NORWOOD - In the past few years, Robert Stevens has bought six old, stately homes here, fixed them up and sold them.
His company - Tri-State Senior Services - has rehabbed five others for private owners. Mr. Stevens now is working on a Tudor two-story built in 1925 on Indian Mound Avenue.
He intends to call the house his home when he's finished.
"There is no doubt the complexion of housing is changing in Norwood," said the lifelong Norwood resident and retired firefighter. "A lot of these big, old Victorians here are being restored to single-family. They are being bought up by young, urban professionals who are finding the same quality houses as in Hyde Park for a fraction of the cost.
"I have always said Norwood housing is the best-kept secret in Cincinnati. Now, I think it's getting out."
A good number of the old homes being restored to single-family had been subdivided into apartments - some to house General Motors workers during the plant's heyday.
Automobile workers rented apartments here during the work-week, then drove back to hometowns in Kentucky or Tennessee on weekends.
City building records reflect the change in ownership. Jim Ochs, chief building inspector, said that in 1990, rental property accounted for 48 percent of the city's housing. In 1996, it had dropped to 42 percent.
Jim Haven, a Sibcy Cline sales associate familiar with the Norwood market, describes it as "steady" and one that has remained so for several years now.
"After GM pulled out, they went into sort of a depression and it became difficult to sell properties. But within about two years the area moved back up to fair market, and it has stayed there," Mr. Haven said.
Today, particularly in south Norwood, housing is appealing to young people who want to fix up properties, and there are some areas where older homes are being rehabbed, he said.
Rental property is another area where housing stock is improving. The building department - beefed up with three full-time inspectors and a new computer system - is enforcing building codes with gusto and has begun a citywide inspection program.
Mr. Ochs said inspectors have found some multifamily buildings with 50 to 70 violations, ranging from serious wiring and plumbing problems to dirt and grime. "We want Norwood to have clean, safe housing and, I agree, it has helped improve the city's image." In the past year, Mr. Ochs estimated, 50 to 60 properties have been closed down by his department - and often sold by landlords who had not complied with code. New landlords buy the buildings to fix up and give attention to property maintenance, he said.
Among them is Tim Kropf, a native Cincinnatian living in Detroit and a partner in Ohio Property Management Inc. His company bought a 10-unit building on Carter Avenue "for a very nice price" and is fixing it up. "I do not want to own a dump, and that's what it was," he said. The building had a leaky roof and electrical problems and a lot of cosmetic needs.
Another landlord, Robert Meadors, owns five Norwood rental properties. "I buy the oldest buildings I can find and I clean them up. There are some real unique architectural styles here with quality (workmanship).
"I have professionals - a nurse and school teachers - as tenants and get $525 for a two-bedroom with utilities; $625 for a three-bedroom apartment. " he said.
NORWOOD'S RECOVERY IN HIGH GEAR
CITY CAN ONCE AGAIN AFFORD TO FIX ITSELF
