Following the success of recent CitiRama home showcases, the City of Cincinnati has decided to present another urban home show but this time with a decidedly more green focus. The new Greenarama Home Show first opened to the public this past weekend, and still has one more weekend for public viewing.
Organizers say that Greenarama is the first home show of its kind which focuses on green homes built pursuing LEED for Homes certification. In total there are nine homes constructed, by five builders, along Strafer Street in Cincinnati’s historic Columbia Tusculum neighborhood.
2011 Greenarama home at 463 Strafer Street.
One of the three-story townhomes has already sold, but the remaining eight feature outdoor space, state-of-the-art green technology and modern finishes meant to accentuate the urban location.
Organizers say that beyond Columbia Tusculum’s urban location, it also boasts inherently green lifestyle features that have made the neighborhood a destination for new homebuyers. Within a short walk of the Greenarama homes is the new Columbia Square development, dozens of neighborhood businesses, Alms Park and Riverside Academy Elementary School.
Those interested in seeing the new green homes first-hand can still do so this weekend. Tickets cost $10 per person (children under 12 years of age are free) with all proceeds going to benefit the Cincinnati Scholarship Foundation.
The 2011 Greenaram Home Show will be open on Friday from 2pm to 9pm, Saturday from 12pm to 9pm and Sunday from 12pm to 6pm. Tickets can be purchased online or at the event.
The contest kicked off June 1 at 8am and will end at 11:59pm, June 30. First, second and third places will win $25,000, $10,000 and $5,000, respectively. The Over-the-Rhine neighborhood is one of the most architecturally significant in the country, with the largest collection of Italianate architecture, rivaling similar but much smaller areas in Charleston, South Carolina; the French Quarter in New Orleans, Savannah, Georgia, and even Greenwich Village in New York City.
Votes are counted by email registration – a quick 30 seconds registers an address and enables you to vote one time. The small contest has quickly become a grassroots effort to rally votes and energize the neighborhood. Vote now!
Sean Rhiney, Vice President of the Foundation, described the contest as “a significant opportunity not just for Over-the-Rhine, our oldest and most beloved urban neighborhood, but for the entire City of Cincinnati.” He sees the contest as a chance for the city to shine nationally.
“We’re already proving OTR can be a national model for how older cities can recognize their significant architectural and community assets and let them guide and enhance preservation and development,” Rhiney explained. “The National Trust recognized this when they placed us on their endangered list in 2006 – that wasn’t a death sentence, that was a national organization shining a light on the beauty of what we have, and the limitless potential in saving and celebrating it.”
$25,000 could do a lot of good – the Foundation will enhance several programs already in place. The Over-the-Rhine Legal Defense Fund provides money for lawyers as preservationists battle the city, corporations, and private owners who wish to demolish historic structures.
Another program is the Green Historic Study – demonstrating the marraige between sustainable building and historic property. “Of course, saving structures on the city’s most endangered list in OTR remains a top priority as well identifying proactive ways to deal with infill and greenspace,” said Rhiney.
On June 9, OTR was in 84th place. The effort to win began in earnest the next day and has catapulted OTR into 2nd place. The standings as of 5:00AM, June 20 are as follows (votes alone determine which organization wins the challenge but Facebook “likes” are another, unofficial barometer):
As one can see from the current standings, Over-the-Rhine is within striking distance of 1st place but cannot win without the support of all of us. This neighborhood is significant and this is a chance to show the country that we are all behind it.
Please share all of this information with your friends and remember that you’re allowed to vote once for every email address you have. Vote at http://bit.ly/voteotr
Seth Schott writes and runs OTR Matters, a blog centered on the historic Over-the-Rhine neighborhood in Cincinnati. For more OTR-centric musings, check out the Over-the-Rhine blog, as well as OTR Matters on Facebook and Twitter.
Yesterday, OTR-resident and blogger CityKin wrote a post about 1314 Vine Street titled “Does this building stay or go“. The thoughts and its comments are an informative read and a good introduction to the subject of this post.
Mercer Commons is a planned development of new construction urban infill and historic restorations in the area surrounding Mercer Street in Over-the-Rhine. The development is bounded by Vine Street to the west, Walnut Street to the east, 14th Street to the north and the northern half of the 1300 blocks of Vine and Walnut Streets. It is an exciting opportunity to turn another corner (excuse the cliché) in OTR’s revitalization.
Footprint of Mercer Commons showing position of 1314 Vine Street in yellow box
In the footprint rendering above, one can see the position of 1314 Vine Street highlighted by the yellow square. If you look closely, you can see the driveway entrance to the parking garage (gray boxes in the middle of that block) lines up directly with 1314 Vine Street.
Other renderings (perhaps older or newer?) shows the following:
Mercer Commons looking east with Vine Street in foreground. Fate of 1314 Vine Street unknown.
It appears that 3CDC is not planning to save 1314 Vine Street, despite that the building has a historic facade and unique and beautiful stone cornice.
The History of 1314 Vine Street
According to the Hamilton County Auditor’s website, 1314 Vine St. was built in 1880 though the date is probably a best guess. The property was transferred from Cincinnati Public Schools to OTR Holdings Inc, a subsidiary of 3CDC, on August 11, 2008. It is a two story structure with what appears to be a cast iron storefront and a beautiful cornice. The original brick exterior has been covered in Dryvit or stucco and painted an odious shade of mauve, which apparently manifested itself during the structures days as a dance club in the recent past. The current configuration of front windows is not original as will be explained later with an examination of the 1904 Sanborn insurance maps.
The peaked roof is topped by raised glass skylights that run the length of the building, see image from Bing Maps below.
Bird
The Sanborn Map Company’s insurance maps of Cincinnati from 1904 show this building. They reveal some interesting facts:
Overview of the east side of the 1300 block of Vine and the west side of the 1300 block of WalnutA closer view1314 Vine Street according to 1904 Sanborn Insurance Map with illustration of raised glass roof
In the last Sanborn Map image, you can see the bay windows on the front of the building facing Vine Street. The inclusion of the “CITY MISSION” label is puzzling, but may point some ardent historian toward another chapter of this building’s history.
There are two issues at play in the fate of 1314 Vine Street. The first is the fate of the building itself at 1314 Vine Street. The second issue is larger and concerns the role historic preservation plays in the redevelopment of Over-the-Rhine. How important is each stitch in OTR’s historic fabric? It’d be enlightening to hear the opinions on these issues from 3CDC, the Over-the-Rhine Foundation, the Cincinnati Preservation Association, individual citizens, and others.
3CDC is to be lauded for its successes, and Mercer Commons could be a true triumph for OTR. However, if 3CDC chooses to demolish 1314 Vine Street by way of a “special exemption“, it will become in no small measure, but a part of the problem it purportedly seeks to remedy. Determining the fate of 1314 Vine Street would be better addressed sooner rather than later.
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Editor’s note: The Enquirer posted an article delving into more detail about the project, which is an interesting read. There seem to be two sides to the argument: one – every historic building is worth saving, and as much as possible should be done to preserve the fabric, no matter the cost. two – sometimes sacrifices need to be made.
The National Historic Registry has been contacted – I’m interested in finding out exactly what it means for OTR’s historic registry status with continued property demolitions and whether or not more demolitions truly threaten the status. Will update with more information as it is received.
So, Mercer Commons: an unacceptable demolition or a necessary evil for the greater good of the neighborhood? We welcome your thoughts.
Capital Shoe Repair in the Gateway Quarter, picture by Jenny Kessler for UrbanCincy
Worn footwear, busted purses and torn leather car interiors will live to see another day, thanks to leather extraordinaire and soul musician James Napier and Capital Shoe Repair & Shine Parlors.
Though believed by many to have gone the way of the milkman or the service station attendant, there is strong evidence to the contrary at 1344 Vine Street. Business is good, the door is open and Napier can’t finish a sentence without returning a wave to someone on the street, signifying Capital is in good company. “The neighborhood is great,” said Napier.
The Northside native was in the market to open a second location to supplement the original Capital Shoe Repair downtown and decided on the Vine Street location after a friend insisted he take a drive through Over-the-Rhine.
Capital Shoe Repair [LEFT] in the Gateway Quarter of historic Over-the-Rhine. Photograph by Jenny Kessler for UrbanCincy.
“I hadn’t even considered Vine a possibility. I had been on the road playing music for three years and when I came home I was surprised to see the neighborhood had come such a long way,” he said.
Napier has traveled all over the Midwest promoting his other passion: soul music. He’s been playing piano and guitar almost as long as he’s been in the shoe repair business – almost.
Capital opened in October 2010, but Napier’s been honing his craft for 37 years. His father, Frenchman Napier, opened Frenchman’s Shoe Repair of Covington, Kentucky in 1969, and laid the foundation for a family tradition.
“My first experience was at my father’s shop. I was fourteen years old and he had left to run some errands and put me in charge. Up until this point I had never operated any of the machines, my father thought I was too young. As soon as he left, I went to the Good Will next door and bought a small, decorative metal shoe and took it back to the shop. I used a scrap of leather and the trimming machine to put a sole and a heel on it,” said Napier.
Napier reached under the counter and showed the metal shoe with a flawless sole and heel attached; his first work, the passing of the shoe. “When he came back I showed him what I had done, he was impressed,” he added.
Impressed indeed. Two businesses and eight soul albums later, James Napier has still got it. He now divides his time equally between the original Capital Shoe Repair on 221 E. 4th Street (8am to 1pm) and the new Over-the-Rhine location (1pm to 8pm) and will mend anything from shoes to baseball gloves – just drop bye and say hello.
Last week Downtown Cincinnati Inc. (DCI) released their annual State of Downtown Report. The report contains graphs and numbers relating to the development of Downtown. This years report suggests that Downtown Cincinnati has seen a large increase in the number of people enjoying the array of restaurants and arts in the center city.
Arlene Koth, executive president and Chief Operating Officer of DCI, said that when they looked back at the numbers in 2010, there were a few things that really jumped out to them. One such item was the amount of development happening downtown; not just the number of projects that have been completed, but also the amount of investment that has gone into the projects downtown.
According to the report, $1.4 billion in development took place in 2010. DCI says that they expect an additional $1.8 million worth of development to follow on that 2010 investment, and be completed in the next 18 to 24 months. Of those investments, cultural projects represent approximately 31 percent. Mixed-use development makes up another 23 percent. Residential (18%), office (15%) and transportation (13%) investments then make up the rest.
DCI says that activity attendance downtown has saw a rather constant decrease from 2006 until 2009, but showed an increase in 2010. This recent increase goes follows the pattern seen recently with encouraging gains in new restaurants and residential buildings.
Downtown and its outlying neighborhoods, Over-the-Rhine and Pendleton, experienced a 35 percent population increase overall, with the majority coming in the outlying neighborhoods of the greater downtown area.
Businesses owners are trending towards buying the building in which they locate their businesses over leasing the spaces. Thus the newly renovated buildings stay intact and add value to downtown. Koth acknowledges “though some building [renovations and leases] have stalled, other developments have helped to spark more desire in potential residents and help pull the buildings through the darkness and into the light.”
DCI is also responsible for all the people walking and biking the streets in bright orange t-shirts or electric blue jackets depending on weather conditions. These Downtown Ambassadors are employed to help keep downtown clean and safe by doing everything from walking people home to giving people directions out of downtown.
Though the increase in development and activities in downtown have affected downtown Cincinnati’s economy positively, there have been numerous battles in getting business offices sold or rented and in keeping crime low. The number of crimes has steadily decreased until 2008 when they increased by 21% from 1,153 to 1,402 in 2009. Compared to the 2001 crime rate of 2,013, the rate has decreased significantly.
Overall, downtown is blooming with even more new businesses and events that keep the core bustling and alive with activity.
Fountain Square picture for UrbanCincy by Thadd Fiala.
