Cincinnati will take its first tentative steps toward a bus rapid transit (BRT) system next year with a pilot service called Metro*Plus, which will provide limited-stop transportation along the Montgomery Road corridor between Downtown and Kenwood.

BRT provides faster, limited-stop service along major traffic corridors, often with more amenities than standard bus service. Often, travel times are improved through traffic signal priority or special bus lanes, with stations generally spaced a mile apart.

A coalition of businesses and major institutions formed to advocate for an expedited Brent Spence Bridge project now boasts nearly 100 members and is close to meeting its $2 million fundraising goal, it announced at its first board meeting on Monday.

The Build Our New Bridge Now Coalition, which formed in May, is seeking the development of a public-private partnership that could move completion of the $2.5 billion project up to five or more years, with construction beginning in late 2014 or early 2015 and ending in 2018.

NEIGHBORHOOD: Northside
YEAR BUILT: 1895
USE: Single-family dwelling
OWNER: Cincinnati Northside Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation (CNCURC)
ASSESSED VALUE: $4,000
ORDERS: January 2007, ordered barricaded. In April 2008, the house was again ordered barricaded and vacated.
CONDEMNED: January 2009, citing prolonged vacancy, trespassing, lack of compliance with Vacant Building Maintenance License orders, broken windows, and damaged siding. A criminal case was pursued, but apparently never filed.
HAZARD: June 2009. CNCURC acquired the property two months later and kept it secured.
REASON RAZED: Razed as part of CNCURC's Blockwatch 45223 Homeownership Project, a strategy to reduce the negative effects of foreclosures through new construction, rehabilitation, and demolition activity in the area bounded by Chase Avenue, Blue Rock Street, Lakeman Street, and Kirby Avenue.

A $450,000 gift from Duke Energy means that construction of a key component of Smale Riverfront Park will be completed by next spring.

The Duke Energy Garden, formerly known as the Main Street Garden, will feature lush plantings, large trees, walking paths, and 150 feet of granite seat walls. Twelve oversized porch swings will be suspended from undulating pergolas, giving visitors a relaxing view of river activity.

A one-block section of Broadway, currently open only to northbound traffic, will soon be open to two-way traffic .

The move is part of Pendleton's ongoing streetscape improvement project and is expected to improve traffic circulation without compromising limited on-street parking spaces. E Twelfth Street, between Sycamore Street and Broadway, was converted to one-way eastbound in August.

NEIGHBORHOOD: Mount Auburn
YEAR BUILT: 1924
USE: Single-family dwelling
OWNER: Matthew Tolos
ASSESSED VALUE: $28,820
ORDERS: October 2009, ordered vacated and barricaded due to a rotting side porch, a failing retaining wall, faulty steps, and loose wiring.
CONDEMNED: August 2011, having been vacant for more than five years and open to trespassers. The house had numerous broken windows, a condemned garage, and numerous citatious for overgrown weeds.
HAZARD: May 2012, adding disconnected downspouts, a deteriorated roof, and missing bricks in both chimneys. In August 2012, Tolos acquired the property in a tax forfeited land sale.
REASON RAZED: Razed by the owner to close orders.

A Clifton neighborhood anchor is closer to reopening thanks to legislation passed Wednesday by Cincinnati City Council.

Council approved a 12-year Community Reinvestment Area (CRA) tax exemption agreement with Goessling Enterprises, LLC for the renovation of the former Keller's IGA supermarket , reducing the developer's property tax liability by more than $200,000. A 2011 ordinance approving a CRA tax exemption for a LEED-certified renovation was repealed.

Last Wednesday, Cincinnati City Council approved more than $14 million in funding for master developer Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation's (3CDC) continued work in Over-the-Rhine.

The first package of ordinances authorized the issuance of $5.5 million in bonds for the second phase of Mercer Commons, a $22.3 million project that includes the renovation of 13 buildings and the construction of one new building and will result in 67 residential rental units and 10,600 square feet of commercial space .

NEIGHBORHOOD: South Fairmount
YEAR BUILT: 1900
USE: Three-family dwelling
OWNER: Steven Ritter
ASSESSED VALUE: $13,240
ORDERS: December 2002, for a rotting porch and defective siding. Reissued in February 2004, adding steps, windows, masonry, cornice, gutters and downspouts, and fence. Reissued in March 2007.
CONDEMNED: October 2009, currently in criminal status.
HAZARD: July 2011. In June 2012, the City gave Ritter notice to clear out his belongings.
REASON RAZED: Declared a public nuisance and entered into the City's hazard abatement program.

Two new walking paths at John T. Crawford Commons, College Hill's newest public green space, were dedicated with a short ceremony on Saturday afternoon.

The project, on the grounds of Pleasant Hill Academy and the College Hill library branch, is a collaboration between the College Hill Forum and Cincinnati Public Schools. Support for the project came from a $24,000 We THRIVE Mini-Grant awarded in February.

A streetscape project first envisioned seven years ago was dedicated on Saturday afternoon .

The $1.3 million project includes safety enhancements such as "bumpouts" at the crosswalks, new traffic signals, and additional traffic islands. Wider sidewalks, benches, decorative lighting, and street trees were also added, as well as improved gas, water, and utility infrastructure.

NEIGHBORHOOD: South Fairmount
YEAR BUILT: 1911
USE: Mixed-use
OWNER: Jerry L. and Barbara Harris
ASSESSED VALUE: $36,930
ORDERS: --
CONDEMNED: --
HAZARD: --
REASON RAZED: Razed for intersection realignment as part of the City's Harrison Avenue improvement project.

NEIGHBORHOOD: South Fairmount
YEAR BUILT: 1920
USE: Single-family dwelling
OWNER: Dominic Gulliford
ASSESSED VALUE: $36,000
ORDERS: April 2008, ordered vacated and barricaded, found to have missing or vandalized mechanicals and an abundance of litter. Orders were reissued in November 2008 due to illegal occupancy.
CONDEMNED: February 2009. A criminal case was filed in March 2009, but dismissed a few months later due to an inability to serve the summons.
HAZARD: January 2010, adding roof and gutters, water damage, a failing rear porch, and missing and broken windows.
REASON RAZED: Declared a public nuisance and entered into the City's hazard abatement program.

NEIGHBORHOOD: South Fairmount
YEAR BUILT: 1924
USE: Restaurant, cafeteria or bar
OWNER: City of Cincinnati
ASSESSED VALUE: $27,630
ORDERS: July 2010, for fire damage, litter, broken and missing windows, exterior paint, siding, soffit, gutters and downspouts, roof, a fallen tree, and hazardous wiring. Ordered barricaded in August 2011.
CONDEMNED: --
HAZARD: --
REASON RAZED: Razed for intersection realignment as part of the City's Harrison Avenue improvement project.

The Cincinnati Park Board is seeking letters of interest from prospective developers for the renovation and reuse of the former Civilian Conservation Corps camp buildings and site in Mt. Airy Forest.

The nine remaining simple frame buildings, located and originally constructed as temporary housing for an African American division of the federal work program in 1935, were included as contributing structures as part of the park's 2010 listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

Cincinnati's Plan Build Live form-based code initiative will proceed to the neighborhood level with a four-day workshop beginning Monday at 6 P.M. on the fourth floor of Two Centennial Plaza, located .

The workshop will be of particular interest to the neighborhoods of College Hill, Madisonville, Walnut Hills and Westwood, all of which have volunteered to have the code tailored to their business districts and adjacent residential areas.

NEIGHBORHOOD: West Price Hill
YEAR BUILT: 1927
USE: Multi-family dwelling (37 units)
OWNER: Howard G. Thiemann
ASSESSED VALUE: $496,740
ORDERS: November 2010, for plaster, paint, lack of smoke detectors, and inadequate space beneath the sinks. Orders were reissued in September 2011, adding water leaks and damage, fire separations, exterior doors, foundation, rotted porch, masonry failure, soffit, cornice, gutters and downspouts. Chimney and windows added in November 2011. In January 2012, the orders were reissued. In March 2012, Apt. 14 was ordered vacated due a ceiling collapse that introduced raw sewage. Two months later, orders were reissued with worn stair treads and filthy hallways added.
CONDEMNED: --
HAZARD: June 2012, entered voluntarily. In addition to the orders listed above, the property has been cited for mold, lack of fire egress, exposed wires, a lack of hot water, and faulty radiators, as well as exposed and flaking lead paint and a bed bug infestation. Since 2002, the property has been cited 15 times for litter, including junk cars and furniture.
REASON RAZED: According to Local12, Thiemann offered the building to the community for demolition following an increase in drug and prostitution activity, saying that he didn't want to be known as a problem landlord. The property will remain green space, with a decorative wall, trees, and flowers.

The Catalytic Development Funding Corp. of Northern Kentucky's scored its first major win Thursday with the announcement of Hotel Covington, a $25 million redevelopment of a historic building into a boutique hotel.

The Covington-based Salyers Group is partnering with the City of Covington and the Aparium Hotel Group to rehabilitate the 102-year-old former Coppin's Department Store building , creating 107 luxury guest rooms, a signature restaurant and bar.

The Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority needs $8.5 million to ready for redevelopment, Port Authority President Laura Brunner told Cincinnati City Council's Budget and Finance Committee on Tuesday.

Last month, the Port Authority entered into a purchase option agreement with the Allen Temple Real Estate Foundation for the troubled Bond Hill property, which is largely vacant and suffering from years of deferred maintenance.

NEIGHBORHOOD: Mount Auburn
YEAR BUILT: 1946
USE: Commercial/warehouse
OWNER: Cincinnati Board of Education
ASSESSED VALUE: $210,950
ORDERS: --
CONDEMNED: --
HAZARD: --
REASON RAZED: Razed to create a permanent surface parking lot as part of Cincinnati Public Schools' Rothenberg School renovation and expansion project.

The City of Cincinnati's Director of Buildings and Inspections will hold a public hearing Friday at 9 A.M. in the Main Conference Room of the Building Development and Permit Center, , to determine if the following buildings should be declared a public nuisance and entered into the City's hazard abatement program:

• , Sayler Park (single-family, 1930)
• , Camp Washington (single-family, 1889)
• , Mount Airy (single-family, 1890)
• , South Fairmount (single-family, 1911)
• , Evanston (single-family, 1895)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Mount Auburn
YEAR BUILT: 1923
USE: Single-family dwelling
OWNER: Vernita J. Smith
ASSESSED VALUE: $57,130
ORDERS: --
CONDEMNED: --
HAZARD: --
REASON RAZED: Razed for a temporary valet parking lot for The Christ Hospital, made necessary due to the hospital's $265M expansion. The expansion project includes a new 332,000-square-foot orthopaedic and spine center, a new materials management building, and a 900-space visitor parking garage. This is a likely future redevelopment site.

NEIGHBORHOOD: Oakley
YEAR BUILT: 1913
USE: Two-family dwelling
OWNER: BMF 99 LLC
ASSESSED VALUE: $111,020
ORDERS: --
CONDEMNED: --
HAZARD: --
REASON RAZED: Razed for two attached single-family townhomes, being built by JCB Homes and offered for $264,900.

NEIGHBORHOOD: East Price Hill
YEAR BUILT: 1926
USE: Multi-family dwelling
OWNER: R. Orlino & Associates LLC (Elizabeth, N.J.)
ASSESSED VALUE: $16,000
ORDERS: November 2004, ordered vacated and barricaded for exterior walls, defective flooring, plaster, and trash. Orders were reissued in March 2007.
CONDEMNED: June 2009, adding a damaged roof, water damage, missing siding, doors, broken and missing windows, and weeds. The current owner took control of the property in December 2009, and orders were reissued in March 2010 and again in March 2011.
HAZARD: August 2011, adding missing and vandalized mechanicals.
REASON RAZED: Declared a public nuisance and entered into the City's hazard abatement program.

NEIGHBORHOOD: East Price Hill
YEAR BUILT: 1893
USE: Multi-family dwelling
OWNER: Velda D. McCants
ASSESSED VALUE: $45,310
ORDERS: August 2008, for a collapsing front porch, soffit, gutters and downspouts.
CONDEMNED: May 2009, open to trespassers and vandalized, with rear foundation failure. In May 2010, the front proch collapsed after its wrought iron supports were stolen. A criminal case was filed a month later, with diversion eventually granted.
HAZARD: November 2010, adding a defective chimney, roof damage, and missing and broken windows. At some point in early 2011, the building was lost to foreclosure.
REASON RAZED: Declared a public nuisance and entered into the City's hazard abatement program. This demolition is one of two featured as part of the City's local kickoff of the state's Moving Ohio Forward demolition program, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.

Citizens, business owners, and other stakeholders are invited to help inform Bellevue's future during a comprehensive plan community workshop this Thursday at 6:15 P.M. at the Callahan Community Center, .

The updated plan will help guide city leaders in decisions regarding such issues as economic development, transportation, schools, parks, and water quality.

Cincinnati Metro this morning unveiled plans for an Uptown Transit District, a $6.9 million project to better serve the residents and employees of the Uptown neighborhoods by the end of 2013.

The City of Cincinnati, the University of Cincinnati, and the Uptown Consortium have partnered with Metro to develop the multisite district, which will help unify the ten Metro routes and multiple Uptown shuttles serving the area.

NEIGHBORHOOD: South Fairmount
YEAR BUILT: 1905
USE: Two-family dwelling
OWNER: Charles V. Day
ASSESSED VALUE: $5,340
ORDERS: June 2007, ordered vacated and barricaded. In September 2007, orders were reissued to new owner Guardian Savings Bank. Day purchased the property in late 2008, and the orders were again issued. The vacant building had been heavily vandalized.
CONDEMNED: January 2010, citing missing or vandalized mechanicals, broken windows, missing siding and downspouts, and litter. A criminal case was filed against Day that same month, and was continued through this year as he tried to bring the building up to Vacant Building Maintenance License standards. He was also hit with a $500 civil fine.
HAZARD: May 2010, adding roof damage.
REASON RAZED: Due to Day's inability to obtain a VBML or to meet development timelines, the property was declared a public nuisance and entered into the City's hazard abatement program. Demolished at a cost of $4,896.

Some of the internationally renowned architects behind the University of Cincinnati's campus transformation will be featured at a two-day symposium to be held October 25-26.

"Surface Conversations", hosted by the university's College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP), will bring together professional designers, researchers, engineers, academicians, design writers and critics for a series of workshops and presentations addressing the opportunities and challenges facing today's building environments and campuses.

NEIGHBORHOOD: South Fairmount
YEAR BUILT: 1886
USE: Single-family dwelling
OWNER: KAK LLC
ASSESSED VALUE: $10,520
ORDERS: March 2007, for porch, windows, siding, cornice, gutters and downspouts, and roof. The property had a long history of litter and junk vehicle violations. A civil fine was issued to the previous owners in December 2007. A criminal case was filed in June 2009.
CONDEMNED: December 2009, unsecured, now with rotten floors, a deteriorated shed, crumbling plaster, missing or vandalized mechanicals, and an abandoned boat with a tree growing through it.
HAZARD: July 2011. In October 2011, the criminal case was resolved, with the former owners paying court costs only. The current owner assumed ownership in August 2012.
REASON RAZED: Declared a public nuisance and entered into the City's hazard abatement program.

Cincinnati City Council has agreed to sell a building on the Hughes Center High School campus in Clifton Heights to Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS) for $1.

A sale agreement with the CPS board for the Edward Krueck Athletic Building, located , was approved by City Council last Wednesday.

Cincinnati Fastener & Industrial Supply will take over the vacant former Carthage Recreation Center building, which will allow the company to stay in Cincinnati and add three new full-time jobs over the next two years.

Last Wednesday, Cincinnati City Council approved a sale and development agreement with company affiliate Huetcher Brothers LLC to sell the 4,471-square-foot building for $75,000.

A report is due before Cincinnati City Council by November 16 on possible changes to the City's six-year old Community Reinvestment Area LEED tax abatement program (CRA-LEED) that could encourage developers to attain higher levels of LEED certification.

On October 17, Councilmember Laure Quinlivan introduced a motion directing City staff to look into a tiered program, providing a 100 percent property tax exemption – less 25 percent for Cincinnati Public Schools – for Platinum-level projects with no cap on the market value, Gold-level projects up to $562,000, Silver-level projects up to $400,000, and certified projects up to $275,000. The abatement would last 15 years for new construction projects and ten years for renovations.

The --> --> --> on October 17 launched an Economic Impact Analysis with a kickoff webcast and survey geared to the state's business and economic development leaders.

The six-month study, to be conducted by the Boston-based Economic Development Research Group, is meant to examine the accuracy of economic factors used by TRAC in its prioritization process and the degree to which assessment strategies such as modeling, stakeholder outreach, and public input should be implemented.

Following more than three years of work, Cincinnati's new comprehensive master plan moved closer to reality Friday following its adoption by the City Planning Commission.

The approved Plan Cincinnati document includes several dozen language changes, alterations, and recommendations collected during public hearings held before the commission in August and in September.

NEIGHBORHOOD: South Fairmount
YEAR BUILT: 1887
USE: Single-family dwelling
OWNER: Joe and Mary Wilmore
ASSESSED VALUE: $11,740
HAZARD: March 2010, adding missing siding and excessive rubbish.
CONDEMNED: October 2009, adding a rotting porch, damaged egress stairs, and a lack of protective paint.
ORDERS: March 2009, ordered vacated and barricaded for cornice and windows and lack of utilities. Water service had been shut off since 1998. It appears that the owners passed away, and the property was being held up through probate. The owner's son told City inspectors that the family lacked the funds to bring the structure up to code.
REASON RAZED: Declared a public nuisance and entered into the City's hazard abatement program.

NEIGHBORHOOD: East Price Hill
YEAR BUILT: 1885
USE: Single-family dwelling
OWNER: Judy K. Statton
ASSESSED VALUE: $29,610
HAZARD: March 2012.
CONDEMNED: June 2011, for severe structural damage from a fire, which also damaged the siding, doors, windows, walls, wiring, plumbing, and heating systems. A criminal case was filed against Ms. Statton in December 2011. The case is still pending.
ORDERS: --
REASON RAZED: Declared a public nuisance and entered into the City's hazard abatement program. This demolition is one of two featured as part of the City's local kickoff of the state's Moving Ohio Forward demolition program, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.

NEIGHBORHOOD: Columbia Tusculum
YEAR BUILT: 1900
USE: Single-family dwelling
OWNER: Marilyn Lou and Theodore R. Pairan
ASSESSED VALUE: $20,690
HAZARD: May 2011.
CONDEMNED: December 2010, for cornice, gutter and roof problems allowing water into the building. Also, broken windows were allowing vagrants to enter. In December 2010, the City discovered that the owners were deceased. Their son told the City that the mortgage company was supposed to foreclose on the property, and that he had no interest in it.
ORDERS: November 2005, but compliance achieved in June 2006.
REASON RAZED: Declared a public nuisance and entered into the City's hazard abatement program.

NEIGHBORHOOD: Northside
YEAR BUILT: 1885
USE: Two-family dwelling
OWNER: City of Cincinnati
ASSESSED VALUE: $56,350
HAZARD: --
CONDEMNED: --
ORDERS: --
REASON RAZED: Razed by the City as part of the Colerain Avenue road improvement project.

NEIGHBORHOOD: Bond Hill
YEAR BUILT: 1948
USE: Industrial warehouse
OWNER: CBS/Westinghouse of PA, Inc.
ASSESSED VALUE: $1,000,000
HAZARD: --
CONDEMNED: --
ORDERS: --
REASON RAZED: Unsure, as there are no building permits. Purchased by current owner in February 2011, the land surrounding the former 85,321-square-foot building is approximately 6.9 acres.

Cincinnati's latest landlord training session will be held Friday from 8 A.M. to 5 P.M. at the United Way of Greater Cincinnati, located at 2400 Reading Road.

The comprehensive session is designed to help building owners and managers curb illegal drug activity and other chronic nuisances. The program has been adapted for Cincinnati and is based on the National Landlord Training Program, originally supported by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice.

Urban-minded young professionals can learn more about regional leadership programs at the ULI Cincinnati Young Leaders Group's fall networking event, to be held this Thursday from 5:30 P.M. to 7:30 P.M. at Mynt Martini on Fountain Square.

Representatives from the and the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce will be on hand to share information and to answer questions about programs such as , , , and Leadership Northern Kentucky.

Tickets are still available for Over-the-Rhine Community Housing's sixth annual "Celebrating Our Beloved Community" fundraising event, to be held this Thursday from 5:30 P.M. to 7:30 P.M. in Music Hall's Patricia Corbett Tower.

The program will be led by professional storyteller Omope Carter Daboiku and will feature a multimedia presentation filmed and edited by Barbara Wolf showcasing the stories of people who call Over-the-Rhine home.

Newport Millennium Housing Corporation III is accepting sealed bids for three affordable housing projects.

The projects are:

• The construction of two new single-family homes at 905 and 907 Central Avenue. Bids are due November 1 at 3 P.M. A pre-bid conference will be held at the job site on October 18 at 10 A.M.
• The rehabilitation of a single-family home at 215 W 10th Street. Bids are due November 1 at 3 P.M. A pre-bid conference will be held at the job site on October 18 at 9 A.M.
• The rehabilitation of a single-family home at 1038 Columbia Street. Bids are due November 8 at 3 P.M. A pre-bid conference will be held at the job site on October 25 at 10 A.M.

NEIGHBORHOOD: Spring Grove Village
YEAR BUILT: 1895
USE: Two-family dwelling
OWNER: Jeffrey S. Little
ASSESSED VALUE: $57,540
HAZARD: January 2012.
CONDEMNED: February 2011, with a rear lower portion so rotted and decayed that the rear wall was collapsing.
ORDERS: July 2010, ordered vacated and barricaded due to vandalism, broken windows, defective siding, roof failure, a deteriorated chimney, and poor gutters and downspouts. Currently in criminal status.
REASON RAZED: Declared a public nuisance and entered into the City's hazard abatement program.

The City of Blue Ash officially opened its newest park with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on October 13.

Residents enjoyed refreshments, hayrides and hikes on the new rustic trails at Blue Ash Summit Park, which is located on 130 acres .

NEIGHBORHOOD: Hyde Park
YEAR BUILT: 1940
USE: Single-family dwelling
OWNER: James E. Evans
ASSESSED VALUE: $1,069,600
HAZARD: --
CONDEMNED: --
ORDERS: --
REASON RAZED: Could be the site of a teardown/new build, but no building permit application has been filed. Evans has owned the property since 1998, and failed to sell it for its $1.95 million listing price in 2009.

Two new single-family homes completed with federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program funding – one new construction and one rehabilitation – will be dedicated tomorrow morning at 10 A.M. in College Hill.

The newly-built home at 1142 Cedar Avenue, available for $124,900, features three bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths, a full unfinished basement, and an attached two-car garage. The rehabilitated home at 1309 Cedar Avenue, priced at $99,750, has three bedrooms and two baths.

A major step in restoring Walnut Hills' East McMillan Street neighborhood business district has been achieved with the return of two-way traffic to what had once been one-way streets.

A Saturday ribbon-cutting ceremony opened E McMillan Street to two-way traffic . Next Saturday, William Howard Taft Road will be converted to two-way traffic, also between Victory and May.

NEIGHBORHOOD: Walnut Hills
YEAR BUILT: 1890
USE: Three-family dwelling
OWNER: Quimberly and Dante Winstead
ASSESSED VALUE: $47,230
HAZARD: September 2009. In August 2010, Mr. Winstead was removed from the program and given a 180-day suspended jail sentence, one year of probation, and court costs. This property may have been lost through tax foreclosure last year.
CONDEMNED: July 2009, now completely open to the elements and becoming a site for illegal dumping and other debris. A criminal case was filed against each owner that same month, with Mr. Winstead eventually entered into a housing compliance program.
ORDERS: December 2004, the foreclosed home was ordered vacated and barricaded. Orders were reissued to a new owner in February 2005. Transferred to current owners through survivorship deed in August 2005, and the violations were corrected that October. By 2008, the building again had become vacant and was ordered barricaded.
REASON RAZED: Declared a public nuisance and entered into the City's hazard abatement program.

The City of Cincinnati Department of Community Development is now accepting applications for up to $2.5 million available for residential projects through its .

The funding is meant to provide gap financing for low- to mid-income homeownership and mixed-use projects as well as elderly, transitional, and permanent supporting housing projects that are not eligible for funding through other City programs.

The first of two walkthroughs of a pair of Downtown office buildings takes place today at 1 P.M., one week before they'll be auctioned online.

Located , Centennial Plaza I and III contain more than 225,000 square feet of Class A office space and a one-level, 88-space underground parking structure.

The City of Cincinnati's Urban Conservator, Larry Harris, will hold a public hearing today at 2 P.M., Centennial Two, , Suite 720, to determine the historic significance of 77 buildings that have been condemned and/or declared a public nuisance and entered into the City's hazard abatement program.

All of the following buildings are more than 50 years old and subject to review under Section 1101-57.1(1) of the Cincinnati Municipal Code:

• , Pleasant Ridge (single-family, 1920)
• , West Price Hill (multi-family, 1925)
• , Evanston (two-family, 1900)
• , Walnut Hills (two-family, 1905)
• , Avondale (single-family, 1923)

NEIGHBORHOOD: West End
YEAR BUILT: 1940
USE: Commercial garages
OWNER: Cincinnati Preservation Association
ASSESSED VALUE: $8,000
HAZARD: --
CONDEMNED: --
ORDERS: --
REASON RAZED: Dilapidated and obsolete.

NEIGHBORHOOD: South Fairmount
YEAR BUILT: 1962
USE: Multi-family dwelling (4 units)
OWNER: David Nukasa
ASSESSED VALUE: $14,550
HAZARD: March 2012.
CONDEMNED: October 2006. Vacant for several years and missing windows and doors, allowing in trespassers, vermin, and weather. Interior walls and ceilings were stripped to the framing, and the framing was damaged. Onwer performed some work under the proper permits, but, by early 2008, work had stopped. The orders were reissued in June 2009, adding a defective roofing system, defective mortar joints and brick work, gutters, a failing retaining wall, and weeds and litter. Over the next two years, the building was gutted to the studs.
ORDERS: --
REASON RAZED: Declared a public nuisance and entered into the City's hazard abatement program.

NEIGHBORHOOD: South Fairmount
YEAR BUILT: 1900
USE: Single-family dwelling
OWNER: Rick Carlson
ASSESSED VALUE: $7,990
HAZARD: August 2012.
CONDEMNED: June 2012, following a June 19 fire that caused less than $10,000 in additional damage. Both fires destroyed the center of the wood frame house, framing, and roof. Condemnation orders reissued in August 2012.
ORDERS: May 2012, following a March 31 fire that displaced three individuals and caused $35,000 in damage.
REASON RAZED: Building destroyed, razed by owner.

NEIGHBORHOOD: Oakley
YEAR BUILT: 1978
USE: Industrial warehouse
OWNER: Frederick E. and Donna R. Debra
ASSESSED VALUE: $83,000
HAZARD: --
CONDEMNED: --
ORDERS: --
REASON RAZED: Razed to make way for the $30 million Kennedy Connector road project.

On July 22, 2012, I was invited on a personal tour of Riverside by neighborhood resident Dave Zelman. He and his wife Pamela have been working to restore , an 1840s temple style Greek Revival masterpiece listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Zelman has been working to research the history of the neighborhood with the goal of having it nominated as a National Register Historic District.

The City of Cincinnati's Director of Buildings and Inspections will hold a public hearing Friday at 9 A.M. in the Main Conference Room of the Building Development and Permit Center, , to determine if the following buildings should be declared a public nuisance and entered into the City's hazard abatement program:

• , Sedamsville (single-family, 1898)
• , Mount Auburn (single-family, 1915)
• , North Fairmount (multi-family, 1958)
• , North Fairmount (multi-family, 1959)
• , North Fairmount (multi-family, 1959)
• , North Fairmount (single-family, 1915)
• , North Fairmount (multi-family, 1900)
• , English Woods (single-family, 1928)
• , North Fairmount (single-family, 1902)
• , Millvale (single-family, 1903)
• , East Westwood (single-family, 1915)
• , North Fairmount (single-family, 1924)
• , South Fairmount (single-family, 1880)
• , South Fairmount (single-family, 1870)
• , Carthage (single-family, 1890)
• , West Price Hill (office/residential, 1929)
• , North Fairmount (single-family, 1895)
• , North Fairmount (single-family, 1875)
• , Millvale (single-family, 1895)
• , South Cumminsville (single-family, 1890)
• , Millvale (two-family, 1895)
• , Corryville (single-family, 1890)
• , Corryville (three-family, 1907)
• , Sedamsville (single-family, 1895)
• , Walnut Hills (single-family, 1916)

And at 1 P.M., at the same location, these buildings will be evaluated for public nuisance status:

• , Evanston (two-family, 1900)
• , Fairview (mixed-use, ???)
• , Fairview (single-family, 1895)
• , Lower Price Hill (multi-family, 1885)
• , Westwood (multi-family, 1963)
• , Avondale (single-family, 1905)
• , East Walnut Hills (single-family, 1900)
• , Roselawn (multi-family, 1923)
• , Carthage (single-family, 1885)
• , East End (two-family, 1875)
• , Fairview (two-family, 1920)
• , Fairview (multi-family, 1965)
• , West Price Hill (single-family, 1918)
• , Fairview (two-family, 1917)
• , Riverside (single-family, 1927)
• , University Heights (single-family, 1890)
• , South Cumminsville (two-family, 1929)
• , Northside (two-family, 1896)
• , West Price Hill (single-family, 1953)
• , Mount Auburn (multi-family, 1890)
• , West Price Hill (single-family, 1906)
• , Millvale (single-family, 1912)
• , Camp Washington (three-family, 1895)
• , Clifton Heights (retail, 1910)

Anyone with pertinent information or evidence of any building's historic significance is encouraged to testify.

Previous reading on BC:
Public nuisance hearing, 9/28/12 (9/27/12)
Public nuisance hearing, 8/31/12 (8/30/12)
Public nuisance hearing, 7/27/12 (7/26/12)
Public nuisance hearing, 6/29/12 (6/28/12)
Public nuisance hearing, 5/25/12 (5/24/12)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Mount Auburn
YEAR BUILT: 1987
USE: Commercial garage
OWNER: Halmi Properties LLC
ASSESSED VALUE: $258,990
HAZARD: --
CONDEMNED: --
ORDERS: --
REASON RAZED: Parking lot.

Urban Landscapes, the third exhibit in "The Art of the Built Environment" series, opens with a reception Friday evening from 5 P.M. to 8 P.M at the Betts House, located at 416 Clark Street in the West End.

In Urban Landscapes, photographers Sherman Cahal, Zach Fein, Craig Moyer, and Ronny Salerno explore through beautiful and atmospheric images how neglect and abandonment affect our built environment, challenging the viewer to see potential in what many would perceive as a bleak and decaying landscape.

NEIGHBORHOOD: Riverside
YEAR BUILT: 1890
USE: Single-family dwelling
OWNER: Steve Hodapp
ASSESSED VALUE: $25,430
HAZARD: --
CONDEMNED: --
ORDERS: February 2012, for gutters and downspouts, soffit, siding, exterior paint, and an unsafe porch.
REASON RAZED: Razed by the owner to close orders.