Category: Development

Categories
Development News

Mt. Washington unveils new gateway monument, celebrates city’s first NBD recycling program

Mt. Washington community leaders will be joined by Cincinnati Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls, representatives from Kroger, and other members of City Council to unveil a new gateway monument at the north end of the neighborhood’s business district.

City leaders say that the monument will also serve as a gateway to, and extension of, the city-owned Stanbery Park.

“The monument will serve as a welcoming feature not only for the business district, but for the park as well,” says Ed Ratterman, Senior Development Officer, City of Cincinnati. “Stanbery Park is a major asset for Mt. Washington and we hope that this will help attract a few more people there.”

The $95,000 monument is being unveiled in combination with approximately $24,000 in streetscaping enhancements throughout the business district that include new benches and 33 planters along Beechmont Avenue. The enhancements also include 10 new recycling receptacles that will serve as the foundation for the first public recycling program in one of Cincinnati’s neighborhood business districts.

“This was something that was very important to the Mt. Washington Business Association, and they wanted to include the recycling receptacles in this project,” Ratterman explained.

What makes the new recycling receptacles even more unique is their design which was created by local artist Edward Casagrande who also designed the new gateway monument for the business district. City officials say that the Office of Environment Quality has assumed the costs for Rumpke pick-up at these recycling receptacles for the first year.

According to Ratterman, the two projects were largely paid for by Cincinnati Neighborhood Business Districts United (CNBDU) which provides approximately $2 million annually for improvements throughout the city’s neighborhood business districts. An additional $7,000 was contributed by Keep Cincinnati Beautiful, while the Cincinnati Park Board helped to oversee the design components of the gateway project.

Categories
Business Development News

The Lackman to open Friday in the Gateway Quarter of historic Over-the-Rhine

Over-the-Rhine residents, workers, and visitors alike will have a new neighborhood watering hole to visit when The Lackman celebrates its grand opening on Friday in the Gateway Quarter at 13th and Vine streets.

The bar is named for the German brewer Herman Lackman who started brewing beer in Cincinnati in the 1800s and made this building into a saloon serving only Lackman brews. According to the new owners, The Lackman will once again be serving up beer, but with a much larger menu that will include 14 beers on tap and more than 30 additional bottled beers.

Inside the cozy 900 square-foot bar, early soft-opening patrons have already been treated to the restored interiors that feature original tile flooring and exposed brick. The historic features of the space, owners say, will be complimented by modern conveniences like flat-screen televisions, custom handmade chandeliers, large plush leather bar stools, and a jukebox.

“The goal of The Lackman is to create a stylish but casual neighborhood bar reflecting the resurgence of Over-the-Rhine,” owner Bob Deck explained in a prepared release. “With a friendly staff, eclectic music and large draft beer selection, we feel that customers will feel right at home.”

Deck is also a partner in the Cincinnati-based Four Entertainment Group (4EG) which operates eight local establishments including the popular Righteous Room in downtown Cincinnati just seven blocks away.

The Lackman (map) will be open from 7pm to 2am on Friday and Saturday this weekend. Following the grand opening weekend, owners say that the establishment will be open at 4pm every day, and will open earlier on Saturdays and Sundays during football season.

Photography contributed by 5chw4r7z.

Categories
Development News Transportation

Streetscaping improvements along W. McMillan Street near completion

Significant progress has been made on the first-phase of streetscaping improvements throughout the Clifton Heights business district. Over the past two months work has been taking place along W. McMillan Street to rebuild sidewalks, crosswalks, curbs, and more. The projected $440,000 project will also include new street lamps, parking meters, trash cans, and street trees.

This stretch of W. McMillan Street had long been plagued by buckled sidewalks due to root invasion from the street trees there and water that subsequently collected. The rebuilt sidewalks not only feature safe and pleasant surfaces for pedestrians, but they also feature uniquely designed brick work at cross walk locations.

The improvement work has been championed by the Clifton Heights Urban Redevelopment Corporation (CHCURC) whose director, Matt Bourgeois, said that “the business community is very excited about the progress being made.”

Some of that progress has been quite noticeable including several facade improvement projects; business expansions and renovations by DuBois Bookstore, Plaza Artist Supplies, and Mac’s Pizza Pub; and the addition of several new businesses to the district.

The first phase of streetscaping improvements, nearing their expected completion in October 2010, were funded through the Cincinnati Neighborhood Business Districts United (CNBDU) and the City of Cincinnati. The later two phases will continue the streetscaping work throughout the district over the next two years depending on funding.

Categories
Development News

Cincinnati Preservation Association to host lead paint seminar – 9/25

The Cincinnati Preservation Association (CPA) will be hosting seminar on how to safely work around lead paint, and how new rules from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) might affect your renovation project.

During renovation or repainting work, toxins found within lead paint can become a health risk for humans. As a result, many regulations have been developed to help guide this kind of work and keep those performing the work safe from any potential toxins.

According to building officials, lead paint is more prevalent in buildings built or painted prior to 1977 when lead paint was banned by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. New regulations passed by the EPA in April 2010 require that all renovators who work on homes built before 1978, and disturb more than six square feet of lead paint, be Renovation, Repair & Painting (RRP) certified. It is estimated that the new regulation will impact more than 100,000 renovators in the United States.

Event organizers say that the seminar will include presentations from Aisha Tzilla of the City of Cincinnati Community Development Department and Bill Menrath of the University of Cincinnati.

Lead Paint: Renovate Safely, Learn the New Regs will be held on Saturday, September 25 from 10am to 12pm. The event will be held at Building Value located in Northside at 4040 Spring Grove Avenue. Reservations are required due to limited space, and can be made by contacting CPA at (513) 721-4506 or info@cincinnatipreservation.org. Admission costs $5 for CPA members and $10 for the public.

Categories
Development News Politics

Cincinnati region awarded $6M through third round of NSP funding

The Cincinnati region was awarded nearly $6 million from the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) for the stabilization of neighborhoods that have been hard hit by the nation’s ongoing foreclosure crisis. In particular, the funds will be used to acquire and rehabilitate existing housing and demolish badly damaged properties.

The money was awarded through the third round of HUD’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program which awarded an additional $1 billion to communities across America this week. The previous two rounds of funding included $3.92 billion in 2008, and $2 billion in late 2009 through the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act which included $24 million for seven communities throughout Cincinnati region.

“These grants will support local efforts to reverse the effects these foreclosed properties have on their surrounding neighborhoods,” said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. “We want to make certain that we target these funds to those places with especially high foreclosure activity so we can help turn the tide in our battle against abandonment and blight.”

Winners in the third round of funding were determined by a number of key indicators that match funding to need in the 20 percent most distressed neighborhoods as determined by the number and percentage of home foreclosures, the number and percentage of homes financed by subprime mortgage related loans, and the number and percentage of homes in delinquency. HUD officials also say that housing price declines, increases in unemployment, and neighborhood vacancy problems are also taken into account.

Of the $6 million awarded throughout the Cincinnati region approximately $1.5 million went to Hamilton County, $1.3 million to Butler County, and $3.2 million to the City of Cincinnati.

“This is great news for greater Cincinnati. Our region was hit hard by the foreclosure crisis, and we need to do all we can to help neighborhoods rebuild and recover,” said U.S. Representative Steve Driehaus (D-OH). “The Neighborhood Stabilization Program brings resources into the hardest hit areas, and will make a difference for families and communities as we continue on the path toward recovery.”