If Cincinnati's Walls Could Talk: Recent Episodes
Hayden Shelby
This is a podcast about the built environment in Cincinnati, with a special focus on housing. Episodes are created as part of course projects by students in the School of Planning at the University of Cincinnati.
Welcome to our second season! This season, the undergraduate students of Land Use explore the issue of converting office and other downtown uses to housing. In the process, we unpack the history of zoning in the U.S., how zoning is changing in Cincinnati, and how two conversion projects have worked in our region.
Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/01/upshot/american-cities-office-conversion.html?searchResultPosition=1
Costello, Becca. “Mercantile Library Development Set to Receive 15-Year Property Tax Abatement.” WVXU, WVXU, 9 May 2023, www.wvxu.org/local-news/2023-05 08/mercantile-library-development-property-tax-abatement.
Planalp, Brian. “$130 Million Redevelopment of Entire Downtown Block Secures Last Piece of Financing.” Https://Www.Fox19.Com, 10 Dec. 2022, www.fox19.com/2022/12/10/130m-downtown-cincinnati-development-vaults-forward-with-state-grant/.
Sources:
Rose, Cedric. Interview. Conducted by Sophie Roberto and Nate Carney. 2 November 2023
Sources:
Okun, David. Interview. Conducted by Carly Jones. 6 October 2023.
Al. Neyer. “The Hayden at Roebling Point.” Al. Neyer , 9 Aug. 2023, www.neyer.com/portfolio/hayden-roebling-point/.
City of Covington. “The City of Covington, KY - Official Government Website.” City of Covington, KY , www.covingtonky.gov/. Accessed 1 Nov. 2023.
Elevar Design Group. “The Hayden.” Elevar Design Group: www.elevar.com/work/type/live/the-hayden/. Accessed 1 Nov. 2023.
Urban Sites. “Welcome to the Hayden! A New Luxury Development with 133 Units, Luxury Amenity Spaces and Expansive Views.” www.urbansites.com/hayden/. Accessed 1 Nov. 2023.
Sources:
https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2023/06/06/future-of-downtown-cincinnati-enquirer-cov
erage/70270378007/
https://www.cbre.com/insights/viewpoints/the-rise-and-fall-of-office-to-multifamily-conversions
-a-real-estate-investigation
https://www.lincolninst.edu/sites/default/files/pubfiles/home-work-lla230704.pdf
https://www.npr.org/2023/07/24/1189403058/downtown-real-estate-housing-offices
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/analysis-heres-what-it-would-take-to-turn-empty-officebuildings-into-residential-housing
https://www.wvxu.org/local-news/2021-10-28/vacant-office-space-converted-into-apartments-cincinnati
Sources:
City of Cincinnati. (1925). The Official City Plan of Cincinnati, Ohio.Retrieved fromhttps://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/sites/planning/assets/File/1925%20Official%20Plan%20of%20the%20City%20of%20Cincinnati.pdf.
City of Cincinnati. (1983). Cincinnati 2000 Plan. Retrieved fromhttps://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/sites/planning/assets/File/Cincinnati%202000%20Urban%20Renewal%20Plan.pdf.
City of Cincinnati. (2012). Plan Cincinnati. pp. 56-63. Retrievedfromhttps://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/planning/plan-cincinnati/download-plan-cincinnati/.
City of Cincinnati. (2023). Connected Communities.https://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/planning/connected-communities/
Tucker, R. (2023, May 15). Thousands of new residents have moveddowntown, luring new businesses. The Enquirer.https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2023/05/15/thousands-of-new-residents-have-moved-downtown-luring-new-businesses/70060551007/
US Department of Commerce.(2022). U.S. Census Bureau quickfacts:Cincinnati City, Ohio. United States Census Bureau.https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/cincinnaticityohio/PST045222
Sources:
Planning History Spotlight: The Offical Plan of the City of Cincinnati (1925). (2019, July 26). City ofCincinnati . Retrieved November 9, 2023, fromhttps://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/sites/planning/assets/File/1925%20Official%20Plan%20of%20the%20City%20of%20Cincinnati.pdf
"Villageof Euclid v. Ambler Realty Company." Oyez,www.oyez.org/cases/1900-1940/272us365. Accessed 10 Nov. 2023.
Sources:
Hirt, Sonia A. 2014. Zoned in the USA: The Origins and Implications of American Land-Use Regulation. Illustrated edition. Ithaca ; London: Cornell University Press.
Gray, M. Nolan. 2022. Arbitrary Lines: How Zoning Broke the American City and How to Fix It. Island Press.
Cullingworth, Barry. 2004. Planning in the USA: policies, issues and processes. Routledge. Barry Cullingworth, Roger Caves (2013)
References and Show Notes
Madison Lentz - Sarah Day - Lauren Dahlager - Seth Maney - Edwin Vardiman
Guest Speakers:
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Elizabeth Eddy - Director of Residential Development, Port of Cincinnati.
-
Asset Manager for the Port’s CARE Homes initiative
-
Vital source of information about institutional investors
-
Senator Louis W. Blessing III - Ohio State senator
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Introduced to the Ohio State Senate Senate Bill 334, intended to limit bulk buying by institutional investors
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Provides institutional / governmental perspective, demonstrated span of interests in solving the problem.
Articles:
https://www.cincinnatiport.org/the-port-takes-action-to-protect-renters-and-promote-affordable-single-family-homeownership/
https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/i-team/cincinnatis-port-buys-nearly-200-houses-from-out-of-state-landlord-in-receivership
https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2021/12/08/port-buys-cincinnati-homes-deal-194-single-family-homes-announced/6434319001/
Episode Summary:
In this episode, our co-hosts Madison and Sarah have conversations with two people involved in the process defending Cincinnati and Ohio from institutional investors. The problem with such investors, as guests Senator Blessing and Liz Eddy explain, is their overwhelming buying power and lack of concern for the wellbeing of the neighborhoods they buy. Recently, such investors have bought more and more homes across the Cincinnati Area, driving up prices in neighborhoods that experience chronic low income and low household wealth. But the Port is fighting back. As the Director of Residential development explains, Cincinnati is taking the fight to the investors, buying up tranches of homes to develop into low-cost housing owned by Cincinnatians themselves.
But the encroachment of institutional investors into housing markets is not unique to Ohio. As Ohio State Senator Louis “Bill” Blessing details in our interview, from Ohio to California homeowners are feeling the heat of the modern economy. Many turn to institutional investors for an easy buyout. But these homes are now not in good hands, and rising rents have concerned Senator Blessing. He introduced Senate Bill 334, which gives local residents and occupants of multi-family housing the opportunity to match an institutional investor’s bid. Blessing is worried about the effect a continued rising cost of housing will affect both his area of Colerain, but Ohio as a whole.
Music:
sampled from Kraftwerk’s “Autobahn”, from the 1974 Album “Autobahn” distributed by Phillips Records. Remix and adaptation by Edwin Vardiman
References
Christophers, B. (2021). How and Why U.S. Single-Family Housing Became an Investor Asset Class—Brett Christophers, 2021. Journal of Urban History. http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00961442211029601
Curry, B. K. (2018, April 8). Invitation to a Housing Revolution. D Magazine. Retrieved October 4, 2022, from https://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-ceo/2018/april/invitation-homes-rental-dallas/
Hilley, J. (2012, February 27). FHFA launches pilot REO property sales. HousingWire. https://www.housingwire.com/articles/fhfa-launches-pilot-reo-property-sales/
Horn, D. & Tucker, R. (2022, July 12). “They want to make everybody a renter”: How real estate investors are changing Cincinnati. The Enquirer. Retrieved October 7, 2022, from https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2022/07/13/real-estate-investors-big-firms-transforming-cincinnati-market/9794507002/
Lambie-Hanson, L., Li, W., & Slonkosky, M. (2019). Leaving Households Behind: Institutional Investors and the U.S. Housing Recovery (No. 19–1; pp. 1–33). Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. https://doi.org/10.21799/frbp.wp.2019.01
Working In Neighborhoods (2013, April 25). WIN Releases Annual Foreclosure Report Tuesday, April 30th—Working In Neighborhoods. https://wincincy.org/win-to-release-annual-foreclosure-report-tuesday-april-30th/
Tweh, B. (2014, April 23). Foreclosures fall in Hamilton County, remain a burden. The Enquirer. Retrieved October 4, 2022, from https://www.cincinnati.com/story/money/2014/04/23/hamilton-county-foreclosure-report/8037685/
Housing data for Cincinnati comes from the U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2012 & 2020
Archival audio:
Barack Obama Address on Housing at Falls Church. February 1, 2012. https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/barackobama/barackobamahousingfallschurch.htm
Marketplace Morning Report It seems Elon Musk likes a Twitter deal after all. October 5, 2022. https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-morning-report/it-seems-elon-musk-likes-a-twitter-deal-after-all/
Interview, Alfadhali, Adnan, and Hannah Dahlke. “Andy Meyer.” 16 Sept. 2022.
A Decade of Foreclosures and the Crisis Continues: A Study of Foreclosures in Hamilton County, Ohio in 2012. Working In Neighborhoods, 2012, https://mailuc-my.sharepoint.com/personal/dahlkehh_mail_uc_edu/Documents/podcast/Research
/Foreclosure-Report-2012_WebCopy.pdf?CT=1664924181964&OR=ItemsView.
Interview, Geckler, Sydney, and Hannah Dahlke. “Valerie Daley.” 21 Sept. 2022.
In the Shadow of the Mortgage Meltdown: Taking Stock. Working In Neighborhoods, 2013, https://wincincy.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/2013_Report_Web.pdf.
“South Cumminsville – Cincinnati". 2010 Census Data, Department of Planning and Buildings, https://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/planning/linkservid/B56F89F6-D346-4BB8-80D9D9B5CB92F16B/showMeta/0/
“South Cummingsville & Millvale – Neighborhood Profile” in Climate Equity Indicators Report 2021, City of
Cincinnati, 2021, https://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/sites/oes/assets/South%20Cumminsville%20-%20Millvale%20-%20CEI.pdf
“South Fairmount - Cincinnati”. 2010 Census Data, Department of Planning and Buildings, https://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/planning/linkservid/B57352DD-0B69-D06E-AA0DE2A1A17B53DF/showMeta/0/.
“South Fairmount – Neighborhood Profile” in Climate Equity Indicators Report 2021, City of Cincinnati, 2021, https://www.cincinnati oh.gov/sites/oes/assets/South%20Fairmount%20-%20CEI.pdf
Spotlight on the Housing Market in Cincinnati-Middletown, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana. U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development, May 2012, https://archives.huduser.gov/scorecard/pdf/Spotlight-Cincinnati-Middletown.pdf
Thank you to our interviewees Doctor David Brasington, Political Economics Professor at the University of Cincinnati with a background in public finance, urban and regional economics, and real estate finance, and City Councilmember Mark Jeffries in the city of Cincinnati with a background in business and policy, serving as an elected official and voicing support for his community residents.
References:
Babendir, B. (2019, September 14). What happened to the American Dream? 'transaction man' aims to explain. NPR. Retrieved October 7, 2022, from https://www.npr.org/2019/09/14/760606299/what-happened-to-the-american-dream-transaction-man-aims-to-explain
Baily, Martin Neil, et al. The Origins of the Financial Crisis. Initiative on Business and Public Policy at Brookings, 2008. Information on how the financial crisis came into being and other critical information.
BIS working papers - Bank for International Settlements. (n.d.). Retrieved October 8, 2022, from https://www.bis.org/publ/work259.pdf
Field, A. (n.d.). What caused the great recession? understanding the key factors that led to one of the worst economic downturns in US history. Business Insider. Retrieved October 7, 2022, from https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/what-caused-the-great-recession Even more information on the causes that led to the Great Recession.
III, P. de la T., Boushey, H., Khattar, R., Sozan, M., Pathak, A., & Roberts, W. (2010, February 23). Recession still plagues workers. Center for American Progress. Retrieved October 12, 2022, from https://www.americanprogress.org/article/recession-still-plagues-workers/
Mian, Atif R., and Amir Sufi. House of Debt: How They (and You) Caused the Great Recession, and How We Can Prevent It from Happening Again. Further information on how the Great Recession occurred and how it could be prevented.
Obama, B. (n.d.). Treatment and prevention: Ending the great recession and ensuring that it doesn't happen again. National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved October 12, 2022, from https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/administration/eop/cea/speeches-testimony/treatment_and_prevention
Ravuri, E. D. (n.d.). Midwest Social Sciences Journal - Valparaiso University. Retrieved October 12, 2022, from https://scholar.valpo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1031&context=mssj
Rothstein, D. (n.d.). Bizjournals.com. Retrieved October 12, 2022, from https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2009/03/16/daily12.html
References
Bureau of the Census. "1950 Census of Population." United States Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Commerce, 8 Oct 2021, https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1950/pc-05/pc-5-11.pdf.
Casey-Leininger, Charles. “Going Home: the struggle for fair housing in Cincinnati 1900 to 2007.” Department of History, University of Cincinnati, Winter 2008, https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAMQw7AJahcKEwig56DAwOj6AhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhomecincy.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F02%2FGoing-Home-2008.pdf&psig=AOvVaw2CqwMCLD-9Pmof0TxzZODA&ust=1666138710100250
Cisneros, Jenna. “‘Uphill Battle:" Institutional Investors Impacting the Housing Market.” WKRC, WKRC, 2 Aug. 2022, https://local12.com/news/local/cincinnati-housing-market-institutional-investors-buying-up-houses-homes-rental-properties-affordable-home-ownership-port-authority-price-hill-will-local-12-wkrc-tristate-ohio-kentucky-indiana-news.
City of Cincinnati. “1986 Lower Price Hill Urban Renewal Plan.” City of Cincinnati, City Planning and Engagement Department, 5 Sept 1986, http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/sites/planning/assets/File/Lower%20Price%20Hill%20URP%201986.pdf
City of Cincinnati. (n.d.). “Census & Demographics 2000.” City of Cincinnati, City Planning and Engagement DepartmentRetrieved October 2, 2022, from https://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/planning/maps-and-data/census-demographics/2000-census/
LISC. “In Cincinnati's Price Hill, Music Nourishes a Community.” Local Initiatives Support Corporation, 2 Dec. 2021, https://www.lisc.org/our-stories/story/in-cincinnatis-price-hill-music-nourishes-a-community/.
Thanks to our interviewees:
· Pete Witte is a lifelong resident of Price Hill and has served as Vice Chairman of the Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA).
· LaTonya Springs is a native of Cincinnati and Assistant Director of Housing Opportunities Made Equal (HOME).
· Harold Jones is a longtime Cincinnati resident and a HOME board member.
Research by: Adi Iriqat & Deven Polela
Interviews by: Annah Saladonis & Brandon Williams
Scriptwriting by: Adi Iriquat, Deven Polela, Annah Saladonis, Jason Keith, and Brandon Williams
Narration by: Jason Keith and Brandon Williams
Audio Production and Editing by: Stefano Vicino
Citations
Evans, Farrell. How Interstate Highways Gutted Communities—and Reinforced Segregation, 20 October 2021, https://www.history.com/news/interstate-highway-system-infrastructure-construction-segregation.
Gross, T. (2017, May 3). A 'forgotten history' of how the U.S. government segregated America. NPR. Retrieved October 7, 2022, from https://www.npr.org/2017/05/03/526655831/a-forgotten-history-of-how-the-u-s-government-segregated-america
Interstate 75 Cincinnati - cincinnati-transit.net. Cincinnati Transit. (n.d.). Retrieved October 7, 2022, from https://cincinnati-transit.net/75-60.html
Kucheva, Y., & Sander, R. (2014, July 2).The misunderstood consequences of Shelley v. Kraemer. Social Science Research. Retrieved October 7, 2022, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0049089X14001318
National Committee on Urban Transportation Plans. Better Transportation for Your City: A Guide to the Factual Development of Urban Transportation Plans. National Committee on Urban Transportation (U.S.), 1958. Repository & Open Science Access Portal, https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/15088.
Weiner, Urban Transportation Planning, 1997, 14-15; Interregional Highways(Government Printing Office, 1944), https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015031947149, 4-5.
Sources
Casey-Leininger, Charles F. “Hamilton County Stable Integrated Communities.” Housing Opportunities Made Equal, October 2011. http://homecincy.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Final-HT-Statistical-Report-from-UC.pdf.
“Cincinnati Segregation: How History Shaped Cincinnati's Neighborhoods.” The Enquirer, https://www.cincinnati.com/in-depth/news/2022/02/23/cincinnati-segregation-how- history-shaped-cincinnatis-neighborhoods/9259788002/.
Krupp, Rory, Roy A. Hampton, Charles Casey-Leininger, and Cathy D. Nelson. “20th Century African American Civil Rights Movement Historic Context Document.” Ohio History Connection, August 20, 2018. https://www.ohiohistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Civil_Rights_MPD-1.pdf.
Horn, Dan. “Segregated Cincinnati: Why 1 in 3 People Live in Predominantly Black or White Neighborhoods.” Center for Community Resilience | Milken Institute School of Public Health, 23 Feb. 2022. https://ccr.publichealth.gwu.edu/segregated-cincinnati.
Horn, Dan. “Segregation in Cincinnati's Neighborhoods: A Brief History.” The Enquirer, 24 Feb. 2022. https://www.cincinnati.com/in-depth/news/2022/02/23/segregation-cincinnatis-neighborhoods-brief-history/9259891002/=
“Housing Segregation and Redlining in America: A Short History | Code Switch | NPR.” YouTube, YouTube, 11 Apr. 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5FBJyqfoLM.
“In the Suburbs.” The Library of Congress. Redbook Magazine, 1957. https://www.loc.gov/item/2019600440/.
Karr, Ronald Dale (1992) "Shelter the American Way: Federal Urban Housing Policy, 1900- 1980," New England Journal of Public Policy: Vol. 8: Iss. 1, Article 13.
Kendrick, Crystal. “Why so Many African Americans Have Roots in the West End of Cincinnati.” The Voice of Black Cincinnati, August 10, 2020. https://thevoiceofblackcincinnati.com/west-end-cincinnati/.
"Avondale: From High End Suburb to Urban Blight." Cincinnati Enquirer (2010-), Mar 19, 2012. https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/march-19-2012-page-a6/docview/2024759898/se-2.
"May 12, 1968 (Page 6 of 241)." Cincinnati Enquirer (1923-2009), May 12, 1968. https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/may-12-1968-page-6-241/docview/1888330011/se-2.
Thomsen, Mary. “The Way Houses Were Made in the 1900s.” Hunker, https://www.hunker.com/12567970/the-way-houses-were-made-in-the-1900s.
Thanks to our interviewee Greg Hand. Mr. Hand is a long-time resident of Cincinnati’s west side and is currently an active member of the Westwood community.
Thanks to our interviewee Doctor Fritz Casey-Leininger. Dr. Casey-Leininger is long-time Cincinnati resident and local researcher and historian.
Welcome to the first season of If Cincinnati's Walls Could Talk, a podcast by the students of Housing Systems at the University of Cincinnati. This season we will be digging into the housing policy history that laid the groundwork for large investors to buy up single family housing in the Cincinnati region. Listen to the season and then join us for one of two community conversations on institutional investors that we'll be hosting in November, 2022. You can sign up here:
Session 1: Saturday, Nov. 12 9-11 am in person at DAAP on UC campus
Session 2: Friday, Nov. 18 2-4 pm on Zoom
Link to RSVP:
https://forms.office.com/r/R87teJiU0r
Thanks for listening!
This is an introduction to If Cincinnati's Walls Could Talk. We'll be releasing the full season soon!