Mount Auburn Cincinnati Ohio

Mount Auburn

Dominated by a large collection of abandoned nineteenth-century row houses, once characterized by their single-colored pastel façades, and a gothic-inspired hotel, Glencoe-Alburn Place is in line for restoration into an affordable residential development only minutes from downtown Cincinnati.

History

Referred to as Cincinnati’s first suburb, Glencoe-Alburn Place is located in Mount Auburn and contains six row-house complexes and the former Glencoe-Auburn Hotel.(1) Tucked between an emerging neighborhood and Over-the-Rhine, all of the properties were placed on the National Register of Historic Places in January 2004.(2)

The majority of the structures within the Glencoe-Auburn Place date between 1884 and 1891.(1) Designed for wealthy homeowners along the Auburn Avenue corridor, the development was located on a steep gradient and into a valley, and did not attract as many wealthy tenants as originally opened. It’s nickname during this period was “Little Bethlehem,” named after Christ Hospital which loomed adjacent to the neighborhood.

Even with the class criticisms, the suburb prospered until the mid-1900s. By then, the neighborhood had become predominately lower-income and went from being known as “Little Bethlehem” to “The Hole.” (1)

In 1964, low-income residents of “The Hole” became part of Cincinnati’s first rent strike. The neighborhood had been neglected for decades by this point, and much of the infrastructure was in deteriorated condition.(1)

Redevelopment

In the 1970s, the Glencoe Place Redevelopment Project began in earnest, and included streetscape improvements that included new street lamps, all-concrete courtyards and playgrounds, and the renovation of the structures and former hotel.(1) Each building received new linoleum and carpeting, appliances, fixtures and drywall. New electrical wiring was installed, and all of the units were brought up to modern fire code standards.

The façades were treated to a paint job in pink-variant pastel colors to give off a warm cast. A former corner grocery store was partially demolished and restored into a public square, the façade preserved in some sense to act as a gathering point.

The development was the recipient of several local, state and national awards for revitalizing a neighborhood in decline.(1) What was once known as “The Hole” had become a successful middle-class neighborhood, sandwiched between the wealthier Mount Alburn and the decaying Over-the-Rhine district. The success was short-lived, however, as the area experienced a decline in the 1980s.

The same conditions that plagued the development in the only a few decades prior had reappeared. Many of the units were neglected. Appliances were never replaced or updated, and the interiors had become dated. The paint scheme had faded to a degraded pink hue, and some of the streetscape infrastructure had began to fail.(1)

The development had become almost exclusively low-income by the 1990s, and became a drug-dealing hot spot.(1) The concrete courtyards also became a synonym for tasteless or harsh brutalist design. The renters were evicted in 2002 and the buildings were boarded up and secured.(1)

Inwood Village

In 2002, Pauline Van der Haer of Dorian Development purchased the Glencoe-Alburn Place and Hotel with the intention to renovate the complex into 68 condominiums by 2004.(1)(2)(7) The $18 million project, titled “Inwood Village,” would convert the rowhouses into four-story townhomes and one-level flats. Construction was scheduled to start in May 2004.(2)

Christ Hospital provided easements to the development, which would allow the construction of a three-level parking structure and the conversion of Glencoe Place into a cul-de-sac.(2) The hospital would also partner on some of the beautification. The parking garage would feature a pool on the top deck, while the development itself would consist of multiple parks, sculptures and fountains. Each unit would include hardwood floors, exposed brick walls and dramatic cutaways between floors.

The first phase of the development would include 31 units and be complete by spring 2005, with prices ranging from $185,000 to $295,000.(2) A ten-year tax abatement up to $235,000 would be made available to buyers.

In September, Van der Haer announced that the development would be reconfigured into an 84-unit mixed-income apartments financed by low-income housing tax credits after noting “frustration with the city’s arbitrary funding process.”(3) City officials raised concern in August at the developer’s request for a $3.9 million subsidy, and offered $1.4 million in return.

City Manager Valerie Lemmie stated that the original $3.9 million subsidy resulted in a 23% profit margin for the developer, and that financing had only been obtained for 31 units.(3) Van der Haer contended that the profit margin was 13% and that the per-unit subsidy of $57,000 was less than five other housing projects the city subsidized in the last several years.

In May 2005, Dorian Development received $1.5 million in forgivable loans and a commitment of $1.1 million in public improvements from the city.(4)(7) Van der Haer stated that the development, which now consisted of fifteen one-story flats and 45 four-story townhomes of up to 2,500 square-feet, could be marketed beginning in June.

As a result of the $2.6 million subsidy from the city, which was less than the original $3.9 million requested, several amenities were removed from the development, including the swimming pool. The parking garage was reduced from three- to two-stories.(4)

The contact with the city required Dorian to invest at least $605,000 in the project, secure a $5.5 million construction loan from LaSalle Bank by September, and complete the project’s 23-unit first phase by October 2006.(4)

The project’s funding of $16,932,026 was derived from the Dorian Development equity, LaSalle Bank and the city of Cincinnati.(5)

A model unit was completed in September,(4) although the development stalled.

In September 2007, Dorian Development sought Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credits to fund the rehabilitation of the properties, with the project cost rising to $20.5 million.(6) The tax credits, which are distributed by the Ohio Development of Development (ODOD), are equal to 25% of the owner’s qualifying rehabilitation expenditures. ODOD has determined $16 million of the project cost are eligible for tax credits.

The credits were rejected due to insufficient information.(7) The city soon cut ties to the Inwood Village project.

“You refused to sign the development agreement, failed to comply with the City’s request for documentation of private financing commitment, and rejected as insufficient the City’s previous offer with no explanation as to how what you had previously described as insufficient is now satisfactory. Your current financial need, as set forth in response to this offer, exceeds the City’s capacity or willingness to supply.”

-Michael Cervay, Cincinnati Director of the City’s Department of Community Development and Planning (7)

Details

The project’s scope would include three phases with 31 units completed in Phase I, 23 units in Phase II and 14 units in Phase III. Phase I would be completed in 19 months, Phase II in 26 months and Phase III in 36 months.(5)

The development would include fifteen 1,300 square-foot flats with an open floor plan, a gallery wall, fireplace, and expansive windows overlooking a wooded hillside. It would also feature forty-eight townhouses ranging from 2,100 to 2,500 square-feet, and would offer multiple levels of open floor plans and a multi-storied gallery wall.(5)

The former hotel would contain five units of both townhouse and flats with an average of 1,835 square-feet.(5)

Glencoe Hotel and Condominiums project

In March 2008, Dorian Development presented a revised proposao that would require $7.1 million in private financing, $6 million from individual builders and $5.4 million from the city.

In September, Cincinnati City Councilmember Roxanne Qualls filed a motion to spur on construction of the stalled Inwood Village development, now named Glencoe Hotel and Condominiums, but there were reservations expressed about the incomplete development proposal.(7) The motion filed would direct the city to negotiate $5.1 million in subsidy and author a development agreement with Dorian Development for the project. It would pend with the passage of an ordinance for $300,000 in pre-development funding.

The agreement called for Dorian to complete public improvements to the concrete courtyards, and to rehabilitate the building envelopes.(7) The shells of the units would then be sold to individual builders who would rehabilitate each unit to prospective buyers’ specifications.

The revamped project would create 54 condominiums and 14 rental units. The rental units would be located in the hotel.(7)

On October 5, 2008, the Cincinnati City Council approved an ordinance creating a new $300,000 capital improvement program account for the development.(8) Funds would be derived from a surplus in the Neighborhood Market Rate Housing 2007 account, which would only be used for public improvements.

On October 16, the redevelopment was awarded $3.9 million in tax credits via Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credits, and was one of 48 recipients around the state.(9) Funding was derived from the state’s $1.6 billion economic stimulus package passed by the Ohio state Senate in May.

Dorian Development plans to unveil the project during Mt. Auburn’s Row House Revival in September 2008, and have the project completed by 2011.(8)

Gallery

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Sources

1. Radel, Cliff. “Glencoe ‘Hole’ now historic.” Cincinnati Enquirer. 26 Jan. 2004. 16 Dec. 2006 Article.
2. Tortora, Andrea. “Historic row houses to be reborn as condos.” Cincinnati Business Courier 19 April 2004. 7 Oct. 2008.
3. Monk, Dan. “Inwood condo project on the outs with city manager.” Cincinnati Business Courier 27 Sept. 2004. 24 Oct. 2008.
4. Monk, Dan. “Mount Auburn condo deal up for City Council vote.” Cincinnati Business Courier 30 May 2005. 24 Oct. 2008.
5. Transmittal from City Manager Lemmie to City Council, Statement of Work and Budget
6. Lemaster, Kevin. “Inwood Village project seeking preservation tax credits.” Building Cincinnati 26 September 2007. 24 Oct. 2008 Article.
7. Lemaster, Kevin. “Motion to jumpstart stalled Inwood Village project adopted, but questions remain.” Building Cincinnati 17 September 2008. 24 Oct. 2008 Article.
8. Lemaster, Kevin. “City approves $300K for Glencoe-Auburn improvements.” Building Cincinnati 6 Oct. 2008. 24 Oct. 2008 Article.
9. May, Lucy. “Cincinnati projects score Ohio historic tax credits.” Cincinnati Business Courier 16 Oct. 24 Oct. 2008.