Monday, May 4, 2009

NSP: Moving Forward to Invest in our Communities

As we work to push a local economic recovery in every way, one important aspect is our County's $7 million+ Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP), which we planned last year and is in the early stages of implementation.

Fifteen Hamilton County communities have submitted plans to reclaim blighted and foreclosed property. With these funds, the County will support projects to remove blight and unsafe properties from our neighborhoods, to replace them with new commercial, residential and greenspace development, and to create job opportunities for our citizens.

Projects include four main options for communities: acquisition, rehabilitation, demolition and/or new construction of housing. North College Hill, for example, has already demolished a blighted structure to pave the way for a public parking lot in the business district. Mt. Healthy plans to demolish a vacant and abandoned structure so it can be developed into green space in conjunction with a park. Lockland plans to demolish six to seven condemned structures that have become eyesores.

So, one property at a time, we are using these dollars to improve our communities’ safety and quality of life. And the program also helps generate job-creating economic activity across the County.

NSP Investment Communities include: Cheviot, Cleves, Colerain Township, Elmwood Place, Forest Park, Golf Manor, Lincoln Heights, Lockland, Mt. Healthy, North College Hill, Norwood, Silverton, Springfield Township, St. Bernard and Woodlawn.

3 comments:

Jeff said...

I was wondering where I could find info on blighted properties in non - NSP neighborhoods. Specifically, the burned down beauty salon at the intersection of Sycamore, Dorchester and Auburn. Thanks for the site David, I enjoy the updates that are posted here.

Paul Wilham said...

Bulldozing "Blight" is a failed Urban Planning Model used by other cities in the 60's,70's and 80's and is regarded my most urban planners as a failure, yet the city continues on this path.

The key to neighborhood turnaround is restoration of these structures, retention of long term residents through paint up/fix up grants and putting these abandoned properties in the hands of local neighborhood groups who can find qualified buyers. NOT bulldozing them leaving gaps in the neighborhood streetscape.

David Pepper said...

Comment #1: the best thing to do would be to check with the local jurisdiction.

Comment #2: the point here is not just to "bulldoze," although that may happen in a number of cases when a structure is beyond saving. There will also be a lot of rehabilitation. Indeed, we purposely separated out the dollars so it would not simply be spent on demolition.

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