buildingcincinnati

From the 7/3/07 Blade: Dana, unions seek delay in ruling on contracts NEW YORK — Toledo auto-parts maker Dana Corp. and two labor unions asked the judge overseeing the company’s bankruptcy yesterday to delay ruling until Friday on whether Dana can reject its contracts with unionized workers. The company and the United Auto Workers and the United Steelworkers said in a joint letter to U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Burton Lifland that they agreed to seek a postponement of yesterday’s deadline for a ruling on voiding the contracts. The company and the unions last extended the deadline to negotiate a deal from June 15. The original deadline, already extended twice, was April 30. The unions have threatened to strike if Dana, which filed for bankruptcy in March, 2006, terminates collective-bargaining agreements. http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070703/BUSINESS03/70703006/-1/RSS04

^ Yeah, I saw something the other night where they showed all of the players that the Brewers drafted within the last few years and how they were making an impact now--even folks who were drafted two or three years ago. There were something like 6-8 players on their 25 man roster who fit this category.

From the 5/3/07 West Side Leader: Developer broke agreement, claim HSNA officials By Stephanie Kist DOWNTOWN AKRON — Members of the Highland Square Neighborhood Association (HSNA) attended Akron City Council’s Economic Development and Job Creation Committee meeting April 30 to express concern about the lack of a grocery store in the new development under way in the square. HSNA member Mark Smith read a prepared statement that said the group believes Albrecht Inc. has broken its agreement with the city, FirstMerit Bank and the Akron-Summit County Public Library. “Prior to its closing, the successful Star Market was a great asset to the citizens of Highland Square, especially the elderly and disabled who now are forced to take the bus to Acme No. 1 for their groceries,” Smith said. According to the statement, the HSNA believes Albrecht broke the contract because it has not, as is outlined in the Joint Development Agreement among the four parties, used “its commercially reasonable best efforts to lease to a grocery store operator” and has not commenced site preparation and construction. FULL ARTICLE: http://www.akron.com/20070503/wsl7.asp

From the 3/29/07 West Side Leader: PHOTO: The new retail development in Highland Square includes two new buildings that are nearly complete. Chipotle opens there this weekend, and efforts are being made by Albrecht Inc. to secure tenants for the rest of the space. A third building, intended to house a grocery store, also is planned. Highland Square project closing in on completion By Stephanie Kist HIGHLAND SQUARE — Progress continues to be made on a new addition to the distinctive West Akron neighborhood Highland Square. The Highland Square Redevelopment Project, which began last summer after years of discussion, is a joint effort among Albrecht Inc., the city of Akron, the Akron-Summit County Public Library (ASCPL) and FirstMerit Bank. The project includes the construction of three retail buildings, a new West Hill Branch Library and new parking. Albrecht said two of the three retail buildings are nearly complete. A third building, which is intended to be a grocery store, has not yet been constructed, as Albrecht Inc. works to secure an operator for the store. Albrecht said the grocery building, which will be about 6,400 square feet, is build-to-suit, so the building won’t be constructed until a deal is completed with an operator. FULL ARTICLE: http://www.akron.com/20070329/wsl5.asp

Playhouse move 'preliminary' Arts buzz BY JACKIE DEMALINE | [email protected] If you've been waiting for an update on the possible plan to move Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park and Children's Theatre of Cincinnati to a joint performing center downtown at Fifth and Race streets - you'll be waiting a little longer. "Very preliminary" sketches were delivered to Playhouse by consulting firm Theatre Projects late last month, says Playhouse rep Christa Skiles. Key elements are a 650-seat proscenium, 300-seat second stage, 200-seat educational theater for Playhouse; a 1,200- to 1,400- seat theater to be home to Children's Theatre and potential use for mid-size productions by other local companies (Cincinnati Ballet, Cincinnati Opera); and offices and rehearsal space. Read full article here: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20070617/ENT07/706170309/

From the 6/14/07 Enquirer: 200 come to hear plans for complex Retirement village would be in Glendale and Evendale BY CLIFF RADEL | [email protected] GLENDALE - Executives from Erickson Retirement Communities need to do just a little more homework on Greater Cincinnati. Officials from the Baltimore-based company made their pitch during a Wednesday night public hearing about building a 100-acre retirement complex whose 2,100 residents would nearly double the population of this National Historic Landmark village. Click on link for article. http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20070614/NEWS01/706140354/

From the 6/9/07 Tri-County Press: Development has pros, cons BY ANDREA REEVES | [email protected] GLENDALE - Village councilmembers have a lot of details to consider when looking at plans for a new retirement community in Glendale. Landmark Baptist Church voted in April to sell 87 acres of church land to Erickson Retirement Communities to build 1,500 independent living units and 350 assisted living units. Click on link for article. http://news.communitypress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070609/NEWS01/306090002/1002/RSS01

From the 6/16/07 Blade: Attorney general approves petition drive for foes of stripper law BLADE COLUMBUS BUREAU COLUMBUS - Ohio strip club owners and performers fighting new restrictions passed by the General Assembly received a green light yesterday from the attorney general to begin gathering signatures to put the issue directly to voters in November. Attorney General Marc Dann yesterday determined that a summary of the language that would appear on the petitions is a "fair and truthful statement" of the proposed ballot question's impact. Citizens for Community Standards, a play on the name of the conservative Cincinnati-based Citizens for Community Values that championed the law, wants to ask voters to repeal it. Read More...

From the Other Paper, 6/14/07: Gay male revues might fall victim to stripper law By Erik Johns / June 14, 2007 When Ohio lawmakers passed a law banning strippers from touching customers or performing after midnight, their stated goal was to reduce crime and other alleged immoral activity surrounding strip joints. But the topless bars around town aren’t the only clubs that face new restrictions. Several of Columbus’s gay bars will fall under the auspices of Senate Bill 16, which goes into effect in September. Multiple clubs, including Axis and Havana in the Short North, regularly hold male revue nights featuring nearly-nude dancers. According to the language of the law, any bar that operates regular nude or semi-nude shows is classified as an “adult cabaret.” Read More...

From the 6/8/07 Dispatch: Right to touch dancers may be in voters' hands Opponents seek referendum on strip-club law Friday, June 8, 2007 3:36 AM By Mark Niquette THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Ohio voters would decide whether touching nude dancers should be illegal if a group opposing a new strip-club law gets its way. Opponents of Senate Bill 16, which passed the legislature last month and imposes new restrictions on strip clubs in Ohio, plan to put a referendum on the November ballot to overturn the law. The law doesn't go into effect until Sept. 4, but the opponents want to collect 241,366 valid signatures by Sept. 3 to put the law on hold until voters decide its fate in the Nov. 6 election. Read More...

From the 5/31/07 (OU) Post: PHOTO: Ohio University sophomore and exotic pole dancer Jasmine Manista spreads her wardrobe out on her bed as she tries to decide what to wear for a performance at a private party. At Rachel’s Showbar in Canal Winchester, an exotic pole dancer dances onstage to upbeat music, occasionally pausing as onlookers put dollar bills in her garter. Kristin Eberts / Photo Editor / [email protected] PHOTO: Jasmine Manista straps on a pair of her tallest platform heels as she gets ready to perform at a private party on May 18. Kristin Eberts / Photo Editor / [email protected] New law means changes for the adult entertainment industry Ashley Lutz / For The Post / [email protected] In just a couple of months, this will be illegal. Ohio Senate passed a law May 16 imposing new restrictions on strip clubs that includes a rule that dancers must be at least six feet away from patrons at all times. The law will take effect in late August. The law has many industry professionals concerned that the boundaries will hurt business. Read More...

From the 5/3/07 Enquirer: Race is on: Driehaus vs. Chabot BY HOWARD WILKINSON | [email protected] State Rep. Steve Driehaus, a Price Hill Democrat, made it official this morning – he will run against Rep. Steve Chabot in the 1st Congressional District next year. Driehaus said he filed papers with the Federal Elections Commission to set up a campaign committee, a step necessary to begin raising money for a campaign to unseat Chabot, who was re-elected to a seventh two-year term in the U.S. House last fall. ... http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20070503/NEWS01/305030019/

From the 7/2/07 DDN: May a record month for passengers at Dayton airport By John Nolan Staff Writer Monday, July 02, 2007 DAYTON — More people came to Dayton International Airport to board airplanes in May — 125,973 — than in any other May since the airport began keeping records in 1949. That category of enplanements excludes the numbers of pass-through passengers from the era when Dayton was a hub for Piedmont Airlines. Piedmont merged with US Air (now US Airways), and the hub was closed a decade ago. The number of people boarding planes at Dayton International Airport represented a 10.6 percent increase from the total of 113,875 in May 2006. The traffic is up 8.1 percent for the year through May, to 566,692 from 524,389 last year, the airport's administration reported on Monday. AirTran Airways was the airport's busiest carrier in May 2007 with 26,164 passenger boardings. Delta Air Lines was next with 24,875, followed by US Airways with 20,515. Full article at http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/business/2007/07/02/ddn070207airportweb.html

Price Hill Will receives housing funds Building Cincinnati, 6/29/07 The Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) has awarded Price Hill Will a $500,000 grant for housing rehabilitation. The grant will be used to improve up to 15 homes in the Incline District and Whittier Gardens sections of East Price Hill. The homes to be rehabilitated have not been specified. The rehabilitated homes will be affordable to households at or below 80 percent of the area median gross income. Funding is supplied by HOME funds and the Ohio Housing Trust Fund and is administered by the OHFA through the Housing Development Assistance Program. This program provides financial assistance for the development and rehabilitation of affordable housing. http://buildingcincinnati.blogspot.com/2007/06/price-hill-will-receives-housing-funds.html

From the 7/1/07 Enquirer: Downsized condo plan still opposed BY STEVE KEMME | [email protected] LOVELAND - Some neighbors of a condominium project proposed for hilltop land along Ohio 48 in Loveland say the project is still too large. Landzone, a Cincinnati development company, originally wanted to build 92 condos on the hilltop portion of a 16-acre site next to the 10.5-acre Christman horse farm, which Loveland bought earlier this year and will turn into a public park. In response to objections from neighbors, Landzone reduced its size to 70 condos. But Winnie Eckhoff, who lives near the site and has helped organize the opposition, said that's still too large. "It's not that we don't want development," she said. "It's just that we want appropriate development in acceptable numbers. That's a tremendous density for where it's being built." This issue drew about 250 people to a city planning and zoning commission meeting in May. The commission recently recommended by a 3-to-2 vote to change the zoning from single-family housing to a special planning district. That zoning change would allow the development to be built. City Council will consider the issue July 10. A public hearing will be scheduled before City Council takes a final vote on the zoning change. MORE: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20070701/NEWS01/707010415/ From the 6/29/07 Enquirer: Rookwood Pointe to build this year BY JEFF MCKINNEY | [email protected] NORWOOD – Construction is expected to begin late this year on Rookwood Pointe, a new commercial development at Edwards Road and Interstate 71. The $10 million medical office building will include 25,000 square feet of space for tenants that could include laser eye surgeons, plastic surgeons and other doctors who want exposure to traffic from the highway, said Bob Ryan, a senior vice president of Colliers Turley Martin Tucker in Cincinnati and the building’s leasing agent. Ryan said he is working with three potential medical users for the building and hopes to have leases signed by this fall. He says the two-story building will include underground garage parking for tenants and visitors. He says the building, being developed by Shuermann Properties of Cincinnati, is expected to be completed by fall 2008. MORE: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20070629/BIZ01/306290029/

City authorizes TIF agreements for Humana HQ Building Cincinnati, 6/29/07 Cincinnati City Council has approved an ordinance authorizing a service agreement and a development agreement with Corporex for the Baldwin 300 project on Eden Park Drive. Terms of the agreements require Corporex to pay equivalent exempted property taxes directly to the City to pay down debt on bonds that the City will issue. This will help finance an 1,100-space, four-story parking garage. $19.95 million of the $21.34 million garage costs will come from these Tax Increment Financing (TIF) funds. Corporex had asked the City to establish the TIF district to get financing in place so they could start construction as soon as possible. To expedite the process, the City removed the 4.4-acre parcel from Walnut Hills TIF District 6 and effected the new district immediately through emergency ordinances. In addition to the parking garage, the $86 million Baldwin 300 project includes a $45 million, 250,000 square foot office building which will allow Humana of Ohio to consolidate its 900 local employees and to add up to 300 new jobs. Also included will be a 123-room hotel on the south side of the Baldwin Center. No hotel chain has been named, but it is expected to serve primarily corporate guests. The project is expected to be complete in 2010. WINDOWS LIVE BIRD'S EYE VIEW GOOGLE AERIAL MAP http://buildingcincinnati.blogspot.com/2007/06/city-authorizes-tif-agreements-for.html

-----------------------

From the 7/2/07 Dispatch: MAP PHOTO: Diners and clubgoers can see views of several holes from Pinnacle's clubhouse. M/I Homes has already built 200 houses at Pinnacle. PHOTO: Golfers approach the green on the ninth hole and Pinnacle's clubhouse, which houses Cimi's Bistro and a 450-seat banquet hall. Initiation fees at the club have risen to $6,000 since the first members signed up in September for $2,000. FRED SQUILLANTE DISPATCH PHOTOS Construction Zone Grove City club sets lofty goal Pinnacle Golf Club, less than a year old and already one of the area's most difficult, aims to be tournament-caliber Monday, July 2, 2007 3:24 AM By Mike Pramik THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Although Pinnacle Golf Club is less than a year old, developer Joe Ciminello already sees room for improvement. "I want to raise that bunker. You can't see it," Ciminello said as he drove along the third fairway. With a few tweaks here and there, Ciminello hopes to create a tournament-ready course in Grove City. He already might have one of the stiffest golf tests in central Ohio. More at http://www.dispatch.com/dispatch/content/business/stories/2007/07/02/ZONE0702.ART_ART_07-02-07_C8_DH75G88.html

From the 7/2/07 Martins Ferry Times Leader: School funding practices disputed By CASEY JUNKINS, For The Times Leader ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Ohio Sen. Joy Padgett believes the future of public school funding in the state has been appropriately addressed, but a former local school superintendent said the state continues to shortchange area schools. According to a report recently released by the Ohio Department of Education, nearly all local Ohio school districts are expected to see increases in their state funding on a per pupil basis over the next two years. The only exception is the St. Clairsville-Richland City School District, which is expected to see a decline in state aid. http://timesleaderonline.com/news/articles.asp?articleID=8228

From the 7/2/07 Newark Advocate: 161 Accord may be communications only Only 4 of 7 communities commit to formal plan By CHARLES A. PETERSON Advocate Reporter A development planning strategy along the new four-lane Ohio 161 between Newark and New Albany now appears unlikely, but it still is possible that representatives of the seven governing units located along the route will maintain open communication. At a recent meeting of that group, the Ohio 161 Accord, only four of the seven members were committed to idea of hiring a consultant to establish a development planning strategy along the corridor. http://www.newarkadvocate.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070702/NEWS01/707020302/1002/rss01

From ThisWeek Big Walnut, 7/1/07: Plans for record development OK'd Sunday, July 1, 2007 NATE ELLIS, [email protected] ThisWeek Staff Writer One of the most significant transformations to Delaware's landscape is closer to arriving on the city's east side, after a more than 560,000-square-foot proposed commercial development last week received final approvals. What would be the largest commercial development in Delaware history cleared a final hurdle to becoming reality last Monday after receiving unanimous support from Delaware City Council. The move paves the way for Lakewood, Ohio-based Zaremba Group LLC to build a 561,392-square-foot retail center and 337 single-family homes near the intersection of state Route 521 and U.S. Route 36. The commercial development, to be called Glennwood Commons, will be anchored by a 207,364-square-foot, 24-hour Meijer retail and grocery superstore with an accompany gas station. A 128,883-square-foot Home Depot and an as-yet unnamed big-box store also would be part of the project. MORE: http://www.thisweeknews.com/?story=sites/thisweeknews/070107/Sunbury/News/070107-News-379828.html

From the 7/2/07 Enquirer: TANK plans Boone County bus hub Riders could transfer between routes BY BRENNA R. KELLY | [email protected] Getting around Boone County on a TANK bus could soon become much easier. The Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky is planning a transit center in the Florence area that would allow riders to get to locations in Boone without having to go downtown. TANK now has six or seven routes through the Florence area, said Andrew Aiello, TANK deputy general manager. "But none of those routes come together at a common point before they reach their final destination, which is downtown Cincinnati or Covington," he said. Read more here: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20070702/NEWS0103/707020348/

From the 7/2/07 DDN: Village waiting for repercussions of Antioch closing Yellow Springs concerned with what to do with surplus of energy and loss of income tax. By Christopher Magan Staff Writer Monday, July 02, 2007 YELLOW SPRINGS — — The shock of losing its largest employer has left the village with a lot of energy and a tighter budget on the horizon. Village Manager Eric Swansen is trying to determine how Antioch College closing in 2008 will impact the village's $1.5 million general fund and what to do with extra energy capacity the electric department set aside for its largest utility customer. There are no hard numbers from the college, but one thing that's certain is the loss of 160 jobs and about 300 students will take a chunk out of the $1.25 million raised each year by the village's 1.5 percent income tax. "The repercussions are going to be difficult," said Councilwoman Kathryn Chase. "We are definitely going to feel the loss of those jobs and the income tax that goes with it." Full story at http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2007/07/02/ddn070207yellowsprings.html

From the 7/1/07 East Liverpool Review: County treasurer forming foreclosure task force Special to The Review LISBON — County Treasurer Nick Barborak announced that he has established a local Save Our Homes task force to address the record number of foreclosures in the county. “I find it shameful that Ohio is first in the nation in the number of home foreclosures.” Barborak said, in a news release issued Friday. “It is time for community leaders to come forward and face this problem head on.” The number of foreclosures in the county has increased from 467 in 2004 to 518 in 2005 and a record 530 last year. Ohio had the fifth-highest foreclosure rate in the country in May and the third-highest number of filings for the third consecutive month. ... More at: http://reviewonline.com/news/articles.asp?articleID=8728

From the 7/2/07 Fostoria Review Times: Biofuel production begins here next year By RUSS ZIMMER staff writer Biofuel production will begin in Fostoria by middle to late 2008, according to an ethanol company spokesman. After the permitting process — both at the state and local level — is complete, Bob Berens, site plan supervisor for Poet, said the construction of the plant would take about a year. More at: http://www.reviewtimes.com/News/backissues/2007/Jul/ar_news_070207.asp#story4