Hartwell Armory site chained off

Dawn Longworth, president of the Hartwell Improvement Association, wants the chain removed from the old National Guard Armory driveway.

The City's Department of Community Development (DCD), which acquired the site in fall 2007, says that's not going to happen.

The chain was added on April 30 as a result of the illegal dumping of construction debris by contractors in the parking lot near the baseball fields on Shadybrook Drive (BIRD'S EYE).

Upon inspection of the site, a DCD contractor determined that a chain would be the most effective deterrent to vehicle entry.

In a prior communication to City Council, Longworth also had asked for the City to remove the honeysuckle and evergreens to make the site more visible from the adjacent Kroger parking lot.

DCD turned down that request as well.

In December, the City entered into a preferred developer agreement with the William Still Underground Railroad Foundation to build the Mid-City Baseball/Softball Indoor Academy, a hybrid academic/athletic program to develop character, self-esteem, and educational skills in of young people from underserved areas ages 5 to 17.

The foundation is currently raising funds, and, in April, the foundation enlisted Ripken Management & Design, a management firm that includes baseball Hall-of-Famer Cal Ripken Jr., to assist in the development of the facility.

The foundation's preferred developer agreement expires on December 27.

In the interim, DCD has requested increased surveillance of the site from District 4 Police.

The chain has already been broken once, but has since been replaced.

Photo credit: City of Cincinnati Department of Community Development

Previous reading on BC:
Who's responsible for illegal dumping at Hartwell Armory? (5/9/08)