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At the Over-the-Rhine Community Council (OTRCC) meeting, NorthPointe presents their plan for Rothenberg Row. An official from Rothenberg Preparatory Academy says that no one has discussed the plan with the school. Residents speak out about the basketball courts (which will be destroyed in the plan). The membership votes to support the plan: 14 YES, 7 NO. A member challenges the validity of the vote based on a violation of by-laws. -
NorthPointe group meets with the Over-the-Rhine Community Council's Board of Trustees, and asks for support for their project at Hughes and Schiller, on a large tract of city-owned land. The plan is to develop lots and infrastructure for 21 single-family homes; it includes 8 "workforce housing" units in an existing, city-owned building. The trustees vote to support the project.
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The OTRCC Board sends a letter to DCED, signed by the council president, Ryan Messer. It voices the trustee's support of the plan, and states that the general body voted to support the plan, but that the vote is not official, due to a technical violation of the council's by-laws in the process. A second vote must be taken.
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Children and staff at Children's Creative Corner on E Clifton have conversations about the plan. Kids record video interviews about the importance of their basketball courts; these are shared via Facebook (with the slogan "Keep Our Courts") to spread local awareness.
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NorthPointe presented to the Mt. Auburn Community Council Board of Trustees, who voted to support the development. NorthPointe then presented to the Mt. Auburn Community Council at the March meeting. The full council voted to support the project.
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Residents and community members host a community cookout at the courts to raise awareness, using the call to action: Do Development Differently. Event organizers share details about the plan and the community council meeting. Approximately 80 people from the community attend. -
Upset by the prospect of losing their basketball courts, and angry at not having a say in the development plans, local kids (with support from community-based organizations) plan a demonstration outside the OTRCC meeting where the official vote will take place. The kids silently bounce basketballs at the entrance as council members arrive. The kids are then invited into the meeting to speak to the membership. -
Several kid demonstrators address the membership. Residents and members express concerns about the removal of the basketball courts, the loss of community garden space, the unaffordability of the proposed housing, and the lack of community engagement by the developer. The membership votes 18 to 8 to rescind the letter of support that the Board of Trustees sent. OTRCC and OTRCH offer to co-host a meeting with residents and NorthPointe to discuss these concerns. -
The story is covered in CityBeat's "New Plan, Old Tensions" article by Nick Swartsell.
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As a follow-up to the offer by OTRCH and OTRCC to host a meeting for NorthPointe to hear residents' concerns in more detail, Mary Burke Rivers of OTRCH reaches out multiple times to NorthPointe. NorthPointe does not respond.
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Having received no response from NorthPointe to meet with residents, a number of advocates within community-based organizations craft petition language to capture the demands being voiced by community members. Simply, these demands are to preserve the public courts and community garden, and to include affordable housing in any future housing development on site. Petition postcards and an online version are created and circulated.
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Over the course of this year, members of the KOC:DDD coalition meet with individual members of City Council to inform them on this issue and advocate for the protection of the courts and eco-garden, the inclusion of affordable housing, and meaningful community engagement.
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Inspired by this community effort, local teens and pre-teens in Peaslee Neighborhood Center's Agents of Change program connect with kids at Children's Creative Corner to organize an engagement event at the site. They invite community members to creatively share why the site is important to them, and they spread the community petition. The kids share buttons, an art project, and pinatas they have created. More than 50 petition cards are filled out during the event. -
Community members active in the effort gather to discuss strategy as a coalition, retaining the "Keep Our Courts: Do Development Differently" title. Participants include individual residents, parents at Rothenberg Preparatory Academy, and representatives from the following community-based organizations: OTRCH and Children's Creative Corner, Peaslee Neighborhood Center, Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition, Permaganic, and Miami University's Center for Community Engagement in Over-the-Rhine.
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At the invitation of Chair David Mann, a community group presents to City Council's Neighborhood Committee about this effort. Kids, parents, and various residents/community members participate. Kids hold up signed petition postcards, strung together, and also screen a short, creative video they made. Hundreds of petition signatures are presented, along with a detailed info packet. -
The community coalition hosts a campfire event at Permaganic's EcoGarden. Kids, families, and community members gather to eat hotdogs, roast marshmallows, paint pumpkins, and play. About 40 people attend. The coalition helps to get residents registered as community council members. -
At the invitation of Steve Pacella, the interim director of Cincinnati Recreation Commission (CRC), a coalition representative attends the CRC Board Meeting to share information about the community effort. CRC owns and controls several of the land parcels -- including the basketball courts and EcoGarden -- involved in the plan. CRC leadership is supportive of kids having courts to play on. -
Over the next decade, the KOC:DDD coalition holds strategy meetings, with varying frequency, based on the happenings related to the future of the land. Even in the quietest years, the coalition continues to hold community events in the space.
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Through a series of engagement sessions, kids and families dream about their own plans for the land. Residents living close to the courts provide drawings and name priorities for what they'd like to see. Participating groups include: Agents of Change, Children’s Creative Corner, Girls’ Writing Group, kids playing on courts, Women’s Group, Parents Grandparents of kids.
Input is provided to volunteer architects from MU who draft alternative community plans. -
Knowing that the courts and garden are on land parcels owned by CRC (and that they must be transferred to DCED in order to be developed), community advocates maintain a steady presence at CRC board meetings, and also participate in multiple meetings with CRC leadership to advocate throughout this time.
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Through CRC and community council leadership, community advocates learn that NorthPointe plans to "relocate" a basketball court to a small parcel of land on E McMicken St. owned by the Port Authority. Many local kids and parents oppose this plan, which they see as a downgrade in quality, convenience, visibility, and safety. Parents sign and circulate a petition in opposition to the relocation.
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City officials at DCED hold several invite-only meetings to discuss the situation. NorthPointe is seeking city support through the Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) program and their Preferred Developer Agreement will expire in July. DCED wants to find community agreement to support a NorthPointe plan. Attendance includes: DCED staff, Director of CRC, NorthPointe representatives, Presidents of OTRCC and MACC, and representatives of both neighborhood Community Development Corporations.
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An Op-Ed, written by a coalition member, is published in the Cincinnati Enquirer.
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The coalition hosts another cookout on site. Kids participate in an art project highlighting the right to play within the UN Declaration on the Rights of the Child, and also give testimony on camera. Attendees participate in a letter-writing campaign to city decision-makers. The coalition encourages residents to register for and attend the community council. Around 100 people attend. -
At this general body meeting, NorthPointe presents plans again, this time proposing to relocate a basketball court to a parcel on E McMicken St. Reps from DCED and CRC are present. The coalition has organized to get residents to attend. Many residents and community members offer public comment. Opposition to the plan mostly centers on the court displacement, loss of garden space, and lack of affordability. The membership votes not to support the plan.
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Members of the coalition conduct research on the history of this land. Summer interns at Peaslee and the Homeless Coalition pull historical deeds and records. MU architecture/design students study Sanborn maps. Key details surface: the connection to Thomas Hughes and Cincinnati Public Schools, dense residential development, City efforts to develop a playground in the 1970s, neighborhood plans, and more. The coalition compiles the information.
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Coalition members, after hearing that NorthPointe has "preferred developer" status for the site, request and receive documentation. This City agreement temporarily grants NorthPointe exclusive rights to plan development on this public land. At this point in time, it has been renewed 4 times (for a total of 4 yrs, 9 mos), and will expire in July. -
The coalition learns that the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) hopes to offer yet another renewal of NorthPointe's Preferred Developer Agreement before it expires in July. Coalition members advocate for the City to let the agreement expire, offering a detailed rationale.
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Outside the invite-only meeting of "key stakeholders" at DCED, kids and community members in the coalition hold a demonstration. Kids hold signs that read, "I am a key stakeholder." -
Over-the-Rhine Community Housing (OTRCH) holds their annual neighborhood block party event at the site. The coalition updates and engages residents on the issue, and helps people register as community council members.
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Black Lives Matter Cincinnati partners with KOC:DDD to organize a 3-on-3 basketball tournament on site. The event features various speakers -- community members and activists -- who address issues of race and class at play within this development plan and the broader context of the neighborhood's gentrification. -
DCED invites KOC:DDD representatives to meetings in the final days of NorthPointe's existing Preferred Developer Agreement (PDA), seeking support for another extension. The coalition reiterates the stance of community members, and again challenges the inclusion of the courts and garden (which stand on land controlled by CRC) in the PDA. At NorthPointe's insistence, DCED refuses to remove these parcels from the agreement. With no promise of community support, NorthPointe declines the PDA renewal.
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DCED explains that, now that NorthPointe has walked away from the Preferred Developer Agreement, CRC will be asked to conduct a public input process regarding the future of the site, and DCED will eventually issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) to pursue its development. CRC later confirms plans to conduct input.
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The coalition hosts residents and community members at the ecogarden, making this an annual event featuring a campfire, hotdogs, s'mores, candy, crafts, and updates regarding plans for the land. -
No input process (or any other action) has been advanced by the City, so the coalition considers how to best move forward. Realizing the potential for a truly great community development, the coalition asks OTRCH (themselves a coalition member) to consider developing the site; the group begins to take steps to explore feasibility and gather and consolidate more community input.
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A team of architecture and design students at Miami University's Center for Community Engagement in Over-the-Rhine study the site, research its history, review the community input to date, and work with affordable housing developers to develop alternative, community-driven plans for the site. This "studio" experience is part of a long history of collaboration between community-based organizations and this residency program at Miami University.
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Annual coalition event featuring a campfire, hotdogs, s'mores, crafts, candy, and updates regarding plans for the land. -
The coalition gathers a large group of allies to review three land use plans drawn up by the team of MU students. All 3 options preserve the courts and garden, but offer different degrees of housing construction and building density. Participants offer feedback on the three options, and also give input on the housing desired -- unit size, price level, and rental vs. home ownership. -
The coalition refines the community input survey, and makes plans for widespread engagement. Peaslee hires a Community Organizer to spearhead the outreach/engagement effort.
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The coalition gathers about 40 community members to clean up trash, debris, and overgrowth on site. -
Coalition reps meet with the Manager of DCED's Housing Division to express interest in pursuing a community development plan with OTRCH at the helm as developer. Mr. Hackworth explains that the department has ceased its use of preferred developer agreements, and will instead issue requests for proposals for all city-owned land moving forward. The coalition shares plans for conducting widespread community input and submitting a proposal when the request is issued.
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The coalition hosts gives out popsicles at an engagement event to launch the community input survey. -
The coalition circulates the survey and engages as many community members as possible. The survey is provided in both digital and print formats. A mail notification is sent to every residence within a 5-minute walking distance to the site. Both community councils are engaged. Our community organizer canvasses, knocking as many doors as possible, and we engage folks in public and community spaces. At the close of collection, 215 people have completed the survey.
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The annual coalition gathering with campfire, hotdogs, s'mores, candy, crafts, and updates. -
The COVID-19 pandemic interrupts the coalition's ability to plan and host events in the space.
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The coalition hosts a volunteer gardening event at the EcoGarden. -
After compiling, analyzing, and summarizing the responses, the coalition publishes the survey results online and in hard copy. Both the raw data and the analysis are made available. The results are posted on Peaslee's website, announced and shared at both community councils, shared with City officials, and linked to follow-up mailers to every survey respondent.
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The Coalition supports CCC’s end of the year art showcase at the Permaganic storefront. There is a display of children’s art and a community art project, along with tacos. -
OTRCH receives a $30,000 Finance Fund grant to hire and pay an architect to design development plans for Main and Schiller, building on all the community input and past student work.
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The Coalition hosts a community engagement event with water games, pizza, and ice cream. -
The Coalition, along with CRC, hosts an Outdoor Movie Night at the space, with large yard games, food, and the film Pete’s Dragon (2016). -
The coalition again host this fun, annual event. -
The coalition hosts a walk-through tour and input session through the space. Presentation boards at each station display the core components of the OTRCH-led community plan, along with options for features and designs that may be possible to include in the final design. Participants use this feedback form to participate. -
The City Manager issues a memo announcing upcoming RFPs to be released by the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) in 2025. The land at Hughes and Schiller is listed with plans for an RFP to be released in the latter half of 2025. Notably, the parcels listed in the memo do not include those on which the basketball courts and garden are located.