Now, there is already a nice collection of buildings on that site. They all need a little work but there is a lovely Italianate building at 819 - 821 Elm Street with a decorative cornice and hooded lintels over the windows. The auditor's website indicates the date of the building as 1879. Around the corner facing Ninth the last portion of the complex appears to me to be an older Greek Revival with a simpler roofline, cornice and flat, unadorned lintels over the punched openings.
The building is included in the Ninth Street Historic District. From the City's website:
"The Ninth Street Historic District is a cohesive assemblage of 19th and early 20th century urban architecture in Cincinnati and is also important as a representation of the 19th century 'walking city' environment. Diverse samples of the Greek Revival, Italianate, and Queen Anne styles are included. The area around Ninth Street consists primarily of single-family dwellings, with a mixture of shops, churches, and boarding houses."
The collection of buildings are for sale by Sibcy Cline for $335,000 with a pending offer.
The new building, for Towne Properties and as indicated on GBBN's website, "is a new infill condominium project in the central business district of Cincinnati. The project consists of 18 entry level condominiums ranging in size from 900sf to 1200sf units and secure parking on the first floor for 18 cars."
While I like seeing more density downtown, I wish it wasn't at the expense of some of our historic buildings, especially on a street lined with such marvelous buildings. Is there a way to at least keep the Italianate building on the corner? Or what about buying the ugly building across the street and build there . . . Heck, there is a whole parking lot along Ninth in which one could build.
I am not sure what is the status of this project. Maybe it was just study. I am going to keep my eye on it. And maybe Kevin at Building Cincinnati can look in to it.All renderings are from GBBN's website.
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7 comments:
Interesting. I had totally forgotten about this.
I'll see what I can dig up, but it probably won't be much until the property sale closes.
I've got an architect friend at GBBN - I'll ask him if he'd like to chime in about this project.
Not only is the loss of the historic building troubling, so is the loss of a storefront and replacing it with a garage door.
Great post.
The deal with Towne Properties fell through. The building is historic and can't be torn down, and is in such bad shape that it can't be rehabbed. I know people who've been watching this project with great interest because they want it gone. I'm all for preservation, but this building has nothing going for it.
I actually really like that design. It looks to be sympathetic to the surrounding historic structures...although I do seem to find demolition as more of an excuse than a necessity when it comes to things like this.
Like you said there are some massive lots right across the street...and I'm sure you could do something creative to make this structure work.
I never thought that designation in a National Register Historic District ruled out demolition. It obviously happens in OTR all the time. Maybe those (and this building in time) is a product of "Demolition by Neglect" and will have to come down as a nuisance. There has to be a balance of saving contibuting buildings to a historic neighborhood and redevelopment. Anything is rehabable if you throw money at it. I think a compromise of saving the corner building and surrounding it with new construction could work here IF desired and you had the money to do so.
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