Tag: sustainability

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Business Development News

Nolen Park development to complete Mariemont’s original town plan

In 1862 an 18-year-old Brooklynite named Mary Hopkins came to Cincinnati with ideas for a walkable community in her new home. Long story short, she soon became Mary Emery, one of Cincinnati’s most celebrated philanthropists, and is credited with founding the planned community of Mariemont.

She was at the groundbreaking of the neigborhood in 1923. 90 years later, Mariemont is a walkable community worth emulating, and its newest development, Emery Park, will help to finally complete Mary Emery’s original town plan. In conjunction with North American Properties, Cincinnati-based Greiwe Development Group broke ground for the $12 million project on August 31, 2010 and it is expected to be complete this November.

Emery Park is an extension of the Village Square, and thanks to CR Architecture + Design, continues the tradition of Tudor Revival design signature to the Mariemont community. Developers tout the project as having interior features open one-level floor plans with expansive windows, large balconies, and immaculate finishes, providing both a perfect space and location for Baby Boomers. To date, nearly one-third of the 31 units of been sold.

“Emery Park is the realization of Mary Emery’s vision for downtown Mariemont, and 90 years later, we’re able to say that we have fulfilled a part of her well-designed plan for this walkable community,” said Rick Greiwe, principal of Greiwe Development Group.

Emery Park is one of three condominium complexes in Mariemont that have been built by the development team. The first of which, Jordan Park, was dedicated in October 2008 and has since sold all 26 of its residences. The other, Nolen Park, is slated to break ground in spring of 2012 and has already sold six of the 29 units. And developers say that all of the developments are available in one to three bedroom floor plans with energy-efficient materials to provide residents with comfortable, low-maintenance living.

The project is in partnership with Greiwe Development, Sibcy Cline and North American Properties. Sibcy Cline listing agents are Patti Harrier and Elaine Greiwe. Homes at Emery Park start at $295,000 and open houses take place at the Mariemont Lifestyle Sales Center each Sunday from 1pm to 4pm at 3514 West Street.

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News Transportation

Cincinnati wins national CDBG award for Ohio River Trail project

City leaders will gather today in downtown Cincinnati to accept a national award for its Ohio River Trail project. The John A. Sasso National Community Development Week Award will be presented at the National Community Development Association (NCDA) convention currently being held in Cincinnati.

NCDA officials say that the Ohio River Trail project is helping to improve neighborhoods and better the lives of low- and middle-income residents through the use of the association’s Community Development Block Grants (CDGB). In 2011, eight departments within the City of Cincinnati made more than $13 million in total CDBG requests. Over the past five years, the City has requested approximately $13 million annually in CDBG funds.

The association specifically looked at a 1.1-mile stretch of the Ohio River Trail through Columbia Tusculum which was recently completed thanks to a CDBG Economic Development Initiative grant of $745,125. In May, UrbanCincy partnered with the City of Cincinnati to give future bicycle commuters a tour of the Ohio River Trail.

Once entirely complete, the Ohio River Trail will connect with the Little Miami Scenic Trail to the east and downtown Cincinnati at its western terminus. Future segments could go further west along the Ohio River.

The Ohio River Trail project was chosen for this year’s award out of 550 local governments who work with NCDA on community development projects. Those projects include a wide variety of efforts that are targeted to improve economic development, housing and human services.

Officials will be presented the award by Cardell Cooper, executive director of NCDA, at 12:30pm today at the Pavilion Room inside the Hilton Netherland Plaza Hotel.

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Development News

Green home show enters second weekend in historic Columbia Tusculum

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.

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Business News

Keystone Community Garden connects urban neighborhoods to sustainable produce

(Left to Right) Melody Byrom, manager of Over-The-Rhine and Walnut Hills Kitchens & Pantry, Dan Neyer, president and CEO of Neyer Properties, and Patricia Wakim, executive director of OTR and Walnut Hills Kitchens & Pantry

During a time in which 51 percent of Americans will live in poverty sometime before the age of 65 and an estimated 20.7 percent of all children under the age of 18 in the U.S. currently live in poverty, Neyer Properties is rolling up its sleeves and taking its talents to the dirt.

The Cincinnati-based sustainable real estate developer has taken on yet another project that promotes its unwavering dedication to ethical and environmentally-friendly business practices with the Keystone Community Garden at Keystone Parke in Evanston along I-71. Although originally planned for Earth Day on April 22, planting finally took place on Friday, May 13 after being rescheduled four times due to rain.

Throughout the summer volunteers will harvest tomatoes, peppers, corn, potatoes, green beans, lettuce, cucumbers and onions and donate the fresh produce to the Over-the-Rhine and Walnut Hills Kitchens and Pantry. Founded in 1976, the Over-the-Rhine kitchen is the Tristate’s oldest soup kitchen and dishes out roughly over 4,000 meals per week.


Directors from OTR Kitchen and Food Pantry and Neyer Properties.

“Neyer Properties represents the wonderful generosity of corporations in our city,” said Patricia Wakim, executive director of OTR and Walnut Hills Kitchens and Pantry. “It is through this kindness and support that we are able to continue our mission to care for the poor and homeless in an environment of respect and hospitality. We applaud Neyer Properties for its dedication in caring for those less fortunate.”

Of course, feeding Cincinnati is not a mission one embarks on alone; the 60 x 120 foot community garden was a team effort. Lawn Systems provided the equipment to till the land; the American Red Cross gave volunteers and the irrigation supply; and Mills Fence Company supplied a six-foot fence to protect the garden from animals. Neyer is no stranger to the other kind of corporate greenery – the kind that allows one to boast several LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified properties. Giving back is an integral part, if not the integral part of Neyer’s corporate culture.

Since 2007 the company and its employees have donated their efforts to Working in Neighborhoods with annual home rehabilitation and landscaping projects, and since 2008 have cleaned up litter and recyclables every month on Dana Avenue from I-71 south exit ramp to Evanston Avenue along Keystone Parke as part of Keep Cincinnati Beautiful’s Adopt-A-Spot program.

The location of the LEED-certified Keystone Parke, the Adopt-A-Spot area, and now the community garden is by no means an accident. Nestled against the notoriously traffic-laden I-71 not only brings attention to Neyer’s mission of sustainable developments, but showcases the results that come from adhering to that mission.

“Born and raised in Cincinnati, I believe any place where you live, work and play you have to give back if you want it to be better than when you first arrived,” said Dan Neyer, president of Neyer Properties. “The reason we have an education event to honor Earth Day is to educate with our hands, and do something that is visible and long-lasting. I think it’s the ultimate sustainability, between the air we breathe and the food we eat – it’s the only way we can live.”

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News Transportation

Ohio River Trail Tour to explain bike commuter center basics this Sunday

To wrap up the end of Bike Week (and Bike Month), UrbanCincy and the City of Cincinnati have teamed up to lead the Ohio River Trail bike ride on Sunday, May 22 at 10 am. The ride travels along the completed portion of the Ohio River Trail, and will also share information about the new Bike & Mobility Center at the Central Riverfront Park. This event will share information with those in attendance about future phases of the bike trail, as well as learn how to commute to Cincinnati’s urban core by bike.

Once both the Ohio River Trail and Bike & Mobility Center are completed, bicycle commuters will be able to easily commute from Cincinnati’s eastern suburbs to the region’s urban core. The Bike & Mobility Center will include bicycle parking, lockers, showers and a repair facility.

The event is free and open to the public, and is part of the City of Cincinnati’s official 2011 Bike Month activities. The ride is approximately six miles (one way). The map (below) details the route.

“I want this to be something that folks can use to come back to the trail by themselves, that will show them where they can park their cars, and where they need to get on and off the street because the trail is ending or beginning,” said Melissa McVay, with the City’s transportation office.

Steve Schuckman with the Parks department, will be along for the ride and will give a short talk at the termination of the trail to discuss the new mobility center and how residents and cyclists can take advantage of the showers, rental facilities and other amenities to make biking to work part of their routine.

The ride will begin at the parking lot across from the Lunken Airport at 2622 Wilmer Avenue at 10am on Sunday morning. The ride is approximately 6 miles (one way) and covers relatively flat terrain with little elevation change. Check the Facebook event page for more details.