By Steve Kemme
The Cincinnati Enquirer

READING - A hilltop of mostly open fields and woods that straddles Reading and Amberley Village could become the site of a Jewish community center with a gym, fitness center, indoor swimming pool and more than six acres of athletic fields.

The development, planned and financed by the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati, could serve Reading and Amberley residents as well as for Reading and Notre Dame high schools, whose sports teams would be permitted some use of the facilities.

"It won't bring a ton of tax dollars into our city," Reading Mayor Earl Schmidt said. "But it would provide us with some recreation opportunities we can't provide for ourselves because we don't have the land anymore."

The Jewish Federation would buy 35 acres in Reading and 27 acres from Amberley Village.

The project, excluding the possible construction of housing for the elderly at a later date, would cost $25 million to $30 million and take up to two years to complete, said Rabbi Michael Zedek, CEO of the Jewish Federation.

But the project, in an area between Hill Street, Ronald Reagan Highway and Ridge Road, hinges on Reading council's approval of a zoning change for the 35 acres in its jurisdiction from residential to planned unit development.

The Jewish Federation is trying to address concerns some Reading officials and residents have about traffic, sewage and water runoff.

The plan calls for more than 70 percent of the property to remain green space.

Reading School Superintendent Scott Inskeep said the development would be a big boost for Reading High School, which has no pool.

E-mail skemme@enquirer.com