Just get it done!  From the 5/5 Enquirer:

 

 

College Hill extension OK'd

By Kevin Aldridge

The Cincinnati Enquirer

 

COLLEGE HILL - Leo Shuller has been trying to sell his vacant restaurant at Hamilton Avenue and North Bend Road for four years.

 

He's had offers from Rite Aid, Walgreens and CVS drugstores to buy the property, but those deals fell through. Shuller thought he might unload the restaurant a few months ago, but said plans to extend a development control district around the intersection scared away another potential buyer.

 

No link available for article.

As some of you know, three of the corners here stand vacant.  One is an abandoned Kroger store, one is an abandoned CVS, and the other is the closed Shuller's Wigwam restaurant.  On the SE corner stands a coffeehouse/apartment building.

 

Such a heavily-traveled corner is in major need of development.  Here I have two articles.  The first is from February and tells of a plan, which apparently got lost somewhere because I haven't heard a word about it since then.  The second is from today (6/26/04) and is a bad omen of the way this thing is going to end up going.  It's a real shame.

 

Sorry, I haven't been able to find any renderings on the plans.  I'll put them here when I find them.

 

 

College Hill's corners come alive in concept

By Kevin Aldridge

The Cincinnati Enquirer

 

COLLEGE HILL - Neighborhood leaders unveiled conceptual drawings Tuesday night for three residential/office/retail developments at at Hamilton Avenue and North Bend Road.

 

About 100 people got a chance to view concept designs for the mixed-use "Linden Park Commons" project during the College Hill Redevelopment Corp.'s annual dinner. The drawings represent the community's vision of how it would like to see the intersection revitalized, neighborhood leaders said.

 

No link available for article.

 

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

 

 

School proposal gets cold reception

By Kevin Aldridge

Enquirer staff writer

 

COLLEGE HILL - Neighborhood leaders are fighting to stop a charter school for "at-risk" youth and dropouts from moving into the vacant CVS Pharmacy site at Hamilton Avenue and North Bend Road.

 

No link available for article.

Great news

Umm...which one?

I hope they can get that once busy intersection rebuilt and make it an asset to the community again instead of a liability. I remember the glory days of Shuller's Wigwam which was once a very popular restaurant. I don't think that charter school for "at risk" students would be at all helpful.

I always wondered why the corner struggled so much. It gets heavy traffic, and the neighborhoods around there have some pretty good houses (especially NE of the intersection in the Hollywood Estates part). Those homes are in the $125-$150K range and are only 50 years old or so.

We used to pass by there often when I was in college because we usually took 127 all the way from Eaton down through Hamilton and into Cincinnati to Ludlow Ave., Clifton and U.C. I recall it as a nice, busy area, but in those days Mount Healthy and North College Hill were very nice towns. It was only around Northside that things got a bit seedy.

^ Have you been through the Hamilton Ave. stretch within the last few years? There is good and bad.

 

Do you have a car? Hell, I'll show you the highlights. Are you busy tomorrow? I'm not, and I'll probably be driving around and taking photos.

My old boss wanted to build a skating rink at the Kroger site. I helped him draw up the plan & everything. Nothing ever came of it, I guess.

There was a bunch of construction equipment (well, demolition equipment like bulldozers) outside of Shuller's Wigwam today, as well as a Cinergy truck.

 

I don't know if they're demolishing the old structure or just using the parking lot as a staging area for some other work. I would think that if that were the case they would use the more expansive Kroger lot, so maybe they're ripping the old place down.

Linden Commons by Neyer dazzles College Hill forum

Abandoned corners to be revived

 

By Gregory Korte

Enquirer staff writer

 

 

Developer Al. Neyer Inc. will turn the abandoned corners of Hamilton Avenue and West North Bend Road into a mix of retail shops, offices, condominiums and townhouses, College Hill development leaders announced Tuesday.

 

No link available for article.

I hope this happens....as you can see there have been a lot of hurdles.  That corner needs help in a big way.  I'd like to see the renderings, of course, but it sounds good so far.

 

I'm glad they're not considering that school for at-risk youth idea.

This PDF has renderings:

http://chcurc.collegehill.info/documents/linden_park_commons2.pdf

 

Wonderful!  And *gasps* parking garages lol

looks great

Hopefully it will help the existing business district (nail and pagers places, etc.) perk up, too.  Plus there's that empty parcel at Hamilton and Llanfair.  Maybe that could be developed as a nice bookend.

 

Too bad the College Hill Plaza is there, though.  That thing breaks up the street wall.

UPDATE:

 

The street lamps have been installed on Hamilton Ave. from North Bend to Llanfair, as well as signposts (no signs yet).  I drove through there today, and the street lamps were lit.  It was really pretty.

At the end of this post is the site plan and renderings that were posted on the College Hill Urban Redevelopment Corp. website.

 

Some other views showing massing can be seen here:

http://chcurc.collegehill.info/documents/linden_park_commons_images.pdf

 

From the 5/4/05 Enquirer:

 

 

College Hill neighbors see blossoming future

By Gregory Korte

Enquirer staff writer

 

The House of Joy choir sang, as did a barbershop quartet. Balloons soared. And 200 people stood in the cold and applauded gleefully as politicians with oversized scissors cut a ceremonial ribbon.

 

Click on link for article.

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050504/NEWS01/505040410/1056/rss02

 

Here's an article I forgot to post a long time ago from the 5/11/05 CityBeat:

 

 

Renewing College Hill

By Stephanie Dunlap

 

College Hill seemed to be celebrating the beginning of the end May 4.

 

At a ribbon cutting for a newly completed streetscape project, community activists marked the end of long years of planning and the beginning of a spate of visible, material improvements to their neighborhood.

 

Click on link for article.

http://www.citybeat.com/2005-05-11/allthenews.shtml

 

News on this....

 

In 2003, Chris Monzel put forth a motion to create a TIF district encompassing the corners of Hamilton and North Bend.

 

Earlier this month, John Cranley and Laketa Cole put forth a motion to create TIF districts in in West Price Hill, Price Hill, East Price Hill, Lower Price Hill,

Westwood, Madisonville, Oakley and Avondale.  The city supports this and is moving forward with the proper legislation.  Thus, the deadline has passed for establishing more area TIF districts.

 

However, the developer (Neyer) is looking into establishing a project-based TIF district.  State legislation doesn't cover such project-based districts, and it is expected that the Neyer will present a financing plan to council by the end of the year.

 

In other words, I wouldn't look for much action at the site until early-to-mid-2006.

 

Here's a little updated information:

 

Phase I will start on the Shuller's Wigwam and Masonic Eastern Star Home sites (NE corner of Hamilton/North Bend intersection and along North Bend Rd. west of Kroger parcel, respectively) and will include:

* 18 condos at a total of 28,500 square feet (or approx. 1580 sq. ft. each)

* 10 townhomes at a total of 18,000 square feet (or approx. 1800 sq. ft. each)

* 24 single-family homes

* 14,250 square feet of retail space

* surface parking (shown on map earlier in thread)

 

Phase II will occur on the Kroger site (NW corner of intersection) and will include:

* 18 condos at a total of 28,500 square feet (or approx. 1580 sq. ft. each)

* 29,250 square feet of retail space

* surface parking (again, on map)

 

A future phase will also occur on another part of the CVS site (SW corner) will include an unspecified amount of office and retail space.

 

This project will bring $21M of new investment into College Hill. 

 

The city will purchase the Shuller's Wigwam and CVS sites for $1.8M and sell them to Neyer for $1 if Neyer finds a mutually agreeable purchase price for the Kroger site (somewhere in the neighborhood of $2M), presents plans for the sites to the city that they both agree upon, and can show evidence of sufficient equity capital and commitments for mortgage financing.

 

Neyer is also looking to purchase the Masonic Lodge site at the corner of North Bend and Cary, but this project is not contingent on their purchase of that property.

 

Funding for the $1.8M city acquisition cost will come from three project funds:

* Community Revitalization Focus Districts: $500,000

* College Hill NRSA Redevlopment Project: $800,000

* College Hill NRSA Project: $700,000

 

If Neyer is unable to fulfill the agreement after being lease the Shuller's and Masonic sites, they will revert back to the city.  The city will also have the option to buy the Kroger property for the greater of its fair market value or Neyer's purchase price.

 

The City is continuing to negotiate with Neyer and the CHURC, a second agreement that will identify and commit additional City financial assistance for the project. This second agreement may include Tax Increment Financing (TIF), New Market Tax Credits, Community Reinvestment Abatements, housing incentives and loans. It will be submitted to City Council for approval within sixty days.

 

Updated site plan:

 

 

 

The purchase agreement can be read here:

Contract for Sale of Land for Private Redevlopment

 

The city is looking at taking CDBG money from different accounts and putting $700,000 into a new account to acquire and demolish the Shuller's Wigwam building.

 

The ordinance has been sent to the Finance Committee to check out the economics.  There is no timetable for return.

 

A look at the numbers and what projects will be cut can be found here:

http://city-egov.rcc.org/BASISCGI/BASIS/council/public/child/DDD/16857.pdf

 

The ordinance proposing the CDBG transfer of $700,000 from Madisonville to College Hill passed unanimously in council and was signed by Mayor Luken on November 16th.

 

The ordinance for entering into a sale of land contract for redevelopment with Neyer also passed unanimously.  In essence, this means that the city will buy the Shuller's Wigwam and the Eastern Star/Masonic properties and Neyer will buy the abandoned Kroger site.  These properties will be turned over to Neyer for development.

 

From the looks of things, the landowners are ready to sell and agreements are being ironed out.  There should be no problems.

 

There is no timetable for work to begin.  First, obviously, they will have to complete the land sales.  Then there will be demolition, site prep, putting the construction out for bids, etc.  I would be surprised if anything major begins before next summer.

 

Gateways to the business district are in the process of being designed.  Facade improvements are under contract and in design as well.

 

Love the possible new streetscapes..however...the parking garages seem a little excessive.

Here are a few visuals for those of you not too familiar with this area.  I took these photos about a month ago.

 

This is the vacant Kroger, NW corner of Hamilton and North Bend:

 

This is the Masonic Eastern Star site, north side of North Bend between Hamilton and Cary Ave.:

 

Vacant Shuller's Wigwam site, NE corner of Hamilton and North Bend:

 

CVS building (now housing a clothing store), SW corner of Hamilton and North Bend, looking through Shuller's Wigwam parking lot:

 

I have to say that the new awning looks fantastic, and I'm glad they've been able to stay in business for so long.  From the 1/18/06 Hilltop Press:

 

 

PHOTO: Tina Stoeberl takes a much-deserved break on her first day of business at the College Hill Coffee Company and Casual Gourmet.

 

Cafe signals business is brewing

BY HEIDI FALLON | COMMUNITY PRESS STAFF WRITER

 

COLLEGE HILL -- Last week's unveiling of the newly named and greatly enhanced coffee shop proved the community is serious about its business climate and its caffeine.

 

The College Hill Coffee Company and Casual Gourmet is what new owner Tina Stoeberl calls "the jewel that will anchor the development" adjacent her at Hamilton Avenue and North Bend Road.

 

Click on link for article.

http://news.communitypress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060118/NEWS01/601180348/1074/Local

 

I never did update this, but it appears that this project is now officially a go.  According to College Hill Forum:

 

At this week’s College Hill Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation Annual Meeting, President Carol Lyon announced that a Sale of Land Agreement between the city and Al Neyer Inc. was signed Friday, February 3. This historic event now makes real the plans for the development of Linden Park Commons at the corner of Hamilton and North Bend.

 

The agreement states that the City of Cincinnati will buy the Shuller and the Eastern Star Properties and transfer them to Al Neyer, Inc. Neyer has agreed to buy the Broeman property, the site of the old Kroger store. Neyer also commits to develop all the properties in accordance with the community plans that have been approved by the city.

 

New preliminary design renderings of the condominiums and retail spaces are to be done by April 1. Then pre-sales begin. Neyer is looking to have 30 to 40% of the condominiums and retail spaces sold or leased before construction begins.

 

 

And....

 

Land control was the key focus of the Linden Park Commons development project all last year. A plan is just a plan until land is controlled. The signing of the Sale of Land agreement in early February committed the city to purchase the Shuller and the Masonic Eastern Star sites and transfer them to Al Neyer, Inc., and committed Neyer to purchase the Kroger site and develop all three properties.

 

Now, College Hill Director of Development Marty Weldishofer is very excited to report that the City of Cincinnati closed on the Shuller property Friday February 10. Leo and Don Shuller were there for the closing while Elizabeth Sherwood, Forum president; Beth McLean, CHCURC Board Trustee; and Marty Weldishofer, CHCURC Director of Development looked on.

 

The closing of the Shuller property is HUGE for Linden Park Commons. We are turning a significant corner, never to go back. Once money crosses the table, a plan becomes a project.

 

At the CHCURC Annual Dinner, Gail Paul and Ken Schon, spokespersons for Al Neyer, Inc., announced that the Shuller Wigwam building will come down in late Spring 2006 and the new building on that site would begin to come out of the ground in October.

 

The Linden Park Commons development is going to create significant value and reward for our community. It will trigger other revitalization which the community will realize for years to come. This year is going to be the Banner Year 2006 in College Hill!

 

Update:

 

 

The name of the development at the corner of Hamilton and North Bend has been changed to Linden Park by the CHCURC board. There was confusion between Linden Park Commons—the Hamilton & North Bend development--and Llanfair Commons—the proposed gathering area at Llanfair & Hamilton.

 

The Shuller Site: The Department of Traffic and Engineering is getting bids on environmental remediation and demolition of the Shuller site. The goal is to complete demolition this summer. Al Neyer, Inc., the selected developer for the Linden Park development, is working on a new design for the residential and commercial space to be built on this site. Neyer expects to begin presale of condos and preleasing of the commercial/retail spaces on April 1. Construction can begin when 30 to 40% of the condos have been sold and 40 to 50% of the commercial space has been leased.  (GRASSCAT: This has not happened as of yet.)

 

The Kroger Site: The owner of the Kroger site, Mr. Broeman, is working out details with Kroger regarding their lease prior to the actual sale of that site.

 

The Masonic Eastern Star Site: The City is waiting for appraisal and environmental reports before proceeding to purchase this property.

---

Regarding the gateways that will appear on Hamilton Ave. at each end of the business district:

 

 

ArchitectsPlus, GroundWorks, and Brownstone Design are developing a design for the Gateways for each end of the business district on Hamilton Avenue.

 

At a February 22 focus group, community leaders were shown pictures of gateways in other places that ranged all the way from simple changes in the sidewalk paving to the St. Louis Gateway Arch. Participants expressed their likes, dislikes, expectations and concerns about gateways, and then evaluated 50 pictures of gateways. Some general agreement developed on what design elements would work for College Hill.

 

ArchitectsPlus is using the ideas generated at the focus group to put together a preliminary design. The community will have another opportunity to give input when the preliminary design is presented on April 6 at Llanfair Retirement Community.  (GRASSCAT: There have been no updates on how this went.)

---

Also, great news regarding the "dead" corner at Hamilton and Llanfair:

 

 

The city has awarded CHCURC a grant ($167,000) to make plans for a public space on the city-owned property at the corner of Hamilton and Llanfair.  (GRASSCAT: They are currently collecting the public's ideas.)

---

Regarding facade improvements:

 

 

The Facade Program's Architectural Review Board met February 16 to begin to evaluate applications for matching funds to improve facades in the business district. All thirteen applications received appear to comply with the program guidelines.

 

Next, the Board reviews the applications and develops recommendations for the business/property owners regarding their proposals.

 

From the 4/24/06 Enquirer:

 

 

PHOTO: Shuller's Wigwam restaurant has been scheduled for demolition.  Provided photo

 

Shuller's Wigwam folds tent for good

BY ALLEN HOWARD | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

 

COLLEGE HILL - In the next few months, a wrecking ball will wipe out a College Hill icon - the closed Shuller's Wigwam restaurant at Hamilton Avenue and North Bend Road.

 

The restaurant, which closed in 2000, will be demolished to make way for the first phase of the $25 million Linden Park development, which includes stores, condos and townhouses.

 

Click on link for article.

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060424/NEWS01/604240337/-1/rss

 

Recent updates from the College Hill e-newsletter.

 

 

 

 

Linden Park Update: The Shuller Site 

 

Bob Ludwig, Chair of the College Hill Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation’s Linden Park Committee, provides this update on the development of the Shuller site. (The Linden Park committee is a diverse group of residents and business owners, partnering with the City of Cincinnati and the developer, Al Neyer, Inc., to bring College Hill a new development to be called Linden Park, a premiere residential and commercial urban village style of living.)

 

There is good news for all of you who live in College Hill and for those who are considering relocating to this great community.

 

You probably remember our announcement that the City purchased the Shuller property in February. Things are now moving very rapidly on the Linden Park mixed-use development on that site.

 

* Remediation of environmental issues in the building will take place in the next 30 days.

 

* Requests for bids on the demolition have been sent out; we are waiting for proposals to come back. We expect demolition by summer. Watch for the announcement; there will certainly be a celebration on that occasion. 

 

* The Linden Park Committee, the City and the Neyer team reviewed several preliminary design ideas for the mixed-use building on the corner of the Shuller site, developed by Champlin/Haupt Architects, Neyer’s design partners. The committee members were pleased with what they saw, and a consensus quickly developed in support of the the design pictured in this article. The architects were charged to develop it further, taking into account input from the committee and the City.

 

* Pre-sale of the condominiums and pre-leasing of the commercial space begins this month. If you have interest in owning a condominium or you would like to lease a retail or commercial space at Linden Park, contact Marty Weldishofer, College Hill Director of Community Development (513-681-4205 or [email protected]). Marty will see to it that you are invited to the marketing preview to view the renderings of the condominiums and commercial spaces. He is our person closest to the project. He'll either answer your questions or get you the answers.

 

* Groundbreaking on the Shuller site can take place as soon as 40% of the units have been pre-sold or pre-leased. We expect that to happen by this summer and we expect groundbreaking on the Shuller site this fall. Watch the eNewsletter and the Currents or attend Forum meetings to hear the announcement of the celebration of yet another milestone in the Renaissance of College Hill.

 

 

Linden Park Update: Masonic/Eastern Star and Kroger Property Purchase Imminent

 

Marty Weldishofer, CHCURC Director of Community Development, provides the following update on the Linden Park development.

 

We have more good news about the Linden Park project at the corner of Hamilton Avenue and North Bend Road.

 

You may recall that the Sale of Land Agreement signed last February by the City of Cincinnati and Al Neyer, Inc., stated that the City would purchase the Shuller property and the Masonic Eastern Star Retirement Home (MESH) property, which is next to the Kroger site on North Bend Road. You may also recall that the Shuller property was purchased last February.

 

We are now pleased to announce that the City of Cincinnati and The Ohio Masonic Home have agreed on a price for the MESH property . We expect this sale to be finalized in the next 45 days.

 

The 3.87 acre MESH site is an important component of the overall Linden Park mixed-use development. The site will accommodate approximately 24 single-family market-rate homes. This will provide another new residential product to be marketed along with the new condominiums and retail spaces on the Shuller and Kroger sites.

 

In a further development, we are also pleased to report that Al Neyer, Inc., has negotiated a price with the owner of the Kroger property. Can closing be far behind?

 

 

 

Gateway Project Update 

 

You may remember that about a year ago CHCURC’s Identity/Logo Committee distributed a survey to the community that asked, “What does College Hill mean to me?”

 

Your answers were used to create the College Hill logo that was unveiled at the National Night Out celebration last August under the tent in the College Hill Presbyterian parking lot. This is the logo that now appears at the top of this eNewsletter, as well as on many other College Hill flyers, posters, announcements and publications.

 

This logo design was the first step in answer to a challenge that was given to CHCURC by the College Hill Strategic Urban Design Plan which was approved by the City of Cincinnati in 2000. That challenge-- that our business district had no identity--was finally addressed. Given a logo, the next task was to effectively translate that logo into the design and construction of Gateways at the north and south ends of the College Hill business district to identify and announce arrival into our business district.

 

Two years ago the City of Cincinnati approved and funded an application written by Marty Weldishofer, now Director of Community Development for CHCURC and Elizabeth Sherwood, now the President of the Forum, requesting funding for Gateways through Cincinnati Neighborhood Business Districts United (CNBDU). The funds were approved and allocated to CHCURC to complete the design and construction of the gateway elements.

 

Marty, a professional interior designer, and Don Cluxton, a professional architect and College Hill resident, rallied the Identity/Logo Committee of 10 members to form the Gateway Committee. This committee created and implemented a process to guide them in the evaluation and selection of the best design team to recommend to the CHCURC Board. ArchitectsPlus, an architectural design firm, was selected, along with their design team members, GroundWorks, a landscape design firm, and Brownstone Design, a graphic design firm.

 

After meeting with the committee and reviewing the community input from the “What does College Hill mean to me?” logo survey, the design team then conducted two focus groups with community residents and business owners. The first session was to get a feel for the likes and dislikes of the attendees with respect to various design elements such as, plants, materials and shapes. The second session was to review and discuss design options. Everyone was excited about the options and there was definitely gravitation to one option in particular.

 

These Gateways will be constructed of metal and uplit at night for a spectacular and memorable experience. A preliminary rendering of the favored option is pictured above. Isn’t it fabulous?

 

The design team is now developing this option further with input from College Hill residents and business owners. It will be fun to see the final design unveiled at a Forum meeting this summer.

 

Later this year the Gateways will be constructed at the southwest corner of Hamilton & North Bend (the former CVS site) and on the northwest corner of Hamilton and Llanfair (the traditional location of the Farmer’s Market). How awesome it will be to see these beacons announce everyone's arrival in our great neighborhood.

 

Article contributed by Marty Weldishofer.

 

Action imminent.  Fencing is around the site of Shuller's Wigwam and workers are inside doing pre-demo.  It sounds like they're going to tear it down in a couple of weeks.

 

I'll try to go by and get some pics.  For now, here's one from the College Hill Forum:

They're going to start tearing down Shullers Wigwam on June 20, starting at 10 AM.  The mayor has been invited to speak, and other city leaders and some folks from Neyer will also be there.

From the 06/21/06 Enquirer:

 

 

Wigwam's demise clears way for College Hill's 'new life'

BY ALLEN HOWARD | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

 

COLLEGE HILL - Cheers went up and a few tears came down Tuesday morning as the wrecking crew started demolishing the old Shuller's Wigwam restaurant, a landmark here since the 1920s.

 

The demolition signaled the beginning of the $25 million Linden Park Commons, a town center with 28 condominiums over stores and restaurants, designed around a common courtyard. The condos will have one or two bedrooms and will be priced around $200,000.

 

Click on link for article.

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060621/NEWS01/606210382/1056

 

Here's the photo from the Post showing Helen and Leo Shuller watching the demolition:

http://vh10018.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=AE&Date=20060621&Category=NEWS01&ArtNo=60621002&Ref=AR&Profile=1010&MaxW=600&title=1

any updates on groundbreaking at the schuller's site?  i know it was slated for October.

Nothing has happened that I'm aware of.

Okay, condos at the Shuller's site are now in pre-sales.  Thirteen properties are currently listed--from $165,500 for 1 BR/1 BA to $355,400 for 2 BR/2 BA.

 

The properties are listed as 6200 Hamilton Ave.

 

I live on the same street as the guy who is Director of College Hill development, and when I was talking to him about this project back early in the summer, he mentioned to me that they were *hoping* to break ground in October, but that they wouldn't actually start any construction until __% of the condos were pre-sold.  I can't remember the % that he told me. 

 

With how the housing market has slowed in the area, let's hope this doesn't mean we're waiting too long. 

I think it is around 40 percent according to the website

 

Isn't exactly part of the Linden Park project, but the community leaders draw ties to it throughout the article.  I don't know...I've never heard of fire stations as being 'development catalysts' before, but what they hey if they say so...

 

College Hill's new fire station could be development catalyst

BY JANE PRENDERGAST | [email protected]

March 8, 2007

 

MAP: Site Location

The Enquirer

PHOTO: The current College Hill firehouse will be replaced by a $3 million, state-of-the-art facility. Some stations now in use were designed for horse-drawn fire equipment and make it difficult for modern trucks, which are heavier and bigger, to fit.

The Enquirer/Leigh Taylor

 

COLLEGE HILL - A new firehouse - only the second Cincinnati has built in almost 25 years - is to come next year to College Hill.

 

City officials are negotiating to buy some property at Llanfair and Hamilton avenues for the $3 million station, expected to be built in early 2008.

 

Click on link for article.

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070308/NEWS01/703080417/1056/COL02

Sales for Phase One, which covers the former Shuller's Wigwam property, have already begun.  I would expect groundbreaking to occur when a substantial amount are pre-sold.

 

The sale of land agreement for the former Kroger property is in the works and should come through within the next few months.

 

On the southwest corner of the intersection, land is now under CHCURC control which will become the site of a metal gateway sculpture.  This should be installed by the end of the year.

 

A similar sculpture will go on the south side of the business district at Hamilton and Llanfair avenues.  This sculpture will be installed after the City completes its new fire station on the site.

 

Linden Park project to break ground in 2008

Building Cincinnati, 7/24/07

 

Sketch from the MLS of Greater Cincinnati

 

College Hill Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation president Bob Ludwig reports that the Linden Park Commons project will break ground in 2008.

 

The two-phase project at Hamilton Avenue and North Bend Road will start with the northeast block, the former home of Shuller's Wigwam.

 

Pre-sales of condominiums for that phase began last October. Ludwig has said that groundbreaking would occur once 40 percent of the units were pre-sold or pre-leased.

 

Linden Park Commons will be a mixed-use development featuring retail, office space, 28 condos/townhomes and single-family homes.

 

The development also includes the site of a vacant Kroger and the Masonic Eastern Star Home.

 

The $25 million project is being developed by Neyer.

 

Building Cincinnati: College Hill: Linden Park Commons update (4/24/07)

 

http://buildingcincinnati.blogspot.com/2007/07/linden-park-project-to-break-ground-in.html

 

Go College Hill go!

Community support of Linden Park decisive

Building Cincinnati, 9/6/07

 

In front of a standing-room-only crowd, the College Hill community voted 224-1 in support of the Linden Park concept plan.

 

The concept plan will now begin its movement through the City Planning Commission and City Council. The College Hill Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation and developer Al Neyer, Inc. are seeking $1.8 million in project gap funding from the City.

 

The project at the corner of Hamilton Avenue and North Bend Road will include a three-story mixed-use building on the former site of Shuller's Wigwam. Included within the building will be 13,000 square feet of retail space and 19 market-rate condominiums with an attached parking garage.

 

A second phase will include 24-30 detached single-family homes to be built to the east of the mixed-use building.

 

More specific design details will be established if the City approves the concept plan and the budgeting of funds.

 

An updated site plan was not available at the time of this post. It will be posted as soon as it becomes available.

 

http://buildingcincinnati.blogspot.com/2007/09/community-support-of-linden-park.html

---

Linden Park meeting tonight

Building Cincinnati, 9/4/07

 

Artist's concept

 

A community meeting will be held tonight to present the conceptual design of Linden Park Commons.

 

A review of schematic design by neighborhood residents is considered crucial in getting the plans approved by City Council.

 

The $8 million project, which is to be built at Hamilton Avenue and North Bend Road, also has a funding gap of $1.8 million and is seeking City funding.

 

Due to the current housing market, the scaled-down project now includes a three-story mixed-use building on the former site of Shuller's Wigwam. Included within the building will be 13,000 square feet of retail space and 19 market-rate condominiums with an attached parking garage.

 

A second phase will include 24-28 detached single-family homes to the east.

 

Dropped from the project is the vacant Kroger store on the northwest corner of the intersection. That property is still privately held and the College Hill Urban Redevelopment Corporation (CHURC) is working to acquire it.

 

Bloomfield, Schon & Partners has agreed to develop the Masonic Eastern Star site to the west of Kroger. Those plans should be available early next year.

 

The meeting will be held at 7 PM at the College Hill Recreation Center, 5545 Belmont Avenue.

 

The meeting is being sponsored by the CHURC and College Hill Forum. Staff from Neyer as well as members of the Linden Park Committee will be available to answer questions.

 

http://buildingcincinnati.blogspot.com/2007/09/linden-park-meeting-tonight.html

 

That's pretty cool.

New rendering, townhome developer for Linden Park

Building Cincinnati, 9/28/07

 

Newly released rendering of mixed-use building

 

A new rendering and the naming of the townhome developer for Linden Park Commons were revealed at Tuesday night's meeting of the College Hill Forum.

 

The mixed-use portion of the project will include a three-story building with 19 condos and 13,000 square feet of street-level retail.

 

M/I Homes was named as the developer of 24-30 adjacent townhomes, which will complement the mixed-use building in appearance. Design on these is ongoing.

 

Project developer Al Neyer, Inc. plans to establish a sales office within a month after City Council approves $1.8 million in project gap funding.

 

Construction would begin when 50 percent of the mixed-use space is sold. The townhomes would be built based on customer demand.

 

http://www.building-cincinnati.com/2007/09/new-rendering-townhome-developer-for.html

 

City council to consider $1.8M loan for Linden Park

BY LISA BERNARD-KUHN | CINCINNATI ENQUIRER

January 26, 2008

 

COLLEGE HILL - Linden Park, Al. Neyer Inc.'s nearly $14 million retail and residential development in College Hill, is gaining momentum.

 

Click on link for article.

They definitely watered down the exterior design concept for the mixed-use building.

Being that I live about 2 blocks away from this intersection, I think I'd rather see a slightly watered down version of the project proceed than this vacant lot either continue to sit empty or get redeveloped into a Walgreens or CVS.  I'm very glad to hear the sales office will be opening in early March.