I arrived here via VisuaLingual and have read your Linchpin posts with interest. Just a thought about your comment that "Over-the-Rhine is full of people who go above and beyond the call of duty to create art, community and progress." This seems to put entrepreneurism or for-profit development or rebranding a community in a moral light that it doesn't deserve. I very much believe that the OTR newcomers work hard to bring services, shops and cache to the community *but* it's entirely in their self-interest to do so. There's no 'call of duty' in regards to gentrification or urban pioneering or development (whatever you choose to call what's happening in that part of Cincinnati) and every bit of time that a shop owner spends in pushing "the hood" or a developer spends in recommending the newest art gallery or a new condo owner spends in marketing their area is a self-serving venture (however heartfelt and not necessarily cynical). I think development and rebranding can be productive for certain people but I think it should not be regarded as a moral enterprise unless seeks to, and succeeds in, benefiting all members of society which so far, the OTR gentrification seems not to do.First - there's always a motivation in what we do to succeed and at least make a comfortable living by it, whether this is the developers or shop owners who are spearheading the redevelopment in OTR - but to dismiss the spirit and good nature of these people is flat out wrong. Yes, there is money to be made, but I can tell you for a fact that others are not, and they continue anyway because this all means something more to them and there truly is a community spirit at work. Take a look at the work of Venice on Vine or any of the other community orgs within Over-the-Rhine (which far out-number businesses at this point).
As far as benefiting all members of society I believe a recent Business Courier article lays out one of the most staggering benefits:
Over-the-Rhine has experienced a 48 percent decline in major crime over the past five yearsPerhaps the financial benefits are debatable, but when crime drops in an area once dubbed as lawless and one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in America, that benefits everyone - not just the newcomers, and I have a hard time believing that the above statistic would have ever become reality if the current rebirth of OTR wasn't going on due to a few people rolling the dice on a project that was far from a sure thing.
There are also benefits for those who have stuck it out during the worst in OTR - the residents and shops around Findlay Market are a good example of that. Local shop owners and residents benefit from the influx of interest and business, it helps the market expand and raises the value of the neighborhood and converts once abandoned buildings to new uses. That neighborhood also stands to reap some major rewards of other projects like the streetcar or the rebirth of the brewery district.
The term "gentrification" always comes up, but I think 3CDC has been careful to do their redevelopment in a way that doesn't displace people and doesn't create segregated economic zones within OTR. A lot of what was there is still there, and will remain there, but instead of it being surrounded by boarded up and abandoned buildings (which has no benefit at all, to anyone), there are new condos that are accessibly priced for the most part. There are always extremes, but I feel the development work has done its best to keep things available in every price point within OTR. There's no shortage of housing in OTR, in any price range, and if anything I feel the work the community, developers and 3CDC are doing is one of the most profound attempts at filling up the vacancies in OTR's history.
8 comments:
Gosh, this is a thorny issue, but it doesn't seem to me that Alexis was dismissing people's intentions, but merely pointing out the layers of their intentions, some of them self-serving.
I am not at all convinced that community organizations "far out-number" businesses in OTR. There are many, many businesses all over the neighborhood, many of them with long histories here, and many tucked away and/or irrelevant to what you may need, but each has its own presence and relevance.
Further, I think pockets of OTR are currently in danger of the economic segregation you claim isn't happening. When I survey the available condo or even rental options currently out there, I can already see that it's becoming more and more difficult for someone in my humble financial position to be able to have a future in OTR.
On some level, because of our OTR-centric work and our emotional connection to the neighborhood, I guess we feel entitled to be able to stay. Of course, that's ridiculous -- we just have to work harder to ensure that we can continue to afford to be able to stay.
All this current development, which is in many ways positive, is absolutely changing the fabric and character of the neighborhood, encouraging certain people to move in and making it more difficult for others to stay. That seems inevitable and not specific to OTR or to the efforts of the groups doing the work, but it's a bit disingenuous to claim that it's not happening. I would argue that this was part of the intent of the development in the first place.
I agree this is a thorny issue and I definitely go back and forth on my own opinion. I don't have any hard facts to back up much of my opinion, its just the gut feeling I get from people I talk to and people we meet in OTR.
The condo prices are a spread, but I can see the starting point being a stretch for many - on our purchase we definitely had a limit and had to work to stay within it. I think if you take into consideration the rental/own opportunities there's quite a spread, I wasn't just talking purchase options in OTR. For example, our place is on republic and there's some low income stuff right across the street and actually behind us as well. I would hope that would stay, as odd as it sounds b/c while I want OTR's rebirth to continue, I also don't want the new stuff and newcomers to displace who's there. The neighborhood is nothing without its residents, old and new.
I realize economic realities may state otherwise and in the end what all of us feel may be voided by the goals of developers.
I'd like to see OTR's diversity, spirit and history preserved, I guess that is my point and I like to think that's everyones goal in this, however idealistic that may seem.
WOW, and of course no one makes a penny when another subdivison is built in Mason with the government footing the bill for roads and services.
People moving into OTR has a direct positive social impact. In addition to the drop in crime that Redrabbit mentioned, services are already in place in OTR so no goverment money has to be spent. BAMM! income and property tax are actually income rather than paying off bonds for sewers and roads increasingly farther from city centers.
just thought i'd point out that 3CDC is a non-profit organization not a for-profit organization.
re: 5chw4r7z - good point, instead of more sprawl let's use what we have!
as far as 3CDC, thats a good point and part of the reason I tend to believe there's a more honorable motive than just pure capitalism. 3CDC has done a lot for the city and it seems like in OTR a lot of what they've done has been centered around re-use of buildings that were not in use. i realize that's not 100% the case and there's some debate around some of what they've done, but in general from old pictures and google maps it seems like a lot of it was previously boarded up
specific to the Gateway Quarter - have any of the condo projects actually displaced people? seems like there is a decent mix of own, rent in there. i believe some upcoming projects are actually market rate rentals as well?
Non-profits have bottom lines, too. I don't have all the facts, but I have read reports of residents having been displaced in various situations. I suspect that this depends on how you define displacement and/or who technically initiated it. The one thing I can say about 3CDC is that I read a book about community development corporations when I first moved to Cincinnati, before I'd heard of 3CDC. 3CDC does not really sound like the CDCs I'd read about. They tend to be grassroots organizations made up of neighbors, often arising out of other community organizations or churches, and the goals include neighborhood improvement and home ownership opportunities for existing residents. The OTR/3CDC circumstance sounds distinct from that.
Thanks for responding to my points. There's a lot I wish to say but I'll stick to this:
I'm happy to hear that crime has declined in OTR. How is that directly related to development? Have the the neighborhood newcomers formed block patrols and other sorts of security details? Are they providing services for youth that lessen their propensity for becoming involved in crime? Or are they trading on their economic, social and racial privilege by demanding that CPD actually provide services to them in their new homesteads, choosing to care about crime that was of no relevance to them when they lived in, say, the suburbs?
As far as stating that "3CDC has been careful to do their redevelopment in a way that doesn't displace people and doesn't create segregated economic zones within OTR" all I can say is that is contradicted by absolutely everything my longtime friends and relatives say about what is happening in OTR but I do not visit Cincinnati enough to know personally so I will not argue. I can agree with you that there is a lot of abandoned housing and retail and that displacement is not mathematically necessary as it is in places like NY. On the other hand your comment that "development work has done its best to keep things available in every price point within OTR" is directly contradicted by the projects linked to from 3CDC's very own website. There is not ONE project affordable to average household income at or less than the Cincinnati median income of $31,960. Of course, if you earn well above that the housing may seem affordable to you but that really does not speak to the reality of most people who have historically lived in OTR.
And as far as, "There's no shortage of housing in OTR, in any price range, and if anything I feel the work the community, developers and 3CDC are doing is one of the most profound attempts at filling up the vacancies in OTR's history" : how would you know? Do you actually actively look for housing at every price range? Do you have experience seeking housing on only unemployment benefits, SSI, disability or Social Security income and how many of the people you know personally fall into that camp? These are not rhetorical questions; I am interested as to where you are coming from. As I understand it, you don't yet live in OTR, you hadn't gone to Findlay Market until 2009 and you considered OTR to be "the scariest part of Cincinnati." I'm very confused as to how you can speak with authority about any of the development's economic impact and how it has affected people who have been there for years, decades and generations.
Just a couple of things I have experienced being in OTR.
The business owners I know on Vine & Main are passionate about two things: Their business and the neighborhood. It's hard to do things for free for very long so they need to make money. BUT they universally share some kind of appreciation for their neighborhood.
The people I know that work for 3CDC are passionate about OTR, and the city of Cincinnati. They believe Cincinnati is a great city. They do listen to what is being said by the community. The next big project to break ground is 140 apts which will be a mix of housing. 3CDC has provided support to OTR Community Housing's Jimmy Heath House being built on Odeon Street. By the way I DO NOT work for 3CDC.
I know there is a developing relationship between many of the new merchants and many of the social services in the community. While it is a source of some minor revenue for the social agencies it is more importantly part of being a well functioning neighborhood.
I think crime stats drop for a couple of simple reasons. People report crime and it becomes inconvenient to conduct criminal business if the police are always showing up. More witnesses = less crime.
I enjoy OTR because it is full of people who want to be in OTR.
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