BY LISA DONOVAN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
A show that promotes home ownership in Cincinnati may be leveled for the second year in a row.
The Home Builders Association of Greater Cincinnati, a co-sponsor of Citirama, will withdraw its sponsorship of the urban new-home show and the event's trademarked name if Cincinnati City Council approves a proposal for two sites.
On Tuesday, the city administration proposed two Citirama shows for 1999 - the original show in upscale Mount Lookout and a second show in Price Hill. The idea was to give a struggling neighborhood an opportunity for growth, city officials said.
As part of the agreement, the city would kick in roughly $864,000 divided between the Mount Lookout and Price Hill sites for the construction of sewers and roads.
But Jerry Honerlaw, president of the home builders association, said the Price Hill site doesn't make good business sense. Because the site at Morrow Place and Maryland Avenue has room for only 11 homes, builders can build only one unit apiece.
At the Mount Lookout site, which has room for 25 homes, builders can work on two homes at a time.
"If I go down there (Price Hill) to build one home, I lose a lot of time - it eats up a lot of time," Mr. Honerlaw said. He said builders can save time and money if they can put up one or more homes nearby. "I'm not saying that as a threat; you've got to put your time where you're going to get the best results," he said.
It would be the second year the show has been canceled. The home builders association canceled this year's show in the East End after reports that the homes would be built on unstable ground.
Much of the debate has focused on whether it is good public policy to provide subsidies, specifically to help cover road, sewer and other infrastructure costs, for the Mount Lookout development where homes start at $250,000.
But during council's Neighborhood Committee meeting Tuesday, the city's director of neighborhood services, Cheryl Meadows, said roughly 75 percent of the time, the city will help with infrastructure for new housing developments. She also said the city receives a return on its investments because residents will pay the property taxes that are funneled to public schools.
In the case of the proposed Mount Lookout site, at Delta Avenue and Mica Street, the developers are being asked to kick in $1.7 million for infrastructure.
That has given Councilman Tyrone Yates reason to reconsider a vote against providing subsidies for the Mount Lookout site. Council members Jeanette Cissell and Phil Heimlich said they support the city administration's proposal for two shows.
Councilman Charles Winburn said he would support letting the 1999 show go in Mount Lookout and allowing the city to help with the infrastructure improvements in Price Hill, without making that part of the show.
The full council is expected to consider the city administration's proposal next Wednesday.
