Cincinnati Credit Union

As regular CCL attendees know, Cincinnati Housing Partners has spent a lot of time and effort on Carthage. One of the projects they have advanced is a new location and building for the Cincinnati Credit Union (CCU), currently located in a small concrete-block building in the crotch of the Lockland Slpit on I-75.

Cincinnati City Council is proposing to take certain unused/uncommited funds from the Community Development Block Grant and redirect them into the city's general fund agencies, primarily aimed at street rehab.

The CCU project is so near to commitment that I'm already drooling over the idea of a new no-surcharge ATM down the block from my house. Unfortunately, the proposed cut-off date for the redircted funds will mean that the City's contribution to the CCU project will go away.

It's a bit lengthy, but below are reproduced several of the responses we sent and received concerning the issue (feel free to advance your own opinion to Council):

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Mayor Mallory and Councilmembers,

I have just learned that the funding is in jeopardy for the new Cincinnati Credit Union to be built in Carthage this summer. I would like to present my arguments for retaining these funds and completing this project:

- The proposed Credit Union will be built on a site that is currently occupied by an empty building used for storage. This is a non-productive use and contributes nothing to the neighborhood or the city's tax base. A functioning business will change that.

- The effort put into this project by Cincinnati Housing Partners is immeasurable. The money put into it is well over $100,000. To waste the money and effort of this group is an insult to those who are interested in the improvement of the neighborhood and can only serve to discourage future efforts.

- If this project goes forward, there will remain only on structure at this intersection that is unoccupied and non-productive. With the successful completion of new construction we would have some hope that the last building may also be turned around, thus improving a central point of our neighborhood.

- We are growing a "financial district" of sorts. In this block of Vine St., we have now a Savings and Loan Assoc., a commercial bank, and a well-established tax preparation business. Add to this the doctor's office next door to the tax business and you see a professional corridor developing in Carthage. This is a trend we'd like to continue in order to prevent the further spread of used car dealerships in Carthage.

- I feel that the project is close enough to contract and the start of construction that to cut it off now due to an October deadline would be pure folly. A story like this, even anecdotally, is enough to compound the City's reputation for being difficult to develop in. I hear daily how developers hate working in the City limits due to the bureaucracy, shifting priorities, and general instability of the political environment.

- The fact that the Cincinnati Credit Union is willing to leave Lockland for Cincinnati speaks to their opinion that Cincinnati is improving and they are willing to invest in that and participate in the growth. We should not disillusion them by cutting them down this late in the game. Their plans are ready - why stop construction now?

- The Carthage Civic League has backed this project and others 100%. We fell that it is important to the continued success and improvement of our neighborhood to allow and encourage new development and new businesses.

- It sure would be nice to have a no-surcharge ATM to replace the one we lost with the sale of Winton Savings and Loan. While this sounds trivial, keep in mind that it is common for ATM's to charge $2.50 per withdrawal. In addition, the 5/3 Bank ATM across the street from the proposed CCU also charges $2.50 for DEPOSITS for non-account holders. Credit Unions typically don't put surcharges on their machines. In a neighborhood with many low- or fixed-income residents this becomes a huge factor in helping with money management.

Please consider allowing all projects already in process - and ESPECIALLY the Cincinnati Credit Union in Carthage - to continue to count on the funding upon which their success depends.

Thank you.

--
Rob Kern
President, Carthage Civic League
(513)948-8944

"Deeply Rooted, Planning to Stay."
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Cincinnati Housing Partners, Inc.
> 7001 Vine Street - #2
> Cincinnati, OH 45216
>
> April 21, 2006
>
> Dear City Council Members:
>
> On Wednesday 19 April, 2006, you received an ordinance proposing to
> redirect several million dollars of unspent Community Development
> Block Grant funds to other purposes, mostly, to street repair and as
> yet undefined development. One of the provisions of the ordinance
> states that any project either under contract or pending contract and
> unable to spend all the funds by 6 October, 2006, should be cancelled.
> You did not receive a list of those projects, nor an analysis of the
> consequences should funding be denied.
>
> While it is true that HUD "might" penalize the City in the future for
> not spending current funds timely, it is also possible to make a case
> for keeping some of the pending funding requests -- because they not
> only fulfill the goals of community development but they also meet the
> requirements of the Community Reinvestment Act.
>
> I am writing to ask you to make an exception to this ordinance for a certain project in Carthage that has been in careful planning since last summer. It is ready for construction. The contract with the City is just about ready for signatures. The project is this: to build a new banking facility for the Cincinnati Central Credit Union located at 7000 Vine Street. A lease has been signed; the predevelopment work has been completed. The Carthage Civic League is happy with the project and with the design. The staff at the Department of Community Development and Planning has been helpful in making this project work. We have already completed all the predevelopment work, thanks to a grant from the Local Initiative Support Corporation. The City's contribution will be a $350,000 grant (CDBG) and a $500,000 float loan (CDBG) during construction. Permanent financing is under consideration from the Cincinnati Development Fund (the first commercial project to be financed.) Cincinnati Housing Partners, Inc. has already invested $111,000 into site acquisition and holding costs.
>
> The credit union is intended to serve those who live in the community,
> and those who commute through it. There will be special attention
> paid to the Hispanic population who live and work along the Mill Creek
> corridor. The neighborhood leaders hope that this project will be a
> solid first investment into a revitalized business district.
>
> If the funding is lost at this time, it is likely that the project
> will also be lost. The tenant will likely look for another location
> -- outside the City.
>
> It is true that we will not be able to spend all the money before the
> end of October, but we can make a good start. Thank you for
> considering how to include this project in those that receive CDBG
> funding during the current cycle.
>
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Sr. Ann Rene McConn, President
> Cincinnati Housing Partners, Inc.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Mr. Kern,

Thank you very much for your e-mail about the proposed ordinance to
reallocate CDBG funds. I appreciate your willingness to share your concerns
with me about the potential detrimental effects on the community. As this
issue comes before the Finance Committee and Council, I will take your
thoughts into consideration.

Thank you again for your message.

Sincerely,
Councilmember Laketa Cole
President Pro Tem

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And, adding to the list of businesses that have left Carthage, contributing
to the continuing urban decay - Frederick's Landscaping - one of the only
businesses to beautify a property on Vine. (The property now stands empty)
Fred was located in Carthage for over 30 years, thanklessly contributed
much to beautifying & improving the area & was "Deeply Rooted, Planning to
Stay" but his efforts were thwarted and unsupported at every turn. He
finally got fed up when planned to buy and improve a prime piece of real
estate on Vine only to have that property sold out from under him to yet
another used car dealer. That was the final straw in a long series of lousy
treatment from the police and other government types, too extensive to go
into here....Everybody in Carthage was so surprised when Fred relocated to
Lockland! Gee, why would he want to leave the area that took everything
from him & gave nothing back? Now it's Lockland that has a beautiful,
thriving, quiet business in the center of their business district, while
Carthage remains a repository for every sleazy, noisy, oil leaking car
dealer looking for cheap land, every big rig barreling through at top speed
and every train engineer laying on his horn at 4AM. We watch helplessly as
green space is replaced with asphalt and toxic waste & noise pollution
increase to unbearable levels.
I, for one, am sick of being penalized and ignored by the City of
Cincinnati for living in Cincinnati. I am just as disgusted with the
passivity of the residents. It's as if we believe that we don't deserve a
quiet and pleasant place to live. Should we change our community motto to
"Deeply Rooted, Too Poor to Move?" Just look at the years of neglect and
denial that City Council has applied to Over the Rhine & Price Hill & you
see the future of Carthage. Why can't the city government see that it is to
their benefit to help Carthage and other inner city neighborhoods that are
disintegrating before their very eyes? Other cities reward their residents
who choose to live & own businesses in the city & I just don't mean the
very rich who are buying condos downtown but still shop in the suburbs. I
don't have a degree in Urban Planning but I know that low interest loans
and other incentives for home and business owners to stay and improve inner
city property help stave off urban decay. If I can see it, why can't Major
Mallory & City Council? Our City is dying - Do something! Rob, I applaud
your effort but I fear it falls on deaf ears. Carthage is rotting from
within and the city government doesn't give a damn.....
Blythe Walker

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Dear Mayor Mallory and Councilmembers,
As an active resident of Carthage for the last 17
years I would like to encourage you to please consider
the request of Cincinnati Housing Partners to keep the
funding for the Credit Union in Carthage. If I can
indulge - over the last 15 years I have seen abandoned
buildings removed, good housing stock refurbished and
made available for homeownership and a huge blighted
and misplaced industrial site removed from a
residential area and replaced by owner occupied new
homes. Much of this work has been accomplished with
Cincinnati Housing Partners. We in Carthage have
relied on Cincinnati Housing Partners and Sister Anne
Renee over the years and appreciate all the postive
and wonderful things that have been accomplished in
our community through this organizaation. There has
been no frivilous "junk" but rather substantial
improvements made throughout Carthage. I believe
Cincinnati Housing Partners chooses wisely and
responsibly in their projects and I encourage you to
look at the history of their efforts in Carthage and
surely you will realize that the efforts they have
made thus far with the Credit Union are a sound and
financially responsible decision that deserves your
support. Please reconsider so that the Vine St.
corridor can continue to grow fiscally and physically.
I believe in Carthage as a viable community that has
grown over the last 17 years and as our
representatives I encourage you to promote this as yet
one of many outstanding communities in the City of
Cincinnati.Thank you for your time and consideration

Sincerely,
Deb Zureick