Representatives from community development corporations (CDCs), lenders, and other development stakeholders met yesterday afternoon at the for a discussion on ways in which communities can deal with blighted housing.

The first Home Grown Experts RoundTable of the year, sponsored by the City in partnership with the Community Development Corporations Association of Greater Cincinnati and Huntington Bank, focused mainly on two possible strategies: land banking and a dedicated housing court.

Cincinnati City Council has designated the entire City as a Recovery Zone, making it eligible for state credits that can help fund public and private development projects at a lower cost.

The State of Ohio has been allocated more than $1.06 billion of $25 billion in 2009 federal economic stimulus (ARRA) for the Recovery Zone Economic Development Bond and Recovery Zone Facility Bond program, which it plans to begin allocating to counties and large municipalities designated as Recovery Zones next month.

The City of Covington Historic Preservation Office is seeking nominations for the 2010 River Cities Historic Preservation Awards, an annual celebration of the outstanding efforts to preserve and maintain historic properties throughout the cities of Covington, Newport, and Bellevue.

Projects, which must have been completed during the 2009 calendar year and be located in Covington, can be nominated in the categories of exterior restoration-residential, exterior restoration mixed-use/commercial, rehabilitation-residential, rehabilitation-mixed-use/commercial, adaptive re-use, project excellence, and stewardship.

Al Neyer, Inc. and Grubb & Ellis West Shell Commercial Realtors have been hired by the City of Reading to market the former Nivision-Weiskopf property to life science and research and development companies.

The city's Life Science Expansion Project, located on 14 acres at , is being offered by both companies for $100,000 per acre, with a minimum purchase of two acres.

A fully-renovated Gilbert A. Dater Montessori School opens today following a $17.4 million renovation.

Built in 1966 and located at in Westwood, the structure was given new windows, a new HVAC system, new plumbing and electrical, and new technology wiring.

Single-family
DOB: 1880-1900
Died: June 2009
Cause of death: Razed by the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, the house was part of numerous properties purchased by the zoo under previous administration. Plans for many of these properties include demolition and reforesting, although the future of this site is unclear.

There were no open building code violations at the time of demolition.

Three years ago:

• The rezoning of 315 Warner Street in Clifton Heights, which would allow it to be rehabilitated as a multi-family structure, went before City Council's Economic Development Committee.

Two years ago:

• Over-the-Rhine Foundation Executive Director Michael Morgan said that the City of Cincinnati was "diminishing the rights of citizens" by not pressuring Cincinnati Public Schools to deed land at the former Washington Park School and the (soon to be former) School for Creative and Preforming Arts to the Cincinnati Park Board.
• Photos from Over-the-Rhine, Clifton Heights, and Northside were added to the Building Cincinnati galleries.
• Building Cincinnati finished second in the blog category of CityBeat's 2008 Best of Cincinnati voting, passed 1,000 posts, and surpassed 100,000 page views.
• Cincinnati City Councilmember Laketa Cole presented a motion urging Kroger to keep its Walnut Hills store open.
• In Avondale, a mixed-use building on Reading Road was declared a public nuisance and razed by the City after attempts to rehabilitate it fell through.

Last Wednesday, Cincinnati City Council passed an emergency ordinance establishing a new capital improvement program project account for the redevelopment of the Metropole Apartments into a luxury hotel.

Louisville-based 21c Museum Hotels LLC is working with Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation (3CDC) on the $48 million project to convert the 10-story building at into 160 guest rooms and a contemporary art museum with more than 8,000 square feet of exhibition space, a restaurant, and meeting space.

Yet another condominium project in Over-the-Rhine's Gateway Quarter has received City support.

Cincinnati City Council has passed an emergency ordinance establishing a new capital improvement program project account for Westfalen Lofts, a joint project between John Hueber Homes and NorthPointe Group to create eight condominium units at .

At least 225 contractors and suppliers employing more than 26,000 Ohio residents already benefit from investments made by the railroad industry, according to a new study by the (ORDC) and the (ODOT).

Many of those companies will be able to provide even more jobs as national investment in passenger and freight rail grows, the study says.

Cincinnati City Council has passed an emergency ordinance authorizing the City Manager Milton Dohoney to apply for, accept, and appropriate a $3.5 million Job Ready Sites grant to redevelop a portion of the Jordan Crossing Center in Bond Hill.

A new capital improvement program project account would be created to hold the funds, which would be used for demolition, utility and roadway improvements on nearly 23 acres of the 34-acre site.

The City of Cincinnati has agreed to a land swap with the Board of Education of Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS) that will allow for the expansion of two projects.

The City will receive 2.5 acres of the former Whittier School property at in East Price Hill, which the Cincinnati Recreation Commission will use in conjunction with the adjoining Dempsey Playground.

Multi-family
DOB: Likely 1920s
Died: July 2009
Cause of death: Razed by the City after it was declared a public nuisance due to broken and missing windows, missing copper plumbing, a defective roof, defective porches, and water damage.

The attached buildings were targeted by the Westwood Civic Association, who called the location a "detrimental influence" on the neighborhood, citing 121 police calls to the property between 2006 and 2008.

Once owned by IB Property Holdings LLC of Miami, the property, now known at 2859 Fischer Place, is owned by the City of Cincinnati and is slated for a green residential redevelopment project.

Three years ago:

• I visited Fairview, grabbed a couple of shots of the West End and the Cincinnati skyline, then stopped by Mount Auburn, Krohn Conservatory, and Walnut Hills.*
  

One year ago:

• A public hearing was held to consider adding an Historic Preservation Overlay Zone to a portion of Covington's Roebling Point area.
• Cincinnati Public Schools, WA Architects Inc. and GBBN Architects updated the Over-the-Rhine community on the lastest plans for the renovation and expansion of Rothenberg School.
• Part III of a sildeshow of photos from the Prohibition Resistance Tour was featured on Building Cincinnati.
• Cincinnati City Council passed three ordinances to help fund The Banks.
• All Aboard Ohio interim director Ken Prendergast said that the 3C Corridor passenger rail project "had only upsides", saying that a federal investment of $250 million would have several benefits.
• In Corryville, a two-family along heavily-traveled W Martin Luther King Jr. Drive was razed.

The results of a four-day planning charrette examining a form-based code for the City of Bellevue were presented to the public last Thursday at the Callahan Community Center.

The concluding presentation by consultants PlaceMakers, LLC gave the first concrete look into the work in which more than 100 Bellevue residents, business owners and political leaders have been engaged since January.

The following photos were taken on November 16, February 18, February 23, March 2, and March 17. Click on the links in the photo captions for more information.

These photos have been added to the following galleries:

• Fountain Square +6 (64 photos)
• Winton Place (Spring Grove Village) +5 (7 photos)
• Avondale +4 (21 photos)
• Downtown +4 (274 photos)
• Columbia Tusculum +3 (88 photos)
• Hyde Park +2 (79 photos)
• College Hill +1 (35 photos)
• East End +1 (13 photos)
• Northside +1 (163 photos)

Click on any photo to enlarge it to 800 x 600.

Preservation Ohio has issued a call of nominations for its 2010 List of Ohio's Most Endangered Historic Sites and will accept nominations through April 9.

Nominations can be made by individuals, organizations or communities and can include buildings, neighborhoods, downtowns, communities, roads, landscapes, bridges, archaeological sites and statues.

Single-family
DOB: 1880
Died: April 2009
Cause of death: Dilapidated gutters and downspouts, a stray cat and vermin infestation.

Once a foreclosed property, the most recent owners wanted to hold on to the property for future sale without making any improvements. The owners, who live in Mount Lookout, failed to show up for any pre-prosecution hearings. It appears that a civil suit was never filed.

The property was assessed at $12,750 at the time of demolition.

Three years ago:

• Wallace Woods was added to the Building Cincinnati photo galleries.
• I visited CVG and Florence.
  
  
  

Two years ago:

• I attended the 75th anniversary celebration at Cincinnati Union Terminal.
  
  

Work on the $664 million --> --> -->I-75 Mill Creek Expressway Project --> --> --> began last week with removal of brush and debris around the in Camp Washington.

Also over the past week, nightly lane closures have allowed workers from Great Lakes Construction Company to prepare the Monmouth Street overpass for demolition.

Earlier this month, Cincinnati City Council passed an emergency ordinance to rezone nearly 13 acres of Roselawn property in an attempt to make it more marketable to developers.

The ordinance changes the zoning at from IR Industrial-Residential to ML Manufacturing Limited, paving the way for a light manufacturing park.

Cincinnati Riverfront Park Project Manager Dave Prather takes viewers on a virtual "Hard Hat Tour" construction update in a video added to the project website.

Highlighted in the video are the Walnut Street Event Lawn, Moerlein Lager House, Bike & Mobility Center, and parking garage.

The Northside Business Association (NBA) is working to get a formula business ordinance enacted for its historic neighborhood business district (NBD), making it more difficult for chain stores and restaurants to move into its unique collection of storefronts.

The ordinance would make any chain store, or formula business, a conditional use, subjecting the business to a public hearing and approval by the Director of Buildings and Inspections before it could open.

Only six days remain to register yourself or your group for Environmental Lobby Day 2010, to be held April 14 from 8:30 A.M. to 6 P.M. at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus.

"Your State, Your Voice", sponsored by the Ohio Environmental Council (OEC), will focus on the topics of natural resource funding, transportation funding for public transit projects, and local environmental and conservation issues.

Mutli-family
DOB: 1930
Died: July 2009
Cause of death: A combined case of "institutional creep" and "demolition by neglect".

Gamble Realty Co., a holding company for Christ Hospital, owned this building and a neighboring apartment building at 139 Mason Street for more than 20 years.

In order to avoid building code repairs and further maintenance on the apartments, the company razed both buildings in the name of "future hospital expansion". No plans for the property have been announced.

Three years ago:

• Spring was coming to Mount Airy Forest.
  
  

Two years ago:

• A photo tour of the American Can building in Northside was posted on Building Cincinnati.
• The Model Group was seeking a $992,000 federal HOME loan to rehabilitate 62 units of low-income housing in Evanston, Mount Auburn and Walnut Hills.
• The historic Hauck estate in Sharonville was threatened with demolition.
• Following a complaint to the City, a condo-owning couple in Walnut Hills received a refund of their inspection walk-through fees.
• In Pleasant Ridge, a single-family home was razed by the Archdiocese of Cincinnati for expansion of the Nativity of Our Lord Parish campus.

Earlier this month, Cincinnati City Council passed unanimously a resolution supporting the Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority's Clean Ohio Assistance Fund (COAF) grant, which could lead to the redevelopment of the former Federal Reserve Building at .

The resolution also supports Edgewood-based Ashley Commercial Group's application for $2.5 million in Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credits.

The public was invited to weigh in on the future look and feel of Covington's Roebling Point area last night at Covington City Hall.

Nearly 50 people gave their opinions on an upcoming plan that will help identify land use, design, public amenities, transportation and connectivity in a portion of the city bounded by Electric, Sanford and Tobacco alleys; E 3rd Street; and the Roebling "Yoke", the approach to the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge.

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA) is accepting public comment on a remediation plan for the former Hilton Davis site until March 26.

On January 25, the Ohio EPA released a draft Statement of Basis for Corrective Measures, which outlines Kodak's (through property-owning subsidiary North Pastoria Environmental Co.) plan to cap property contaminated with volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in and around Bloody Run Creek within a thin layer of soil or asphalt.

The City of Cheviot is accepting requests for qualifications (RFQ) through March 26 for the development of a LEED-certified single-family home.

The infill parcel, located at , was acquired by the city in December 2008 through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Dollar Homes Program.

Cincinnati Preservation Association (CPA) presents "Wood Windows Work! Restoring Your Historic Wood Windows" on Saturday, March 27, from 10 A.M. to noon at the Westwood Branch of the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, .

Ken Hughes of Oakley-based Decorative Restorations, who has over 20 years of experience in the field of historic preservation, will give a hands-on demonstration of wood window repair and maintenance, examine different window types and kinds of window hardware, and provide suggestions on how to improve the windows' energy efficiency.

Single-family
DOB: 1880s-1890s
Died: June 2009
Cause of death: Owned by the Corryville Community Development Corporation and the last building standing on the block, the land was cleared for future development at the Village at Stetson Square. There were no building code violations at the time of demolition.

Three years ago:

• O'Bryonville was added to the Building Cincinnati galleries.
• In Colerain Township, a patio home community called Creekwood Estates was being built.

One year ago:

• In Hyde Park, a public meeting was scheduled to discuss downzoning more than 400 neighborhood lots.
• Downtown Cincinnati Inc. released its State of Downtown report for July-December 2008, noting $33 million in completed projects and $926 million in projects under construction in the CBD.
• Part I of a slideshow of the 2009 Prohibition Resistance Tour was posted on Building Cincinnati.
• Alexus Development listed an upcoming single-family infill on Mount Lookout's McGuffey Avenue for $639,000.
• A South Fairmount single-family was razed by the owner of the adjacent Orion Charter Academy.
• I was in Pleasant Ridge for some reason.
  

The City of Cincinnati's proposal for a multi-phased streetcar system has been awarded $15 million in a draft document from the Ohio Department of Transportation's (ODOT) (TRAC), scoring higher than the more than 100 projects that submitted applications to its nine-member board.

The funding is part of more than $103.2 million in new construction, project planning, and engineering recommended to be added to ODOT's Major New Construction Program, which has targeted more than $2.5 billion in spending to Ohio multi-modal projects of $5 million or more between 2010 and 2014.

Ground was broken last Thursday for the 36-lot second phase of in Northside, the site of this year's Citirama home show.

To be held June 3-13, 2010, the ninth edition of Citirama will feature seven single-family homes by Greystone Homes, John Hueber Homes, Maple Street Homes, Maronda Homes, M/I Homes, Perry Bush Building Group, and Potterhill Homes.

Although the housing slump hasn't waned and inventory remains high, new single-family residences are still being built in pockets throughout the City.

The following 11 photos were taken on February 23, 2010.

U.S. Senator George Voinovich (R-OH) affirmed his support for Cincinnati Riverfront Park during a visit to its construction site last Monday.

Voinovich, a member of the Senate's Environment and Public Works Committee, was critical in securing a $30 million federal authorization to begin construction of the 45-acre park.

Two new businesses catering to sustainable building opened in Cincinnati during the past week, each with a different mission.

Last Thursday, GreenSource Cincinnati held a grand opening of its Downtown store at , offering green building products and services from more than 50 technology partners.

Single-family
DOB: 1880
Died: June 2009
Cause of death: A two-alarm fire on April 10, 2006 due to a natural gas leak, causing $30,000 in damages. The structure had a hole in the roof (possibly cut during the fire), deteriorated steps, broken and missing windows, and severe water damage. Kids were seen going in and out of the property, and the house was littered with old food and animal waste.

The house was condemned in May 2007 and was declared a public nuisance in November 2008.

A criminal case against the owners is pending. It appears that the house was abandoned.

Four years ago:

• I visited South Fairmount, Price Hill, Westwood, East Westwood, North Fairmount, South Cumminsville, Northside, and College Hill.*
  

Two years ago:

• I passed through Over-the-Rhine.
  

  
  

* 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.

Readers,

So March 8 has passed, and there have been several inquiries into when Building Cincinnati will be published again.

It's going to be a little bit longer. I'm still awaiting a couple of agreements that I need to finalize before I can resume work.

Thank you for being patient. I promise it will be soon!

Kevin

P.S. Happy Birthday to my loving mother, who made all of this possible.

Readers,

Due to some unforeseen personal issues that have occurred over the past week, the return of Building Cincinnati will be delayed until March 8.

The re-launch will include new stories, new photos, and new features.

I'll be working all this week to make this happen.

Thank you, and I'll see you again in a week!

Kevin