Building Cincinnati

Wrecking Cincinnati: 4431 Ammon Ave

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin LeMaster) — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 17:00:00 +0000

NEIGHBORHOOD: Northside
YEAR BUILT: 1905
USE: Single-family dwelling
OWNER: Hamilton County Board of County Commissioners
ASSESSED VALUE: $64,990
HAZARD: --
CONDEMNED: --
ORDERS: --
REASON RAZED: Razed as part of the Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati's West Fork Watershed sewer project.
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Wrecking Cincinnati: 3459 Burnet Ave

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin LeMaster) — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 13:00:00 +0000

NEIGHBORHOOD: Avondale
YEAR BUILT: 1910
USE: Retail
OWNER: NTP Development LLC
ASSESSED VALUE: $30,830
HAZARD: --
CONDEMNED: --
ORDERS: --
REASON RAZED: Razed as part of the Burnet Avenue Revitalization Strategy.
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Wrecking Cincinnati: 1805 Baltimore Ave

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin LeMaster) — Thu, 31 May 2012 17:00:00 +0000

NEIGHBORHOOD: South Fairmount
YEAR BUILT: 1911
USE: Single-family dwelling
OWNER: Bartley Thomas Jr.
ASSESSED VALUE: $13,000
HAZARD: July 2009, adding soffits and weeds.
CONDEMNED: October 2008, for gutters and downspouts, chimney, siding, front porch, windows, and exterior paint. Re-issued in December 2008.
ORDERS: July 2006, ordered barricaded and vacated. Re-issued to new owner in September 2006.
REASON RAZED: Declared a public nuisance and entered into the City's hazard abatement program.
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Wrecking Cincinnati: 3756 Warsaw Ave

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin LeMaster) — Thu, 31 May 2012 13:00:00 +0000

NEIGHBORHOOD: East Price Hill
YEAR BUILT: 1939
USE: Two-family dwelling
OWNER: Priceview LLC
ASSESSED VALUE: $10,350
HAZARD: April 2011.
CONDEMNED: October 2006, following a fire on September 28, 2006, which caused $40,000 in damage to the residential portion of the property. Re-issued to current owner in February 2007. Criminal case pursued in June 2009, but dismissed due to statute of limitations. Condemnation re-issued in July 2009, building open to trespassers. A second criminal case was filed, but dismissed in February 2011 for want of prosecution.
ORDERS: --
REASON RAZED: Declared a public nuisance and entered into the City's hazard abatement program.
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Master plan completed, Blue Ash issues RFQ for Airport Park

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin LeMaster) — Wed, 30 May 2012 20:03:00 +0000

With the master plan completed, the City of Blue Ash has issued requests for qualifications for professional design, civil engineering, and construction management services for Phase I of the $20 million, 130-acre Blue Ash Airport Park.

Phase I of the project, estimated to cost $13.5 million, includes site preparation, utilities and infrastructure – including design improvements to Glendale-Milford and Plainfield roads; the construction of a one-story, 7,000-square-foot park pavilion, a 7,000-square-foot shell restaurant facility that can accommodate a future bistro, and a connecting 10,000-square-foot park commons canopy; a seven-story observation tower with a 120-by-80-foot stage pad; and hike-bike trails.

Future phases, contingent upon available funding, could include a performing arts center, driving range, dog park, and children's and natural playgrounds.

The closing date for receiving RFQs is June 13 at 5 P.M., and the winning teams will be selected August 9.

Design of Phase I is scheduled to begin in July, with infrastructure construction beginning early next year and facilities construction beginning in 2014.

Airport future uncertain

Funding for the project comes from a 0.25-percent rise in the City's earnings tax, approved by voters as Issue 15 in 2006. Blue Ash closed on the property on August 31, 2007 and will pay $37.5 million over 30 years.

Under terms of the sale agreement, the City of Cincinnati was required to apply for a $10 million Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grant to reconfigure and redevelop the airport on the site's remaining 98 acres, with Blue Ash kicking in $2 million in matching funds should the grant be awarded.

Having been denied the grant, Cincinnati has announced that, due to financial hardships that would occur if it continued to operate the airport, it would close the airport as soon as next month.

Although Blue Ash has the first option to purchase the airport, it has balked at the reported asking price of $24 million. Blue Ash Mayor Mark Weber has said that even if it could pay that purchase price, funding continued operation of the airport is likely beyond the city's means.

Blue Ash City Council has formed an advisory committee made composed of city officials and pilot advocates to look into its options. If Cincinnati does sell the airport to Blue Ash, FAA rules allow proceeds from that sale to be used for non-aviation-related City expenses, which could make a deal more attractive.

An airport has operated on the site since 1921, and Cincinnati has owned it since 1955.

Previous reading on BC:
Ordinance supports Blue Ash Airport cleanup (2/1/11)
Cincinnati, Blue Ash await CORF, FAA funds for airport (7/12/10)
Construction on Blue Ash's 'central park' unlikely until 2012-2013 (12/8/09)
Blue Ash Airport cleanup a go (10/29/08)
Cincinnati to create account for Blue Ash Airport cleanup (10/22/08)

Nominations for endangered Ohio sites due June 8

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin LeMaster) — Wed, 30 May 2012 18:00:00 +0000

Lovers of Ohio's historic but endangered built environment have until June 8 to nominate their favorite sites for inclusion on Preservation Ohio's Most Endangered Historic Sites 2012 list.

The list is meant to bring public attention to significant pieces of Ohio history in danger of being lost due to human action, deterioration, or other causes.

Sites may be nominated by individuals, organizations, or local governments. Two required digital photographs, in JPG or GIF format, should be sent separately to Jennifer Gray at jgray@preserveohio.com.

Preservation Ohio produced the list on a biannual basis between 1993 and 2005, and now issues one annually. Sites remain on the list until the imminent danger is lessened.

Thirteen sites made last year's list, including the James N. Gamble House in Westwood and the Greenhills Historic District. They have been on the list for two consecutive years and for three consecutive years, respectively.

Previous reading on BC:
Ohio's 'Most Endangered' nominations open through April 9 (3/29/10)
Preservation Ohio survey suggests better awareness, access to funding (12/2/09)
Preservation Ohio seeks public input on mission, goals (11/2/09)
Preservation Ohio seeking nominations for Ohio's most endangered (3/3/09)

Wrecking Cincinnati: 3738 Hillside Ave

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin LeMaster) — Wed, 30 May 2012 17:00:00 +0000

NEIGHBORHOOD: Riverside
YEAR BUILT: 1900
USE: Single-family dwelling
OWNER: Eric W. Furman III
ASSESSED VALUE: $23,850
HAZARD: December 2010.
CONDEMNED: June 2009, open to trespassers and heavily vandalized. The building had a collapsing chimney, rotting walls, water damage, a failing deck, falling cornice, poor gutters and downspouts, hazardous stairs, missing and damaged siding, and missing/hazardous handrails and guardrails, as well as high weeds and an interior filled with trash. Criminal status.
ORDERS: --
REASON RAZED: Declared a public nuisance and entered into the City's hazard abatement program.
MAP

MSD completes Lick Run plan

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin LeMaster) — Wed, 30 May 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Following more than a year of public input, the Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati (MSD) has completed its Lick Run Watershed Master Plan, its roadmap for reducing the negative impacts of Cincinnati's largest combined sewer overflow (CSO).

The plan recommends the "daylighting" of the buried Lick Run Creek within a six-block area bounded by White Street, the Western Hills Viaduct, and Queen City and Westwood avenues in South Fairmount.

Estimated to cost $122 million, the project would eliminate nearly half of the 1.7 billion-gallon mix of raw sewage and stormwater running from the 2,700-acre watershed directly into the Mill Creek annually.

A second option, an underground tunnel 1.2 miles in length and 30 feet in diameter, was rejected due to its cost and its lack of additional community benefits. In 2006 dollars, the tunnel was estimated to cost twice as much for construction and three times as much for annual operation and maintenance.

According to the plan, daylighting would have other positive neighborhood effects such as the stimulation of market-rate redevelopment and infill, the creation of multi-use cultural trails and a civic/recreation hub, and transportation and streetscape improvements – creating a more viable and walkable business district.

MSD will submit its preferred remedy for resolving the combined sewer overflow problem to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) and other regulators in December.

If approved, urban waterway design could begin next year, with construction beginning in 2015. Project construction would be completed in 2019.

In the meantime, the plan recommends the continuation of multi-agency coordination and collaboration -- including with City departments, collaborating with impacted property owners, developing a robust maintenance and management plan, establishing a project headquarters in South Fairmount, working with the Cincinnati Preservation Association to identify and save cultural resources, and developing a funding and partnership framework.

Lick Run is part of Project Groundwork, a $3.2 billion project to rebuild and improve the region's sewer system. Project Groundwork is mandated by a 2002 consent decree between MSD and the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. EPA, the Ohio EPA, and the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission that requires MSD to capture, treat, or remove at least 85 percent of the 14 billion gallons of annual combined sewer overflows (CSOs) and the 100 million gallons discharged annually from sanitary only sewers by 2018.

Images from the Lick Run Watershed Master Plan

Previous reading on BC:
Cincinnati economic development will 'actively support' Lick Run businesses (4/9/12)
Workshop attendees overwhelmingly support Lick Run daylighting (4/3/12)

Registration open for Paint the Town in Cheviot

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin LeMaster) — Wed, 30 May 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Registration is now open for the eleventh annual Paint the Town event, being held on June 9 in Cheviot.

Organized by Give Back Cincinnati, the single-day event brings together more than 1,000 volunteers to paint the exteriors of 40 houses for owners who are physically or financially unable to do so themselves. Houses are selected through an application process, with the goal of acting as a catalyst for the beautification of the entire community.

To prepare the houses for painting, more than 200 volunteers sanded, scraped, primed, and power washed the properties on May 19.

Volunteers will receive breakfast, lunch, reusable water bottles and T-shirts. The event concludes with an after-party.

Since its inception, Paint the Town has painted a total of 310 houses in the communities of Avondale, Bellevue, Carthage, College Hill, Covington, Dayton, East End, Evanston, Hartwell, Madisonville, Northside, and Price Hill.

Previous reading on BC:
One week left for Paint the Town nominations (2/8/11)
Final day for Paint the Town registration (7/7/10)
Paint the Town seeks prep work volunteers next three Saturdays (5/13/10)
Volunteers needed for Paint the Town prep work (5/13/09)

Wrecking Cincinnati: 332 Erkenbrecher Ave

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin LeMaster) — Wed, 30 May 2012 13:00:00 +0000

NEIGHBORHOOD: Avondale
YEAR BUILT: 1900
USE: Charity/hospital/retirement home
OWNER: Erkenbrecher Properties LLC (Ronald McDonald House)
ASSESSED VALUE: $65,160
HAZARD: --
CONDEMNED: --
ORDERS: --
REASON RAZED: Razed by adjacent property owner Ronald McDonald House, with no plans for the property announced.
MAP

Contested Lower Price Hill riverfront site approved for recreation, housing

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin LeMaster) — Tue, 29 May 2012 20:09:00 +0000

Now that a lawsuit with Queensgate Terminals over a proposed barge-to-rail facility on Lower Price Hill's riverfront has been settled, work to bring housing and recreational uses to the site has begun.

Last Wednesday, City Council voted unanimously to rezone land it owns at the former 31-acre Hilltop Basic Resources site at 1911 River Road from RF-C Riverfront Commercial and RF-M Riverfront Manufacturing to RF-R Riverfront Residential-Recreational, a victory for local advocates who had been fighting the terminal proposal, citing light, noise, pollution, and other effects that might damage ongoing redevelopment in the area.

Before Hilltop, the site had various industrial uses.

Starting in approximately 1883, a rail yard operated on the western portion of the site, and, from 1891 to the mid-1920s, Carlisle Coal Company used the eastern side of the site to transfer coal from trains to carts. From the early 1930s through the early 1960s, the Moskowitz Brothers Company operated a salvage and scrap yard there.

Following the flood of 1937, few railroad buildings remained in use, but the property did serve as the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's Storrs yard for approximately 70 years until its closure in the 1980s. An Amtrak station operated on a small portion of the property between 1972 and 1991.

Challenges

Of the 31 acres, approximately 15 acres will be open to redevelopment when the Waldvogel Viaduct project concludes in two years.

But redevelopment of the land presents some serious challenges.

The land is located in a 100-year flood plain, meaning that any new residences would have to have all habitable space elevated. A new access road would have to be built across the railroad tracks, which may have to be expanded to accommodate high-speed rail service from Union Terminal to Chicago. And the site's industrial past could have left contaminants, which would have to be assessed before the land can be returned to private use.

Then there's the question of funding – neither the Cincinnati Parks Department nor the City's Department of Community Development have capital funding to support new residential development or the construction and maintenance of a new park.

Trail proposed

Still, groups like the West Side Summit's River West Working Group believe that the site's high-visibility location could serve as a unique western gateway into the City that could help its struggling neighborhoods attract and retain residents.

Phase one of its proposed Western Riverwalk multi-use trail would begin at the Hilltop site and continue to the Gilday Recreation Complex, approximately 2.2 miles in length.

Upon completion, the trail would follow the Ohio River for eleven miles from the western edge of The Banks to Fernbank Park. It eventually could connect with the Mill Creek Greenway Trail at Confluence Park, identified in 2007's Cincinnati Parks Centennial Master Plan.

The proposal contends that the Western Riverwalk would spur private redevelopment in the historic neighborhoods of Lower Price Hill, Sedamsville, and Riverside. It would also build upon the momentum of several completed or proposed projects, including the $68 million Waldvogel Viaduct replacement, the $20 million renovation of Oyler School, the $4 million upgrade of the Gilday Recreation Complex, a proposed 60-acre mixed use development by Neyer Properties, a mixed-use development planned in Sedamsville, and residential and commercial developments in East Price Hill's Incline District.

"While this region hosts several riverfront industries, it also has green hills, scenic views, and untouched riverfront," the proposal said. "Just a few feet down from the busy streets and railways, there is a different Cincinnati – one that has the potential to be a national example of environmental stewardship and urban recreation."

Previous reading on BC:
Local highway projects causing closures (5/1/12)
Photos: Grand opening of the Elberon Senior Apartments (4/16/12)
Grants would fund safety, access improvements at Riverside Recreation Area (3/20/12)
City, Queensgate Terminals likely to go to trial – again (2/28/11)
City, CPS to swap land (3/30/10)

Motion: Changes require board to evaluate NSP, NBD programs

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin LeMaster) — Tue, 29 May 2012 18:00:00 +0000

A report on a May 22 motion to create an advisory board to review and update guidelines related to the Neighborhood Support Program (NSP) and Neighborhood Business District Support Program (NBD) is due before City Council within the next three weeks.

Introduced by Councilmember P.G. Sittenfeld and signed by seven of the eight other councilmembers, the motion asks the City to look into the creation of an advisory board that would meet a minimum of once every four years. Appointments would be made by the City Manager and would include one member of City administration, one member of City Council, one community council president, one representative from Cincinnati Neighborhood Business Districts United, and the executive director or a member of the board of trustees of Invest In Neighborhoods.

A statement accompanying the motion suggests that changes in technologies and the costs of services require a mechanism for regular reevaluation of the programs.

"The driving philosophy of the NSP and NBD programs is that neighborhoods know what their priorities are and how to best invest in them," the statement said. "Working with outdated and restrictive guidelines impedes their ability to fully recognize and implement their priorities."

For example, guidelines allow neighborhoods to spend $3,000 on communication projects annually, but do not specify websites or smart phones as allowable expenses.

"They thus become subjected to unneeded scrutiny, and some neighborhoods have even felt these items outside the bounds of what they are allowed to invest in," the statement said. "We are due to update these guidelines to match our modern world, lessen confusion among neighborhoods, and empower them to strengthen their communities."

Previous reading on BC:
Application period open for NBD grant program (4/11/12)
Funding identified for three City projects (2/14/11)
Three community councils reimbursed for NSP activities (7/7/10)
Communities' NSP experiences under City direction vary wildly (5/25/10)
Northside funding request would eliminate South Block blight (11/4/09)

Wrecking Cincinnati: 2322 Central Pw

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin LeMaster) — Tue, 29 May 2012 17:00:00 +0000

NEIGHBORHOOD: Fairview
YEAR BUILT: 1900
USE: Single-family dwelling
OWNER: Bank of America NA
ASSESSED VALUE: $11,000
HAZARD: June 2011. Foreclosure.
CONDEMNED: October 2010, following a two-alarm fire on August 6, 2010 that severely damaged the structure. Criminal status.
ORDERS: July 2009, for gutters and downspouts, soffit, electrical service entrance cable, siding, exterior paint, porch, exterior handrail, plaster, doors, sink and fixtures, and electrical system.
REASON RAZED: Declared a public nuisance and entered into the City's hazard abatement program.
MAP

Federal Office of Water head gets tour of Mill Creek, solidifies partnership

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin LeMaster) — Tue, 29 May 2012 16:03:00 +0000

The Mill Creek Restoration Project (MCRP) will receive a $50,000 Audubon Innovation Grant to delineate and recreate wetlands that have formed on sediment in the channelized sections of the urban waterway.

The grant was announced by MCRP Executive Director Robin Corathers during a tour of the Mill Creek with Nancy Stoner, acting assistant administrator with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (U.S. EPA) Office of Water, highlighting the MCRP's work in to restore its degraded habitat.

Stoner was in town to learn more about MCRP, one of ten National Urban Waters Fellows under the U.S. EPA's Urban Water Initiative.

The 90-minute tour highlighted Laughing Brook, a multi-purpose constructed wetland, public art, and environmental education project at Salway Park; an edible art garden at the Salway Native Species Nursery being tended by approximately 40 volunteers from project partner Duke Energy and MCRP staff; and the Freedom Tree Grove, highlighting Mill Creek's rich cultural history as a major route along the Underground Railroad.

Still endangered

In 1997, the national group American Rivers designated Mill Creek as the most endangered urban waterway in North America, having been degraded by channelization, habitat loss, industrial runoff and more than 100 combined sewer overflows (CSO).

The non-profit MCRP, founded in 1994, cautions that CSO elimination alone will not restore the waterway. Additional measures must be taken, including regeneration the riverine-riparian ecosystem in tandem with greenway trail development; public engagement and capacity building; and healthy people, schools and neighborhoods strategies.

Since its inception, MCRP has completed more than 30 eco-regeneration and trails projects to date and provides environmental education programming to more than 26,000 students annually.

The U.S. EPA has provided funding for some of these efforts, including stormwater grants and environmental education grants that have helped fund Laughing Brook, the Freedom Tree Grove, a River Resource Economics Study, and service learning installations at local schools.

"This is the kind of thing that we're all about, so we're very happy to partner with you on this project," Stoner said.

Many of these urban waterways are located in heavily industrialized areas, meaning that many of their surrounding communities are low-income.

The key to returning these waterways to productive use involves harnessing a community's energy and intelligence capital and building partnerships, Stoner said.

"All of these communities have resources that have been degraded," she said. "We'll always have issues. But that doesn't mean that the community doesn't value urban rivers."

Engaging the public

Encouraging the community to value the resource requires improving public access.

The main initiative to improve that access is the Mill Creek Greenway and Trail, envisioned as a 28-mile multi-use trail from the creek's headwaters in Liberty Township to a planned park on the Ohio River, where it would tie into the Ohio River Trail.

A 2009 study by the University of Cincinnati Applied Economics Research Institute concluded that the City of Cincinnati's 12.5-mile portion of the trail would create an economic impact of $52.18 million and at least 445 jobs. So far, 3.5 miles, from Winton Road to the Mill Creek Road bridge, have been completed.

A festival and health fair celebrating the trail will be held next month.

"Rivers are a magnet," Stoner said.

Stoner tours rain garden

While in town, Stoner also met with representatives from the Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati's (MSD) to learn about its efforts to find sustainable solutions to the City's combined sewer system problem.

One of her stops was the rain garden at St. Francis Court Apartments on Queen City Avenue, created on two vacant parking lots. The rain garden will serve to retain and cleanse groundwater runoff and provide a natural habitat for birds and insects.

"MSD is proud to be included in this visit to Cincinnati by one of U.S. EPA's top officials," said MSD Director Tony Parrott in a prepared release. "We believe our programs can be a model for other communities across the country, and we are pleased to share them with policymakers at all levels."

Previous reading on BC:
MCRP makes pitch for Mill Creek trail funds (11/17/09)
Mill Creek greenway project wins $500K grant (10/12/09)
Report: Mill Creek trail could create 445 jobs, $52 million economic impact (9/8/09)

Region's first bike polo court opens near UC

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin LeMaster) — Tue, 29 May 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Cincinnati's first bike polo court opened last Thursday with a ribbon-cutting and demonstration.

The Coy Bike Polo Court, located at the end of Joselin Avenue in University Heights, is also one of the few official bike polo courts in the country.

"It's great to have a first," said Steve Pacella, Cincinnati Recreation Commission (CRC) superintendent. "It's all about expanding services. A little bit of something for everybody is what we're all about."

Similar to polo, bike polo is played between two teams of three riders apiece. Games end after ten minutes of play, or after a team scores five goals.

To create the 170-foot-by-70-foot court, the CRC revamped two tennis courts, adding wooden boards for banking and a blue playing surface to make it easier to track the ball.

Prior to construction of the new court, local players often played on old tennis courts, parking lots, or in the old roller skating rink at Sawyer Point.

Jason Berlin of Cincinnati Bike Polo said that, locally, the sport is enjoying exponential growth, and players typically now have to wait to get into a game.

The new, centrally located facility puts the sport closer to University of Cincinnati students and riders in the City's urban core, he said.

"But this is more for the community than just a sport," Berlin said.

Fifteen more buildings declared a public nuisance

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin LeMaster) — Tue, 29 May 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Following recent public hearings held by the Department of Community Development, Property Maintenance Code Enforcement, the following 15 buildings have been declared a public nuisance:

1262 Rutledge Ave, West Price Hill (two-family, 1929)
2308 Lehman Rd, South Fairmount (single-family, 1888)
2035 Vine St, Clifton Heights (mixed-use, 1880)
4215 Leeper St, Northside (single-family, 1904)
3123 Van Buren Ave, Avondale (multi-family, 1895)
2287 Schoedinger Ave, South Fairmount (single-family, 1929)
2184 Harrison Ave, Westwood (single-family, 1909)
1010 Rosemont Ave, West Price Hill (two-family, 1918)
1211 Chapel St, Walnut Hills (multi-family, 1900)
3874 Isabella Ave, Oakley (two-family, 1910)
3905 Dumont St, East End (single-family, 1888)
3071 Moosewood Ave, Millvale (three-family, 1915)
2519 Harrison Ave, Westwood (two-family, 1916)
4015 Gulow St, Northside (three-family, 1884)
3610 Edwin Ave, East Price Hill (single-family, 1897)

A public nuisance declaration subjects these buildings to demolition by governmental action, pending historic review, the awarding of bids, and the issuance of permits.

Previous reading on BC:
Fourteen buildings, two garages declared a public nuisance (4/19/12)
Public nuisances declared (3/19/12)

Wrecking Cincinnati: 328 Erkenbrecher Ave

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin LeMaster) — Tue, 29 May 2012 13:00:00 +0000

NEIGHBORHOOD: Avondale
YEAR BUILT: 1938
USE: Charity/hospital/retirement home
OWNER: Erkenbrecher Properties LLC (Ronald McDonald House)
ASSESSED VALUE: $60,000
HAZARD: --
CONDEMNED: --
ORDERS: June 2005, for porch guardrails. New orders in August 2007 for gutters and downspouts, exterior paint, windows, and porch guardrails. Foreclosed in late 2008, orders re-issued to Fannie Mae. Re-issued to current owner in March 2009. Re-issued May 2011.
REASON RAZED: Razed by adjacent property owner Ronald McDonald House, with no plans for the property announced.
MAP

Three NKY cities award best in preservation

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin LeMaster) — Fri, 25 May 2012 19:00:00 +0000

The 2012 River Cities Preservation Awards were given out yesterday evening at the Sanctuary Event Center in Newport.

Part of National Preservation Month, the annual awards ceremony acknowledges outstanding preservation people and projects in the three Northern Kentucky Certified Local Government* cities of Bellevue, Covington, and Newport during the 2011 calendar year.

Bellevue winners include:

Ashley Construction, Adaptive Reuse for St. Anthony Lofts at 320 Poplar Street;
Brian and Jody Connett and Jean Claude Moret for the Commercial Rehabilitation of 336 Fairfield Avenue; and
Margo Warminski of the Cincinnati Preservation Association as a Person of Distinction.

In Covington:

Pat Huber for the Exterior Restoration of the residential property at 3211 Decoursey Avenue;
Kings Crossing, the Exterior Restoration of a mixed-use/commercial building at 1126-1134 Greenup Street;
Orleans Development for the Residential Rehabilitation of 401 W 9th Street;
Thomas Edison School, an Adaptive Reuse at 1516 Scott Street;
The Bank of Kentucky for Stewardship of 231 Scott Street; and
Chuck Eilerman, the Karen and Peter Rafuse Memorial Award in honor of individual dedication to Covington's architectural and cultural heritage.

And in Newport:

Doug South for the Adaptive Reuse of 307 E 3rd Street;
Jim and Susan Lawrence for Brick Façade Restoration at 611 Monroe Street;
Scott and Kendra Clark for the Complete Restoration of 511 Overton Street;
Marcus Reising for the Residential Rehabilitation of 832 Maple Avenue; and
Dr. Mark Schorer, "Legacy-Physicians Row", for 17 E 6th Street.

Located at 417 E 6th Street, the venue itself is a former preservation award winner recipient, receiving an award for Adaptive Reuse in 2009.

NOTE: Administered by the National Park Service and each state's historic preservation office, the Certified Local Government Program is a preservation partnership between local, state and national governments focused on promoting historic preservation at the grassroots level.

Previous reading on BC:
Northern Kentucky cities honor best in preservation (6/1/10)
Covington HPO seeks nominations for River Cities awards (3/31/10)
River Cities Preservation Awards next Wednesday (5/14/09)
Covington accepting nominations for preservation awards (3/14/08)

Wrecking Cincinnati: 6516 East Ledge St

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin LeMaster) — Fri, 25 May 2012 17:00:00 +0000

NEIGHBORHOOD: Madisonville
YEAR BUILT: 1885
USE: Single-family dwelling
OWNER: Edward Ibold McAndrews
ASSESSED VALUE: $48,360
HAZARD: September 2011.
CONDEMNED: July 2010, following heavy damage from a two-alarm fire. Owner deceased.
ORDERS: --
REASON RAZED: Declared a public nuisance and entered into the City's hazard abatement program.
MAP

Wrecking Cincinnati: 1900 Biegler St

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin LeMaster) — Fri, 25 May 2012 13:30:00 +0000

NEIGHBORHOOD: South Fairmount
YEAR BUILT: 1900
USE: Single-family dwelling
OWNER: John Hony
ASSESSED VALUE: $8,080
HAZARD: May 2011, adding unsafe retaining walls.
CONDEMNED: December 2009, for roof, walls, windows, gutters and downspouts, siding, rotten floors, chimney, missing or vandalized mechanicals, and litter and debris.
ORDERS: June 2008, ordered barricaded and vacated due to trespassers and vandalism. A criminal case was filed in December 2008.
REASON RAZED: Declared a public nuisance and entered into the City's hazard abatement program.
MAP

Public nuisance hearing, 5/25/12

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin LeMaster) — Thu, 24 May 2012 20:00:00 +0000

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, 3300 Central Parkway, to determine if the following buildings should be declared a public nuisance and entered into the City's hazard abatement program:

109 Wildwood Ave, Hartwell (industrial warehouse, 1892)
1040 McPherson Ave, East Price Hill (single-family, 1880)
1240 Groesbeck Rd, College Hill (multi-family, 1900)
1314 Groesbeck Rd, College Hill (single-family, 1865)
1814 Wyoming Ave, West Price Hill (single-family, 1940)
2225 Boone St, Mount Auburn (single-family, 1924)
114 Meridian St, Sayler Park (single-family, 1890)
736 Delhi Ave, Sedamsville (single-family, 1873)
1232 Amanda Pl, West Price Hill (single-family, 1925)
933 State Ave, Lower Price Hill (mixed-use, 1895)
8463 Wiswell St, Hartwell (two-family, 1875)
1421 Apjones St, Northside (single-family, 1891)
3992 Fawnhill Ln, West Price Hill (single-family, 1961)
669 Halsey Ave, Sedamsville (single-family, 1904)
620 Trenton Ave, West Price Hill (single-family, 1922)
1918 Ashbrook Dr, West Price Hill (single-family, 1948)
5719 Lantana Ave, College Hill (single-family, 1914)

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

Previous reading on BC:
Public nuisance hearing, 3/30/12 (3/30/12)

Wrecking Cincinnati: 2325 Vine St

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin LeMaster) — Thu, 24 May 2012 17:00:00 +0000

NEIGHBORHOOD: Clifton Heights
YEAR BUILT: 1890
USE: Three-family dwelling
OWNER: Ricky E. Kindell
ASSESSED VALUE: $63,800
HAZARD: April 2010, now adding litter and debris, a cracked and separating foundation, deteriorated gutters and downspouts, and bricks falling into the public right-of-way. In the criminal case, a capias warrant for $1,000 was issued in March 2011. The case dismissed in April 2012.
CONDEMNED: October 2009, for damaged roof, cornice, stairs, windows, lack of paint, and lack of water and utilities. A criminal case was filed in March 2010.
ORDERS: January 2006, ordered barricaded due to windows on the upper floors being broken out. Ordered vacant in December 2006.
REASON RAZED: Declared a public nuisance and entered into the City's hazard abatement program.
MAP

Wrecking Cincinnati: 3915 Hillside Ave

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin LeMaster) — Thu, 24 May 2012 13:00:00 +0000

NEIGHBORHOOD: Riverside
YEAR BUILT: 1910
USE: Single-family dwelling
OWNER: HBK Investments LLC
ASSESSED VALUE: $39,310
HAZARD: November 2008, adding roof and gutters. By late 2011, vermin had taken up residence.
CONDEMNED: November 2007, for trespassers, water damage, broken or missing windows and doors, an unstable exterior deck, a vandalized interior with holes in the walls and broken glass, weeds. Building part of bankruptcy proceedings.
ORDERS: --
REASON RAZED: Declared a public nuisance and entered into the City's hazard abatement program.
MAP

Study: Current phase of The Banks to have $91.6M annual economic impact

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin LeMaster) — Wed, 23 May 2012 20:00:00 +0000

The University of Cincinnati Economic Center has released a study of Phase 1A of The Banks, estimating an ongoing annual economic impact of $91.6 million from the new development.

The study, released by the development team of Carter, the Dawson Company and equity partner USAA Real Estate Company, also credits the construction of 300 apartments and 97,000 square feet of retail at the riverfront project with generating $556 million in construction-based impact on the local economy.

The remainder of Phase 1, including a new boutique hotel, a 230,000-square-foot office building, and additional 27,000 square feet of residential units, will have a total annual economic impact of $276 million, the study says. When combined with City, county, and developer investment, the total economic impact is expected to exceed $2.7 billion by 2020 – with 1,400 direct jobs, 1,000 indirect jobs, and 3,600 construction jobs.

Future phases between the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center and Paul Brown Stadium are projected to generate an additional $335 million in annual economic activity.

"These investments are helping to create a vibrant riverfront – where people can live, work and play," said Scott Stringer, executive vice president with Carter, in a prepared release. "The investments made by the public parties are starting to pay off and we're happy to help the city and county complete the vision of the riverfront."

The study concludes that the City and county investment will be paid back within two years.

The study also says that a majority of the residents at the apartments, Current at The Banks, came from outside of the City. Twenty percent moved in from outside of the 15-county metropolitan area.

Rendering courtesy of "Economic Impact of The Banks Project In the Redevelopment of the Cincinnati Central Riverfront", Economics Center of the University of Cincinnati.

Previous reading on BC:
New website showcases living options at The Banks (1/26/11)
Riverfront road closure allows The Banks work to progress (1/17/11)
Council approves $10M in Banks bonds (6/22/10)
24-hour police welcoming center slated for The Banks (5/17/10)
Banks developers create new website, branding (4/27/10)

Construction of 'key' Kennedy Connector begins

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin LeMaster) — Wed, 23 May 2012 19:00:00 +0000

Construction on the Kennedy Connector, a half-mile extension of Kennedy Avenue (overview map_ that's expected to alleviate traffic on Ridge Road and provide better access from Madison Road to Interstate 71 northbound, began on Monday.

The first phase of the two-year, $30 million project began in three locations: On Ibsen Avenue, which will be closed between Marburg Avenue and Ridge Road and will be open on weekend afternoons; on Ibsen Avenue between Ridge and Madison roads, which will be closed until crews can install two new water mains later this summer; and at the intersection of Duck Creek Road and Kennedy Avenue, where a temporary roadway is being built so that construction crews can eventually build the new extension of Kennedy Avenue.

Duck Creek Road between Ridge Road and Kennedy Avenue will be limited to one lane of eastbound traffic only.

When complete, Kennedy Avenue will run parallel to Ridge Road and connect Duck Creek and Madison roads. Specific improvements include:

A new five-lane Kennedy Avenue with a center, left-turn only lane. New landscaping, sidewalks, and bicycle infrastructure will be added.
A realignment of Ibsen Avenue between Marburg and Ridge avenues, with Ibsen Avenue continuing eastward to tie into the Kennedy Connector.
Realignments and intersection improvements at Ibsen Avenue and Ridge Road, Ibsen and Marburg avenues, and Alamo Avenue and Ridge Road.
Replacement of Barrow Avenue as the access point to Interstate 71 southbound with a new City street. Barrow Avenue will end in a cul-de-sac.

The Kennedy Connector project is one of the transportation and infrastructure improvements identified by the Eastern Corridor project, a multi-modal transportation project to address travel demand between Downtown Cincinnati and western Clermont County.

The roadway also is expected to support the long-awaited redevelopment at Oakley Station, the redevelopment of 74 acres at the former Cincinnati Milling Machine site at 4701 Marburg Avenue.

Now under construction, the $120 million project will include the 302-unit Boulevard at Oakley Station apartment development, a 55,000-square-foot Cinemark movie theater, 350,000 square feet of retail space, 250,000 square feet of Class A office space, and 4,250 surface parking spaces.

Previous reading on BC:
Oakley Station residences win LEED tax exemption (4/9/12)
City to accept up to $12M for Kennedy Connector road project (3/28/11)
Hearing on Oakley Station remediation tonight (3/8/11)
Cincinnati to apply for federal transportation grants (4/1/10)
Oakley open house shows Kennedy Connector preferred alternative (6/25/09)