Walnut Hills Redevelopment Foundation

Meet our newest full-time staff member and summer interns

Thea Munchel starts this month as our Real Estate Development Officer, bringing over five years of experience working on real estate development projects for community development corporations. Most recently, Thea has worked on the development and financing for two historic renovations in Over-the-Rhine, Elm Street Senior Housing and Beasley Place. Elm Street Senior Housing is on track to begin construction in June 2013 and once completed will be the first senior housing opportunity in Over-the-Rhine. Additionally, Thea managed the construction budget and schedule for the City Home development in Over-the-Rhine, working with local real estate agents and buyers to pre-sell and customize several homes during the construction period. The project was highlighted in local and national journals.

Kate Esarey started working for WHRF in May. She is currently a Master of Community Planning student at the University of Cincinnati. She graduated from the University of Illinois in 2008 with a BA in International Studies and Human Rights. Her community development experience includes two years in the Peace Corps in Moldova, Eastern Europe directing a nation-wide women’s empowerment initiative and serving as a community development advisor in her host village. For the past year, Kate has been working in the non-profit sector in the Greater Cincinnati area and loving every minute of it.

Jaren Abedania is a second-year graduate student in Community Planning at the University of Cincinnati, with a Bachelors degree in Architecture from the Georgia Institute of Technology.  Prior to arriving in the Queen City, Jaren has worked in a fine arts studio, an environmental non-profit, and a popular food truck in his hometown, San Francisco. His impending thesis will explore the means by which food is distributed and accessed in urban environments with the intent to propose a new “foodway” for the city.  Walnut Hills will serve as a venue for said project and he appreciates the opportunity to work with the community.

As of May 1st, we are officially moved into a great newly renovated storefront space on May Street near E. McMillan St! Our new official address is 2505 May Street, so stop by and say hi sometime. We’re still putting finishing touches on the decor, but you might recognize those murals from the 2012 Cincinnati Street Food Fest! We are enjoying the flood of light through giant front windows, newly finished floors and a lot more desk space for our expanding staff. Look for an announcement about an open house soon, but for now here are some pictures.

May is Bike Month, and there are several events set to take place here in Walnut Hills in partnership with Queen City Bike! Whether you’re a bike beginner looking to learn some basic maintenance skills, want to enjoy a meal and good conversation, or are just interested in a leisurely ride around historic Walnut Hills, there’s something for everyone. Join us!

Brew House Monday Happy Hours
Where: Brew House (1047 E. McMillan)
When: Every Monday in May, 4-7pm
Free appetizer to any bicycling patron who brings his or her helmets in!

Dinner + Bikes
Where: Harriet Beecher Stowe House (2950 Gilbert Ave.)
When: Saturday, May 25th, 7-10pm
Join us for a traveling road show of vegan food and bicycle inspiration! Joshua Ploeg will delight with a vegan buffet dinner, Elly Blue will present about transportation equity, and Joe Biel will show a near complete excerpt from Aftermass, his forthcoming documentary about the history of bicycle activism in Portland. Then we’ll talk local issues and peruse the traveling bookstore.

Fix-a-Flat & Bike Maintenance Workshop
When: Thursday, May 30th, 6-7pm
Where: Crossroads Lot, corner of McMillan and Chatham
Learn basic bike mechanics and maintenance techniques from the Queen City Bike experts.

Walnut Hills Architectural Bike Tour
When: Sunday, June 2nd, 2-3pm
Where: Leaving from corner of McMillan and Chatham
Join Queen City Bike to see and learn about the sights of beautiful Walnut Hills by bicycle. This casual ride is designed for riders of all abilities. We will be riding on neighborhood streets comfortably, with no major hills.

Engineering, planning and design firm Bayer Becker is hosting a series of symposiums in 2013, each one focused on a different Cincinnati neighborhood. Walnut Hills was the first to be featured, and we were glad for the opportunity recently to talk about all the good things happening in our neighborhood!

Flying Pig Half-Marathon to run along Gilbert Avenue Sunday, May 5th; Harriet Beecher Stowe House needs Volunteers The Flying Pig Half-Marathon will be running right down the center of Walnut Hills, along Gilbert Avenue from MLK south to Downtown. The race starts at 6:30am on Sunday, May 5th, so runners will start to appear in [...]

When: Saturday, April 20th, 10:00am-1:00pm Tuesday, April 23rd, 4:00pm-8:00pm Where: Hampton Inn (near UC), 3024 Vine Street As many of you know, a new interchange at Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. and I-71 is in the final planning stages. This project, known as the Uptown Access Study, has the potential to significantly transform the north end [...]