Close-in urban residential development can only become possible with a LOT of cooperation between all of those bureaucratic entities in a position to make it fly. And no where has that model of cooperation been stronger than Cincinnati, Ohio, thanks to a strong relationship between a mayor committed to housing and local home builders who have recognized the market potential of city-centered development.

This past fall, homebuilders began finishing the final phase of St. Ann’s Common, a housing development in Cincinnati’s historic Betts Longworth neighborhood, only a few blocks from city hall. The homes were featured during CiTiRAMA® 2000, the local Cincinnati Home Builders Association yearly showcase event. Six area homebuilders, including Equinox Homes, Greenland Development, Guava, Hassman Construction, Horton Homes, and Vineyard Homes, constructed 27 new single-family detached homes, each with detached garages on fairly narrow home sites. Thirty more homes had already been complete in the project’s first phase in 1997 and 1998. 

This heart-of-the-city renaissance is building confidence and inspiring new investment, according to Cincinnati Mayor Charlie Luken, an integral person behind its development. The long-standing habit for area homebuilders to create new housing only in suburban areas began to become challenged in 1996, when then-mayor Roxanne Qualls petitioned homebuilders by asking them “What can we do to get builders to come downtown?” It was at that time HOMEARAMA®, the yearly suburban showcase, was joined by CiTiRAMA® to highlight and encourage the exciting possibilities of new urban housing.

Although popular demand for such housing has been around for some time, the prospect of urban residential building has always raised concerns to homebuilders because of the expense, such as tear down, cleanup, and improvement to existing infrastructure, sometimes leaving little or no room for profit.

Builders were enticed by city partnerships and support through local tax abatements and other incentives making new initiatives possible. “Cincinnati is working with developers, profit and non-profit, to bring new residents to the city,” said Luken. The effort was boosted by city officials who procured suitable city-owned land and also improved infrastructure, selling lots to builders for a mere $15,000 and allowing a tax abatement on each home’s property tax for 15 years.  The city of Cincinnati footed the bill for early-stage cleanup and also provided streetscape enhancements, like brick sidewalks, lighting, retaining walls, and trees, which make a huge difference in the new homes’ presentation and appeal.

The homes themselves have elevations with the Old World appeal for which Cincinnati has become famous. Brick facades with colonial casings, gabled roofs, and varied architectural nuances make the homes match surrounding structures and neighborhoods, and newly landscaped corridors lined with trees and grass give them a neat, but city-like appearance. Whereas early on, homebuilders were convinced that only low-end price ranges would attract buyers to the city, they have now found that there is also a strong market for homes in the $175,000 to $225,000 price range.

With cities investing in inner-urban housing growth and builders taking risk, successful rehabilitation of cities is eminently possible. As a result of projects like these, issues of traffic congestion and its ensuing pollution problems can be abated, city revenues can be increased and city businesses thrive off the new-found consumer base, spurring more commercial development, and a “new-but-old frontier” of American homebuilding enters the picture.

Published: December 8, 2000

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