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.

Read more »

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.

Read more »

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.
MAP

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.
MAP

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.

Read more »

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.

Read more »

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.

Read more »

Wrecking Cincinnati: 1 Leroy Ct

NEIGHBORHOOD: Mount Auburn
YEAR BUILT: 1875
USE: Multi-family dwelling
OWNER: Leroy Glen Investment LLC (Eagle Realty Group)
ASSESSED VALUE: $88,230
ORDERS: --
CONDEMNED: April 2001. Reissued in April 2003, citing holes in ceilings, walls and floors, deteriorated brick and mortar, gutters and downspouts, missing or vandalized mechanicals, and missing windows. Orders reissued to Dorian Development in July 2003. The building was taken from condemned status due to some rehabilitation work, but it was ordered to be kept barricaded in July 2004. Orders to vacate and barricade the building were reissued in August 2004, then again in January 2007. A criminal case was filed against the developer in May 2007. Throughout the period, the owner made no attempt to purchase a Vacant Building Maintenance License (VBML) and was depending on City support for a redevelopment project, which never came. Eventually, all attempts to clean up the property, keep it barricaded, and abate graffiti were abandoned. Following damage from Hurricane Ike in 2008, a portion of its southwest wall and roof had to be rebuilt by the City. The criminal case was dismissed in May 2010 and refiled two months later. Following the building's acquisition by Eagle Realty Group in November 2011, condemnation orders were reissued. The company petitioned the City to block off traffic into and out of the complex to cut down on illegal dumping and vandalism, and soon began cleaning up the site.
HAZARD: --
REASON RAZED: Demolished by Eagle Realty Group for future redevelopment as workforce housing. The building was part of the Glencoe-Auburn Hotel and Glencoe-Auburn Place Row Houses, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in December 2003.
MAP