Harvest Faith gets okay to expand in West End

1709 Central Avenue

Cincinnati City Council has passed unanimously a notwithstanding ordinance allowing Harvest Faith Fellowship Ministries to expand its West End location.

The church needed the ordinance to use their property at 1709 Central Avenue (BIRD'S EYE) for office and worship space.

A 2004 rezoning made "religious assembly" an illegal use for the site.

In a memo to City Council, City Manager Milton Dohoney Jr. fully supported the non-conforming use.

"The proposed development by the church will not negatively affect adjacent properties," Dohoney said. "In fact, the new use might enhance adjacent properties because the development of the vacant property will be put to productive use as well as reducing blight in the area."

Harvest Faith has invested in several buildings in the area to further their ministry and neighborhood empowerment mission.

Previous reading on BC:
Harvest Faith wants West End expansion (2/4/08)

Harvest Faith wants West End expansion

1709 Central Avenue

Harvest Faith Fellowship Ministries wants City Council assistance to allow them to expand their West End operations.

The church is seeking a notwithstanding ordinance passed on property it owns at 1709 Central Avenue (BIRD'S EYE) so that they can expand their offices and worship space within the vacant warehouse.

They purchased the land in 1995, and a 2004 rezoning to MG Manufacturing General made the planned expansion for "religious assembly" use illegal.

Harvest Faith, which occupies several buildings in the vicinity, says that the new zoning has landlocked the organization and hurts its planned mission.

According to a statement supplied with their notwithstanding ordinance application, the church has taken invested hundreds of thousands of dollars into many blighted properties to turn them into productive facilities that "equip, train and empower neighborhood residents for a healthy, productive place in the city fabric, thereby creating positive economic impact as well as an improved operation of community."

City Council's Economic Development Committee will hold a public hearing on the ordinance on February 12.

CityLink litigation could lead to zoning changes

As a result of the CityLink litigation, the City of Cincinnati's Zoning Text Amendment Committee (ZTAC) will soon make recommendations to the City Planning Commission on proposed changes to the zoning code.

The City Planning Commission formed ZTAC in 2007 to review proposed changes to the zoning code before they are presented at their meetings.

The proposed $12 million, 98,000-square-foot CityLink facility would include long-term transitional housing, a jobs center, a health center, a gym, a cafe, a day care and a barber/beauty salon.

As a result of county lawsuits in which specific terms in the City's zoning code were called into question, on January 15 Councilmember Chris Bortz offered a motion to:

* Replace the term "community service facility" with "social service facility"
* Define "community" and "commercial"
* Amend the definition of "transitional housing" to ban dormitory-styled housing and to specify a numeric limit
* Define "short-term", "long-term", and "transitional"
* Amend the definition of "special assistance shelter" to set a numeric limit on the number of residents.

Opponents of CityLink requested the changes, hoping to avoid the further concentration of social services, which they fear would concentrate poverty and crime in an area that is already struggling with economic development.

They claim that what they term a "community service facility" would be allowed in many different neighborhoods and that the approval of CityLink would set a dangerous precedent, allowing similar large social services sites to develop without any real City control.

In December, CityLink attorney Tim Burke contacted City Council asking for an end to the "fear mongering and misrepresentation" of CityLink opponents, adding that the planned transitional housing would only be allowed in areas zoned for manufacturing, like their site at 800 Bank Street in the West End, and not in residential neighborhoods or in business districts.

The proposed land use has been found to be proper and legal by both the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas and the Hamilton County Court of Appeals.

ZTAC's recommendations will be subject to public hearings by the City Planning Commission and City Council's Economic Development Committee before coming to a Council vote.

Previous reading on BC:
Burke defends CityLink (12/27/07)

Wrecking Cincinnati, 1/11/08

1728-1730 Freeman Ave, West End
Multi-family

DOB: 1895
Died: December 2007
Cause of death: Absolutely no idea. The City does not list any building code violations. It is surrounded by vacant land under the same ownership, which could make it a possible (though not probable) redevelopment site.

Wrecking Cincinnati, 8/7/07

RIP: 1703 Sutter Ave, North Fairmount
Single-family

DOB: Circa 1900
Died: July 2007
Cause of death: Apparent indifference. The house was ordered vacant for numerous code problems in June 2005, then there were no repairs and no VBML compliance. It looks like the owner razed it himself to avoid problems with the City.

RIP: 1110 Garden St, West End
Single-family

DOB: 1873
Died: July 2007
Cause of death: A collapsed roof and cornice and a lack of windows led to severe water damage. It was ordered vacant in January 2005 and condemned in November of that same year. The house was then declared a public nuisance in July 2006, but demolition was put off while a check was made of its historic credentials. It was razed by the City.

RIP: 505 Poplar St, West End
Multi-family

DOB: 1879
Died: July 2007
Cause of death: The roof was open and the rafters were rotted, the chimney fell off, and the masonry walls had huge cracks. Trash was everywhere. The owners had no means to make repairs and couldn't sell it, so they simply abandoned it. It was condemned in February 2006 and was declared a public nuisance in June 2007. Demolition started in late July, much of it done by hand.

Wrecking Cincinnati, 7/31/07

RIP: 2106 Central Ave, West End
Commercial warehouse

DOB: Circa 1865
Died: June 2007
Cause of death: Collapsed roof, bulging walls and siding falling off. The building was condemned in 2006, and the owners claimed during a pre-prosecution hearing that they had hired an architect to help with the repair. When nothing was done, it went to criminal court. The city declared the structure a public nuisance and put the demolition out for bid. The owners plead no contest and were found guilty.

RIP: 106 Peete St, Over-the-Rhine
Single-family

DOB: Circa 1865
Died: June 2007
Cause of death: Demolished for redevelopment. It has been a couple of years since I have heard of plans for new housing on this stretch of Peete. I think a few of the properties have since been sold.

RIP: 722 Greenwood Ave, Avondale
Multi-family apartments

DOB: 1921
Died: July 2007
Cause of death: Roof failure and a collapsed chimney exacerbated by storm damage, as well as incomplete rehab work from 2005. Being open to the public, children were getting inside and playing in there. The building was condemned in April 2006 and declared a public nuisance in July 2006.

Wrecking Cincinnati, 7/10/07

RIP: 4668 North Edgewood Avenue, Spring Grove Village
Single-family

DOB: Circa 1900
Died: June 2007
Cause of death: After a prolonged illness of several years, succumbed to a failing foundation and an ill front porch that was home to large animals (possibly raccoons). The owner failed to show up for pre-prosecution hearings on the building. It then became the subject of a lawsuit involving the Winton Place Community Council. In March 2007, the City authorized a transfer of funds to the CDBG Receivership Program account for hazard abatement.

RIP: 911 York Street, West End
Single-family

DOB: Unknown, probably 1860-1880
Died: June 2007
Cause of death: Negligent homicide - CMHA indifference. The roof collapsed, windows were missing, and the building was open to the weather. The CMHA never obtained a Vacant Building Maintenance License despite numerous warnings. They demolished the property to eliminate the(ir) problem.

RIP: 221 Stetson Street, Corryville
Single-family

DOB: 1924
Died: July 2007
Cause of death: Homicide. Sacrificed for the Stetson Square project.

Model Property Development seeking federal funds for fourteen-building rehab

Model Property Development has applied for Low Income Housing Tax Credits to rehabilitate 14 buildings in the West End and Avondale.

The federal tax credits, which are distributed in Ohio through the Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA), are awarded each year for 10 years. The housing credit can be deducted from the building owner's federal taxable income.

Model plans to use the funds to rehabilitate up to 72 low-income units at 1722-1730 and 2016 Baymiller Street; 945 Findlay Street; 1921-1923 Freeman Avenue; 849 and 1018 York Street in the West End; and 808 Cleveland Avenue in Avondale.

The total project cost is $12.3 million.

On June 6, City Council passed a resolution supporting the application. Council support improves the project's score in the OHFA assessment system.

The OHFA is scheduled to announce the accepted applicants on August 1.

West End gallery added

The gallery for the West End has been added at the bottom of the page. It currently contains 22 photos.

You can click the photo above to access the gallery directly. It will open in a new browser window.

This collection of West End photos does not include photos of City West. Those will come out in a seperate gallery in the near future.