On August 7, City Council authorized the expenditure of $426,645 in capital improvement program project funds for seven neighborhood business district (NBD) economic development projects on private property, which it called a public purpose that will create and preserve jobs.
The projects include:
- $150,000 for the acquisition and redevelopment of 6025 Montgomery Road in Pleasant Ridge, which consists of two storefronts totaling 3,600 square feet that has not seen significant commercial activity in five years. The Pleasant Ridge Development Corporation is partnering with the Pleasant Ridge Montessori Foundation to remodel the property for a daycare program, community clinic, and restaurant.
- $79,145 for a marquee and community message board at the Covedale Center for the Performing Arts in West Price Hill, the fifth and final phase of the building's renovation. The digital sign panels will share information on a rotating basis and will be visible to the estimated 15,000 that pass the building daily.
- $77,500 for the Ludlow Avenue Storefront Improvement Program, a program administered by the Uptown Consortium that will upgrade and restore six vacant and underutilized storefronts with the goal of attracting new tenants to the business district. Building owners will be responsible for 50 percent of the costs of improvements.
- $30,000 for the Roselawn Business District Feasibility Study, which will allow for the hiring of a consultant to take a look at the Reading Road corridor and to define methods to encourage revitalization.
- $30,000 for community parking lot improvements at 3108 Harrison Avenue in Westwood. The project provides for new asphalt, cleaning, leveling, and striping, and is intended to make the lot more visible and inviting for patrons of the Mad Cap Puppet Theater and other surrounding destinations.
- $30,000 for Dhonau Garden at 1608 Hoffner Street. Funding will be used for the acquisition and redevelopment of the blighted property into a community garden.
- $30,000 for the Bond Hill Identity Project, which will provide the final funding for wayfinding signage for the neighborhood business district at the entryways on Reading, Paddock, and Langdon Farm roads and Seymour and Tennessee avenues.
