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On Saturday, March 18, the Madisonville Branch Library celebrated its grand opening at its new location at 4910 Whetsel Avenue.  The new 8,600 square foot ground floor location is fully accessible and features some amazing amenities including a virtual reality (VR) setup, four study pods, two community meeting rooms, a “one-touch” recording studio, a vinyl printer, a button maker, an embroidery section, a kids’ area and several public laptops, computers, and iPads available for in-library use. The library also partnered with ArtWorks to create murals throughout the library. Check it out!

MCURC is thrilled to announce that our organization was awarded a $100,000 grant to help Madisonville’s small businesses recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks to a lot of hard work by Homebase, the City of Cincinnati, and MCURC’s board and staff, Madisonville’s Neighborhood Business District Support Grant (NBDSG) programs are underway! There are two grant opportunities available. Outdoor Dining Area Improvement Grant The purpose of the Madisonville Neighborhood Business Outdoor Dining Area Improvement Grant Program is to assist restaurant owners and/or food and beverage establishment operators within the Madisonville Neighborhood Business District. The funds are available through Federal ARPA dollars to help address the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on small businesses. The grants are funded through Neighborhood Business District Support Grant (NBDSG) and administered by the City of Cincinnati, Homebase, and the Madisonville Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation (MCURC). Creating outdoor gathering spaces, providing opportunities for neighborhood establishments to expand seating capacities, and improving the outdoor dining experience for establishment guests and visitors to the neighborhood is critical to both the success of individual establishments and to the economic health and vitality of the neighborhood of Madisonville. Façade Improvement Grant The purpose of the Madisonville Neighborhood Business District Façade Improvement Grant Program is to provide financial incentive to commercial or mixed-use building owners located within the Madisonville Neighborhood Business District. The funds are available through Federal ARPA dollars to help address the effects of COVID-19 pandemic on small businesses. The grants are funded through Neighborhood Business District Support Grant (NBDSG) and administered by the City of Cincinnati, Homebase, and the Madisonville Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation (MCURC). Improving the look of building facades through awnings, fresh paint, new storefront windows and doors, permanent signage, etc. boosts the visual appearance of the entire business district, which is critical to both the success of individual businesses and to the economic health and vitality of the neighborhood of Madisonville. The application period for both programs closed on March 12. Grant recipients will be chosen by the end of March and a public announcement regarding the program will be made this spring.

MCURC acquired 6012 Madison Road in 2019 with plans to stabilize this long-vacant building and prepare it for a future business. Due to rising construction costs, it took us longer than he had planned to get started but work is underway. Many thanks to our partners at the City of Cincinnati, The Port of Greater Cincinnati, and Kaiker Development + Construction for working with us on this extremely challenging project. We are grateful to play a role in saving well-loved buildings in the business district. This is the third building saved by MCURC since 2014!

MCURC is so excited to announce that construction on our “NOFA Homes” project has begun! Nine new, affordable single-family homes are being built on vacant lots throughout the neighborhood. Each house will feature 3 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms. There will be seven 2-story homes and two ranch-style homes built. The homes will be available for sale to households earning 80% or less than the area median income (AMI).  Interested buyers are required to enroll in a homebuyer training class. The homes will be listed in a few months when construction is further along.  MCURC is grateful for our partnership with the City of Cincinnati, The Port, Finance Fund, LISC, Homebase, and Titan Real Estate Group to bring affordable homeownership opportunities to Madisonville.

Presentations from our four Cincinnati Housing Conversations panelists can be found here.

We have finally moved into our new home at the historic Metz House…and you can join us!  Single offices, suites and an entire floor are available for rent right now.  Contact Matt Strauss at matt@technonprofit.net or 271-2495 to learn more.

The application window is now open for the Madisonville Neighborhood Business District Facade Improvement Grant Program.

Learn more about the workshop here.