Saturday, May 29, 1999
Block redeveloped in OTR
BY HANG NGUYEN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The buildings on Walnut Street in Over-the-Rhine used to be mostly vacant with scorched walls. Strips of wood were nailed into the walls to cover holes.
That was then. Now, the floors are newly carpeted. Fresh paint coats brand new walls. After a year, the dramatic face lift to the area is 90 percent completed.
The Walnut Street Redevelopment project, between 1400 and 1431 Walnut St. and around the corner of East 14th Street, will be unveiled Tuesday. The project, fostered by the Over-the-Rhine Foundation and Over-the-Rhine Chamber of Commerce, is slated to be finished by August.
The project, which costs $3.37 million, restored 53 apartments, which have monthly rates ranging from $350 to $900, and six storefronts.
“The project is an impor tant step in revitalizing Over-the-Rhine,” said Judith Osborne, executive director of Over-the-Rhine Chamber of Commerce.
The goal of the chamber, with 500 members, is to attract businesses to the area. The foundation serves as a resource to help the development of housing and the redevelopment of existing buildings.
Even before some of the units were completed, there
were rental inquiries. Current commercial tenants include an athletic wear store.
Most of the restored storefronts are already occupied by the private developers. Middle Earth Developers owns five buildings, Urban Sites Properties owns one, Base Operations owns one and Prall Property Investment Ltd. owns one. The first three have offices there.
The grouping of developers — instead of just one — was suggested by the Urban Land Institute, a nationally respected urban planning consultant.
It's better to have redevelopment of several buildings clustered together than a few scattered ones, said Marge Hammelrath, executive director of Over-the-Rhine Foundation.
Also a group of developers coming together to make one investment in a downtrodden area would more likely encourage banks to make loans, Ms. Hammelrath said.
Sixty percent of the restoration was financed by conventional private bank loans, 33 percent by the Cincinnati Equity Fund and 7 percent by the city of Cincinnati.
And the beautification is much needed, Ms. Hammelrath said. She hopes the project will drive out the negative activities, such as drug dealing and other crimes, in the area.
“Once you fill up buildings with people who won't put up with those dealing drugs, they'll go away,” Ms. Hammelrath said.
And Councilman Jim Tarbell hopes those buildings will fill up fast. Mr. Tarbell has been looking for a reason to reopen his restaurant, Grammer's on Walnut and Liberty streets, which has been closed for the past six years.
“A big part of it being closed is that there's been a lot of vacant, rundown buildings in my vicinity (of the restaurant),” Mr. Tarbell said. “It wasn't encouraging to reopen. But with the improvement, it's a lot more encouraging to reopen.”
He said he hopes to have his restaurant running full-time within the next six months as a result of the redevelopment in Over-the-Rhine.
The 19th century architecture in Over-the-Rhine is considered a jewel by the foundation. Many of the buildings have commercial storefronts on the street level and housing above.
That's why an investment in rebuilding the place will mean better things for downtown, said Steve Massie, managing director of the Cincinnati Equity Fund.
“We believe that for downtown to realize its full potential, Over-the-Rhine has to be more viable,” Mr. Massie said.
To help in that process, the Cincinnati police are interested in renting space for a substation.
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