The largest housing project in Cincinnati since World War II is on the cusp of completion.
City West, which includes 686 rental units, 211 for-sale homes, 20,000 square feet of retail space and a park on 14 acres of land, has transformed the blighted, low-income area of the West End into a mixed-income development that is breathing new life into the region.
City West, which includes 686 rental units, 211 for-sale homes, 20,000 square feet of retail space and a park on 14 acres of land, has transformed the blighted, low-income area of the West End into a mixed-income development that is breathing new life into the region.
"We have put a mark on the city of Cincinnati map," said Dale White, president/CEO of D.A.G. Construction Co. Inc., the general contractor for the project. "Crime has gone down a lot, more people are moving into that area and new houses are being sold."
Construction started on the project in 1999, with the award of $66 million in grants under the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development's Hope VI program.
"Blight, litter and crime are significantly better," said Pete Witte, a board member of the Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority, which owns City West. "We scraped the earth and built all-new."
Before the City West development, the area it sits on was home to 1,800 units of public housing. The units, built in the 1940s, were outdated, with small rooms, common hallways and interior courtyards. Former Cincinnati City Council member Jim Tarbell said the tenants of those homes were economically mixed when they were built, but it devolved into mostly non-working, welfare-dependent tenants over the years.
Changed atmosphere
"City West is the most dramatic example where we are making an attempt to correct the planning mistakes we made in World War II," Tarbell said. "We're trying to compensate for those mistakes, and it's critical because of what it is, where it is and how much money was spent."
Gone are the small, cramped units, replaced with townhomes complete with separate entrances and garages accessible by a private access alleyway.
The atmosphere is changing.
"There is now a park, Laurel Park," said Lindsay Wilhelm, marketing director for D.A.G. "It was used for buying, selling and using drugs. Now it is a park where kids go out and play."
White said there is a mix of low,- middle- and high-income residents living in the development.
"The yuppies have moved in," he said. "The houses are selling at around $175,000. That's unheard of in the West End."
"The yuppies have moved in," he said. "The houses are selling at around $175,000. That's unheard of in the West End."
Tarbell said the biggest challenge facing City West is filling the retail space and having enough people living in the area to support it.
"It's drastically better than it was, but is it as good as everybody had hoped? Not yet," Tarbell said.
In the Oct. 19 issue of the Business Courier, Lou Mitch, the top local official for City West developer The Community Builders, said it was better than 90 percent occupied.
Witte said the commercial side hasn't been going as well as planned. "Once it all comes together and we fill the commercial space, it will create a good neighborhood for the city of Cincinnati," he said.
Lifestyles
• Construction on City West began in 1999 with $66 million in grants.
• Construction on City West began in 1999 with $66 million in grants.
• Crime was a major neighborhood concern. In 1999, police got 13,559 calls. There were 932 Part 1 crimes, such as murder, rape, aggravated assault, auto theft and larceny.
• In 2007, there were 10,952 calls to Cincinnati police and only 657 Part 1 crimes, a drop of 20 percent and 30 percent, respectively.
• Commercial space houses a PNC Bank and plans call for an ice cream parlor and small grocery store.
• City West reduced the community's density to 897 housing units, down from 1,800.
