RestorationConsultant

MsD's position is not helped by the fact they lied from day one. We are in possesion of documentation that the plan was pretty much complete destruction of South Fairmount from the beginning . The are was considered expendible. The plan MSD wants is their plan, not the community. They were presented with viable alternatives that would have preserved Historic assets early on. Understand, this problem is a multi sided problem. the city drove down property values ( we believe intentionally by passing out VBML and condemn orders in unusally high numbers) to drive values down to make acquisition cheaper, in many respects 'redlining the area'. What they didnt count on was Moodys advised the city that their was insufficient property tax base ( a problem the city created in South Faiormount) to financially support the payback and Moody's theathened to lower the Bond rating. FYI a statement EPA made at a conference when rolling out the Lick Run alternative. I have copies. MSD cared nothing about the community, but in 2005 it has a bond rating problem now and if they do deep tunnel its wont be cheap. So the 'development' scheme was created. The problem is the city, nor county, can afford it. You can do the ditch. No one knows the real cost because they are still figuing that out and their are lots a variables, but if you dont have the development your bond rating goes up. The original belief was that they could do this far cheaper than deep tunnel . At this point their is about an 8 cent per unit cost differrence according to their own models . What is not considered is the cost to the additional county and city taxpayer for redevelopment and that means all we are doing is shifting some sewer bill cost to property tax bills. We will pay the same either way and if the city/county can't pull off the redevelopment (and we all know the city isn't good at redevelopment) we are left with a ditch. Essentially like the 1960-70 when we destroyed Kenyan Barr at a cost of 43 million and was only able to resell it to private developers for 7.2 million. The community is not going to turn over its history and architecture for a pipedream. At the end of the day they will wind up costing the same and bond rating will go down. No one wants to hear that, but its the truth. MSD could come to the table and adopt one of the models the community wants but those old buildings do not make the mayor get 'all tingly'. At this point we hope the county commissioners realize they could be in court for years and order MSD to the table for talks , if they dont? Well they brought that on themselves. I suspect they will cone to the table rather than do deep tunnel. Even with additional negotioation, the federal court could stick to the original consent decree and order deep tunnel, especially since MSD has been deceptive. Its Cincinnati politics as usual, tell the public only what you want them to know and hope no one figures it all out.

At just about every stage of this project MSD has made 'assumptions' which were inaccurate and that has resulted in higher costs. It ts based on data modeling. I am well aware that figure includes other things but lets be realistsic we are talking about 2006 dollars. MSD made several miscalculations: One they admit in their own literature that this is part of a larger redevelopment project. Some land acquired by the county for this project will be resold to developers to build non sewer related projects. That may well bring it into the realm of the Norwood case and that is something for those involved to determine in a court of law.Remember MSD is owned by the county and managed by the city and that creates a relationship between the three parties. Mill Creek in its historic use was not used as water supply but was infact covered over because it was an open sewer. It also was not very large and at best a couple of feet deep. At times it dried up completely. MSD miscalculated the value of property and the values already paid exceed what the original estimates were. There is only a best guess on the cost of brownfield remediation. New EPA lead abatement requirements (2010) will add millions to demo costs and have still not been factored. As for banks and lenders there has been substancial investment in Knox Hill (over 2 mill to date) I am working on a 350K project right now and my bank was more than happy to provide project funding. There is alot going on in Fairmount you are not aware of, nor was MSD. There is no certainty that their are not Indian burial sites, old cemetaries,or other archeological sites that could add millions to the project. Road improvement will be done anyway as part of the Viaduct replacement. As for this daylighting project you know there are places that did daylighting and did not recieve the benefits they initially modeled would occur. EPA and the federal court may well be consider failures that have occurred with this approach. They could also approve the daylighting and the modeling is wrong? Guess what? we are back to tunnel and more cost. There is away to combine daylight and work around historic assets byt the reult is not aesthetically pleasing to those that vision the project. Cincinnati is no differrent than any other city dealing with a consent decree and what happens if EPA is largely disbanded after this next election.. a great unknown.

I just wanted to add something here. The daylighting would basically be used to allow sediment, lead and other contaiminents to settle in the retention areas of the project. We already know, from MSD's own admission last night that the fecal ecoli limits will far exceed EPA recomendation. For all the money spent, realstically none of Mill Creek will ever be able to be used as a recreational resourse because as they explained the levels at the beginning of the Mill Creek as it enters the county already exceed to levels and this project will (Tony Parrot's words) do nothing to address that issue. Any idea what the S. Fairmount 'daylighted waterway' will smell like at low water flow levels? More importantly what developer would build next to what will smell like cesspool or who would want to patronize a business near that? It is a badly designed project that has no grapse on reality which it probably why environmentalists like it. S Fairmount stuill will have industrial production and those contaminents will wash down the streets into this. I will take the Proven deep tunnel over an open drainage ditch allbeit a pretty one!

Here is a very important point. At this stage the 'green alternative was quoted at 317 MILLION at last nights meeting and that figure was in 2006 dollars. The facts are that the property MSD wants for this projects is going to cost major bucks. They paid 760K fo Arbys, 308K for St Bonaventure 155K for 3 unit apartment building alone. A New York based property bundler of investment property for redevelopment just bought a large numbers of vacant lots overlooking the proposed project and paid 20K per lot! Guess what that does to the appraisal process. All the owners who are impacted have very good attorneys. I was at the last business group meeting and they have experts working for them. Did you know the businesses in the basin employ over 540 people and generate 61 Million a year in sales? These people can well afford to fight MSD and the county. It is doubtful given the Norwood case, that they county can even use eminent domain. The remaining property MSD would need, and they are no where near the 70 percent EPA and Federal court would require them to have, to even approve the alternative will add Millions to the final cost, throw leagl fees in the mix and the numbers gets huge. To just move the buildings Gray and Pape have listed at historic eligible will likely be 2-3 Million to move not to mention what they will have to pay for them in the first place and they don't own 4 of the key ones they need. I guarantee if someone wanted to bulldoze 25 buildings in OTR to build a drainage canal there would be a lot of angry people. Our estimate are that we are looking at over 25 significant buildings lost. The preservation comunity should be very concerned because Lick Run is just the first phase of project that will be city wide over the next two decades! What happens here will impact every neighborhood sooner or later and the precendents set here will impact preservation city wide eventually. There is an internal report that puts the 'green alternative" for Lick Run at over 650 Million and that does NOT include the city and county coming in and actually doing redevelopment, that's just the cost to build a ditch and the infrastructure. mSD has been feedinga lot of mis-information about this project and last night some of the truth came out. The facts are the only people who actually want this is MSD and some 'urban planning types' who don't even live in the neighborhood. The Sierra Club has come our AGAINST this project, that should indicate how 'green' it really is.. The neighborhood has a plan that involves National District status, establishment of a Main Street program that would market and redevelop the area. Creation of a mixed use retail/business district and strategy to slow traffic down. The leveraging of historic assets, the repurposing of current vacant lots as off street parking for retail, and greenspace and parks. There is a good reason to be against this 'green alternative' , in the end it will cost as much to do as deep tunnel and somebody, city or county, would still have to come up with redevelopment money and NO ONE has the money to do that. So in the end we wind up with a community destroyed with a drainage ditch running through it, and legal precedent that will open up every community to the same possibility.

Given the new landbank will provide millions for demo, it will take lawsuits to stop it. It could be by one, challenging the lack of section 106 review as these are technically federal pass through monies or two by a taxpayer lawsuit challenging the reduction of the property tax base by these activities placing an undue burden on other taxpayers. Either way the only way things get changed in this city will be by a federal lawsuit, because this city council is essentially clueless.

Plans are being finalized for a total 'New Urbanist' makeover of a run down home on the lower end of Knox Street in the Knox Hill Neighborhood. The acquisition of the property has ended a the lock a local "land hoarder" has had on the area for years The home which can be seen on the hill as one heads west of the Western Hills Viaduct has a commanding view of the viaduct, Mill Creek Valley and the city. The 2700 square ft design will maximize the views of the city, have a2 car garage, two seperate master suites, home theatre, rooftop deck, and a home elevator. Work is expected to begin in August after plans are submitted and permitting is complete Knox Hill already has extensive restoration on the Western end of the neighborhood and recently held a home tour. This project sits near a 19 acre nature preserve. This project is in addition to the current restoration of the C Wilkins House in the 1800 block of Knox, and the groundreaking for a new thumbnail park on Thompson More info about the project here: http://victorianantiquitiesanddesign.blogspot.com/2012/06/our-latest-project-overlook-at-knox.html

Unfortunately many banks are not even taking the deed on the foreclosures and in many cities there are thousands of properties languishing that could, if someone comes along ,restore them. Ohio also have a recievership situation, if the house is 'abandoned' you can petition a court to be appointed a reciever to repair it. Simply put if you have the financial resources, can demonstarte the owner is negligen a court may grant you recievership. You make the repairs (say to the exterior) and when thats done the owner of record has an opportunity to Pay for those repairs or the court can order the house sold to satisfy the lien. Typically you woudl be the only buyer This is a bit of an over simplification but Camp Washington in Cincinnati has a very sucessful receivership program. If the bank has "abandoned' ownership by not taking title sometimes if you contact then and they will 'sell' you the house for teh cost of what it winds up costing them to get the deed.

May is Preservation Month and the Knox Hill Neighborhood Association is having its first ever "Preservation Opportunity" Home Tour this Saturday May 19th, 1800 Block of Knox street. Tickets are 10.00 and proceeds benefit KHNA's Save-not-Raze program. Three under restoration homes will be featured on the tour and tour goers will be able meet the owners and ask questions. In addition to the tour homes, there will be two Architectural Walking tours at 12:30 and 2 PM, and there is also a classic car display. The Knox Hill neighborhood features an outstanding collection of Victorian era architecture and the neighborhood is working on its National Registry Nomination.

Looks like the photo orienation data didnt transfer on the last two pfotos. I have no idea why it didnt.

If you want to see first hand how to reverse the demolition trend, then you need to come to the Knox Hill "Preservation Opportunity" Home tour on May 19th 12-4 , when some under restoration homes in the 1800 block of Knox will be on display as well as two guided architectural walking tours of the area at 12:30 and 2. What we are doing with our "Save-not-Raze" program can be duplicated throughout the city. We actively fight demolitions by the city, and we are acquiring endangered houses and stabilizing them. We are now getting to the point where the city is actually seeing the results we are getting and are backing off on demolitions. Because they know we CAN get results. More importantly it is being done on a "grass roots level", no federal state or local dollars. No 3CDC, just a few neighbors getting together to buy abandoned houses, stabilizing them and getting them into good hands. An active crime watch and routine cleanups also helps. We are actively marketing our historic housing stock to a national preservation oriented audience and many of our new owners are coming from out of state to our area, because of the great architecture. It has not been an overnight process but its working. My point is, Preservation doesn't "magically happen", it takes work, and it takes some vision too. Given how cheap most historic architecture is in this city it's amazing what sweat equity and some volunteerism can do. We figured out a while back that if you are waiting for the city to do something, that won't happen. The city is far too "addicted" to that federal CDBG demo money and their "administrative cut" to pay salaries to voluntarily stop demoing stuff. We cant save it all but we can save our llittle piece of our neighborhood and preservation works on a house by house, block by block basis.

Younger people are driving less because they can't afford to drive. The unemployment rate of thsoe under 25 is significantly higher than the general population. Add to that the staggering cost of student loans for degrees in worthless fileds with no demand, 3.99 a gallon gas and high insurance costs. It all boils down to simple economics, They can't afford a car, and all the over regulation means you can't build an affordale car any more. Let the economy improve, unemployment goes down and many "urbanists" who claim to love public transportation, can finally afford a car? Watch how fast they will buy one.

Hey if anyone gets a picture let me know. Wonder if it was the same contractor that destroyed a historic retaining wall in our neighborhood during a demo?

According to the Finday market site : An estimated 881,409 shopping visits were made to Findlay Market in 2011. Shoppers spent an estimated $30 million at Findlay Market during 2011 . While there is no denying Findlay gets a lot of OTR support but the facts are that the majority of its business drives there from area outside of OTR. I know when I go there (I often do) I see a lot of out of state plates in the parking lot. Because of the lack of development around it they usually walk to the end of the market look up and down the street and get back to their cars. I think they 'want' to explore but they are just not there yet. That is markedly different than in Charleston SC where its market is part of the overall mix of the neighborhood and its Heritage tourism. The goal, I think is how to get those people beyond their comfort zone to explore the neighborhood. Ive watched people circle endlessly to find parking in the 'safe' zone of the parking lots. I think its getting better but those "perceptions" are there and they must be overcome for OTR to be sucessful in the long term. Perhaps some weekend short guided walking tours would help Sherman, maybe you could do photogaphy type tours of the architecture? BTW Shermam, I have clients right now with projects in OTR and West End. I absolutely stand by my position that demolition of property for Mercer Commons was a bad decision and set a bad precident. That is also a view shared by many at CPA and many in OTR. I am also not defending Indianapolis, we decided to come to Cincinnati from Indy because there is a bright future here for our business. As fo decor you be surprised how many 'Ikea lofts' I was called into to add walls molding and character back into , because as you know HGTV lofts are so overdone in Indy, you can't give them away anymore. I think right now over 150 priced from 200-400K. This is similar to may other cities that latch on to trends and get overbuilt with trendy design of the moment. Trends come and go but timeless design is timeless, which is why I have a waiting list of clients for period design work across the country right now, so apparently I am not the only person who appreciates period design, but you would be suprised to learn our house is also going to have a home theatre, wine cellar. A kitchen with modern appliances and state of the art mechanical systems, a two car carriage house, rain water collection systems with some solar systems. I have no problem blending new with old.

There was an interesting article today about the plight of Detroit. Cincinnati follows the detroit model of urban renewal. blight=bulldozer. As we all know half of OTR has been bulldozed over the years. Also the 'blight' of the vacant house has been replaced by the 'bllight' of a vacant lot. Detroit has so much vacant land that no developer will touch and so many of its neighborhoods are now so 'depopulated' that the city is selling vacant lots for 200.00 to adjacient property owners in an attempt to get some property tax revenues coming in. They sent them letters and you dont even have to go downtown anymore, they will mail the deed to you. I hope we dont make the mistake of so many cities that when some devlopment happens we start tearing historic property down, oh wait, thats just what 3cdc is doing with mercer commons . For OTR to be unique, it needs its historic architecture, unfortunately even in these enlightened times, we are still losing it.

No denying that Cincinnati has both cities beat hands down on architecture. I dont know when the last time you were in indy was, but there is little surface parking left, its all been replaced with luxury condos and homes. Cincinnati , the city, is still losing population down 30,000 according to 2010 census, Indy gained population downtown substancially. As for restauarnts Indy has a ton of small independent eateries. Fountain square and Mass avenue has plenty of choices.No denying a totally different type of city as indy is not as old as Louisville or Cincinnati. Cincinnati has much more an east coast feel architecturally. Thats why we chose Cincinnati. You can't buy great architecture in Indy anymore it is cost prohibive for most people and most of it has been restored over the last 10 years.. Actually, I have always said, that OTR would make a great destination based on heritage tourism , like Charleston, New Orleans or Savannah. Findlay Market is a perfect example, high traffic count great 'tourism based industry. Yes locals patronize it but it survives largely because people from elsehere come to it. It is a destination. If the retail mix around it can be developed to include more restaurants,and retail, it would be a very great neighborhood. Unfortunately it dies at night. Of course now that the church is leaving a huge block on Elm is open to development. The acquisition costs are reasonable, about 40-50K per building, the restoration costs will be substancial because the church basically bought them and held them and there is a lot of 'defferred maintenance'. If you can get more mixed retail/residential down there the dynamic will dramatically change. It will take a while to get the development broadly based to 'connect' Findlay with the main street development. I do think those linkages between the retail areas will be key from a planning standpoint.

While I am not going to dignify a particular response, except to say yes one of our board members coughed up 7500 he really couldn't spare to save a building from being declared a public nuisance and one that most certainly would be lost. I have volunteered to do the bid specs and restoration plan for it, our neighborhood members/volunteers have been working stripping the vinyl off of it and bids are going out shortly for the steps and concrete work, and several people are already intersted in the house. Feel free to volunteer on any weekend for cleanup, we are happy to accept help from anyone wanting to make our neighborhood a better place. So it looks like it will be a preservation "win" in a few months. Something I think we all agree we need more of. Preservationists like Mr Drake should be applauded for putting their own money where their mouth is. Since you chose to not identify yourself we must assume you probably have never done the same. BTW Ms. May contacted me regarding a story she is doing on Fairmount and my opinion on the impact of the MSD project. She read about the C Winkler project and I sent her a Press release. She chose to put it on the Cincy Biz Blog because it is news. As for Mike Morgan, he and I have discussed his lawsuit at length. In fact he emailed me the Writ of Mandamus. He and I attended a meeting jointly recently to meet with one of the new city councilman to discuss preservation issues and the redtape and roadblocks we see in the city. He and I both agree that city governments is severly broken. So if you know Mr Morgan so well, (Whomever you are) I suggest you ask him. BTW Mike's case against the city is a matter of public record (since you like to look things up I will make it easy for you) CASE NO. A 1108066 Morgan v. City of Cincinnati, filed in court of common pleas. Mike has seen the work we are doing in Knox Hill first hand as he has actually been to my neighborhood, have you? Most people would hardly consider me a "faux preservationist". The work we are doing speaks for itself. I have been a guest lecturer for the West side Preservation summit, have participated as a speaker for the CPA preservation series at the Hauck house. We have held meetings in Knox Hill with a state congresman to discuss community issues. I also publish a couple of Preservation Blogs that tout Cincinnati's incredible architecture. I have donated hundreds of hours to local preservation causes, and evaluated endangered property for people at no charge. People who know me , know I don't back down from preservation battles. As for OTR. I regularly recommend it , in fact, I sent someone recently to Cathy Frank at Comey and Sheperd and they are closing on a house there. I routinely mention west end/dayton street and on my Blog and the Preservation Bargains series I have promoted OTR property, the last one which sold because of our promoting it because the realtor contacted me and personally thanked me. If you would like to see Knox Hill come by I am more than happy (whomever you are) to give you a tour, introduce you to some of our residents and board members, one of which has live in the neighborhood for 22 years,and association members. Anyone who really knows me ,knows I support OTR. However to pretend there are not problems we need to address and make effective changes in city policy, is not operating with a degree of common sense. Perhaps you should direct all that negative energy to preservation? Maybe you would like to attend our "non neighborhood" Home Tour May 19th? Now if anyone would like to discuss real issues as they pertain to OTR and its changing perception lets have a conversation.

Joe, I totally agree that far too many people go into OTR and completely underestimate costs. I write restoration plans and bid specs for clients all the time. These buildings are not cheap to restore (especially when you add in Cincinnati permit fees, Ohio requires architect stamped blueprints in most situations), and when you call permits you will get a totally different answer depending on who you speak to. Certainly larger developers (who can gain the historic tax credits) fair better . Also when you have the ability to do multiple projects, materials can be bought in bulk and you subs are usally going from one project to next so there isnt down time. Having said that , if the city wanted to encourage small development in OTR, and you need it because even 3cdc at the rate they are going cant possibly rebuild everything, there are things the city could do and its nothing new that other cities are doing some of these things. Creating of reinvestment zones with No Permit Fees, raise the city tax credit from 275 to 500K and increase that to 750 k for LEED. The city could also eliminate the VBML entirely in favor of specific code based repairs so buyers know what it is expected. The VBML precludes occupancy also. Who in their right mind will restore a building and not live in it? There is a reason why OTR is behind Louisville and Indy in downtown rebirth. It's the redtape. Many out of state people come to OTR and come from envirionments where city government works. Unless you know how other cities operate, you really have no idea how badly this city is run . There should be a common sense approach not only in OTR but all urban neighborhoods. When people want to come in and invest in an area we should encourage them, not throw so much red tape in their way that they throw up their hands in disgust and go elsewhere. I see it happen far to often here and it doesn't have to be that way. Clearly when you look just across the river at Convington and Newport we can see that turnaround of neighborhood and business districts is possible. Same architecture, similar declines but different rates of comeback. There is a reason why OTR is lagging in turnaround and its city policies that are rooted in 1940 , not today.

Joe, I know the whole history/dynamic of OTR. I also know the cost of legal fees to clear liens and deal with the city. I self finance all my projects and was looking at several larger retail buildings that would house my 3 businesses. I might add, I do real restoration not the Neo urbanist crap 3cdc puts out , no exposed brick ductwork HGTV loft crap. I'm spending 250K in Fairmount (Knox Hill) restoring a 1871 Second Empire cottage. My budget for the commercial is 5-7 times that . I can buy a similar building in Covington or Newport for far less money, its typically in better condition and I won't spend 30-50k in additional legal fees, reports and other hoops I would have to jump through in OTR with the city. Frankly after looking extensively around Findlay and Brewery district, I reached the conclusion that I would spend far more in OTR, probably have less exposure, and have the constant headache of dealing with a largely incompetent good ole boy city permit and inspection department. When somone like Mike Morgan, one of the biggest advocates for OTR, is suing the HCB, Urban Conservator and city because they wont issue him a permits, to fix a building that no one else will save? That says a lot. I've read his lawsuit and its been a nightmare for him trying to deal with the city in OTR and its not the only person I know who is suing the city, or simply walked away from a project. My own neighborhood association (Knox Hill) had to file a federal complaint with HUD because the city was doing demolitions without proper section 106 reviews.

The problem with the VBML is banks do not understand it and percieve it as potential lien situation or encumbrance againt the property. If is very difficuly for private individuals or a small business to obtain financing. The lenders I work with won't touch property with VBML's against them. The VBML adds to project cost not only via the Fees 900.00 a year and go up each year but the VBML generally gets converted to a condemn status because the "investor types" that owned many of these buildings didn't pay it. That means you then have to spend additional funds with architects and structutral engineers to prove the building is sound. Legal fees to get everything cleared up can run thousands. Add all that into the fact there are usually multiple liens against the buildings for other things, a building in OTR is cost prohibitive to most people who would like to buy a building, restore it and locate a business there. I personally know of several people (myself included) who wrote off OTR for my business location. I am looking in Newport/Covington which does not have VBML and the cities are not condemn happy. Unfortunately, city inspections is 'addicted ' to CDBG funds to keep their budget in shape ( city gets an administrative fee from fed) It is in their best interest to show as many blighted/condemned properties so they can qualify for more Federal funding. This is why Cincinnati is behind other cites with their urban core. Redtape and Roadblocks do not foster development. Thats why the OTR turnaround is taking so long

Knox Hill Neighborhood Association in Cincinnati has been agressively fighting to save historic structures. There was no section 106 review taking place when CDBG or NSP funds were being used. We filed a complaint with HUD and the net result of that was they came up with a process, 'allbeit a sham", but they are re-reviewing every property (thousands) on the city list which has bought time and some are being saved. We are now trying to push for CDBG fund to be used for stabilization/repair rather than demo. Our group has a Save not Raze program and we are talking ithe owners of these properties and trying to get them to agree to sell them or in some cases donate them. In the small scale of our neighborhood it is beginning to work and I think it can be duplicated. Our most recent sucess is the acquisition of the C. Winkler house which is being stabilized and will be resold with protective covenants to a preservation minded buyer who will complete the interior restoration. http://victorianantiquitiesanddesign.blogspot.com/2012/02/knox-hill-neighborhood-association-to.html We hope to have revolving acquistion fund in place after that to acquire and stabilize more properties. This is loosely patterned after Indiana Landmarks FLIP program. Ultimately the real issue is does demolition (blight abatement) help or hurt surrounding properties. Agressive demo by the City of Cincinnati has depressed property values along with their VBML (Vacant Building Maintenance License) program. These policies have effectively 'redlined' our neighborhood. Ultimately I think a federal court complaint may be necessary but at the moment we have demos slowed down at least in our area because they are afraid of lawsuits. Thanks to preservationist who can afford to self finance their restorations our area is coming back. If we can get banks back on board we may turn a corner soon. http://sites.google.com/site/knoxhillneighborhoodassoc/ Happy to share what we are doing with anyone wanting to duplicate our efforts.

OTR is making great strides, it it anywhere close to reaching its potential? Not yet. I think that is in part due to all the Redtape and Roadblocks the city throws in the way. From the VBML (Vacant Building Maintence License) To a Historic Conservation Board that has been there forever (even though there are term limits) Ignored of course by city officials. Without these roadblocks I am sure OTR would even be a better place than its already is. Its getting better but I suspect the current wave of "urban pioneers' will be priced out of the market as occurs in most downtown areas. I dont know how well the pace will sustain as areas like Price Hill and Fairmount are starting to see preservationists coming in but I wish OTR the best.

Thanks to the generousity of a Knox Hill board member, the C.Winkler House has been bought and through a partnership with Knox Hill Neighborhood Association, the Second Empire town home will be saved from the city bulldozers. KHNA will restore the exterior of the home to Secretary of the Interior Standards and steps will be redone and a rare 'servants tunnel' will be reopened. The lot will also be cleaned and landscaping has been donated. Once stabilized, the house will be resold with a protective covenant to preserve the exterior to historic standards and the new buyer will be required to complete the interior within a specific time. Knox Hills "Save not Raze" project is patterned after a very sucessful Indiana Landmarks program called FLIP. There are 3 other homes on the same block under restoration by individual preservationists.

Thought people might like to see one of the many changes going on up in Knox Hill. This home had been vacant since 2001. Under restoration now, and its starting to look 100 percent better. They plan on restoring the slate on of the Second Empire rooline and they rebuilt the flat roof structure and put on a new EPDM roof. Knox Hill will be holding its first annual Historic walking Tour and open house on May 19th. We hope to have a good turnout for that event.

I would classify it as a Craftsman. The interior details definitely point to it. the large overhanging eaves supported by the brackets is indicatiive of the style. When you peel off that siding you may see combinations of lapsiding with shingles or lapsiding with stuco and banding (tudor details) which often appears on these later houses and there was a tudor revival period that began in the 20's. You may likely find you will need to "add Back' wider window trim around the windows which was usually removed when alum.siding was installed. GREAT HOUSE!!!

The Indianapolis skywalk system as well a interconnecting building tunnels were one of the key reason Indianapolis was chosen to hold a superbowl. Skywalks have had little inpact on street level business which is vibrant in Indy, but also, Indy has very little street level vacancies. People will patronize main street level retail if the block is relatively full and there is product diversity. That seems to be one thing downtown Cincinnati lacks. It doesn't seem like their has been a concentrated development effort to plan for, and attract, street level retailers, nor does Cincy seem to make the infrastructure effort with wider sidewalk planter beds and attractive lighting that Indy does with an area like Mass ave or Georgia street. Architecturally there is some really great retail space but I am at a loss to explain why so much of it is empty?