Governing: Do you really want to be the best?

Does the infinite supply of "best city" rankings make or break a city?

In the February issue of Governing, Zach Patton examines the benefits and the drawbacks of these rankings.

As an example, Charlottesville, Virginia says that a #1 ranking in Sperling's 2004 "Cities Ranked and Rated" led directly to growth in the population and a boost in thecity's creative class. (There is also a large state university there.)

But what those working in economic development see as a boon, others will see as a loss. A flood of new, incoming residents, sprawling growth and rising housing costs can destroy everything that made the city so great in the first place.

In the latest edition of Sperling's book, Charlottesville had fallen to #17 due to "escalating housing prices".

NYT: Is your house making you look fat?

Calling large, cookie-cutter homes in formulaic subdivisions "the architectural equivalent of transfats", writer Allison Arieff states that we should be less concerned about how much housing we build, and more concerned about how our homes and communities are designed.

First and foremost, she argues that we should stop designing for cars - homes and communities should be designed for human patterns of use, including the ability to walk to nearby amenities.

Her other major point is that sustainablity must be built into our projects, not slapped on as an afterthought. Not only is access to green building information more widely available than ever before, but fixes such as reducing the square footage of new homes can make a huge difference.

When you talk about homes and personal choice, it's sure to generate quite a discussion - check out the 87 comments for a fascinating read.

Architect: How would you spend $1.6 trillion?

The United States spends just 0.93 percent ($112.9B) of its gross domestic product on infrastructure, and the Urban Land Institute estimates that it would take $1.6 trillion to make the much needed upgrades required to bring it up to par.

In its February issue, Architect magazine asks architects, engineers, planners, and others how best to spend that hypothetical $1.6 trillion.

Aside from opinions from well-known names like Ron Paul, Richard Florida and James Hoffa, there are ideas from lesser-known - but highly qualified - people that range from the practical to the whimsical to pure fantasy.

I wonder what they would say about our Brent Spence Bridge?

Google mashup identifies Cincinnati's public steps

A new Google Maps mashup on the Community Walk website provides information on Cincinnati's numerous public steps, including those that are closed to the public.

The interface gives the name and address of each set of steps, directions on how to find them, and photos of what you'll find when you get there.

The City maintains nearly 400 sets of hillside stairways, which were a key transportation shortcut for pedestrians looking to traverse the City's often rugged terrain.

The steps are still heavily used today, though their presence is not without controversy.

In 2006, the Dayton Street Neighborhood Association successfully lobbied for the closure of the Horace Street steps, which connect Horace Street with the intersection of Bank and Linn streets. The residents claimed that the steps caused drug dealers and prostitutes to come down and use Horace Street, which is basically an alley for Dayton Street residents, as a place to conduct criminal activity.

And in March 2007, City Council voted to close the Collins Avenue steps - a major connection for residents and students from Taft Road to O'Bryonville - after Keys Crescent residents complained that the steps brought crime onto their street.

Despite the closures, the City sees some value in retaining pedestrian connectivity. This spring, work will begin to replace the public steps between Holy Cross-Immaculata Church and the Adams Crossing condominiums.

This map is a fantastic tool for people like me who like to do a little urban exploring, and it's helpful in finding the public steps that may be hidden from plain view or that are in unfamiliar neighborhoods.

RealEstateJournal: As houses empty, cities seek ways to fill the void

Facing a nationwide homeowner-vacancy rate that rose by a record 2.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007, cities are looking at creative ways to get those houses back into the hands of those who need them.

In the February 8 edition of RealEstateJournal, writers Michael Corkery and Ruth Simon profile approaches being taken to combat the problem in San Diego, Cleveland, Providence and Flint.

These approaches typically utilize a sort of "land bank" system or go-between, which uses public and private financing to purchase the homes and make them available to developers, who will then create affordable housing.

Locally, Cincinnati City Council has proposed to team up with Hamilton County to form the Neighborhood Homes Initiative, which would make foreclosed properties available to community development corporations, urban redevelopment corporations and non-profit developers and keep them out of the hands of out-of-state banks and unscrupulous property flippers.

Monday news roundup

A look back at development news from the past week


Blogs

Cincinnati.com Art blog: Sara Pierce posts photos of the Union Terminal "High Steel" tour, and gives details on how you can see it yourself.

5chw4r7z: 5chw4r7z gives us an inside look at the units for sale in the Hannaford in Newport.


Print media

Cincinnati Enquirer: A new proposal by Councilmember Roxanne Qualls, which is supported by five other councilmembers, may derail plans to bring streetcars to Downtown and Over-the-Rhine.

Cincinnati Enquirer: The Enquirer's weekly story on Northern Kentucky's condominium projects highlights the Ascent, as residents begin moving in.

Cincinnati Enquirer: This letter by Daniel Burr of Covington points out the complete failure of the Ascent at street level, and I'm inclined to agree.

Cincinnati Enquirer: The Cincinnati Museum Center is seeking $120 million in state, public and private funding to restore Union Terminal to its 1933 condition.

Cincinnati Enquirer: The short list of potential routes for the Brent Spence Bridge project will not be ready until October due to extra traffic study and engineering work, a delay of about eight months.

Cincinnati Enquirer: Al Neyer, Inc. has announced that it will begin pre-sales next month for its $10 million Linden Park project in College Hill, and will begin construction after selling 9 units.

Cincinnati Enquirer: City Lights has announced more details of its $50 million Incline Square development in East Price Hill, a mixed-use project that will also incorporate the piers of the Price Hill Incline.

Cincinnati Enquirer: The Burton family has sold its house on the property of the proposed Rookwood Exchange to the developers, leaving Joe Horney as the lone holdout.

Cincinnati Enquirer: Home Depot has backed out as the third anchor at Newport Pavilion, and developer Bear Creek Capital says that the space will likely be filled by multiple smaller retailers.

Cincinnati Enquirer: The Covington Renaissance District may be expanded this spring, increasing the number of properties with access to improvement grants.

Cincinnati Enquirer: The rehabbers of Covington Station, 632 Russell Street, are seeking a tenant in the "creative industries" to fill their 15,000-square-foot building.

Campbell County Recorder: Construction of the $10 million, 52,000-square-foot county administration building at 1010 Monmouth Street in Newport will begin March 1.

Fort Thomas Recorder: Fort Thomas City Council's finance committee has decided to re-evaluate funding for the Midway district - possibly funding funding more up front.

Cincinnati Enquirer: The Newport business district has attracted five companies since January, and the 41-unit Marx Cromer building is 60 percent leased.

Cincinnati Enquirer: The $30 million Bellevue Urban Active fitness center, adjacent to Harbor Greene, will open March 1.

Cincinnati Enquirer: Northern Kentucky University's renovation of the Lakeside Heights Nursing Center into a 230-room student dormitory will be completed by August.

Hilltop Press: Forest Park is seeking $4.5 million in homeland security funds for a regional center for its SWAT and Hazmat units, which would be located either along Northland Boulevard or within the Hamilton Avenue corridor.

Cincinnati Enquirer: Highland Heights residents are divided over a Towne Properties proposal for the development of three retail buildings at I-471 and US-27, fearing increased traffic along the already busy corridor.

Cincinnati Enquirer: Citing high lease payments and declining sales, Kroger is considering closing its Walnut Hills store near Peebles Corner when its lease expires in February 2009.

Cincinnati Enquirer: Both the City of Cincinnati and Hamilton County are in arrears with the Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority, though both say that the money will eventually be made available.

Cincinnati Enquirer: The historic Mike Fink sternwheeler is on its way to South Point, Ohio for a $2 million renovation.

Cincinnati Enquirer: Madeira city officials will consider today a zoning modification that could allow for the construction of townhouses and condominiums on six acres along Euclid Avenue, just east of Miami Avenue.

Cincinnati Enquirer: Mount Healthy and Springdale are the latest communities to take advantage of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Dollar Homes program, which allows municipalities to purchase foreclosed properties that have been on the market for six months for a buck.

CityBeat: In her Cincitecture column, Sarah Stephens gives the architectural history behind Samuel Hannaford's Old St. George Church in Clifton Heights.

Cincinnati Enquirer: Leaders of the Carthage and Hartwell neighborhood councils think that the Hamilton County Fair needs better management and don't believe that moving the fair from Carthage to western Hamilton County will fix its ills.

Tri-County Press: Springdale is considering a change to its landlord guidelines, requiring a $50 annual permit with inspections every two to three years.

Cincinnati Enquirer: The Southwest Local School District wants to close down the deteriorating Elizabethtown Elementary, but residents in Elizabethtown, Hooven and Whitewater Township are fighting to save it.

Washington Post: ZIP code redlining

Kenneth J. Harney reports in the Washington Post that many of the country's largest mortgage lenders are imposing loan restrictions on entire counties or ZIP codes that they rank as risky or "declining".

Harney cites practices like Countrywide's five-point rating scale and GMAC ResCap's internal ZIP code search engine as the result of new Fannie Mae restrictions requiring area-by-area risk ratings and down payment standards.

Critics believe that such ratings for such broadly-defined areas are unfair and ignore the nuances of the housing market from street to street and from block to block, and they completely ignore the income and qualifications of the applicant.

This characterization of a geographic area as "declining" may be turn out to be a self-fulfilling prophecy - higher down payments will mean that fewer people can afford them. They then stay on the market longer and drop in value.

The Ground Floor: HOPE VI zeroed out in FY2009 budget

The failed $3 trillion budget that President Bush attempted to pass made no appropriations for the HOPE VI program for fiscal year 2009, which would effectively kill the program.

John McIlwain argues on the Ground Floor that we must keep this program to continue to eliminate the poorly designed and mismanaged housing projects that continue to blight our inner-city neighborhoods.

HOPE VI currently has $198 million available for projects - $98 million carried over from fiscal year 2007 and $100 million appropriated for 2008.

The HOPE VI program is administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and is used to replace bleak, unsafe projects with mixed-income development.

Local examples of the program in action include City West in the West End, the Villages of Daybreak in Bond Hill and Liberty Row in Newport.

GLUE: Preservation is key to revitalization

Channeling tax incentives into the under-used historic urban fabric of "Rustbelt" cities can produce the same urban environments as coastal cities, but without the prohibitive costs of living.

In GLUE's blog, writer Randy Vines of St. Louis argues that with urban living becoming desirable again, cities in the Midwest offer things that cannot be found in the Sunbelt - solid, architecturally-rich urban places built for people first.

He adds that older cities should continue, of course, to build new. But newer cities will never be able to create the authenticity one would find in a city like Cincinnati.

And you could never live within eight blocks of the city center for under $200,000 on either of the coasts.

Time: A new blueprint for Levittown

How do you "green" a massive suburban development that's the very antithesis of sustainability?

County officials, environmentalists and local businesses have launched Green Levittown, an attempt to lower the postwar suburb's carbon footprint by 20 percent.

Time reports that the optional program will allow homeowners to receive reduced-interest loans to finance upgrades.

Though greening house by house is a noble and necessary goal, it will mean nothing if subdivisions continue to be developed in the same way.

Monday news roundup

A look back at development news from the past week


Blogs

Cincinnati.com Art blog: Sara Pearce gives a photo update of the progress of the $3.5 million Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park project, which is due for a summer or fall completion.


Print media

Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati's Urban Design Review Board weighed in on plans for Queen City Square, suggesting making the building more pedestrian-friendly by incorporating a retail-lined promenade connecting Third and Fourth streets.

Cincinnati Enquirer: Fresh on the heels of the donated land controversy, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center is now seeking $1.4 million to move its entrance to the Second Street side, citing a lack of faith in the future development of the Banks.

Eastern Hills Journal: The Hyde Park Neighborhood Council remains divided over a proposed four-story mixed-use building for 2633 Erie Avenue, with some worrying that too many denials could discourage investment.

News Record: Funding problems may delay the renovation of the University of Cincinnati's Dyer Hall and the structure linking it to Teachers College.

Cincinnati Enquirer: Jordan Park, a $17 million, 27-unit condo project being built by Greiwe Development Group near Mariemont Square, is on track for an October completion.

Cincinnati Enquirer: The Campbell County Fiscal Court approved the issuance of $10 million in bonds for the new Campbell County administration building in Newport, which will open in October 2009.

Cincinnati Enquirer: Sharonville city council voted unanimously against a plan by Fischer Homes to build 89 single-family homes and 196 condos on land owned by the Princeton City School District, meaning that the project likely will be scaled down.

Eastern Hills Journal: The Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority will begin immediately the renovation of its 24-unit property at Madison Road and Observatory Avenue.

Cincinnati Enquirer: Two Covington city commissioners have come up with $120,000 in funding for a segment of the Riverfront Commons trail linking KY-8 in Botany Hills with the Covington Landing site.

Northwest Press: The $56 million Northgate Mall improvement project is well underway, with Rave Cinemas due to receive the former JC Penney property by the end of next month.

Cincinnati Enquirer: Silverton's business district will soon receive a $700,000 streetscape improvement at Montgomery and Plainfield roads, with work wrapping up by the end of summer.

Eastern Hills Journal: Mariemont Village Council has approved John Bentley's designs for the village square fountain renovation and will soon put the project out to bid.

Cincinnati Enquirer: The Parks Expansion Committee is exploring ideas for the 50-acre Rozzi property in Symmes Township, and is considering combining it with Symmes Park and the Meade property to create a 135-acre, destination megapark.

Cincinnati Enquirer: Riverfront condo sales have slumped, leaving some projects in stasis and keeping potential buyers from unloading their own homes.

Business Courier of Cincinnati: According to RealtyTrac, Cincinnati was 33rd in the nation for most foreclosures in the year 2007, but had the lowest foreclosure rate in the state.

Cincinnati Enquirer: The Kenton County Mayors' Group has voted to oppose the use of tolls to pay for the $3 billion+ Brent Spence Bridge project.

Cincinnati Enquirer: The City's CERT team swept through several decrepit West Side properties and made 15 arrests, including 13 at a four-building complex on Grand Avenue in East Price Hill.

Kentucky Enquirer: A proposal to raise rental license fees across the board and to allow the city to pull the licenses of problem landlords was defeated by the Newport City Commission by a vote of 3-2.

Cincinnati Enquirer: Community leaders and activists met at Xavier University's Cintas Center to share ideas and strategies at the sixth annual Neighborhood Summit.

Cincinnati Enquirer: Citing outdated buildings and public safety issues, the Hamilton County Agricultural Society is considering moving the county fairgrounds from Carthage to an unnamed site in western Hamilton County.

Cincinnati Enquirer: The City of Covington is considering an ordinance that would require developers to submit site plans to the city engineer before receiving permits to build on hillsides with greater than 20 percent slopes or slide-prone rock.

Cincinnati Enquirer: Southgate has hired a new part-time blight officer, whose first order of business is drafting a stronger blight code.

Cincinnati Enquirer: Investment in duplicate greenfields projects and inattention to an existing business district has led to the closure of a West Chester Township coffee shop.

London Free Press: 10 myths about urban design

In the February 1 edition of the London (Ontario) Free Press, Paul Berton breaks down the 10 myths of urban design.

The myths were recently presented to the London city council by Sean Galloway, the city's new urban designer.

The explanations show that New Urbanism isn't a strict set of principles meant to force people into a way of life that's impractical, but a flexible set of guidelines that can make communities better for every type of lifestyle.

Site features Xavier Square interactive map

An interactive map of the future Xavier Square development is being featured on the Alumni & Friends section of Xavier University website.

The 20-acre mixed-use project, which is a joint venture between the university and Corporex Companies, will be built at Montgomery and Dana avenues (BIRD'S EYE) and will include:

* 120,000 square feet of office space
* 100,000 square feet of retail space
* A 90-room boutique hotel
* 550-600 student apartments
* 120 market-rate housing units
* A university recreation center, bookstore and health center

The project is being funded through a $200 million capital campaign called "To See Great Wonders".

The project site was once the home of BASF, destroyed in an explosion and fire in 1990; and Zumbiel Packaging, which moved to Hebron in 2004.

Slate: Don't count your titanium eggs before they've hatched

"The real question about new buildings should never be 'Are they cutting edge?' but 'Are they good?'"

In a piece in Slate, architecture critic Witold Rybczynski examines avant-garde architects and how their work will be perceived by future generations.

Rybczynski concludes that while Herzog and de Meuron's steel bird's nest, Andreu's titanium-egg National Theater and Koolhaas' CCTV headquarters might be striking to the eye, such buildings rarely anticipate the future.

Buildings, he says, belong firmly to their own time.

Governing: The Walkability Revival

Is there a renewed interest in walkable urban spaces?

In the February issue of Governing, Alan Ehrenhalt seems to think so.

Ehrenhalt cites as examples lower Manhattan, which is quickly becoming a residential neighborhood; and Legacy Center in Plano, Texas, a walkable town center development built on a metropolitan rail line 15 miles from Dallas - on land where no one has walked for decades.

However, he cautions that demand for walkable spaces may soon outpace supply unless current zoning laws are seriously addressed.

The CityKin blog had a related post on walkable communities yesterday.

WSJ: Eminent domain restrictions don't harm economic growth

A new report from the Institute for Justice finds that eminent domain reform has not harmed economic growth.

An editorial in the January 30 edition of the Wall Street Journal claims that, according to the report, "there has been no discernable hit to economic activity", even in those states with the broadest eminent domain reforms.

The report assigned each state to one of three categories according to the level of reform implemented after Kelo, then it compared the data for construction jobs, building permits and property-tax revenue before and after the effective dates of the reforms for each state.

Following the Kelo v New London decision in 2005, 42 states have enacted restrictions making it more difficult for governments and developers to take privately-owned land for redevelopment.

The Institute for Justice is a non-profit, Libertarian law firm.

Read the Institute for Justice Report

Monday news roundup

A look back at development news from this past week

Blogs

CityKin: Demolition is underway at 14th and Vine, the site of The Model Group's new 32-unit building called Trinity Flats.

CityKin: Urban Sites Properties is rehabbing the building on the southeast corner of 13th and Vine.

Cincinnati Living Online: Homeowners in Symmes Township are one step closer to having sidewalks installed from their subdivision to Hopewell Park, which is within walking distance but requires a car to access.


Print media

CityBeat: Cincinnati's streetcar plan still faces major roadblocks, and 3CDC worries that its reliance on TIF revenues for funding could dry up money available for other Over-the-Rhine development projects.

Cincinnati Enquirer: Phase three of 3CDC's Gateway Quarter project kicked off with the demolition of a troubled market at 14th and Vine, and plans are to expand father north and east.

Cincinnati Enquirer: Work will begin this summer on a $25 million project at Martin Luther King Drive and Vine Street, which will feature a Hampton Inn & Suites hotel, IHOP, Starbucks and U.S. Bank.

Cincinnati Enquirer: The renaming of Eastern Avenue and the construction of upscale condominiums has some East End residents feeling pushed out.

Cincinnati Enquirer: A possible casino at the former Jillian's site, a St. Elizabeth medical complex and a widening of 12th Street shows evidence of a Covington development hotspot.

Cincinnati Enquirer: The Kentucky Commerce Cabinet approved $4 million in tax incentives for the Ackermann Group's proposed $43 million hotel project at Newport on the Levee.

Cincinnati Enquirer: More than 430,000 square feet of office space is currently under construction in the Kenwood market, and the region still boasts the highest price yield per square foot at $22.41.

Cincinnati Enquirer: The $5 Fort Thomas Midway district renovation will likely involve several phases and take years to complete.

Cincinnati Enquirer: Amberley Village officials are mulling over the results of a survey that found that the majority of residents are in favor of rezoning the 133-acre Crest Hills site for housing, rather than having it purchased by the village.

Northeast Suburban Life: Blue Ash officials are seeking $6.2 million in state funds to build a proposed $35 million performing arts and conference center near the Blue Ash Airport.

Cincinnati Enquirer: Demolition of Northgate Mall's former JC Penney store is mostly completed, and construction of the new Rave Motion Pictures multiplex is expected to begin in April.

Hilltop Press: As the North College Hill school district moves forward on its $38.4 million construction project, they are considering green design elements such as natural lighting, geothermal energy and sensors that can turn off lights when a classroom is empty.

Cincinnati Enquirer: Due to inflation and construction delays, the Behringer-Crawford Museum is seeking $886,000 from state and federal sources to finish its $6 million expansion.

Cincinnati Enquirer: Covington's Mike Fink Restaurant will close for a $1 million, but should be up and running by Riverfest.

Loveland Herald: The Symmes Township master plan should be ready for the township trustees by this summer.

Community Press Mason-Deerfield Twp.: Another needless commercial development - organized as a "town center" with a CLOCK TOWER - has been proposed for Deerfield Township.

NY Times: Green buildings don't have to be new

A recent article in the New York Times real estate section gives details on the growing trend of retrofitting existing building with green elements to obtain LEED certification.

According to the article, more than 60 properties have received the certification and 840 more are in the process since the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) released its updated standards last October.

The USGBC is even working with 40 large companies to make all of the buildings in their portfolios certified.

One caveat - this piece appeared in a section devoted to corporate commercial real estate, which is why it fails to mention the difficulty in gaining preservation tax credits for LEED projects of a smaller scale.

The Street: From Rust Belt to Green Belt

Dave Steele writes in the Street blog about the reinvention of Milwaukee's Menomonee Valley from a decaying industrial wasteland to an environmentally sensitive greenbelt with bike paths, parks, and light industrial buildings.

Achieving this took a lot of hard work by the local residents and companies that still called the valley's neighborhoods home.

The description of the valley before the redevelopment sounds a lot like our own Mill Creek Valley - vacant or under-utilized industrial buildings, rail yards, and dense housing that is no longer near the local plant.

Perhaps our local leaders should take some cues from what Milwaukee has been able to accomplish.

Monday news roundup

A look at development news from the past week


Blogs

Citizens for a Better Norwood reports on a Xavier Newswire story that characterized the university's efforts at building relationships with Norwood and Evanston as "disheartening" and "broken".


Print media

The Banks Working Group will stick around, acting as advisors to the developers and to public officials.

Plans for a 22-story, $100 million condo tower at Fifth and Race are dead due to a $3.8 million financing gap.

John Cranley issued a nine-page list of questions he has about the City's streetcar proposal and says he plans on holding hearings later this month.

Damage to the Old St. George Church was confined to the steeples, meaning that the historic landmark could be saved.

Northern Kentucky leaders have rallied in support of the use of tolls to help fund the $3 billion Brent Spence Bridge replacememt project.

I hope you enjoyed the brief moment of success, because now the Enquirer is asking if there are too many restaurants Downtown.

The Bank of Kentucky has purchased the Nevada building in Fort Thomas' Midway district for $240,000, and will likely sell it within the next 30 days.

Design work and fundraising continues for the $40 million Horizon Community Church project, to be built on the former site of the Indian Valley Golf Course in Anderson Township.

Fischer Homes has opened model homes at its Tuscany project in South Covington.

The NKAPC is launching a study of Northern Kentucky's hillside development, and the first meeting will be held Monday evening in Fort Mitchell.