The Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority, in cooperation with Walnut Hills residents, is creating a kind of "super block" at Morgan and Copelen. Three pre-finished modular homes will be delivered November 29 weather permitting. Across the street three existing homes will be rehabbed.
The Port's Executive Vice President Darin Hall says Walnut Hills residents are buying into the plan. "We are doing development that is with the neighborhood for the neighborhood's good and we are not a gentrifying force."
The Walnut Hills master plan identified the southwest quadrant (Morgan and Copelen) as a location that could use some reinvestment.
On Friday, construction workers were preparing the foundation for the modular homes built by Unibuitin Vandalia. Gail Paul, Director of Communication Strategy with the Port, said Walnut Hills business district used to be known as the "second downtown."
She says, "I think their (Walnut Hills) plans are really informed by some of that energy of the past but really looking to provide different... kinds of solutions for people who want to live here and people that have lived here for a long time. So, we're following that vibe."
Part of the Port's REACH plan (Rehab Across Cincinnati and Hamilton County) is to invest in one neighborhood a year. They are already working in Bond Hill/Roselawn and Evanston.
