Abandoned derelict factories in Cincinnati

[Sarah Perry]

Originally Posted by kjbrill

The GM plant was East off of Montgomery Rd and just South of the Norwood Lateral. Actually it was a Fisher Body assembly plant which in its heyday assembled the Camaro. The Surrey Square Shopping Mall occupies much of the space today.

I believe you will find the crux of the eminent domain battle has to do with the property surrounding the old Cincinnati Milling Machine (Milacron) property and the housing along the streets extending west towards where Rookwood Commons is located on Edwards Rd. There were plans for big developments there but a few property owners held out and made a mess of it.

FWIW, some of us see those people as heros. It would have been much easier for them to take the very generous settlements offered them, move on and buy twice or three times the house they had. But they didn't much like the notion that a local government could just declare a perfectly nice neighborhood "blighted" and force them out of their homes. Anyone who owns a home should be concerned about that kind of blatant abuse of governmental powers. It could just as well be you being the one victimized someday.

[Dumbdowndemocrats]

Originally Posted by kjbrill

The GM plant was East off of Montgomery Rd and just South of the Norwood Lateral. Actually it was a Fisher Body assembly plant which in its heyday assembled the Camaro. The Surrey Square Shopping Mall occupies much of the space today.

I believe you will find the crux of the eminent domain battle has to do with the property surrounding the old Cincinnati Milling Machine (Milacron) property and the housing along the streets extending west towards where Rookwood Commons is located on Edwards Rd. There were plans for big developments there but a few property owners held out and made a mess of it.

Thanks kjbrill I remember when they still had a freight agent and clerks at Norwood ...the Ford transmission plant in Batavia was new as was RT.32 when I worked and lived in Sardinia. Milacron also had a plant off Half Acre Road what the railroad called Afton passing siding ate at the Gold Star down at the end of the road. Williamsburg had a old plant but can't recall what they made... old Wig-Wag signals protected the railroad crossing.

[kjbrill]

Originally Posted by Sarah Perry

FWIW, some of us see those people as heros. It would have been much easier for them to take the very generous settlements offered them, move on and buy twice or three times the house they had. But they didn't much like the notion that a local government could just declare a perfectly nice neighborhood "blighted" and force them out of their homes. Anyone who owns a home should be concerned about that kind of blatant abuse of governmental powers. It could just as well be you being the one victimized someday.

The arguments concerning eminent domain will go on. But to me the differential is what price does the government have to pay for the property. If just at current market value or below I agree it is abuse of governmental powers. But if at a significant premium giving the owner many options where to purchase I just do not see the problem.

[Sarah Perry]

Originally Posted by kjbrill

The arguments concerning eminent domain will go on. But to me the differential is what price does the government have to pay for the property. If just at current market value or below I agree it is abuse of governmental powers. But if at a significant premium giving the owner many options where to purchase I just do not see the problem.

I see the problem. I don't think I personally could find another home in the greater Cincinnati area that I would like as well as my current home for even three or four times its value. Nearly everything about it suits my husband and me perfectly: the location within the area, the size and the age of the house, the layout of the lot, and most especially the unique quality of the neighborhood. If I imagine the government calling my well-maintained neighborhood "blighted" and forcing me to move FOR ANY AMOUNT OF MONEY my head practically explodes. And I'm sure some of the residents affected felt exactly the same way.

[The Don]

Back to the original question... I have always wondered why the Lunkenheimer factory on Beekman by the Western Hills Viaduct is still standing after 30 years of disuse. Maybe so that someone can take its picture.

[kjbrill]

Originally Posted by The Don

Back to the original question... I have always wondered why the Lunkenheimer factory on Beekman by the Western Hills Viaduct is still standing after 30 years of disuse. Maybe so that someone can take its picture.

Probably because no buyer will agree to pay the cost of cleaning up the property's contamination. There are many parcels of ground which will sit vacant until the public authorities acquire it and pay the cost of reclamation/decontamination prior to resell into the private sector.

[Ohiogirl81]

Apologies in advance for responding to posts that had nothing to do with the original post ...

Originally Posted by kjbrill

There were plans for big developments there but a few property owners held out and made a mess of it.

It was Norwood that made a mess of it, declaring an entire neighborhood of solid, owner-occupied homes "blighted" because they had only one bathroom, or were on a dead-end street. If that was a neighborhood full of McMansions on cul-de-sacs (aka dead-end streets), the city would never have dreamed of violating their liberties.

Originally Posted by Sarah Perry

Anyone who owns a home should be concerned about that kind of blatant abuse of governmental powers. It could just as well be you being the one victimized someday.

Word.

Originally Posted by kjbrill

If just at current market value or below I agree it is abuse of governmental powers. But if at a significant premium giving the owner many options where to purchase I just do not see the problem.

The problems were: the owners did not want to sell their homes; and Norwood violated and abused the spirit of eminent domain.

But this is fodder for another thread ...