In determining the most appropriate strategies these were the questions:

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1 From: Michael Schubert Consultant Re: Summary of Avondale report Date: February 1, 2014 This summary presents two major approaches and a few supporting strategies. The strategies were chosen after conversations with local leaders and other stakeholders and physical observation in the neighborhood. In determining the most appropriate strategies these were the questions: Are these strategies consistent with the objectives of previous plans? Do these strategies provide tools for rank and file homeowners and residents? Do these strategies maximize the impact of the work of TCB? Are these strategies implementable? Outcomes The proposed outcomes the end results - for Avondale are as follows: Image Avondale will be viewed as a safe and friendly neighborhood with rich history and traditions. It will be perceived as a solid, improving neighborhood where neighbors, landlords, and other key stakeholders are confident in the future of the neighborhood. Avondale will be known as a place able to attract investments of resources, time, and energy from neighbors and other stakeholders. Measures of Success More residents will express confidence in the future of the neighborhood when asked on the field survey; More residents will believe the neighborhood is getting better; An analysis of media coverage about Avondale will reinforce the narrative of an improving neighborhood with a broad group of investors, including neighbors; Key person interviews conducted in 2016 will reinforce the narrative of a neighborhood that is improving successfully; People will report feeling safer than in the past on the neighborhood survey. Incidents of crime will decline in general, and the percentage of criminal incidents along Reading Road will decrease;

2 When asked specifically about their impression of Reading Road, residents and other stakeholders surveyed and interviewed will report that it is definitely getting better. Real Estate Market The real estate market in Avondale will be stronger, with stable price increases at or better than those for the city. There will be more homebuyer demand and purchases, and stronger commercial demand. There will be a cadre of small real estate developers and landlords that are organized and making a positive contribution to the neighborhood. Measures of Success Property values changes; The Time on Market for MLS listed sales will decrease; There will be a 30% reduction in the number of vacant properties by 2016; The percentage of sales transactions to owner occupant homeowners versus investors will increase by 20% by 2016; There will be 2 or 3 realtors that specialize in Avondale that is, they know what s happening in the neighborhood and will work with ACDC on promoting the neighborhood; There will be a loosely organized group of landlords and small developers who are working in tandem with ACDC on planned and coordinated acquisitions. The number of vacant and/or underutilized commercial spaces will be reduced by 50% by The profile of new home buyers in Avondale will be racially and economically diverse. Physical Conditions The physical conditions in Avondale will reflect pride of place. Residential properties will be maintained to a high standard. Commercial properties will be clean and inviting. There will be visible signs of public investment in infrastructure. Measures of Success The number of sites along Reading Road that show signs of positive investment or good maintenance will increase by 25% by 2018; There will be some evidence of intervention a new home buyer, a painted porch,

3 landscaping, house lighting, major or minor rehab - on 25% of the properties in the designated areas around the TCB redevelopments; The number of sites that evidence overgrowth will be reduced by 75% by These will be carefully documented. The number of properties that meet a high standard of improvement will increase by 25% by 2018 The number of vacant properties will be reduced by 50% by 2016 (as above); Street signs will be repainted to clearly show the name of the street and all signs that are crooked will be straightened by Key planned neighborhood infrastructure investments will be completed by Neighborhood Management Avondale neighbors will have greater capacity to manage day to day neighborhood issues. Social connections among neighbors will be stronger and more neighbors will know each other. As physical conditions improve, the neighborhood will reflect the fact that it is better managed. Measures of Success There will be an increase in block level, grass roots activities to improve physical conditions throughout Avondale, but with a particular focus in the sub-neighborhoods around the development; These actions will surface a cadre of people who want to play a greater role in the neighborhood. The number of individuals fitting that description will increase annually by 10%; A group of neighbors (10-15 ) will actively participate in attracting new home buyers to the neighborhood; More neighbors will respond that they know more of their neighbors in the 2016 survey. Neighbors will report feeling safer on the resident survey Approach and Strategies If these are the outcomes we want to achieve in Avondale, what are the concrete actions that need to be taken that will achieve these outcomes? What are the best strategies and who will carry them out? Who are the best partners to assist in this effort? What are the program tools that are required for this effort to be successful? There are two primary approaches to transforming Avondale. The first is an organized effort to broaden the impact of the properties being redeveloped by TCB by strengthening the areas around them. In several of the documents related to the Choice Neighborhoods grant the development of these properties, many along or close to Reading Road, is viewed as a strategy

4 to strengthen the Reading Road corridor. While Reading Road is a corridor and the TCB buildings will help the look of that street, it is also possible to see some of these buildings as strengthening the gateways to the smaller sub-neighborhoods along Reading Road. These are distinctive, yet unnamed places. If we look at some of these properties as gateways, the TCB buildings become the center of a node, and the improvement strategy begins to work out from that center. The second approach is broader - a neighborhood marketing campaign for Avondale that has as its primary purpose the attraction of new home buyers to Avondale. This is not solely an effort to promote Avondale as a good place to live. It is an effort to recruit buyers and sell houses. It is one thing to talk about how great a neighborhood is, but it is more effective to go out and intentionally connect potential buyer households with homes that are on the market. If ACDC wants to play a role in this, they need to know what s for sale, what s selling, and who is buying. In neighborhoods with strong demand and high sales prices, realtors often specialize and know the intimate details of those places in order to better convince potential buyers the neighborhood is a good choice. Currently, it appears that Avondale does not have those kinds of realtors. So there is a gap that needs to be filled. Maximizing the Transformative Impact of TCB s Development For each area there is a protocol for action and a menu of interventions. The protocol involves the following actions: An assessment by ACDC of who they already know on these blocks. It would be helpful to map this information. Engaging with these neighbors through individual meetings around some fundamental l questions: o What s going on on your block? o What could we do to make this block look and function better? o Who do you know that might want to work with us on this? Begin a process to engage more neighbors in conversation. The goal here is not to create a formal organization just to get neighbors beginning to make small efforts to improve their block. It is also important to have some knowledge about things neighbors can do beyond the ubiquitous clean up to make life on their block more pleasant and enjoyable. Another key first step is to identify those key problem properties and research their ownership and status. Along with this there should be an inventory of any obvious for sale properties.

5 An appropriate vehicle for this information gathering is a block walk of ACDC and TCB staff as well as any potential partners and a subsequent session to develop strategy. In terms of program interventions, the menu includes the following: Organizing block projects and events. These can include: o Landscaping and other beautification projects; o Park improvement projects, e.g. Stella Park could use some new playground equipment; o House lighting projects o Cleaning up overgrowth and debris; o Small scale porch improvement projects; o Organizing a field trip to the zoo for the kids on the block; o Having an ice cream social; o Identifying some prospective buyers for homes for sale or renters for available apartments; o Other small improvement projects fence straightening and painting, new mailboxes and coordinated house numbers; o House flags that display resident pride in Avondale; o Open house by TCB upon completion of their properties it is very important that the neighbors see the changes up close. o Every time people come together to do something there also needs to be a celebration after the project is complete.. Small home improvement loans to help neighbors and landlords make improvements in the properties. These will be described later under program tools. Addressing problem properties. In each target area there are a number of vacant, eyesore properties. These can be addressed either through demolition or through various methods of acquisition, rehab, and re-sale or through a buy, hold, sell model. What is important for neighbors to know, however, is that something is likely to happen in the near future on these properties. Identification of any potential public infrastructure projects ranging from replacing street signs to street resurfacing and sidewalk replacement. Marketing for-sale properties. If there are any homes for sale ACDC would want to work with neighbors to identify potential purchasers from their networks of family, friends, school parents, or fellow church goers. While these networks are not the only market

6 segment, engaging neighbors in a discussion about whom they would like to see buy the for - sale property can give a greater sense of control. Some of these homes will not be affordable for lower income purchasers, but some will. These five program intervention protocols can be delivered in any of the target areas. They define what ACDC will do to help expand the transformative power of the TCB developments and can be used also in ACDC s target area. A Marketing Campaign for Avondale The goal of the marketing campaign is to attract home buyers to Avondale and communicate the neighborhood brand in a positive way to a set of potential buyers from certain market segments. Avondale needs 100 new homebuyers over the next four to five years. These homebuyers would range in income from $50,000 on up with a high percentage earning over $75,000 per year. The neighborhood cannot afford to have lower-income homebuyers buying homes that need constant repairs and that incur high maintenance costs. Avondale needs buyers who can afford the kind of rehab the properties need and of equal importance, can maintain those properties. A key part of the neighborhood marketing campaign is building a brand. Creating a brand for the neighborhood is a statement about what the neighborhood means that clearly distinguishes it from other neighborhoods. Branding is important for the following reasons: It helps distinguish the neighborhoods from its competitors. There are a host of affordable neighborhoods in Cincinnati that offer home purchase opportunities. What is it that makes this neighborhood special? A brand can communicate a set of values. What are the values of this neighborhood? A brand can help establish a new reputation. What kind of reputation defines the new neighborhood? It can promote loyalty and an emotional connection to place. Loyalty and emotional connection can provide an underpinning for the investment of time, energy, and money on the part of neighbors and potential neighbors. Branding can help sell not just homes, but the neighborhood as well. It can help win home buyer purchasing decisions and provide a framework for the CDC to introduce its various products.

7 Branding means creating an image that endures and grows over time. Marketing is a set of multiple acts that drive customers (financially ready home buyers, responsible tenants, and quality landlords) to the product (the neighborhood). Once the brand has been established, the marketing campaign identifies the goals, addresses what market segments need to be reached, and what kind of message will be most effective in influencing those segments. In terms of potential homebuyer market segments for Avondale, it is essential to look at the reality of the market. On one hand, it costs more to fix up some houses than what those houses may currently be worth. Property values are more likely to rise if there are multiple new buyers making improvements on multiple properties. It will be necessary to find a cadre of buyers interested in buying older buildings that need repair but can be transformed into the home one truly wants. Buyers are more likely to be enrolled if they know they are not the only ones doing this that there are others like themselves buying into the neighborhood. This is not a project for your average first time buyer- although there are many houses in Avondale that could work for someone who does not desire a major rehab. There is a wide range of homes throughout Avondale from stunning mansions to modest bungalows, and multiple - use homes that could be deconverted to single family use or kept as is.. What there is not a lot of in Avondale is high quality, new single - family construction priced in the $175,000 to $250,000 range. There are fundamentally two marketing challenges finding buyers with incomes over $80,000 who can not only afford a $250,000 house, but would want to take on a major rehab project; and finding buyers who can qualify for the $100,000 home a smaller house with less rehab required. The buy an old house and make it new market in Avondale is looking for Early Adopters people who will be the first to adopt a new product. Taking a broad, historic view of how this market has been attracted to older neighborhoods several lessons can be learned: People have to know they are not alone others are or will be making similar investments. Some kind of financial incentive must be in place to attract this market. In the days of Urban Homesteading it was the dollar house and the 312 Loan (a 3% loan from the federal government for extensive renovation). Guidance must be provided to buyers to help them navigate the rehab process.

8 Buyers have some level of sophistication and can deal with architects, contractors, and government. If TCB and ACDC can create a system with these components, the chance of being successful is more likely than with just a purchase rehab program and the hope that buyers will come. To summarize, here are the components of that system: Attracting and building a cadre of the right buyer-rehabbers; Financing to incent quality rehab that overcomes the appraisal gap; Guidance to help buyers plan and manage their projects. The following are some home buyer market segments for Avondale: African- American professional women. In cities where there has been an African- American back to the city movement, African-American professional women have often been in the vanguard. Hospital and University staff. The incomes within these sectors are diverse so there are many home ownership opportunities within Avondale for this group. School teachers and staff. School teachers, particularly younger ones who are not yet established, may be attracted to the neighborhood and could afford a duplex with a rental unit or a smaller single family home. Those in the African American cultural fields. This segment might have an attachment to Avondale and might have the right stuff to take on a major building project. School parents. Home ownership has often added stability to families and the children of homeowners tend to do better in school. People coming out of home buyer education classes. These customers want to buy a home, have been pre-qualified for a specific loan amount, and are looking for a decent neighborhood. Friends and family of existing residents. This segment is always worth exploring in a weak market. Preservation types. In many cities there are active historic preservation groups that often include people who want to restore an older property. The next step in developing a marketing campaign is to determine the right messages to reach these markets and to find the best ways to connect with them. There may be groups of professional African American women, African American fraternities and sororities. There may be African American arts groups all networks where a message could be focused.. There are several important tools for communicating with these markets. These include:

9 Video It would be great to have a video promoting Avondale and showing representatives of the target markets talking about why they love living in Avondale. A good example of such a video was done by the Layton Boulevard West Neighbors and is available on Youtube. Website Avondale as a neighborhood needs to have a presence on the Web. There is currently a website for the Community Council, but it is not designed to attract people to the neighborhood.. The website needs to demonstrate why the neighborhood is a great place. A particularly good neighborhood website can be found at a site that promotes the Church Hill neighborhood in Richmond Virginia. In 2012, I was a consultant on a neighborhood marketing demonstration in ten cities for NeighborWorks America, and I provided an outline of a website for my client, the Twin Cities Community Development Corporation (TCDC) in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. The outline is featured below and was for the Elm Street neighborhood in that city. The recommended content for that website is described on the chart below: Pages Opening page A History of the Elm Street Neighborhood We re Building a Neighborhood Why We Love the Elm Street Neighborhood Be Our Neighbor Content Logo; tagline; welcome to our neighborhood; list of pages; links. (use some of the text earlier in this report); link to Elm Street video. History of the neighborhood; story of Longjoe; lots of pictures of the neighborhood in the past and anecdotes of the past (this could be a great project that can engage longer term residents but not all photos will be used); a listing of neighborhood assets. Information about the neighborhood association; meetings, meeting notes, community events; pictures of people doing projects. Pictures and testimony of neighborhood residents that can match to some degree the home buyer target markets identified later in this report. Featured homes for sale with a description of each written by TCCDC and link to realtor;

10 Our Businesses Our Schools Contact Us Listing of all homes for sale in the neighborhood with links to realtors; information about TCCDC home buyer education; premier rental apartments available. The place to talk about local businesses, including local building contractors who can help neighbors make repairs. Presentation of local school options with nice photos of kids and schools A contact probably at TCCDC to answer questions. This and the Richmond website are only offered as examples. Website content for Avondale could be different. One thing must be clear: the website has to address the desired customer and highlight the assets of Avondale. The Sales Office I recommend a physical location, apart from the ACDC office, to market Avondale. Just as a development has a sales office that is designed to give a positive impression of the product, Avondale needs to be thought of as a development and sold in a similar way. A space within the Hospital or in a storefront on Burnet would be ideal. Table: Two Key Approaches and Five Supporting Strategies

11 Maximize the impact of TCB development projects Strengthening the area around the developments of TCB Develop a marketing campaign for Avondale Attracting home buyers to the neighborhood Address 10 signature properties Make Lincoln Park a strong community asset Re-develop Avondale Town Center Organize landlords/ investors Build high quality single family homes

12 Supporting Strategies While the above two approaches will drive the effort in Avondale, there are five key supporting strategies that need consideration. Identify and provide an incentive package for 10 high profile, vacant signature homes to attract qualified buyers. While there are more than 10 abandoned homes in Avondale, there are a handful that, because of their size and location, are most noticeable. These are the properties that could be targeted for intervention. These are generally single-family or large two unit properties, on corners or visible on major streets. Recognizing that some of these properties are larger and will have extensive rehab costs, I recommend a significant incentive be used to attract a buyer-rehabber in this case a grant of $50,000 to help defer rehab costs in excess of appraised value. Unlike traditional government sources for acquisition and rehab that are income-restricted, this incentive would have no restrictions on income. The $50,000 incentive would be available on 10 key properties selected by the leadership of TCB and ACDC. Funds would be deposited in the buyer s construction loan escrow and secured with a non-interest bearing, non-amortizing mortgage that would be released in five years. If the buyer lives in the property for five years, the mortgage is released, and there is no payment required. To receive the incentive buyers would have to have a construction budget, contractor bids, a loan commitment, and architectural drawings for their rehab. It is likely buyers will need to be able to borrow $150,000 to $200,000. While this is an unusual approach, there is a rationale for doing this that makes sense for Avondale at this time: Such an incentive draws demand to the 10 key properties identified by the leadership properties that have the capacity to signal change; It helps create a buzz about Avondale. This is a unique approach, and it can help position the neighborhood as a place where something is happening from a real estate market perspective; It helps address the likely appraisal gap one might encounter in rehabbing a larger, older property in a weak market neighborhood by reducing the conventional loan amount;

13 It helps build general home buyer demand. If there is success in getting five people to participate, there will likely be another five that can be enrolled. Ten households rehabbing troubled properties will make it easier to attract additional purchasers. This is an incentive that won t be replenished. It is a one-time deal and not a program. As a result buyers will have to act sooner rather than later. When the incentive funds are gone they are gone. However the result will be 10 key houses rehabbed with homeowners in them as a first wave of new demand for Avondale. Here are some potential examples of properties: This property is located directly across from South Avondale School. Turning this property around would have a tremendous impact on this corner.

14 The above properties are all in proximity to TCB developments on Reading Road. Negative conditions are magnified by the presence of overgrowth. Reinforce Lincoln Park as a solid community asset. Lincoln Park is a major centerpiece of Avondale, but it lacks a distinctive identity. It feels like just a grassy space rather than a center for community life. It needs more planting, street furniture and lighting. It also can serve as a place for community activities and events. For example, it could be a great place for various summer concerts. In Hammond, Indiana, Neighborhoods Inc. began holding summer band concerts in the corner of Harrison Park which had earned the nickname Heroin Park. At first these concerts were poorly attended. But as they continued to be held, they began to attract more neighbors and the attitude and feeling about the park began to change. This might be a good strategy for Avondale regarding Lincoln Park. Redevelop Avondale Town Center Avondale Town Center neither looks nor feels like a Town Center. It lacks an orientation to the street and corner that one finds in many successful commercial strips in Cincinnati, e.g. Woodburn Avenue in Walnut Hills. There is substantial support for the redevelopment of the Town Center. There are currently plans to redevelop the large discount store on the west side of the street with a chain grocery. Even if this is successful, the uses on the east side of Reading Road look awful and will detract from anything positive that occurs on the west side of the street. There is also a small grocer, Lexington Foods, which is part of the Corner Store Initiative to introduce healthier foods into local stores. It is located next to one of the apartment buildings that will be developed by TCB. This store looks bad on the outside, but is relatively clean and orderly on the inside. It could be a neighborhood asset. Any strategy to effectively develop the corner of Reading and Rockdale Avenue would have these components: Bring as much development to the street as possible to reinforce an urban, rather than a suburban, feel to the Town Center. It might be appropriate to consider storefronts with apartments above to reinforce this urban look. Invest in façade improvements at the Lexington Market. If it is not possible to acquire the small strip mall directly across from the TCB property on Reading Road, make an investment in re-paving the parking lot, exterior landscaping

15 and lighting, and façade improvements on the local businesses that are there. There needs to be visual change that complements the TCB property on Reading Road and Hutchins and acts to drive out the street prostitution and general hanging around in the parking lot. The most effective strategy, however, would be the acquisition and demolition of the small strip mall, and redevelopment of the site as a mixed-use residential and commercial property at the street with adjacent parking. Organize a group of small landlords and investors. There are many inexpensive properties available in Avondale. There are many indications this is an investor s market. The for - sale properties are described for investors, and the prices are low enough they can work as rental properties in the absence of a sales market. Some of these investors may be reputable; others may be amateurs who can easily get in over their heads. Still others may be professional slum lords. Since a large part of Avondale s housing stock is in smaller apartment buildings, investors will always be part of the market. A smart strategy would be to enroll the better investors as a group and begin to work in concert to improve the market. Organizing investors is not a new strategy. Shorebank in Chicago brought apartment building owners together to discuss issues of common concern. The Greater Southwest Development Corporation, also in Chicago, developed financial incentives to help good investors buy for - sale properties. And Havenwoods Development Corporation in Milwaukee organized good landlords to sanction bad landlords, ultimately driving many of them out of the market. ACDC would be well-advised develop a small cadre of decent investors and to work with them. It would be worth exploring how some of these investors might access capital through the Cincinnati Development Fund, particularly those investors that are engaged in doing larger projects. Qualified investor owners can be identified through realtors, lenders, the Real Estate Investor s Association of Greater Cincinnati, and by experiential knowledge of the local real estate market. The best investor outcome in the small building inventory would be an investor who buys, rehabs to a fairly high standard, and then sells to a qualified home buyer with a conventional mortgage. Linking qualified investor involvement along with a significant home marketing effort to surface potential home buyers, coupled with generous down payment assistance with no income limits, and reinforced by small grants to raise exterior standards all these elements can link together to strengthen value in Avondale.

16 Build clusters of high quality single family homes in the $175,000 - $250,000 range What Avondale currently lacks is any new housing opportunities in the $175,000 - $250,000 range. Not everyone will want to buy and rehab an older home. A nurse who works long shifts and her high school teacher husband may not have the time to invest in an older property, yet could possibly afford a new home in this price range. Given the softness of the market, new homes should not be built on individual lots. They need to be built in clusters small developments so that people feel they are buying into a development rather than simply buying an individual house. The design of the house and the amenities offered to the home buyer need to be of the highest quality possible. Given the slowness of the real estate market in the last several years and the lack of high quality new construction in neighborhoods like Avondale over that period of time, there may be suppressed demand for a high quality product. Conclusion The Choice Neighborhoods implementation can have a strong, positive benefit for Avondale. Not only will a number of troubled properties be turned around but there are also some limited resources available to invest in the neighborhood. I look forward to receiving your input on the work I have been doing.