A while back we wrote about the Humphrey Road Sidewalk project and are pleased to have an update to post here. Symmes Township has decided to move forward on the project and they began initial surveying Friday. We met with township Treasurer Phil Beck along Humphrey Road and talked with him about the direction of the project and the impact on the residents.

The direct impact on the local residents is undeniable. The sidewalk will provide easy and safe park access to upwards of 75 homes connecting families to each other in a pedestrian friendly way.

CNNMoney.com did a study to find the cities where home prices are likely to rise the most - or fall the least - over the next 12 months. The top six cities were: Atlanta, Boston, CINCINNATI, Cleveland, Detroit, and Houston.

The article states that the reason Cincinnati appears on this list is a result of the city’s manufacturing-heavy economy which should benefit from the falling dollar. Commercial building is up, and high-end developments are moving in. Some of these developments include The Banks Project, The Gateway Quarter, and other 3CDC downtown projects are contributing to the local economy. Other notable development in the suburbs include Kenwood Towne Place, Nordstrom that is being constructed at the Kenwood Towne Centre, and the recent addition of IKEA in West Chester.

If you live in the city of Cincinnati and are considering renovating your home there is good news for you. The City of Cincinnati Department of Community Development has implemented both a residential and commercial tax abatement program to help attract new residents, businesses, and investors and encourage current residents, businesses, investors to improve their current properties. Any property owner may be eligible for this property tax abatement if they purchase a newly constructed home or are renovating their current home. Residential is defined as a single family home or any building with 1-3 units. With this tax abatement program, the commercial category is defined as residential multi-family property containing more than 4 units, office, retail, industrial, or mixed use.

Who Qualifies for the Residential Tax Abatement?

The way this program works is that certain types of improvements that actually add value to the home will qualify, while others will not. Part of the application process helps to determine if the improvements that you are making to the home are simply improving the condition of the home versus actually adding value. Painting your home, replacing your roof, new siding, new windows, new gutters, improved landscaping, a retaining wall, or resealing a driveway will all improve the condition and salability of your home but do not add dollar value. While adding a pool, deck, patio, or more usable square footage or living space to the home will add dollar value to your property and will qualify for the tax abatement. LEED- certified remodeled or newly constructed residential property is eligible for an additional tax exemption based on the certification level. Please click here for more information on LEED homes. The period for tax abatement begins with the date of documented completion of work.

Tax Abatement Limits

For example, if the owner of a $75,000 home makes $25,000 in improvements, the owner is only responsible for taxes based on the home’s original value for a period of ten years. So that would mean that the property owner’s taxes would remain at the assessed value of the $75,000 price but the house would actually be worth $100,000 if the owner were to have the home re-appraised. The portion of the tax by which the remodeling increased the value of the structure may be abated up to a maximum $275,000 market value.

Total Investment Eligible for Exemption (fair market value): $275,000
Assessed Value/Taxable Value is 35% of fair market value: $96,250
Assessed Value Multiplied by Tax Rate (.05694): $5,480.48
10% Rollback: $548.05
Estimated tax abated for one year: $4,932.43

For an application for the Residential CRA Tax Abatement Program, please click here.

While at the Cincinnati Home Show we had the opportunity to see a lot of interesting vendors and contractors. One of them was a company called BidMyCrib.Com The company is an online marketplace for home owners to put their home repair and improvement projects out to bid to local contractors. BidMyCrib takes the time to research the Better Business Bureau references and the insurance and bonding on all of the contractors it allows to access the system and bid on jobs. The cost is minimal - $14.95 per job, or about $40.00 per year if you have multiple jobs. The company has a minimum of one contractor for every type of job listed in their system so you should not be left wondering if someone is going to get back with you. Bids usually come in within 48 hours and you get to choose who gets the job. We always recommend asking for references and past clients, as well as checking with the BBB before hiring any contractor.

In reading a posting on Building Cincinnati.com, I learned about a home that is being built on the same site
as Homerama 2007. This home is being constructed to be LEED “silver certified” by The U.S. Green Building Council. It inspired me to think about how many people are now trying to be more environmentally friendly by driving hybrids, recycling, and using recycled products. The “green” revolution is a sign of the times that people are becoming more aware of how the conveniences of their everyday lives are affecting the environment and their health.

This demand is driving corporations to dedicate resources to producing “green products” for consumer use. While this new concept home in Montgomery is unique, many people are not looking to build a new home right now, but are curious about what measures they can take in their current home to make it more
eco-friendly or “green”.

The Green Guide has
many articles discussing home renovation and other ideas about what types of materials are being used mainstream.

Deciding whether it is financially feasible for you to incorporate some green measures into your home is something that you can research on your own or you can contact a professional to provide an evaluation of your home. This issue was raised by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and was reported by CNN as
well.

During the council meeting on February 12, the city of Sharonville with the support of its residents denied Fisher Homes the right to build on an old school site that has also been used as a nature preserve. Some of the residents and council members were concerned about the fact that the plan involved constructing new homes and condos. Many residents wanted to maintain the amount of green space in the area, which they felt would be in jeopardy if it was developed for residential use. In addition, the city council felt that the land could be used for public purposes.

Residents who were inteviewed expressed concerns about the fact that there is a high inventory of homes for sale on the market in the area. They feared that new homes would only drive down the prices for the older homes on the market. The dynamic of a school system disagreeing with its residents on how to utilize this school site is certainly something to keep following.

3CDC continues to work on improving the greater areas of Over The Rhine and Downtown Cincinnati. Projects are being initiated at a rapid pace, even as recent as Friday the 8th. Phase III of the Gateway Quarters project began with the demolition of an nondescript building to make way for store front retail and mixed housing that will serve the existing and future residents.

More important than building structures, the project is making the downtown area more attractive to new residents, and new businesses. Part of the economic redevelopment certainly depends on the having space for new potential employees to live. Part of the philosophical foundation for inner city redevelopment is based in the ideas of Richard Florida;s book Rise of the Creative Class. In short it says that if you have interesting, diverse living spaces, in an area surrounded with cultural activities you will attract the kind of talent that is important for luring in new businesses. People first, then industry … not the other way around.

After attending the Symmes Township Board meeting last night, it looks as though Humphrey Road is one step closer to having sidewalks connecting Hopewell Park to Misty Morn Lane and possibly all the way south to Pinto, all being funded by the 7 year tax levy that passed last year. Several neighbors from the Misty Morn neighborhood expressed their concerns about safety and the fact that their tax dollars went to build a park within walking distance of their neighborhood, yet they still have to drive their children there because the road is too dangerous to walk on. One neighbor told the story of her husband who jogs regularly who was nearly run over by a car two days ago. Another woman’s daughter, who is of college age, was tapped on the shoulder by a man driving by her as she ran on the shoulder of the road. A resident who lives further south of the Misty Morn neighborhood requested that the engineering study include extending the sidewalk down to Pinto Rd. As homeowners in the area we expressed our support for the project.

The most interesting part of attending this meeting that even non-Symmes residents should take away from this is that it is vital to stay involved in your local government and to attend board meetings about community issues. The passion of the residents who voiced concerns about this raised its priority on the board’s agenda. I am one resident out of the hundreds whose land will be affected by this sidewalk, but it was support of those who attended the meeting that pushed this effort forward.

We will write updates about the progress and point to meeting minutes, always staying involved in the efforts to improve our community.

There are now drawings and models of the new Queen City Square available for viewing. Western and Southern has a press release available for viewing and it describes some of the attributes of the structure. The real question is in the wisdom of constructing a new office high rise in a market that has such a high vacancy rates. Even though the QCS project is not due to open until 2011 I hope there will bee a serious need for the space. Downtown is growing with more living space and now hopefully there will be an attraction of new creative class workers to fill both the new offices and new residences. A recent Grubb report on office vacancy rate show the third quarter of 2007 continues a trend of decreasing vacancy rates initiated in the 3rd quarter of 2006. We will keep our eye on the development downtown as the QCS and The Banks come on line adding even more high quality new living and working space to Cincinnati.

Just to the North of the heart of the University of Cincinnati sits Ludlow avenue. And exceptionally eclectic and vibrant street filled with a menagerie of shops, restaurants and mosaic store fronts. Ludlow Avenue is going through a major urban planning and redevelopment that is sure to improve the physical function and aesthetic appearers of the area.

This section of Clifton is mainly populated by old architecture and the unique food and shops there shows the diversity of a area. In addition on the south side of the UC campus on Calhoun Street there is significant construction going on as the university adds additional student housing, new shops, and restaurants. Moreover the Painter group is planning a green development in Clifton with shops and graduate housing just off campus.