Planned mixed-use housing project in Bond Hill to be put to City Council for vote

CINCINNATI – The Cincinnati Planning Commission voted Friday to send a mixed-use housing proposal to the full City Council for a vote.

The 3-1 vote came after dozens of Bond Hill neighbors testified against the project during the meeting.

“We were made aware of a potential project that was literally going to be built behind our homes that we were not in favor of,” said Jason Dunn, a resident of the Village of Daybreak (VOD) development in Bond Hill.

In June, Dunn launched a petition against the plan that garnered about 220 signatures from fellow residents of the development, he said.

“The community has said no. The Bond Hill Town Council has said no. Our community, the AME Church, does not support this particular project,” Dunn said. “So there are a whole host of people and organizations saying no to this at this moment.”

“We are long-term investors in the community, and that’s one of the first important things we want people to know,” said Christie Lanier-Robinson, executive vice president of LDG Development.

LDG development

Louisville-based LDG Development has built affordable housing developments in Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas, Georgia and Colorado over the past 25 years. This project at 1931 E. Seymour Avenue would be the company’s first in Cincinnati.

“Change brings some fear. The unknown is always a little uncomfortable,” Lanier-Robinson said. “If you look at our track record, we have over 28,000 units across the country. Is it always perfect? ​​Absolutely not. But that’s always the goal.”

After meetings with residents in June, the developer added some of the following changes to his original plan:

• Reduction of the total number of units from 168 to 150
• Reducing the height of a building from four to three floors
• Demolition of the swimming pool and creation of 20 additional parking spaces
• Conclusion of a nature conservation agreement with the VOD Homeowners Association

“We said from the beginning that we don’t want the project. Although they have relented to some extent, we want single-family homes,” said Tara Harris, another resident of the VOD neighborhood. “We care about each other, we look after each other, so we want to make sure that what we’ve built is preserved.”
Harris expressed concern that the mixed-use housing would drive down real estate prices in her predominantly black neighborhood, making it harder to build intergenerational wealth.

“We’re not against affordable housing, but the problem we have is that when there seems to be a problem with affordable housing, they always want to put it in predominantly black neighborhoods,” Harris said. “So the question is how do we build intergenerational wealth?”

According to the Pew Research Center, the median wealth of white households in 2021 was $250,400, while black households had a median income of $24,520.

LDG development

During the meeting, Commissioner Daniella Beltran said the Bond Hill neighborhood has a home ownership rate of about 30%.

“The city government, all of us, really need to get on board with this,” she said. “The 30% home ownership rate needs to be increased to keep Bond Hill a healthy neighborhood overall.”

Beltran voted to send the project to the City Council, stressing in her decision that she did not believe the property was suitable for single-family homes or condominiums.

“The project was forced upon us until we stood up,” Dunn said.

The project will now be presented to the full Cincinnati City Council for a later vote.