Thursday, June 28, 2012

Price Hill Will continues to win awards

Nonprofit community development corporation Price Hill Will continues to rack up awards for its housing programs, winning its second award in two weeks.

The most recent award comes from a statewide group, the Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA), which presented Price Hill Will Executive Director Ken Smith with its 2012 Spirit of Homeownership Excellence Award at its June 20 board meeting.

Winners were chosen based on a number of factors, including innovation, length of program, geographical reach, strength of partnerships, and the ability to be replicated. Through its hard work and partnerships, Price Hill Will's "Buy-Improve-Sell" program has turned around more than 50 distressed, foreclosed, or vacant homes in East Price Hill, Lower Price Hill, and West Price Hill – making them available for new owner-occupants.

On June 14, a partnership that included Price Hill Will was awarded the Most Outstanding Project of 2012 by the Community Development Corporations Association of Greater Cincinnati for the $7.4 million redevelopment of the Elberon Senior Apartments in East Price Hill, a rundown multi-family building at W Eighth Street and Elberon Avenue that created a total of 37 one- and two-bedroom units for seniors ages 55 and older.

Partners in that project included the Model Group and Brickstone Properties, the City of Cincinnati, City Studios Architecture, Red Mortgage Capital, Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing, OHFA, and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation of Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.

Also at OHFA's June 20 meeting, its board approved $565,000 in Neighborhood Stabilization Program funding for the Abigail Apartments, a 77-unit scattered-site redevelopment of foreclosed and vacant properties being developed by the Model Group.


Photo contest

In other Price Hill news, Price Hill Will has launched its third annual "Price Hill: Looking Up" photo contest, accepting photographs depicting positive images of any part of Price Hill.

"This has become one of the best parts of my job," said Matt Strauss, Price Hill Will's director of marketing and neighborhood promotion, in a prepared release. "People are really excited to show off the neighborhood and their artistic talents at the same time. We get some great stuff every year."

Photos can fall into any of three categories: Natural Price Hill, Architecture of Price Hill, or People of Price Hill.
Submissions must be made electronically to Strauss at matt@pricehillwill.org by the close of business on August 3.

Six finalists – two from each category – will be announced on August 15. A winner will be announced at Price Hill Will's "Illuminating the Arts" event on August 24, and prizes will include framed copies of the photographer's work…and more.

Images provided by Price Hill Will.

Previous reading on BC:
Community development award winners best represent people, place (6/15/12)
Photos: Grand opening of the Elberon Senior Apartments (4/16/12)
Price Hill the driver for Elberon's rebirth (4/12/12)
Two Hamilton Co projects win affordable housing tax credits (4/12/12)
Historic Haddon Hall renovation wins $6.7M in bonds from OHFA (3/26/12)