The City of Cincinnati has sided with a well-established Downtown permanent supportive housing facility over a developer, voting to proceed with federal funding for its project.
Cincinnati City Council voted 8-1 to proceed with its development agreement for a $12.4 million renovation of the Anna Louise Inn at 300 Lytle Street, which includes $2.6 million in federal funding it approved on November 17.
Monday, January 31, 2011
City sides with Anna Louise Inn over developer
Fight over Gamble House now in courts, Council
With the most recent proposal to save Westwood's historic Gamble House from demolition rejected by its owner, its fate will likely be decided in the court room or in Cincinnati City Council chambers.
Indian Hill-based Greenacres Foundation wants to turn the 22-acre grounds at 2918 Werk Road into an outdoor, agrarian youth education center. As part of the plan, the 2,600-square-foot, 13-room 1870s High Victorian Italianate home, once owned by Ivory Soap inventor, philanthropist, and first Village of Westwood mayor James N. Gamble, would be demolished.
Concentrated City services coming to Brewery District, Bond Hill
The Brewery District of Over-the-Rhine and Bond Hill will be the next targets of an award-winning blight reduction program, the City of Cincinnati announced late last week.
The Neighborhood Enhancement Program (NEP), a targeted 90-day blitz bringing together City departments, neighborhood residents, and community organizations, is structured to jumpstart long-term neighborhood revitalization and reinvestment by building community partnerships.
Making rivers more navigable goal of U.S. Army Corps study
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will solicit public comment on the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study tomorrow from 2 P.M. to 8 P.M. at Tangeman University Center at the University of Cincinnati.
The public scoping meeting is being held to evaluate a range of options and technologies to mitigate the effects of the transfer of aquatic nuisance species through the region's inland waterways.
View, comment on Cincinnati's next master plan this Wednesday
The format for the development of Cincinnati's new comprehensive master plan has changed, and your next opportunity to participate comes during an open house on Wednesday from 11 A.M. to 7 P.M. at Two Centennial Plaza, 805 Central Avenue, Downtown.
The Plan Cincinnati process is moving away from 12 separate working groups into a more integrated approach, allowing the work of all 12 working groups to be viewed and evaluated.
New ODOT director Wray to speak before state advocacy group tomorrow
Newly-appointed Ohio Department of Transportation Director Jerry Wray will be the guest speaker at the annual meeting of Transportation MATTERS, tomorrow from 9:30 A.M. to 11 A.M. at the offices of the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission, 111 Liberty St in Columbus.
The agenda will include the successes of the organization during 2010 and its plans for 2011. A new slate of officers will also be voted on by the full membership.
Weekly Abandoned/Vacant Building Report, 1/31/11
Abandoned/Vacant building count
Total as of January 3, 2011: 4,787 buildings
% Change in past month: +0.3%
% Change in past six months: +4.6%
% Change in past year: +15.7%
% Change in past two years: +54.8%
% Change in past five years: +171.5%
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
New website showcases living options at The Banks
With more than 40 percent of the 300 luxury apartments currently under construction at The Banks pre-leased, the team behind the development has made it easier for prospective tenants to snap up the remaining units.
The development partners of Carter and The Dawson Company, equity partner USAA, and property manager Village Green have created a new website for Current at The Banks, giving a detailed look at floor plans, pricing and amenities for the development. Users can even begin the lease application process through their mobile devices.
Saturday charrette to design for OTR urban farms
Nearly a year after launching, the Cincinnati chapter of Architecture for Humanity is finally ready to begin design work on two urban garden projects in Over-the-Rhine.
From 9 A.M. to noon at the Niehoff Urban Design Studio, 2728 Vine Street, members and volunteers will conduct a charrette to design a mobile retail, informational and storage structure for the Permaganic Eco-Garden and a composting/processing shed with vertical gardening element for the Findlay Market urban farm at Liberty and Elm streets.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Endangered Cincinnati buildings now easier to find
With Cincinnati City Council considering a motion and ordinances to adopt most of the recommendations of its Historic Building Loss Task Force, the City is making it easier for those who might save endangered buildings to find learn more about what's available.
The At-Risk Historic Structures website, provided by the City's Department of Community Development, lists significant historic buildings that are on the fast track to demolition due to neglect, lack of maintenance, or abandonment.
Brent Spence alternatives' noise impacts deemed similar
The project team behind the Brent Spence Bridge replacement and rehabilitation has released its Noise Study Technical Report, finding similar levels and impacts from both preferred roadway alternatives.
Through peak hour noise measurements and estimates of peak hour noise levels in 2035, the report seeks to evaluate the potential for the project to increase traffic noise in adjacent residential communities and to make recommendations on noise mitigation strategies.
Stalled Mount Adams rehab slated for demo
A long-stalled building rehabilitation project in Mount Adams, declared a public nuisance in April 2009, has had permits pulled for its demolition.
Oregon Street Development LTD purchased the six-unit building at 375 Oregon Street in February 2007 and began demolition later the following month.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Casino groundbreaking Feb. 4; Visioning continues
With a groundbreaking for Cincinnati's $400 million casino now scheduled for February 4 at 11 A.M., the non-profit formed to ensure that it integrates well with the surrounding neighborhoods is continuing its effort to involve the public in the decision-making.
More than 100 residents, business owners, landowners and urban-minded citizens attended the second of Bridging Broadway's three community visioning sessions on Saturday at BOOST…for meetings sake in Pendleton.
Green Cincinnati RFP winding down
The City of Cincinnati Office of Environmental Quality (OEQ) is seeking requests for proposals (RFP) through 3 P.M. on January 28 for an outreach campaign to help put the Green Cincinnati Plan into action.
Developed in 2008, the Green Cincinnati Plan is a list of more than 80 recommendations meant to beautify the City, make the City more sustainable, reduce maintenance, save money, and create local jobs.
Ohio Dept of Development launches new brownfield program
The Ohio Department of Development (ODOD) has partnered with the Ohio Water Development Authority to launch its new Brownfield Loan Program, providing below-market-rate loans for demolition and remediation on existing brownfields.
Operating on an open funding cycle and available to local governments and private property owners, loans will carry a maximum repayment period of ten years and will be available in amounts of up to $500,000 for environmental assessment and up to $5 million for environmental cleanup activities.
Weekly Abandoned/Vacant Building Report, 1/24/11
Abandoned/Vacant building count
Total as of January 3, 2011: 4,787 buildings
% Change in past month: +0.3%
% Change in past six months: +4.6%
% Change in past year: +15.7%
% Change in past two years: +54.8%
% Change in past five years: +171.5%
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Mount Auburn CDC seeks preferred developer status for vacant property
The Mount Auburn Good Housing Foundation (MAGHF), established in 1968 as Cincinnati's first community development corporation, is ramping up its efforts to improve its neighborhood's housing stock.
City administration is recommending that they City enter into a preferred development agreement with MAGHF for a parcel of City-owned property at 2319 Reading Road.
Bridging Broadway outreach continues Saturday
Bridging Broadway, a non-profit dedicated to making sure that Cincinnati's new casino integrates well into the City's existing urban fabric and spurs new opportunities, will host its second public visioning session from noon to 4 P.M. on Saturday at BOOST...for meetings sake, 538 Reading Road in Pendleton.
Local architects and planners will facilitate group discussions and interactive exercises to gauge the opinions of residents, businesses, landowners, and City enthusiasts.
Greener Stock turns 1 with open house
Greener Stock, a unique resource and design center specializing in natural and sustainable building products, celebrates its first anniversary this Saturday with an open house at 3528 Columbia Parkway in Columbia Tusculum.
From 10 A.M. to 3 P.M., visitors can enjoy demonstrations on rain barrels, weatherization tips and tricks from the Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance, recycling tips from the City of Cincinnati and RecycleBank, and natural plaster demonstrations by American Clay.
Cincinnati economic development site wants input
As the City of Cincinnati Economic Development Division's ChooseCincy.com website turns one year old, the operators are seeking your input through a brief, 14-question survey.
Tailored to developers, site selection consultants, and business owners, the survey looks to gauge how users have found the site, how often they access it, how easy they find the site to navigate, and what type of information they value most.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Hamilton County sustainability series continues Friday
The third in a series of workshops on county fiscal and environmental sustainability takes place this Friday from 8 A.M. to 12:30 P.M. in the Great Hall at the University of Cincinnati's Tangeman University Center.
"Fiscal Sustainability and Quality of Life of Our Communities", presented by the Hamilton County Regional Planning Commission's Planning Partnership, builds upon the group's efforts to bring local governments, institutions of higher education, and members of the public and private sectors together to reestablish the county as the vibrant core of the Greater Cincinnati region.
Presenters needed for 'premier sustainability event in the Midwest'
The Cincinnati Regional Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has issued a call for presenters for the eighth annual Greening the Heartland Regional Conference 2011, to be held at the Duke Energy Convention Center June 22-24.
"Breaking New Ground" will bring more than 1,000 attendees and 100 exhibitors from a 12-state region to network and share knowledge at what the USGBC calls "the premier sustainability event in the Midwest".
Urban beautification project seeks $50K, your votes
Keep Cincinnati Beautiful (KCB) is seeking your votes for a public art program that they say will lower crime and spur investment in Cincinnati's urban neighborhoods.
The group is in the running for a $50,000 neighborhood grant from the Pepsi Refresh Project for Future Blooms, a community beautification program aimed at dressing up vacant, abandoned, and foreclosed properties in Cincinnati by painting representations of doors, windows, awnings and flower boxes onto the buildings' barricades.
Tickets on sale for Bockfest brewery tours
Tickets for this year's Prohibition Resistance Tour, to be held on March 5-6 during Bockfest 2011, are now on sale.
The tours, which serve as a fundraiser for the Brewery District Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation and the Over-the-Rhine Foundation, showcase the historic pre-Prohibition breweries located throughout Over-the-Rhine, including many rarely-seen lagering cellars and tunnels.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Contract expiration, FTA require new streetcar bids
Due to the expiration of a prior contract and strings attached to federal funding, the City of Cincinnati is in the process of soliciting requests for proposals (RFP) from construction contractors for the first phase of its streetcar project.
Stacy and Witbeck, Inc. had filled the role since signing a contract with the City in June 2009, but that contract expired on December 13.
Corryville apartment project receives LEED tax exemption
A 16-unit, 64-bed Corryville apartment project geared toward university students has received a Community Reinvestment Area LEED tax exemption agreement from Cincinnati City Council.
Uptown Rental Properties has registered the $3.8 million Jefferson/Glendora Apartments, at the corner of Jefferson Avenue and W Charlton Street, as a U.S. Green Building Council LEED for Homes (Multi Family) 1.0 project.
Riverfront road closure allows The Banks work to progress
 |
| Provided. (The Banks Public Partnership) |
The street closure also will allow for the demolition of the temporary street, resulting in the creation of 330 interim surface parking spaces. A parking structure eventually will be built on the site.
Competition to showcase region's architecture talent
 |
| (Provided) |
The Architectural Drawing Competition 2011, co-sponsored by the Cincinnati chapter of the American Institute of Architects, is open to architects, currently-enrolled architectural students, landscape architects, interior designers, and other individuals associated with the architectural discipline in the Greater Cincinnati region.
City committee to consider task force recommendations on historic buildings
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| Distressed buildings along W 5th St, some of which are in the process of being demolished. (BC) |
The committee will review the fourth and final set of recommendations from the Historic Building Loss Task Force, an all-volunteer body formed in October 2009.
Weekly Abandoned/Vacant Building Report, 1/17/11
Abandoned/Vacant building count
Total as of January 3, 2011: 4,787 buildings
% Change in past month: +0.3%
% Change in past six months: +4.6%
% Change in past year: +15.7%
% Change in past two years: +54.8%
% Change in past five years: +171.5%
Monday, January 10, 2011
Ohio first state in nation to produce targeted report for multi-modal investment
The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) has released an overview of its 2011 Transportation Futures Plan, GO Ohio, making Ohio the first state in the nation to develop an economy-focused, data-driven, and targeted approach to multi-modal transportation investment.
The report examines where Ohio's people and jobs are today, and the future trends on which it can capitalize to drive positive economic growth.
SORTA says City funding decision violates contract, sets 'dangerous precedent'
The Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA), the government board that operates the local Metro bus service, has penned a letter to Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory and members of Cincinnati City Council about a budget decision that they say violates a 38-year funding contract between the two parties.
The decision, made late last month by City Council, transfers more than $2.4 million in dedicated public transit account funding to pay utility costs for street lights. SORTA also faces a net reduction of $1 million in funding in this year's City budget – if its 2011 earnings tax projections pan out.
Weekly Abandoned/Vacant Building Report, 1/10/11
Abandoned/Vacant building count
Total as of January 3, 2011: 4,787 buildings
% Change in past month: +0.3%
% Change in past six months: +4.6%
% Change in past year: +15.7%
% Change in past two years: +54.8%
% Change in past five years: +171.5%
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