City has little say in Sedamsville demolitions

City Manager Milton Dohoney Jr. says that there's little the City can do to stop demolitions in the proposed Sedamsville River Road Historic District, even if it makes the National Register.

Dohoney's report to City Council is in response to a communication from Susan Feldman, co-chair of the Sedamsville Historic Committee, who has asked the City to stop any demolitions for a proposed condominium project until their historic district proposal is reviewed by the Ohio Historic Preservation Office (OHPO) this August.

The review is the first step in getting the district, which includes approximately 60 houses on the northwest side of River Road and southwest of Ansonia Avenue, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The proposed project is called Harbor Lights, a high-rise condominium development that would require the demolition of up to 30 Sedamsville homes - 12 in the initial phases.

Since mid-2007, Arlon Brown and Collins Riverside LLC has bought more than two dozen properties between 2500 and 2900 River Road (BIRD'S EYE) for often inflated prices, which have been difficult for many Sedamsville residents to refuse.

Feldman says that the neighborhood still hasn't seen any plans, and that communications with the developer have been spotty at best.

Brown has already hinted that he'll soon begin tearing down houses.

Because the properties in the redevelopment area are not located within a local historic district, demolitions will not have to be reviewed by the Historic Conservation Office during the permit process.

"If demolition permits are filed, the City would be obligated to consider the applications without regard to historical significance," Dohoney writes.

And listing on the National Register would only protect the properties if the developer is seeking federal funding, which would require a federal - but not a local - review.

Dohoney says that the City's Department of Community Development has had conversations with the developer and that an application for capital infrastructure funding is likely, but these funds would not be from a federal source.

"Should the developer demolish portions of the historic district, however, he would be disqualified from receiving federal assistance for the new construction," Dohoney writes.

So far, no demolition or construction permit applications have been filed.

Feldman believes that demolitions will hurt their chances of making the National Register.

Following the August review by the OHPO, a formal listing on the National Register could take several months.

Photo credit: Cincy Images

Previous reading on BC:
Sedamsville wants demo delay on possible condo project (4/17/08)