Wednesday, May 12, 1999
Empty buildings may get fix-up
Council considers Over-the-Rhine aid
BY ANNE MICHAUD
The Cincinnati Enquirer
A plan to give developers $25,000 to repair vacant buildings in Over-the-Rhine met with general approval from interest groups Tuesday.
Councilman Charles Winburn announced the idea Tuesday, saying he would find $1 million within the city budget to make 40 buildings livable and occupied by the end of December 2000. The idea must win approval of the full city council.
“The community needs a shot in the arm economically. The need in Over-the-Rhine to a great extent is more funding,” said John Hauck, president of Abandoned Buildings Co., a nonprofit group that renovates buildings. He spoke during a council committee meeting.
A $25,000 grant would not be enough to renovate an entire building, but it could provide “gap” financing, making up the difference in what a developer can receive from a bank or other public agencies.
“It sounds very exciting,” said Marge Hammelrath, executive director of the Over-the-Rhine Foundation, which is dedicated to preservation efforts in the neighborhood.
Thomas Denhart, the largest landlord in Over-the-Rhine, said in an interview that $25,000 is a small sum. Mr. Hauck estimated that renovation costs per apartment unit run from $20,000 to $95,000.
“I'd be very interested,” Mr. Denhart said, “but I'd want them to be realistic dollar amounts.”
The grants would be limited to two buildings per developer, Mr. Winburn said, and would include no requirements for low-income housing.
That provoked some criticism at the council committee meeting.
Donald Whitehead, director of the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, said, “It's a wonderful proposal. But it's very important we look at the development of low-income housing units.”
Mr. Winburn made a speech about not blocking the benefit of the com munity as a whole. “I know there's a lot of turf wars going on here,” he said. “I don't want to get into those.”
Jennifer Summers of ReSTOC Cincinnati, a low-income housing agency, said she was insulted by Mr. Winburn's “blocking” speech. She objected to handing a central role to the Over-the-Rhine Coalition, which is supposed to set priorities for development under Mr. Winburn's plan.
Mary Burke of the Over-the-Rhine Housing Network agreed.
“I don't know where the Over-the-Rhine Coalition exists but on paper,” she said, saying many organizations had dropped out. The 2-year-old coalition has no director, she added.
Mr. Winburn's plan could favor higher-income development, Ms. Burke said, because it is easier to put together financing from a bank than from several public entities.
Mr. Winburn suggested taking the $1 million from the Laurel Homes project of the Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA).
Discussion is to continue next Tuesday in council's Neighborhoods Committee.
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