Building Cincinnati: 11th Citirama home show open in Northside

Monday, September 10, 2012

11th Citirama home show open in Northside

The City of Cincinnati and the Home Builders Association of Greater Cincinnati officially opened the 11th Citirama urban home showcase with a Friday morning ceremony in Northside.

Located at the intersection of Virginia and Chase avenues, Virginia Place has lots for 35 single-family homes and six neo-traditional homes. As many as 50 homes eventually could be built at the site.

This year's Citirama features five display homes, ranging in price from $200,000 to $300,000. Two of the homes have already sold.

Participating builders include Brookstone Homes, Drees Homes, Maronda Homes, Oakmont Custom Homes, and Potterhill Homes. In-Line Development is the project developer.

"The product behind me looks gorgeous," said City Manager Milton Dohoney. "It adds to the continued stability and enhancement of neighborhoods in Cincinnati."

This is the third time the home show has come to Northside, having been held at Rockford Woods in 2001 and in 2010.

Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls lauded the development's proximity to the neighborhood business district and transportation networks, providing easy access to daily needs and job opportunities.

"We have a firm belief in the demand for center city living," she said. "Every single Citirama home show we've done demonstrates the truth of that belief."

The development site was cleared of houses nearly 40 years ago for the Colerain Connector road project, which would have linked Interstate 74 with Hamilton Avenue. A grassroots effort by neighborhood leaders successfully shut down the proposal.

"The result is that we are now standing here offering people new opportunities for homeownership," Qualls said.

Northside Community Council President Martha Dourson likened the fight over the Colerain Connector to a giant game of Monopoly.

"Northside holding this property makes us the winner of this game," she said, because Virginia Place increases the neighborhood's housing stock and offers homebuyers newer options, has improved a once-blighted area, and will serve as an anchor to spur future development.

Citirama has been recognized as the longest-lasting single-site urban housing partnership between a home builders association and a municipality in the entire country.

In addition to Rockford Woods, past Citirama home shows have been held at Betts-Longworth and St. Ann's Common I and II in the West End, Brodbeck Park and Woodcrest Park in Westwood, Spencer Hill in Mount Lookout, and the Villages of Daybreak in Bond Hill.

"In comparison with other progressive cities, Cincinnati reigns and Northside shines," Dourson said.

The show is open to the public daily from 4 P.M. to 9 P.M. Monday through Thursday, and from noon to 9 P.M. Friday through Sunday.

Admission is $8 for adults; children 12 and under attend free of charge if accompanied by an adult. Discount tickets can be purchased at any local Kroger store for $6.