Here is a random assortment of photos that I had left over from trips taken between November 14 and December 24, 2007.

These 27 photos have been added to the following galleries:

* Northside +7 (69 photos)
* Covington Downtown +3 (27 photos)
* Corryville +2 (41 photos)
* Mansion Hill +2 (27 photos)
* Mount Auburn +2 (38 photos)
* Westwood +2 (33 photos)
* Botany Hills +1 (7 photos)
* Cincinnati Skyline +1 (50 photos)
* Clifton +1 (48 photos)
* Downtown +1 (115 photos)
* Eden Park +1 (21 photos)
* Lewisburg +1 (4 photos)
* Mount Adams +1 (90 photos)
* Peaselburg +1 (10 photos)
* Walnut Hills +1 (39 photos)

Please click on each image to enlarge to 800 x 600. Each photo will open in a new browser window.

Galleries for all of the neighborhoods can be found in the drop-down menu at the top of the right-hand column.

Downtown


Mount Auburn


Mount Adams


Covington Downtown


Botany Hills


Peaselburg


Lewisburg


Mansion Hill


Walnut Hills


Eden Park


Corryville


Northside



Westwood


Clifton


Cincinnati Skyline

Most of the exterior work looks completed on the new Fairview School in Clifton, with work moving to the interiors and landscaping.

Cincinnati Public Schools is building this 84,000-square-foot, 650-student school at the southwest corner of , the site of the former Clifton School south building.

The $15.7 million project, which is scheduled to be completed in February, was designed by Glaserworks.

Also pictured are the old Clifton School building - which is scheduled to become an arts center - and a home under construction near .

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A look back at development news reported in the local media over the past week:

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that soil sampling for the Banks project has begun. Samples were taken from areas near the project's first phase, which is close to Great American Ball Park.

In related news, the Enquirer explains how the Banks' first phase might be financed. Carter and Dawson have until January 22 to secure commitments for the $74 million cost.

The Enquirer featured an article about the future of the Madisonville business district after the demolition of the Madison Building. This always raises the question - which is better, several derelict buildings or several vacant lots?

The Business Courier of Cincinnati reports on the Freestore Foodbank's plans to demolish several properties in Over-the-Rhine and the West End. Someone over there must read this blog, because I've noticed similar stories appearing in their publication a day or two after I've posted mine. See also the Queensgate/Dohoney story....

The Enquirer reports that the $43 million Duck Creek flood control project has made its way to Oakley. Land has been cleared near Steel Place for the installation of levees that will protect nearby homes and businesses.

The Enquirer reports that the City will give $50,000 to help support the Parkland Theatre in Sayler Park, with another $50,000 to be given to support other neighborhood projects. Is this a political move by John Cranley, because this neighborhood is largely ignored by the City?

The Business Courier reports that four local home builders and the Homebuilders Association of Greater Cincinnati have filed suit against Hamilton Township because of their $6,100 per home impact fees. Not only do they claim that the fees are not supported by U.S. and Ohio law, but they also claim that, because they are a "tax" on land that is not tied to the land's value, the fees violate the Ohio Constitution.

RIP: 1422 Knowlton St, Northside
Single-family

DOB: 1929
Died: December 2007
Cause of death: A decaying south wall, crumbling steps, failing soffits, broken windows and a deteriorating roof. The City condemned the house in April 2006 and later discovered that the owner was deceased. The rotten cornice eventually fell off and the masonry wall was in danger of collapsing. It was declared a public nuisance in October during the neighborhood's code enforcement blitz. This house had been vacant since at least 2004.

Episcopal Retirement Homes is seeking approval from the Ohio Department of Health to move beds from two existing nursing facilities into a proposed project at the Deupree House in Oakley.

Under the plan, 10 long-term care beds from Harrison Pavilion and 14 long-term care beds from the Blue Ash Care Center would be moved to two single-story, 12-bed cottages that Episcopal plans to build at .

The application has already been submitted - with no objections - and there is no timeline for approval, though the application's due date was February 25, 2008.

The $7 million project was approved by City Council in late November.

Previous reading on BC:
Council approves Deupree rezoning (12/4/07)
EDC to hold hearing on Deupree rezoning (11/16/07)
PC approves Deupree rezoning (9/24/07)
Oakley warehouse to be demolished? (9/21/07)

Originally scheduled for a mid-November opening, the Homes at Hillside Place in Lower Price Hill are coming along quite nicely nonetheless.

Model Property Development is building five new three-bedroom homes at .

All of them are priced at $89,650 to be affordable to people at 80 percent of the area median income, and all are still available.

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Previous reading on BC:
1657-1667 State photo update, 9/28/07 (10/3/07)

Red Oak Realty has come out with Realius, a fantasy real estate game.

Once you select a given market/region, you are shown a photo of a house and its address, size, and other particulars. You then guess a price based upon the given information, and your score is calculated based upon the guesses of other players.

Winners can receive cash and prizes.

For the time being, properties you can play are only in the San Francisco/Oakland area, which makes the game challenging for someone in such a vastly different market as Cincinnati.

Recently I noticed a link where you could enter the name of a city or zip code to have those choices added to the game. I can no longer find that link, but you can offer feedback through the "Help Us Improve the Game" link at the top right corner of the page.

The game can be addictive, and if you're into real estate I would definitely urge you to request that Cincinnati be added!

The Next American City's blog the Street asks, "What if fantasy football guidelines could be applied to our urban environments?"

Simmons Buntin, the founding editor of Terrain.org, proposes using indicators such as the United Nations Urban Indicators Guildelines or SustainLane's U.S. city sustainability rankings.

Just for fun, what indicators would you use and what are the top cities you'd be eyeing on draft day?

RIP: 3829 Spring Grove Ave, Northside
Multi-family

DOB: 1900
Died: December 2007
Cause of death: Deteriorating brick work, a failing roof and cornice, severe water damage and a collpasing chimney. The apartment building was condemned in March 2006 and the case eventually went to criminal court. It was finally declared a public nuisance in June following a concentrated code enforcement blitz in the neighborhood. In August the building owner plead no contest and was given a 180-day suspended sentence, a $1,000 fine and one year of probation, during which time he had to bring the building up to code, meaning he is now responsible for paying his fines in addition to the demolition costs.

Calling code enforcement statistics "the third most important key along with police and development to increasing homeownership", College Hill Forum Quality of Life Committee Chair Phyllis Schoenberger has several questions for City Council regarding the dismantling of the Department of Buildings and Inspections (B&I).

In an effort to stop the demise of B&I, she has submitted a letter to City Council asking them to review the last six years of data for the number of inspectors they have employed, the abandoned and vacant trends by neighborhood, the number of unenforced housing orders by neighborhood, and the number of cases per inspector.

By posing those questions, Schoenberger contends that it it impossible to effectively deal with housing issues when one inspector has a caseload of 600 properties, and wonders how dividing up the already ineffective department will help.

In fact, she has little hope that it will help, having worked with the Department of Community Development on the Linden Park project - where she doesn't see better efficiency, communications or timely enforcement.

And Schoenberger fears that building Linden Park may not have the desired community development result because the Hamilton Avenue business district remains plagued by property owners who ignore B&I orders because they know they won't be enforced.

In her opinion, this is due to the City's piecemeal approach.

"By choosing three neighborhoods per year, how long will it take to get the neighborhoods to get out of this spiraling abyss that Council and Administration has allowed to happen?", Schoenberger said. "How many of the properties being demolished under the Neighborhood Enhancement Program have been on B&I's unenforced housing orders for the past 10-20 years?"

Amendments to the Cincinnati Municipal Code dismantling B&I were passed by City Council on December 19.

Schoenberger's letter is dated December 7.

Councilmember Chris Monzel has proposed a motion to respond to Schoenberger's questions, but a timetable for a report has not been established.

Previous reading on BC:
Council approves changes for DCDP (12/24/07)
City approves money for new planning director (9/18/07)
$36,000 made available for planning director's salary (9/11/07)

Attorney Tim Burke of the law firm Manley Burke says that a decision by the Hamilton County Court of Appeals on behalf of his client CityLink will not lead to a proliferation of social services agencies in the City, but will do just the opposite.

In a letter to City Council earlier this month, Burke outlined his clients' reasons why the proposed social services project at in the West End should receive Council support and why "fear mongering and misrepresentation" should come to an end.

Burke finds his opponents' claims that a finding for CityLink will throw zoning codes out the window and allow soup kitchens to open on Fountain Square, Hyde Park Square and Columbia Square to be preposterous.

According to Burke, CityLink selected the West End property because of its MG Manufacturing General zoning designation, which allows for all of its proposed uses - including transitional housing.

He says that despite the zoning for CityLink's proposed site being found proper by the City administration, the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas and the Hamilton County Court of Appeals, opponents of the plan have become creative by trying to label CityLink as a "community service facility".

However, community service facilities are permitted in many different zones while transitional housing is limited to the MG zones - meaning that, if CityLink is deemed a "community service facility", similar projects featuring transitional housing could spring up in other parts of the City where community service facilities are allowed, including residential, commercial and Downtown development areas.

As proposed, the $12 million, 98,000-square-foot CityLink facility would include long-term transitional housing, a jobs center, a health center, a gym, a cafe, a day care and a barber/beauty salon.

Opposition has come from community groups, citizens, and developers in the surrounding neighborhoods who believe that the project will be a magnet for the poor and may even attract a criminal element, hurting their efforts at community development.

They also believe that CityLink's plans lack transparency and are mainly coming from a group of outsiders who wouldn't want this type of development near their own neighborhoods.

The plans for CityLink were created by the City Gospel Mission (OTR), CityCURE (Clifton), Jobs Plus Employment Network (OTR), Crossroad Health Center (OTR), and the Lord's Gym (OTR).

The project is also receiving support from the OneCity Foundation, Christ Emmanuel Christian Fellowship (Walnut Hills), Crossroads Community Church (Oakley), New Jerusalem Baptist Church (Carthage), New Life Temple Church (Madisonville), and Vineyard Community Church (Springdale).

A report by City Manager Milton Dohoney is expected in mid-January.

CitiRAMA is long gone, and no construction is occurring at Brodbeck Park in Westwood.

Many building lots are still available.

At buildout, the subdivision will include 25 homes surrounded by a five-acre greenbelt.

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Previous reading on BC:
Citirama begins Saturday (10/5/07)
Westwood: CiTiRAMA 2007 at Brodbeck Park (5/22/07)