'HeaterMeals' company relocating from Forest Park to Cincinnati, bringing 50 jobs

Cincinnati City Council on May 1 unanimously approved a Property Investment Reimbursement Agreement (PIRA) with Innotech Products, Ltd. to consolidate and move its company from Forest Park to Cincinnati, which will bring 50 new jobs to the City.

The company, a global leader in self-heating technology that's best known for producing HeaterMeals and its flameless ration heaters used in MREs for the U.S. Armed Forces, plans to rehabilitate a 253,000-square-foot building at 2940 Highland Avenue in Oakley into a new manufacturing, warehousing, and distribution facility.

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City sells Tower Place for $1; Parking and retail coming

On May 1, Cincinnati City Council unanimously approved a property sale and development agreement for Downtown's Tower Place Mall, which will convert the property at Fourth and Race streets into parking and street-level retail.

Under terms of the agreement, the City will sell the property to the Hamilton County Land Reutilization Corporation for $1. Following the removal of tax liens, easements, and other title encumbrances on the mall, the adjacent Pogue's Garage, and the skywalk and car ramp, the land bank will sell the property to JDL Warm Construction affiliate Brook Lane Holdings LLC for $1.

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Northside CC supports Hamilton/Blue Rock project, sees designs

Northside Community Council yesterday evening approved a motion supporting Milhaus Development's continued pursuit of a development agreement with the City for the former Myron G. Johnson & Son Lumber Co. property, located at the corner of Hamilton Avenue and Blue Rock Street.

The Indianapolis-based developer plans a LEED Silver-certified project of approximately 100 apartments and 8,500 square feet of commercial space for the City-owned site, which has been vacant since the lumber company moved to a larger space in Queensgate in 2005.

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Wrecking Cincinnati: 1236 Groesbeck Rd

NEIGHBORHOOD: College Hill
YEAR BUILT: 1935
USE: Single-family dwelling
OWNER: Andrew Kyle, Jr.
ASSESSED VALUE: $96,550
ORDERS: April 2009, for roof, windows, gutters and downspouts, and a dilapidated fence.
CONDEMNED: February 2010, adding exterior paint, litter, missing and vandalized mechanicals, and a lack of utility service.
HAZARD: May 2010. By 2013, the house had been abandoned for three or four years and the driveway was being used as a dump.
REASON RAZED: Declared a public nuisance and entered into the City's hazard abatement program.
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Wrecking Cincinnati: 826 Glenwood Ave

NEIGHBORHOOD: Avondale
YEAR BUILT: 1900
USE: Three-family dwelling
OWNER: Deller Properties I
ASSESSED VALUE: $67,870
ORDERS: --
CONDEMNED: February 2013, following a two-alarm fire that caused an estimated $75,000 in damage to the three-story house. Eight children and three adults were displaced, but none was injured. The fire caused significant damage to second- and third-floor framing members, holes in the roof and floors, unstable chimneys and dormers, burnt soffits and gutters, and a faulty fire escape.
HAZARD: --
REASON RAZED: Demolished by the owner to close out orders.
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WIN study: 45.2% rise in completed sheriff's sales in 2012

A report on Hamilton County's foreclosure numbers by nonprofit housing advocacy group Working in Neighborhoods (WIN) showed a 45.2 percent increase in completed sheriff's sales of foreclosed properties between 2011 and 2012.

The 44-page report, released on April 30, includes trending data for the past seven years, a breakdown of foreclosure activity by lender, and case studies of the communities of College Hill, Elmwood Place, and Northside.

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Fundraising under way for Ruthven mural, largest to date

Fundraising is under way for a Downtown mural that will celebrate famed Cincinnati naturalist and wildlife artist John Ruthven.

In what will be ArtWorks' largest mural to date, the 6,000-square-foot work at Eighth and Vine streets will feature Martha, the last surviving passenger pigeon, flying over the pagodas of the ‎Cincinnati Zoo. Martha died at the zoo in 1914.

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Mount Healthy apartment project earns LEED Platinum

The ‎Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) has announced that the ‎Reserve on South Martin, a 60-unit apartment project for senior citizens in Mount Healthy, has achieved LEED Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

The $12 million joint project between CMHA, the City of Mount Healthy, and the Cincinnati-Hamilton County NSP2 Consortium was completed in December.

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