City Council last month approved a Stage I development plan for Riverpointe Condominiums, which would place 165 upscale housing units on a hill overlooking the city, and a Stage II plan will likely be submitted for approval by the end of the year, said Towne Properties general manager Brad Austing.

The condos would likely cost between $125,000 and $275,000 each, Austing said.

Developers say the $20 million project would add about $93,000 per year to the city's property tax revenue, but the development carries additional benefits, said City Administrator Gary Scott.

The condominiums could raise Dayton's profile among potential home buyers, who might note what Scott describes as an undervalued housing stock just minutes from downtown Cincinnati.

City officials have taken an aggressive approach to blighted property, assessing to owners who fail to keep buildings maintained.

The city has levied $16,000 in fines this year, up from $7,000 last year and $500 in 2002Some residents wish city officials would take more interest in aesthetics for the Riverpointe Condominiums development, which would consist of 15 buildings with brick and aluminum siding exteriors.

Edith Mariani, who lives on nearby Beechwood Place, said it would be a shame to build multifamily housing there, when new single-family homes fetch more than $1 million each on Newport's Wiedemann Hill and on O'Fallon Avenue in Bellevue.

Mariani also fears that additional cars and construction traffic could affect Dayton Pike.

Scott said dirt removed from the construction site will be used to help reinforce Dayton Pike, and he downplayed traffic problems.

"We shouldn't suffer a lack of development because of that situation," Scott said.