Bond Hill residents skeptical about proposed housing development

The monthly Bond Hill Community Council Meeting was held Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025, at the Bond Hill Recreation Center. The meeting began with a roll call at 7 p.m. About 50 people were in attendance, including members and neighborhood residents.

Council members In attendance:

• president: Jacqueline Edmerson
• secretary: Denise Hill
• treasurer: LaTora Jackson
• membership chair: Robyn Bennie
• member at large:  Nzingha Dalila
• NSP chair: Andrea Baker

Tardy: 

• youth chair: Vicki Lamb

Absent: 

• communications chair Jessica Shely Green
• vice president Laketa Cole
• beautification chair Dorothy Brundidge

The Bond Hill Community Council did not have a meeting in August.

Police and fire department updates

Cincinnati Police Officer Patrice Brooks notified those in attendance there were two car robberies in August. Five juveniles were arrested in connection with the thefts. Brooks attributed the decrease in car thefts to residents rolling up their windows and keeping their keys with them.

Cincinnati Fire Department Lt. Jason Davis said October is typically the time to change the batteries on home smoke detectors. He encouraged those present to contact the Division of Fire Prevention and Community Risk Reduction for more information.

Presentations

Four representatives from LDG Development presented plans to build housing units near the intersection of Seymour and Reading. Christi Lanier-Robinson, LDG executive vice president of communications, said the company has satisfied all zoning requirements. It will soon be closing on the land purchase. 

The housing development will be called Seymour Station. 

Lanier-Robinson said LDG has taken into account many of the concerns that community members voiced in the July meeting. One of those concerns included safety. She introduced regulatory compliance manager for the Louisville Metro Government, Jon Haywood, as someone who will be responsible for monitoring safety within the housing development. 

She also noted community concerns about who would be the property manager for the housing development. She said LDG is expanding its own property management company, Solidago Residential Services, into Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. 

Lanier-Robinson said the property management company that community members m expressed concerns about will not be the property management team and  will not be working on this project,.

LDG’s real estate development manager, Tricia Moore, said the company received help from the Cincinnati Development Fund to move forward with the 150-unit housing development. She said LDG is hoping to begin construction in November, as the project is expected to take around 20 months to complete. She said the total price of the project is $48 million.

Architect Alan Stogsdill said the apartments will include new appliances and finishes. 

These apartments will be affordable, said Lanier-Robinson. 

She said that a family of four would be able to purchase a condo for $70,000 and a one-bedroom apartment for rent would cost between $966 and $1,386 a month.

One community member, Lakesha Walker, noted that several Bond Hill residents have stood against this housing development: “I want to put it on record … that the residents did not want this development,” she said.

After the presentation, several community members followed the LDG representatives outside the meeting room to discuss the changes..

Following the LDG presentation, two representatives of Hamilton County government spoke to meeting attendees about a recent resolution by commissioners to rename Mercy Health Place after Pat McCollum, a longtime Jobs and Family Services worker, foster care parent, and community advocate who was killed last year. 

The new Hamilton County Central Campus will be located in the former Mercy Health building in Bond Hill. That campus will include JFS.

Anson Turley, deputy assistant county administrator,  explained that the county office had originally asked community members to provide suggestions on the street renaming, but  the matter had been voted on by county board members. McCollum’s family has already been notified and expects the change.

Turley called the vote an “oversight” but said the Board of County Commissioners wants to continue to be “good neighbors” with Bond Hill residents. 

He brought a statement from Hamilton County Commissioner Denise Driehaus, which said she “should have reached out to the Bond Hill Community Council as this idea was coming together after Miss Pat’s death.”

Bond Hill Community Council President Jacqueline Edmerson said Driehaus has contacted her about the possibility of allowing the council to name a room within the building for a Bond Hill resident of their choosing. 

Turley suggested that community the council host meetings at the county building. Edmerson emphasized the need for the council to find a regular meeting place.

“I have (had) some conversations with the administrator about us having a home there, because right now, we rent space for everything that we have, and so we need a home,” Edmerson said. 

Council members faced difficulty projecting the necessary documents on the video monitor to approve them, as the Wi-Fi at the Bond Hill Recreation Center has been unreliable.

Member-at-Large Nzingha Dalila also suggested allowing Bond Hill residents to prioritize physical fitness in a dedicated workout room in the building. Turley said he would suggest that idea to the board.

As the last presenter, representative from the Bond Hill Community Development Corp. Ella Thomas encouraged residents to vote for the corporation’s new name. Those at the meeting received a list of potential new names and were asked to vote. 

Thomas also said the CDC is looking for candidates to fill roles. Treasurer LaTora Jackson encouraged residents to apply for these positions or recommend others, as Community Council members voted for the CDC to be composed of majority Bond Hill residents: “For this to be successful, the board would need to be full,” she said.

Committee Reports

Beautification Committee

• A member of the committee encouraged others to join the committee’s efforts in cleaning Reading Road on Saturday, Sept. 6. The event will be held from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., and light snacks and refreshments will be provided.

Membership Committee

• Membership Chair Robyn Bennie notified residents that the council will hold elections in December for vice president, secretary and member-at-large positions. She provided a packet explaining the election process and the duties of each position. 
• Bennie also provided new membership updates, as the Bond Hill Community Council has gained 11 new members so far this year.

Youth Committee 

• NSP Chair Andrea Baker spoke on behalf of Youth Chair Vicki Lamb. Baker said the committee is focusing on activities to add to Bond Hill Day on Saturday, Oct. 11. She said the committee has been working to get a game truck to come to the event.
• Baker also said the committee is building a youth council, which has already had a few meetings with seven to nine young council members.

All Bond Hill Community Council committee meetings are available on the Bond Hill website.

Past Minutes

Council members motioned to accept the minutes from June with one amendment. They also motioned to accept the minutes from July with two corrections.

Budget Overview 

Jackson, the treasurer, highlighted goals of the council to invest city savings into accounts that will gain more interest. She said this led the council to transfer the funds to a First Financial Bank account in June, where she said the investments have already incurred more interest than what we have received over the last three years … in our prior (bank).

In July, the council had to return funding from Cincinnati’s Neighborhood Business District Support Fund because the projects intended with the CDC proposal “were not in scope of the fund,” according to Jackson.

Jackson also detailed August expenses, noting that the council must submit final reports for NSP funding in November. She said the council has used the funding to update its website and purchase flower pots placed along Reading Road.

Adjournment

The council meeting ended at 8:34 p.m.

If you believe anything in these notes is inaccurate, please email us at documenters@signalcincinnati.org with “Correction Request” in the subject line.

Find more Documenters’ notes on Cincinnati City Council here.