Price Hill Will\u2019s executive director is beaming while sipping coffee at the East Price Hill coffee shop, Urbana Cafe.<\/p>\n
From his vantage point through the giant window, he has a view of construction on Warsaw Avenue in East Price Hill. It\u2019s a celebration of his work during his inaugural year as head of Price Hill Will, which is working to revitalize the Price Hill communities \u2014 West Price Hill, Lower Price Hill and East Price Hill.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are close to finishing our Warsaw Creative Campus<\/a>,\u201d he said, discussing the five-year revitalization project his organization has been working on.<\/p>\n The overall plan, he said, is to go block by block, renovating Warsaw Avenue to make it more business-friendly and safe for residents. He added that the Warsaw Creative Campus will be a vibrant community space with affordable housing units and storefronts for food and creative-minded businesses.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to just keep moving down this block,\u201d Robinson said. \u201cWe want to redevelop, revitalize, bring back to life the entire Warsaw Business District.\u201d<\/p>\n Redevelopment has been needed on Warsaw Avenue, Robinson said, retelling a bruised history of the street and the Price Hill community.<\/p>\n \u201cCars have moved too fast, it\u2019s been too unsafe, there\u2019s been unsavory activity, there\u2019s been an association with this place that it isn\u2019t where you wanted to necessarily bring your family or bring your business,\u201d Robinson said. \u201cWhat we\u2019re doing is turning that around through real development, through real community activity, through real investment in the arts, safety and community engagement with affordable housing and historic revitalization.\u201d<\/p>\n The Warsaw Creative Campus includes a $10 million city-funded street project and a $13 million renovation project. Funding for the campus includes multiple rounds of Neighborhood Business District Improvement Program grant funding and tax increment financing dollars, historic and new market tax credits, and loans and development support from Cincinnati Development Foundation<\/a>, Fifth Third Bank, The PORT<\/a> and Local Initiatives Support Coalition<\/a>. Robinson said the project will be completed in two phases.<\/p>\n With this money, Robinson said Price Hill Will has rehabilitated six commercial buildings, which will eventually house eight businesses and 23 affordable housing units. The project\u2019s first phase is expected to be completed this month, with a campus grand opening in July.<\/p>\n This campus renovation, shaped by the community\u2019s diversity and housing needs, aims to help families find affordable housing in Price Hill while supporting growth in the business district.<\/p>\n The creative campus has attracted<\/a> and hopes to continue to attract artists and businesses such as My Cincinnati, the campus\u2019s first tenant, and other creative-minded organizations to East Price Hill.<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe in using the arts to develop our youth, our residents and then using it to activate and bring to life commercial and community reinvestment like this,\u201d Robinson said.<\/p>\n Daphney Thomas, a Price Hill community resident since 2009 and the latest business owner to open at the Warsaw Creative Campus, said she thinks the new space will attract people from across Cincinnati.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the redevelopment is attractive to businesses because people love new, vibrant spaces,\u201d Thomas said.<\/p>\n For Thomas, creating a vibrant space, something she felt the area desperately needed, will help shape a new, creative collection of people who work and live on Warsaw Avenue.<\/p>\n \u201cEven the naming of it indicates that this is a space where things are happening, innovation is going on and people are coming together to convene to celebrate a myriad of different things,\u201d Thomas said.<\/p>\n