Residents of Sedamsville are in the dark about a possible condominium project, and they want the City's help in delaying any action until they have some answers.
Since mid-2007, Arlon Brown has been purchasing properties between 2500 and 2900 River Road (BIRD'S EYE)under both his name and under the name of Collins Riverside Development LLC.
In a letter to Councilmember Leslie Ghiz, Susan Feldman, co-chair of the Sedamsville Historic Committee, has asked City Council and its Economic Development Committee to delay any possible demolitions on the properties until a nomination proposal for the National Register of Historic Places has been reviewed.
No one in the community has seen a site plan or renderings since Brown presented a very early, generic foamboard mockup last July, though the historic committee has repeatedly made requests.
In a separate letter to City Council, preservationist and Sayler Park resident Betty Kamuf says that Brown has been paying inflated prices for properties in the area, often double what they're worth.
For a variety of reasons, many neighborhood residents were unable to turn the offers down.
A search of the Hamilton County Auditor's website shows that Brown has acquired 27 properties to date.
On December 1, the Sedamsville Historic Committee submitted the draft proposal for the Sedamsville River Road Historic District to the Ohio Historic Preservation Office, and they are scheduled to review it in August.
The historic committee spent four years compiling the 75-page proposal, which required monthly meetings, walking tours, neighbor interviews and the assistance of numerous preservationists, historians and consultants.
They also built upon the work of Gray and Pape, a historical surveying company hired to research and inventory all of the structures that would be impacted by the River Road relaignment project, and felt that they had the City's blessing.
Feldman says that with each demolition, their chances of getting on the National Register lessen.
Kamuf agrees.
"They qualified when the road was being built and now someone wants to tear them down to build $500,000 condominiums," Kamuf wrote. "Frankly nobody in their right mind would pay that for a house or anything else in this area."
Sedamsville was once a thriving, working-class neighborhood filled with homeowners and businesses.
The 1937 flood and widening of River Road into a high-speed roadway - along with years of municipal neglect - have eroded away most of that, making the preservation of what's left all the more important.
"Isn't there some way you can protect what is left of this community?" Kamuf wrote. "With the construction of River Road back in the 1950s the city devastated the community by tearing out its heart, about 80 properties. And people moved away to Delhi and blight set in and crime started rising."
Feldman wants to stress that she's not anti-development, she just doesn't like Brown's heavy-handed approach.
"I'm going to stay positive," Feldman says. "I'm just going to hope that there are enough people listening to at least get the report reviewed."
A report from the City Manager's office is due before City Council in early May.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Sedamsville wants demo delay on possible condo project
Subscribe to:
Post Comments
(Atom)
Recent Comments
6 comments:
i get depressed every time i drive through sedamsville. i can only imagine how cool of a place it must have once been, with all those old houses overlooking the river. i guess having a highway for a front yard isn't too desirable.
If sombody wants to pay double for blighted properties to clear the way for a new high-dollar development, then God bless him. Why would anyone want to stand in his way or try slow him down? I thought we wanted development in the city to reinvigorate our tax base and fund a streetcar.
Besides, now that so much of Sedamsville has already been removed, I really don't see much left worth preserving, except maybe Boldface (aka Pete Rose) Park. And the City should seriously consider selling that to the developer for a dollar, if he'll agree to rehab it for public use.
^ You're assuming all of the properties are blighted.
I think their main concern is that the developer is not working with the community at all. He is knocking on people's doors and offering them money. He has still not presented a site plan to anybody. If this was happening in Hyde Park, he'd be run out of town.
It's funny that you mention Bold Face Park. On Thanksgiving Eve last year, the CRC decided it would be nice to go ahead and rip out their swimming pool without notice. They left the construction rubble there for weeks.
When the community council approached the CRC about making improvements to the park, the CRC said they were broke and that the community should consider a fundraiser to pay for improvements.
Ironically some of the homes shown in the birdseye view are some of the few in Sedamsville that are actually taken care of! Sedamsville doesn't really exist anymore. Just like Eigth and State the working class people and traditional families are long gone. It's mostly welfare bums who don't even know the dump they live in is called Sedamsville. Most of the buildings are complete dumps and way beyond salvage. I thought the chuch on River road was always cool but I think it's also beyond slavage. I think large bulldozers should plow the whole area into boldface park and rebuild the neighboorhood from scratch. I grew up in Delhi and often played ball in Sedamsville and Riverside in the 70's. Dad and then I played Softball there too. It was rough back then now it's just downright Ghetto. I love my old westside but some area's just need to be completely redone. I just hope the yaahoo's don't move up the hill when their dumpy homes are condemned.
Wow, I can't believe that someone commented that someone should just come and bulldoze my house. I live inside of the area that Brown is planning on developing. There are a lot of nice old houses that are well taken care of on my street. Rather my neighbors want to sell or not is up to them. I just hope that the new condos have a nice pool that I can use :)
Wow, I can't believe that someone commented that someone should just come and bulldoze my house. I live inside of the area that Brown is planning on developing. There are a lot of nice old houses that are well taken care of on my street. Rather my neighbors want to sell or not is up to them. I just hope that the new condos have a nice pool that I can use :)
Post a Comment