The next step in the saga of auto magnate Joseph Auto Group’s attempt to tear down a historic Main Street building will take place today when the Historic Conservation Board meets at 4 p.m.
The Board had planned to vote today on a request to demolish the Dennison Hotel building at 716 Main St., but attorneys for Columbia REI, LLC, the development arm of the Joseph family, on Friday asked the Board to delay the vote in order to have a hearing on the matter. Their request came the day after Conservation Board staff recommended denying the demolition request for a variety of factors, including evidence that the Joseph family has not attempted to sell or lease the building to someone who would redevelop it, an engineering report that says the building could still be used for residential purposes and documents showing that the Joseph family purchased the property with the intention of demolishing it for redevelopment. Such considerations are commonly undertaken by the Historic Conservation Board regarding buildings in a historic area like the Eastern Manufacturing and Warehouse District.
Of course, the city staff report, written by Urban Conservator Beth Johnson, will not ultimately decide the fate of the building, which was designed by noted architect Samuel Hannaford and still boasts a “ghost sign” noting its “105 rooms and 60 baths.” That would be the Historic Conservation Board itself, which is comprised of seven members, five of whom were recent appointments made on Mayor John Cranley’s watch. The most controversial of the appointments is developer Shree Kulkarni, who in the past has butted heads with the very board on which he now sits — because he wanted to tear down historic buildings on Fifth Street to build a parking lot.
CityBeat reported on Friday’s request here, Thursday’s urban conservator recommendation here and details of documents showing that the Joseph family bought the building to block low-income housing from being developed.
One noteworthy player in all this is 3CDC, which purchased the building in 2013 for $1.3 million then sold it to Columbia one month later for $744,000.
Preservationists hoping to save the building hosted a press conference on Friday. They expect a big crowd at today’s meeting and what will likely be a contentious future hearing, should things go that far. The Save the Dennison Facebook page, which you can find here, has links to more background, including the following Cincinnati Enquirer article from 1987 when the Joseph family smashed up some other downtown buildings, leaving parking lots in their wake.
• Gov. John Kasich is busy on the presidential campaign trail explaining his own unique versions of delegate math that could somehow lead to a convoluted GOP convention awarding him the nomination, and sometimes he eats pizza with a fork. Last week, Kasich said he wouldn’t be inclined to sign any law banning conversion therapy aimed at un-gaying homosexuals and that he had never heard of Leelah Alcorn.
• Last week, Kasich offered a tip for young women concerned with sexual assault: “Don’t go to parties where there’s a lot of alcohol.”
• NPR today unveiled its “School Money” project, a collaboration with 20 member station reporters looking at education funding in public schools. Part 1 of the series considers academic spending per student, finding a stark difference in the academic resources at schools in low-income neighborhoods and those in more affluent parts of America’s cities.
The following is a snapshot of educational realities in public districts, according to NPR:
Ridge’s two elementary campuses and one middle school sit along Chicago’s southern edge. Roughly two-thirds of its students come from low-income families, and a third are learning English as a second language.
Here, one nurse commutes between three schools, and the two elementary schools share an art teacher and a music teacher. They spend the first half of the year at different schools, then, come January, box up their supplies and swap classrooms.
“We don’t have a lot of the extra things that other districts may have, simply because we can’t afford them,” says Ridge Superintendent Kevin Russell.
One of those other districts sits less than an hour north, in Chicago’s affluent suburbs, nestled into a warren of corporate offices: Rondout School, the only campus in Rondout District 72.
It has 22 teachers and 145 students, and spent $28,639 on each one of them.
What does that look like?
Class sizes in Rondout are small, and every student has an individualized learning plan. Nearly all teachers have a decade of experience and earn, on average, more than $90,000. Kids have at least one daily break for “mindful movement,” and lunch is cooked on-site, including a daily vegetarian option.
Embedded inside the NPR project is the following line, which I feel like could use a bit more explanation: “In Ohio, which is our best guess for the state you’re currently in, the average district spends $12,018 per student, similar to the nationwide average. You can explore further or search for a district by name below.” (Emphasis by NPR.)
Is Kai Rydssdal looking in your window right now? Are you sure?
• The Supreme Court today will consider President Obama’s executive action on immigration. Obama’s legislation would grant temporary legal status to parents of children who are U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents. A collection of states, led by Texas, sued over the executive action, which Obama created in response to the House’s inaction on a Senate-passed immigration reform bill.
• Ohio State Sen. Bill Seitz last week unveiled a new idea — require money up-front from anyone proposing longer voting hours. Judges at times allow polls to stay open past scheduled closing time. Seitz’s bill, which he says has nine co-sponsors, would also allow an immediate appeal of a judge granting longer hours.
• A local woman is going to appear on a new reality show. I don’t know what it is, but you should watch it!
• A new study says being a reporter is the worst job… three years in a row.
• An octopus dipped out of an aquarium in New Zealand, got into a drain pipe and squirmed out into the ocean toward freedom.
• The Reds return home tonight to host the Colorado Rockies after losing five of six on their road trip to Chicago and St. Louis. But don’t worry — Dan Straily is joining the rotation. Seriously, I think he’s a good baseball player.
• CityBeat reporters Nick Swartsell and Natalie Krebs will be around town today, Nick at the Historic Conservation Board meeting and Natalie at a City Hall presentation for the Violence Prevention Working Group. Follow them on Twitter: @nswartsell / @natalie_krebs.
This article appears in Apr 13-20, 2016.