmaker June Finfer and co-producer Glory Southwind, a Greenhills native, will be in attendance.

Admission is $5, and refreshments will be served.

Previous reading on BC:
Saturday lecture to examine local New Deal architecture (3/4/09)

Dwelling used as office
DOB: Circa 1900
Died: April 2009
Cause of death: Razed by Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center for a parking lot.

One year ago:

• Photos of the current School for Creative and Performing Arts building were added to the Pendleton photo galleries.
  
• The City of Cincinnati approved the sale of 24 of its Over-the-Rhine properties to 3CDC subsidiary OTR Holdings, Inc. and to Over-the-Rhine Community Housing/Eber Development.
• A panel met at the University of Cincinnati's Niehoff Urban Design Studio to discuss the future of Old St. George Church.
• The Ohio 21st Century Transportation Priorities Task Force was soliciting citizen input on the state's transportation future.
• The City of Cincinnati received $2.1 million in trust funds to maintain the Otto Armleder Memorial Park and Recreation Complex in Linwood and aquatic centers in Over-the-Rhine, Price Hill, and Avondale.
• In South Fairmount, the last remains of the St. Bonaventure Church were razed.

The Cincinnati Museum Center announced an effort to expand the scope of Union Terminal's National Historic Landmark status at a press conference Saturday morning.

Timed to coincide with special Memorial Day weekend programming at the Cincinnati History Museum, the announcement of the expanded designation would recognize the building's contribution as an important home front location during World War II.

Union Terminal was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972 and was recognized as a National Historic Landmark for its art deco architecture in 1977.

"This building is our organization's most precious artifact," said Cincinnati Museum Center president and CEO Douglass W. McDonald. "With this effort, Museum Center is seeking to give proper recognition for Union Terminal and the role that it played for so many brave soldiers serving this country."

Throughout the war, Union Terminal served as a major transportation hub for military personnel and their families, increasing its passenger count three-fold between 1940 and 1944 and averaging more than 34,000 passengers a day at its height.

In 1941, Union Terminal's Rookwood Room became home to the first Troops in Transit lounge in the country, serving more than 3.3 military men and women during its five years of operation, checking more than 2.2 million pieces of luggage, sending out more than a million pieces of mail, and caring for more than 4,000 babies of service personnel.

Organized by representatives from the Travelers' Aid Society, Federation of Churches, the Catholic Women's Club and the Federation of Jewish Women's Organization, the lounge soon came under the operation of the USO.

"It was the women of Cincinnati who made this happen," said Cincinnati Historical Society Library director Ruby Rogers, who has assembled many of the artifacts detailing the wartime history of Union Terminal. "And remember that this was a year before the attack on Pearl Harbor, so Cincinnati really was at the forefront."

In 1942, a "Quiet Room" was established with six screened cots to allow GI's a chance to rest in between train connections, and, later that year, an additional three rooms were added to provide a total of 52 cots.

In 1943, the station's balcony was converted into a lounge for women and children, caring for an average of 200 babies a month and furnished with couches, cribs, canned milk, strained foods, karo syrup, and diapers.

By 1944 and 1945, USO spaces at Union Terminal operated 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

"It was an incredible job, and it shows what character these women of Cincinnati had, and what contributions they made," Rogers said. "They were the army behind the army."

The approximately 400 women who served at the lounge did everything from organizing, to hosting, to baking cookies.

"Now I know some people think baking cookies is not a big deal, but let me remind you that food was rationed during World War II," she said. "The basic ingredients of cookies – flour, sugar, eggs, milk, butter – when these women baked cookies and brought them to Union Terminal every month, it meant their families didn't have them. So the little things were important."

Unlike other USO facilities in Cincinnati and across the country, the lounge was not segregated.

"To me, one of the most significant things about the USO in Union Terminal is that it was integrated, unlike the U.S. military, and unlike other USO locations in Cincinnati and across most of the country," Rogers said. "We need to remember that."

Connie Pillich, state representative (D-28th) and United States Air Force veteran, sees the value in the Museum Center's effort.

"As a veteran of the United States military, I hold Memorial Day in a very special place in my heart," she said. "And the men and women who died for our country deserve all of the recognition we can give them and more."

To Pillich, the history and significance of the building is "immeasurable".

"Not just to the Tri-State, but to the entire country," she said. "Think of the memories that these halls hold. As we move forward in this process, I look forward to supporting the Cincinnati Museum Center and Union Terminal as much as I can, because the process of designating some place as a National Historic Landmark is extremely important, and I can't think of any place more deserving than this building right here."

McDonald said that the Cincinnati Museum Center intends to be successful in its effort.

"The Museum Center's always been proud to be in one of the few places that's a National Historic Landmark, but we really think it's important that we expand the designation," he said. "That it be known not only as a National Historic Landmark because of the marvelous architecture, but to be recognized as a National Historic Landmark because of the historic events and the unique role this building has played in the history of our community and our nation."

Previous reading on BC:
Inside Cincinnati Union Terminal (2/18/09)
Photos: Union Terminal turns 75 (4/4/08)

Heritage Ohio, a statewide partner of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, has named the 1906 Clifton School at to its 2009 Top Preservation Opportunities List, an annual list that brings attention to historically important properties that could be preserved with community investment and effort.

"We use the Top Opportunities List to spur new interest in people for their local landmarks that have become deteriorated, but can still be rehabilitated," said Joyce Barrett, executive director of Heritage Ohio, in a media release. "Too often, when a building is left in a deteriorated state for a long period, it's just too easy for a community to adopt a 'status quo' mentality. The building continues to suffer neglect, until finally, demolition becomes the only option."

Unlike the 'Endangered Buildings' listings, the Top Preservation Opportunities List presents a positive basis for beginning negotiations with property owners and increases statewide visibility for underutilized properties, Barrett added.

Clifton Cultural Arts Center (CCAC) executive director Ruth Dickey, whose organization is in the process of renovating the school, says that it's an honor to have the building selected as one of the top preservation opportunities in the state.

"We're really excited about the designation," she says. "The Top Opportunities are a positive perspective as compared to 'Most Endangered' and are selected based on historic significance, community support and future potential, so we think it actually speaks really highly of the great work that has been done to transform the Clifton School into CCAC."

Dickey hopes that the designation will help CCAC raise money for the first phase of the building's renovation, which will add an elevator, fire protection system, and a new secured lobby – making the entire building ADA-compliant and opening up the auditorium, Great Hall and music rooms for renovation.

"Particularly as dollars are so tight, all of us are trying to think about what the highest priorities are for funding, and where the key leverage points are where dollars can make a difference," she says.

So far, $1.51 million in capital dollars has been raised from City, state, and anonymous donors, and Dickey says that they hope to break ground on the first phase this fall.

Funds carried over from the first phase would go to upgrade the school's mechanicals and to make interior and exterior improvements, and to restore the nearby McDonald Estate Carriage House, creating three to four artist studios and a ground-floor gathering and gallery space.

Total project costs for the entire arts campus exceed $3 million.

"We'll be completing design development and construction documents for the Carriage House this summer, so it's ready to go to bid if money falls from the sky, or a donor who is passionate about restoring this gorgeous Carriage House steps up," Dickey says.

Completed in 1906, Clifton School was designed by Cincinnati Board of Education architect E.H. Dornette, whose firm also designed Avondale School, Hyde Park School, and Central Fairmount School.

Also making Heritage Ohio's 2009 list were Bell's Opera House, Hillsboro; the Catholic Churches of Cleveland; Gunning House, Columbus; Holland Theater, Bellfontaine; Johnny Clem Birthplace, Newark; Sorg Mansion, Middletown; Stone Eagle Farm, Avon; Trautman Building, Columbus; and Tremont House, Bellevue.

Previous reading on BC:
'Floodwall' and Everyone's Famous! Blogger Bash (9/23/08)
Qualls pushes $750K for Clifton arts center (9/17/08)
Inside Fairview-Clifton German Language School (6/24/08)
Inside the Clifton Cultural Arts Center (4/10/08)
Volunteers needed to clean Clifton School (1/11/08)

The following photos were taken between May 1 and May 12, 2009.

The first photos, from Fountain Square and Nada, were taken during the Cinco de Mayo celebration.

The rest of the Downtown photos were taken while illustrating the Linda's Mini Mart story, and the Over-the-Rhine shots were taken while capturing the blighted building . (The Pleasant Street pic was snapped after trying to get photos of two buildings at Elm and Green streets. There were far too many drug dealers for me to get the shots.)

The Queensgate shots were taken from the 12th floor of the Quality Inn during a meeting on the Brent Spence Bridge alternatives, and the Xavier University photos were taken while walking to photograph the Hoff Academic Quad project.

Finally, the Madeira shot is a throw-away from a story on Bradford Place and the Lower Price Hill photo was taken to illustrate a story on Queensgate Terminals.

The 28 photos in this slideshow have been added to the following galleries:

• Fountain Square +9 (52 photos)
• Over-the-Rhine +6 (227 photos)
• Downtown +5 (223 photos)
• Queensgate +3 (6 photos)
• Xavier University +3 (7 photos)
• Lower Price Hill +1 (20 photos)
• Madeira +1 (2 photos)

These galleries, and those of dozens of other Greater Cincinnati communities, can be found in the drop-down menu at the top of the right-hand column.

* Hover over the slideshow to bring up the controls. You may stop the slideshow by clicking on the square "stop" button, allowing you to scroll through the photos at your own leisure. To get a better view, click on each image to enlarge to 800 x 600. Photos will open in a new browser window.

On Friday morning, construction crews poured part of the first street to be constructed since ground was broken for The Banks in April.

The 1,200 yards of poured concrete serve as the structural deck for Freedom Way, the project's main commercial street.

Freedom Way will sit upon The Banks parking garage and span the length of the riverfront development from Paul Brown Stadium to Great American Ball Park.

"Without Hamilton County's investment in the garage, the City wouldn't be able to build the street,” said John Deatrick, The Banks project executive for the City and the county. "And without the garage and street, we wouldn't have been able to bring in Carter and Dawson to make this public investment an opportunity for economic development.

Several more pours will be required to complete the roadway.

The new street will be finished this summer, but will not be open to the public until construction of Phase 1A, consisting of up to 300 apartments and 70,000 square feet of retail, is complete.

"We're on budget, we're on schedule, and we're thankful that all parties are able to work together to ensure the success of The Banks," Deatrick said.





Previous reading on BC:
Cincinnati passes three funding ordinances for The Banks (3/30/09)
Three ordinances to be considered for The Banks (3/9/09)
More than you ever wanted to know about The Banks (3/3/09)
The Banks photo update, 12/28/08 (12/31/08)
Monzel: Provide Banks updates (9/9/08)

A final public meeting on Phase II improvements to Colerain Avenue, north of was held at McKie Recreation Center in Northside last Thursday.

Representatives from the City of Cincinnati Department of Transportation and Engineering and M-E Companies presented the $2.1 million preferred alternative, selected to improve safety and congestion issues by:

• Widening the street to five 10- to 12-foot lanes, including a center turn lane
• Eliminating on-street parking and replacing it with an off-street parking lot
• Re-aligning Lambston Street to intersect with Leeper Street, eliminating an intersection
• Adding a southbound left-turn lane at Virginia Avenue

The widening is expected to result in the loss of nearly a dozen properties.

Environmental documents and final design are scheduled for completion and approval later this year, and right-of-way acquisition should begin around the beginning of 2010.

Construction is scheduled to begin in spring 2012 and last just over a year.

The reconstruction will align with the Phase I improvements to the Colerain/Virginia/West Fork intersection, currently under construction.

Previous reading on BC:
Northside: Colerain-West Fork-Virginia improvements (4/11/07)

Warehouse
DOB: 1918
Died: January 2009
Cause of death: Orders on this property dated back to 2007, with problems with the roof, load-bearing walls, windows, and masonry.

In April 2007, a possible buyer emerged with plans to rehabilitate the building, and, at an August 2007 pre-prosecution hearing, the owner maintained he was going to demolish or sell the building.

New occupants began making alterations without permits that same month, even creating a new garage bay door in the property. After receiving permits, some tuck pointing work was performed and plywood was applied over the windows for security.

By 2008, all work had ceased, and the building had been sold by land contract. In May of this year, the land was acquired by what appears to be a trustee or attorney, indicating that it may have been lost in foreclosure or bankruptcy.

In a memo to Cincinnati City Council, city manager Milton Dohoney Jr. says that the Cincinnati Police Department's response to a group of Westwood residents who took it upon themselves to board up a problem property was done to protect them from possible criminal liability – and from criminals who might be hiding inside.

The memo is in response to an e-mail from Mary Kuhl of Westwood Concern to Cincinnati City Councilmember and chair of council's Vibrant Neighborhoods committee Roxanne Qualls seeking answers on why the police response was so swift and heavy against people who were just trying to do the right thing.

On April 1, following several calls to various City departments and to the police, a group of five residents, including Kuhl, decided to take it upon themselves to board up an abandoned building at that had become a haven for drug dealing and prostitution.

Dohoney says that standard procedures were followed for addressing the building's issues, but were held up on several occasions due to changes in ownership.

A call to secure the property came from the police that morning, and permission to enter the building was received from California-based building owner Stonecrest Investments, LLC that afternoon.

A vendor was contacted to perform the work.

"The vendor agreed to expedite the work, which was completed that afternoon," Dohoney says. "PMCE [Property Maintenance Code Enforcement] inspected the work to verify that it complied with the Municipal Code."


City beats them to the punch

In her e-mail, Kuhl says that she had received a number of phone calls during the day saying that the City had found out about the residents' plan and was planning to send a contractor to secure the building before the group got there.

"What we found when we got there was that indeed the City or a contractor for the City had been there and boarded up the front door, installed two padlocks and left," she says. "Mind you that the rest of the ground floor windows and doors were NOT boarded up, and were accessible to anyone who wanted to break in."

That's when her group began boarding up the windows with plywood and picking up litter in the yard.

Kuhl says that Jane Prendergast, a reporter with the Cincinnati Enquirer, came to the site and asked what the group was doing.

After finding out what the group was up to, Kuhl says that Prendergast placed a call to Department of Community Development director Michael Cervay, and he wasn't happy.

"Approximately 20 minutes or so after she had made that call, I received a phone call letting me know that the police were on the way," she says.

Since they were done, Kuhl says thay they picked up their tools and left; Kuhl watched the upcoming events from her neighbor's front porch.

"What happened after we had left is that, about five minutes later, not one, not two, not three, not four, but five police cars showed up!" Kuhl says. "Five police cars for five middle-aged people simply boarding up a problem, vacant property! Good grief!"


An attempt to "go after" Westwood?

Kuhl believes that the response was an attempt to "go after" the people of Westwood, all initiated by Cervay.

"This is just one of many problems Westwood has had with Michael Cervay and how he operates his department...which is not so good," Kuhl says. "All he has to do is 'keep his head down' and he gets to do what the hell he and his staff wants to do regardless of what any elected official tells them to do."

But Dohoney says that the windows were intact and permissible under the Cincinnati Municipal Code and that an assistant city manager, who was acting in Dohoney's stead, directed Cervay to call the police because of safety and liability concerns.

"These steps were requested to protect the citizens as it had been alleged that the property in question was the scene of criminal activity," he says. "Furthermore, it was an attempt to warn the citizens that by entering the property, and doing additional boarding, could constitute trespassing and be considered damaging private property."

Dohoney says that the City is looking at better ways to inform citizens, like expanded use of the City website, and is looking at ways to expedite the abatement process.

"To avoid the cycle of re-issuance of orders each time a vacated property changes hands, the Department of Community Development is working with the Law Department to establish a system to record a Code Violation Notice, or Affidavit of Fact, against the titles of derelict properties," he says. "However, this may require new code provisions and language to enable the recording of Affidavit of Fact to serve as adequate service of Notice of Violation."

Taking these steps would help reduce or eliminate citizen frustration, Dohoney says.

Cincinnati City Council is considering entering the City into a property lease and executing a parking license agreement with dunnhumbyUSA to aid the company in its Downtown relocation and expansion.

Under the agreements, the company would lease the 1.1-acre right-of-way along portions of for $1 per year, and would secure 158 parking spaces in an adjacent City-owned lot for the monthly rate of $60 per space.

Both agreements would last for five years with an optional five-year renewal.

A Department of Public Services building on the site was razed in March.

Last November, dunnhumbyUSA signed a 10-year lease to occupy the 150,000-square-foot building at , which is undergoing a $17 million renovation by developer Al. Neyer, Inc.

The company, which currently employs more than 260 at , plans to add up to 350 positions within the next five years.

Previous reading on BC:
'Hybrid' of four Brent Spence alternatives recommended (5/13/09)
Cincinnati budgets for expanded dunnhumbyUSA parking (12/22/08)

Here are a few photos of random projects taken on May 9.

• AMIS: A $12 million, 63,032-square-foot school for 400 students at the former Crest Hills site at in Bond Hill, scheduled for completion in summer 2010.
• Villages of Daybreak: Stalled work on a 300-unit development on 60 acres in Bond Hill being built by Drees Homes, Marquis Homes, Potterhill Homes and JCB Homes.
• Surrey Square: Norwood redevelopment by Centro Properties Group that includes a larger Kroger store and new retail outbuildings, scheduled for completion in the first half of 2010.
• Bradford Place: Units three and four of a 26-unit development by Riverstone Development Group near the Madeira business district.

There are 11 photos in this slideshow.

Hover over the slideshow to bring up the controls. You may stop the slideshow by clicking on the square "stop" button, allowing you to scroll through the photos at your own leisure. To get a better view, click on each image to enlarge to 640 x 480. Photos will open in a new browser window.



Previous reading on BC:
Riverstone breaks ground on two new townhomes at Bradford Place (5/14/09)
Bradford Place foundations being poured (7/24/08)
CPS aerial updates (4/11/08)
Villages of Daybreak photo update, 3/22/08 (3/27/08)
Poor sales may mean style change at Daybreak (11/1/07)

A bus tour featuring the Emery family's contributions to Cincinnati's built environment and cultural community will be held May 30 from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Held in conjunction with the Betts House's More Great Cincinnati Families at Home exhibit, the tour will highlight the vast amounts of real estate that the family developed into landmark projects such as the Carew Tower/Netherland Plaza Hotel complex, the Mercantile Library Building, the Waldo Apartments, and the village of Mariemont.

As long-time leaders in Cincinnati's business, civic, and arts arenas, the Emerys also provided philanthropic support for the Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati Zoo, Ohio Mechanics Institute, the Children's Home, and other causes.

Historic preservation consultant Beth Sullebarger and art historian Millard Rogers will lead the tour of the Thomas Emery Townhouse, Emery Theatre, and sites in Mariemont including the Town Square and Sheldon Close.

The tour departs from the Betts House, in the West End, beginning at 8 a.m. with a pre-tour coffee and viewing of More Great Cincinnati Families at Home.

Admission is $35 for the public and $30 for Mercantile Library and Betts House members.

Reservations are required by May 27 and can be made by calling the Mercantile Library at (513) 621-0717 or by e-mailing .

Sullebarger is contributing author of Architecture in Cincinnati: an Illustrated History of Designing and Building an American City and formerly served as executive director of Cincinnati Preservation Association and a member of the Cincinnati Historic Conservation Board.

Rogers, director emeritus of the Cincinnati Art Museum, is the author of Rich in Good Works: Mary M. Emery of Cincinnati and John Nolen and Mariemont: Building a New Town in Ohio and has served as a trustee of the Mariemont Preservation Foundation since 1982.

Pictured: Mary Emery

Two controversial Mount Lookout houses are now for sale, listed with Comey & Shepherd Realtors for $1.075 million and $1.1 million.

The two houses, being built by Metropolitan Design and Development on what was once a single lot at , sparked concern by a group of neighbors who felt that the setbacks were not consistent with those of other houses in the neighborhood.

These concerns, and those of residents in Hyde Park, have led the City to consider changing setback rules for new construction and downzoning properties in both neighborhoods to prevent the subdivision of lots.

The proposed zoning changes are tentatively scheduled for a City Planning Commission hearing in June.

Designed by Hans Neutzel and Randy Hirtzel, the new houses will be clad in brick and stucco, and the builders are offering custom finishes to the buyer.

Previous reading on BC:
Hyde Park approves downzoning, setbacks plan (4/29/09)
Downzoning in the hands of Hyde Park, Mount Lookout residents (1/15/09)
Wrecking Cincinnati, 11/9/07 (11/9/07)

Single-family
DOB: 1900
Died: March 2009
Cause of death: Razed to make way for the expansion of Evanston Playground and construction of the new headquarters of the Cincinnati chapter of the American Red Cross.

Two years ago:

• Photos of Northside, North Avondale and North Fairmount were added to the Building Cincinnati galleries.
  

One year ago:

• Cincinnati was considering applying for a $1.4 million Job Ready Sites grant to reconfigure the I-71/Dana interchange.
• Permits were issued for two new single-family houses at 1236-1238 Elsinore Avenue in Mount Adams.
• Cincinnati's Department of City Planning was reviewing the Pleasant Ridge Market Study and Vision Plan.
• Cincinnati city manager Milton Dohoney Jr. reported that incentives existed for the conversion of multi-family buildings to single-family dwellings.
• In the West End, another blighted CMHA building was demolished.
• I visited Downtown, Fountain Square, and Mount Auburn.*
  

* Hover over the slideshow to bring up the controls. You may stop the slideshow by clicking on the square "stop" button, allowing you to scroll through the photos at your own leisure. To get a better view, click on each image to enlarge to 800 x 600. Photos will open in a new browser window.

Cincinnati City Council is considering an ordinance that would allow the City to accept $1.75 million in federal economic stimulus funding to build a portion of the Ohio River Trail in the East End.

The $2.3 million project would include:

• The construction of a 0.54-mile segment of hike/bike trail
• A new traffic signal and road work on Wilmer Avenue to provide a controlled trail crossing at Wilmer Avenue and Airport Road
• Landscaping, trail parking and amenities at Wilmer Avenue/Airport Road and at Carrel and Dumont streets
• Remodeling and partial demolition of an abandoned freight transfer terminal and railroad tracks

The balance of funding would come from City of Cincinnati Department of Transportation and Engineering capital improvement program project accounts.

The ordinance also would allow the City to enter into a Local Public Agency agreement with the --> --> --> and would create a capital grant project account for trail construction.

If the funds are accepted, work could begin by fall 2009.

Photo credit: "Bicycles" by , courtesy of Flickr.

Previous reading on BC:
Planning begins to connect Ohio River Trail to Little Miami (11/12/08)
Cincinnati council supports Ohio River Trail (3/19/08)
City seeking comments for river trail funds (11/16/07)
Ohio River Trail: Three alternatives (5/18/07)

Five Cincinnati neighborhoods should be targeted for the Neighborhood Homes Initiative, according to a memo to City council from Department of Community Development director Michael Cervay.

Created in 2008 as a way to put more vacant and foreclosed properties into the hands of homeowners, the City has been working to focus the $1.25 million budgeted for the program into neighborhoods not served by other foreclosure abatement programs, such as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP).

Under the NHI, approximately 20 homes could be purchased by program administrator Homesteading and Urban Redevelopment Corporation (HURC), then sold to community development corporations, urban redevelopment corporations, and private developers for demolition, rehabilitation, or resale.

In April 2009, city manager Milton Dohoney Jr. had said that NSP neighborhoods should be considered for the program in order to create an "advantageous synergy" and immediate localized impact, and advised holding off on selecting the participating neighborhoods until a NSP funding plan could be put in place.

But in a survey of the ten neighborhoods needing the most foreclosure help, Cervay says that the five non-NSP neighborhoods of South Cumminsville, North Fairmount, Spring Grove Village, Kennedy Heights, and Mount Auburn were best suited for the program.

Additionally, the Community Development Corporations Association of Greater Cincinnati recently suggested administering a similar program in its home base of Camp Washington, Kennedy Heights, and Spring Grove Village.

They are currently working with NHI administrator HURC on the project scope and budget.

To Cervay, the neighborhoods selected for NHI should depend on their capacity to perform the work.

"The partners that the CDC Association has identified for its activities indicate capacity to implement the program in those three areas," he said.

Cervay also pointed out that South Cumminsville has strong ties to Working in Neighborhoods, and North Fairmount has a strong capacity to perform through its North Fairmount Community Center.

Mount Auburn, which had 44 foreclosures completed in 2008, might be left out of this NHI cycle.

"Mount Auburn has, to date, formed no such association with a CDC," Cervay said.

Previous reading on BC:
NHI funded neighborhoods in question (4/13/09)
Neighborhood Homes Initiative could begin in April (3/19/09)
Foreclosure initiative presented in Cincinnati council committee (5/14/08)

Part two of this construction tour of Xavier University's $115 million James E. Hoff Academic Quadrangle shows the new Learning Commons on and the new central utility plant on , both scheduled to open in 2010.

Part of a new 9.5-acre campus entrance that also includes a new building for the Williams College of Business, the five-story, 84,000 Learning Commons will house the university's Information Resource Center, the Center for Teaching Excellence, the Center for Student Excellence, Honors Seminar, the Center for Community Engaged Learning, and the Pedagogical Institute for Jesuit Education.

Open 24/7 for students, faculty and staff, the building will also include a 200-seat auditorium, offices, classrooms, and informal meeting spaces.

At approximately 30,000 square feet, the central utility plant will deliver more efficient and environmentally-friendly power to the campus.

All buildings in the Hoff Academic Quad are being constructed to LEED Silver standards.

There are 26 photos in this slideshow.

Shepley Bulfinch Richardson and Abbott are the project architects, and Messer Construction Co. is the construction contractor.

A second phase of the project, renovations to McDonald Library, Alter Hall and Schott Hall, will begin in 2010 and be completed in 2012.

There are 26 photos in this slideshow.

Hover over the slideshow to bring up the controls. You may stop the slideshow by clicking on the square "stop" button, allowing you to scroll through the photos at your own leisure. To get a better view, click on each image to enlarge to 640 x 480. Photos will open in a new browser window.



Previous reading on BC:
Hoff Academic Quad photo update, 5/9/09, Part I (5/19/09)
Work progressing at Xavier's Hoff site (12/16/08)
Xavier moving forward with Hoff, Xavier Square (3/19/08)

Cincinnati City Council has adopted a motion to accept the Homeless to Homes plan (PDF) and to incorporate its findings into the City's 2010-2014 Consolidated Plan, and an ordinance directing the Cincinnati-Hamilton County Continuum of Care for the Homeless (CoC) to begin implemeting the plan will be considered by council on Thursday.

Prepared by CoC and a steering committe of stakeholders, the 109-page report recommends changes to the emergency shelter system, additional transitional and permanent housing, and better cooperation among funders and social service agencies.

The goal of the plan is to find better ways to address barriers to employment and housing that homeless individuals face, such as mental and physical health problems, addictions, and lack of education.

Council's motion and ordinance direct CoC to assemble a transition team – similar in makeup to the committee that created the plan – and begin working on:

• Prioritizing the recommendations and developing a schedule
• Identifying best practices and medical providers by doing a nationwide search for programs with notable success
• Developing minimum standards for shelters that receive public funding
• Developing minimum standards for "good neighbor agreements" to which all transitional and permanent housing must adhere to receive public funding
• Working with representatives from existing shelters and stakeholder groups to engage in site feasibility studies

A report from CoC on the transition work is due before council within 90 days.

The Homeless to Homes plan anticipates that many of its recommendations will take three to five years to implement.

Previous reading on BC:
Qualls presents Homeless to Homes plan to council (4/23/09)
Second community forum for 'Homeless to Homes' this Wednesday (2/23/09)
New plan to help homeless find homes (10/16/08)

Take a walk back in time to Newport's seedy past this weekend during the Gangster Walking Tour.

Along the one-mile route, tour goers will be able to see the buildings that housed casinos, brothels and speakeasies and will learn about the city's connection to some of the most well-known crime figures in this country's history.

Once run by local gangsters, "Sin City" quickly became the playground of national crime syndicates, drawing the attention of such national publications as Time, the Saturday Evening Post, and Esquire.

Investigations into political corruption and racketeering eventually pushed the casinos out of the city and helped lead to the large-scale gambling mecca of Las Vegas.

Many of these casinos later converted into strip clubs – and houses of prostitution – until a 1982 ban on nude dancing closed eventually them down.

Public tours depart from and are available:

• Saturday, May 23: 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m., 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.
• Sunday, May 24: 1 p.m., 3 p.m., 5 p.m., and 7 p.m.
• Monday, May 25: 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.

Produced by Global Service Learning, Inc., the tours serve as a fundraiser to help Northern Kentucky students travel to teach at an impoverished school in Jamaica.

Proceeds will pay for supplies and technology for the schoolchildren.

Tickets are $15 and are available through 3:30 p.m. this Friday at Lloyd Memorial High School, , Erlanger, or can be reserved online for pickup on the day of the tour.

Walkups are welcome, but reservations are encouraged due to space limitiations.

All attendees will receive a coupon for a free steak dinner at the Syndicate when two or more dine.

Image credit: Newport Historical Walking Tour, edited

Single-family used as office
DOB: 1886
Died: April 2009
Cause of death: Razed by Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center for a parking lot.

One year ago:

• Cincinnati City Council was considering the sale of 24 properties to 3CDC subsidiary OTR Holdings, Inc. and Over-the-Rhine Community Housing/Eber Development for the third phase of the Gateway Quarter project.
• Streets were named at the Madison Circle development in Madisonville.
• The Metropolitan Sewer District's Wastewater Engineering Center in Lower Price Hill and the Fire Station No. 51 in College Hill were named as the two newest green roof demonstration sites in the City of Cincinnati.
• A portion of Main Street next to Great American Ball Park was renamed Joe Nuxhall Way.
• Cincinnati City Councilmember Laketa Cole introduced a motion asking the City to fine banking institutions that don't maintain their foreclosed properties.
• In Lower Price Hill, an abandoned State Avenue house was razed by the City.

SHP Leading Design vice president Jeffrey A. Sackenheim believes that his company's dedication to green and sustainable building and design is the reason why they're projecting growth in 2009.

That dedication shows in the company's 22,000-square-foot space at Linden Pointe in Norwood, certified LEED Gold for commercial interiors by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

According to Sackenheim, the company began looking to move from Downtown's Kroger Building about two years ago, going through the normal review of nearly 1,000 commercial properties in the region.

"We sort of saw it as a watershed moment," he says. "We were rebranding our company [from Steed Hammond Paul]. We were building and moving a new Columbus office as well, so we were relocating two offices, we had some ownership changes. So it was kind of a time for us to think of our brand holistically."

When the space at Linden Pointe became available, the 106-year-old company knew it was a perfect fit.

"This property was appealing for a number of reasons," Sackenheim says. "It was pretty centrally-located to all of our current work staff. Also, the building itself – the orientation of the building – with the north and the south façades being primarily full-glass."

With a building secured, a core design team composed of Sackenheim, SHP principal Thomas Fernandez, and a pair of interior designers had to tackle designing the space.

"We took on the task of designing our own space which, if you want a thankless task, design a space for 90 other designers!" Sackenheim says.


A fresh new face

In addition to creating a comfortable space that would allow the company's employees to flourish, the design team knew that the building would be the new public face of the rebranded SHP Leading Design.

"We also saw it as an opportunity to more publicly get our name out for the sustainable work that we do," Sackenheim says.

In 2000, SHP began its first green project with the renovation of Draper Hall at Berea College; They now employ over 60 LEED accredited professionals and are engaged in more than 40 LEED-registered projects.

"It really opened the eyes of the management at that time to formally adopt that approach to designing and building and engineering buildings," Sackenheim says. "And so, over the last nine years, we've really built our practice around that."

The building also serves to reinforce SHP's green philosophy to its clients.

"Before, we would never really bring clients to our space because it just didn't feel right," Sackenheim says. "But now, we host a lot of things here because it's a lot easier to reinforce a sustainable approach when they can see it. When we bring a prospective client through here, more often than not this space has closed the deal for us."

By seeing what a green building can do first-hand, people can more easily imagine living or working in one.

"You sort of take away the mystique that a green building has to look a certain way, it has to feel a certain way," Sackenheim says. "When people can look and touch and talk to people, and see what a positive impact this space has had on our staff, it seals the deal and confirms to them that it's the right thing to do."


Built with employees in mind

In 2008, the office won Local Favorite and Interior Design awards from the Cincinnati chapter of the American Institute of Architects and an Interior Design Award from Cincinnati Magazine.

Part of the charm of the space is the large central commons area, scattered informal breakout areas, and mobile furniture, which Sackenheim says has led to a higher level of multi-disciplinary sharing and collaboration.

Daylighting is a major focus of the design, with open floor plans, 42-inch partitions, and sloped ceiling panels.

An automatic blinds system works in connection with the sun's position, and interior light fixtures adjust to available light to maintain a constant foot-candle level.

Although he can't qualify it, Sackenheim believes that these elements have helped boost office morale and productivity.

"While it's a very nice space and it's fairly contemporary, it's not so radical and off-the-wall that people can't relate to it," he says. "It still feels like a very comfortable office environment. People are here earlier, people work later, people are here on the weekends. People are just eager as hell to be here. It's a very real thing that we've noticed."


LEEDing to growth

As a certified education provider through the USGBC, SHP Leading Design last year trained around 650 professionals on the finer points of LEED building.

The company also is heavily involved in various public sector projects within Ohio – especially in the education sector – requiring them by law to design with at least the goal of LEED Silver.

"Luckily, so many of our projects are LEED-registered or going through the final stages of certification that we've been through it enough that our guys know what needs to happen to get things in and get things done," Sackenheim says. "So there's not a real learning curve for us anymore, so our ability to get the information collected and processed and put together and submitted is much more streamlined now than it was four or five years ago."

Clients, too, now recognize the value of LEED.

"I don't know that LEED ultimately is going to be the be-all-end-all answer of sustainability," Sackenheim says. "I think it's a verification tool right now. I think it's certainly caught fire over the last couple of years, and, in the public persona, LEED is a very easy thing for them to grasp. Because of that, we're seeing an influx of projects that are seeking certification."

To Sackenheim, SHP's dedication to the core principles of green and sustainable building will lead to the company's growth, even as the LEED rating system becomes tighter and certification more difficult to achieve.

"I think it's going to get cleaner and more concise," he says. "I think the fact that they've made it a little more stringent is a good thing, because it takes out the 'greenwash' of everybody saying they're green, saying they're sustainable. There needs to be rigor in what we do, particularly as a design community and as a building community. That level of commitment I think is important."