Towne Properties' plan to build 600 homes and apartments on a 30-acre site at the base of Mount Adams will include a lot more green space and less density than city officials once envisioned.

        Towne partner and former Cincinnati Mayor Arn Bortz said his firm will submit a development plan to City Hall later this month for the long-awaited $90 million project, which has been tied up in a legal battle for years.

        “We will show construction on a more limited area,” Mr. Bortz said, adding that hillside terrain abutting Mount Adams and a narrow strip along Eastern Avenue likely will remain undeveloped green space.

        The city originally wanted more than 1,000 housing units on the stretch between Mount Adams and the riverfront, but Mr. Bortz said such a dense development on the fragile hillside would lead to financial ruin.

        Instead, Towne will submit a more modest proposal this month. It will include five distinct villages with townhouses, some detached, and two-family homes and four-story flats built atop one- and two-story parking garages. The final phase of the development could include a high-rise building with flats.

        The Urban Design Review Board is expected to review the plan in middle to late August. It will also be shared with Mayor Charlie Luken and the Mount Adams Civic Association.

        City Council agreed earlier this year to give the prime river-view property to Towne in exchange for construction of 600 homes and apartments, half of which are expected to be owner-occupied. Towne's deadline to submit a development proposal is Aug. 25.

        If the city approves Towne's proposal, construction could start as soon as spring 2003, Mr. Bortz said.

        The land has been tied up in a legal squabble for years involving New York-based Benenson, which developed the adjacent Adams Landing high-rise condo project. Under the current plan, Benenson retains an ownership stake.

        Peg Moertl, the city's director of community development, is eager to see such a large-scale housing project started to help stem the city's population decline and boost its dismal 38.9 percent homeownership rate.

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