Delhi Press
August 24, 2005
By Kurt Backscheider Staff Reporter

PRICE HILL - Cincinnati City Councilman and mayoral candidate David Pepper wants to revitalize business districts and remove blight from the city's major corridors.
Last week Pepper announced his plan to make city neighborhoods safe, clean and livable, as neighborhood leaders, residents, developers and Realtors joined him at the corner of Glenway and Warsaw avenues in Price Hill.

"We have great assets in Cincinnati, but too many of our neighborhoods are struggling," Pepper said.

He said the comprehensive strategy to turn neighborhoods around is based on input from community leaders as well as plans that have worked in other cities.

Pepper identified four major streets - Glenway Avenue, Harrison Avenue, Burnet Avenue and Reading Road - where he wants to begin improving neighborhoods through the "major corridor action strategy."

"These streets are some of the most strategic places in our city and we have let them become run down," he said.

"These streets are our front doors, these streets are the first thing many of our visitors see from the suburbs when they're driving to our city. When they see these streets they judge our entire neighborhood based on these streets."

He said the plan calls for leveraging private investment to redevelop the corridors and business districts.

Investments would be made to improve infrastructures, plant trees, add street lights, install surveillance cameras in crime hot spots and hold property owners accountable for maintaining their buildings, he said.

Initiatives in the corridor strategy include putting more police on the streets and getting repeat offenders out of the neighborhoods, Pepper said

A citywide neighborhood investment plan to create "rapid redevelopment zones" to develop entire city blocks, and improving housing stock are other initiatives, he said.

Ray Nichols, president of the Real Estate Investors Association of Cincinnati, said his organization supports the plan.

He said the nonprofit group shows new and seasoned investors how to redevelop property the right way, and partners with community groups, businesses and governments to support broader neighborhood development.

"It's a win-win-win situation when you have capital, government and the communities working together, and that's why we applaud this program," Nichols said.

Price Hill resident Lydia Stec, who has been very involved with Price Hill Will, said it's nice the plan does not focus solely on safety because major redevelopment in the business district and community is essential.

"The fact of the matter is, if you have people on the street, street crime is going to be down," she said.

"If we have thriving business districts, nice streets and nice buildings with people who actually care about their property, people are going to be on the streets more."