On December 31, 2020, we sold our home on Bella Vista Street, ending our journey on a very special street in a great Cincinnati neighborhood. We miss our home and our neighbors. This website will be maintained as an online historic archive, though I look forward to transitioning it to an interested current Bella Vista homeowner.

If you have memories of Bella Vista Street, or if you are a current owner who supports the mission of preserving the history of this special place, please feel free to reach me at alexis[at]historicbellavista.com .

This is a wonderful community we were privileged to be part of for the better part of five years.

Our very own light-flooded 3 bed, 1 bath home with recent updates will be listed for sale as of Saturday, November 21, 2020. It is offered by Sibcy Cline here.

1719 Bella Vista Street has hit the market and offers a classic, restored Tudor Revival cottage exterior with many modern interior amenities. Now a 3-bed, 2-full bath, 2-half bath home, it is listed at $289,000 here, by the Keene Group.

This is the first home to go on offer for sale on Bella Vista Street since 2016 and the first sale since Historic District designation.

I’m honored and very excited to share that my Bella Vista neighbors and I have been honored with a 2019 Cincinnati Preservation Association Award for our work to establish the Bella Vista Historic District. We are grateful for the recognition and very appreciative of the continued encouragement and support given to us by the Cincinnati Preservation Association throughout the long designation process.

Today, Cincinnati City Council voted unanimously (9-0) to make the Bond Hill Bella Vista Historic District Cincinnati’s 25th historic district. This 18-month process has been educating, grueling and rewarding. We look forward to another 93 years of beauty and community on Bella Vista Street.

Our deep thanks to Mayor Cranley, and Cincinnati City Council, particularly Vice Mayor Christopher Smitherman, Council Member Jeff Pastor and Council Member Greg Landsman. Our continued thanks for the hard work of the Cincinnati Planning Department under Katherine Keough-Jurs, AICP, especially Caroline Kellam, who guided our application to approval. Thanks also to the Department of Buildings, particularly the Urban Conservator, Beth Johnson. Thank you also to Supervising City Planner Alex Peppers, AICP, and Stacey Hoffman, Senior City Planner for their very prompt and capable assistance.

We could not have achieved this designation without the critical work of Anne Delano-Steinert at The University of Cincinnati and the tireless advocacy of Margo Warminski, the Preservation Director of the Cincinnati Preservation Association.

We also thank the Bond Hill Community Council for its critical vote of confidence. We thank our neighbor to the east, Maketewah Country Club for the letter of support from the Board of Directors.

We are truly moved, humbled and grateful for the support we have received.

On Friday, September 6, 2019 the Cincinnati Planning Commission will consider the proposed local historic designation of Bella Vista Street (and adjoining homes on Reading Road). If you continue to support the effort, please attend the meeting in J. Martin Griesel Room, Two Centennial Plaza, Fl 7., 805 Central Avenue, Cincinnati OH 45202.

If you have any questions, you can contact the City of Cincinnati directly–

Senior City Planner Caroline Hardy Kellam can be reached at 513-352-4842 or caroline.kellam@cincinnati-oh.gov .

Another month, another meeting. Please mark your calendar and join us if possible–

The Historic Conservation Board Public Hearing will be held on Monday, July 22, 2019 at 3:00 p.m. The hearing will be held at Two Centennial Plaza, 805 Central Avenue, Suite 500, Cincinnati, OH 45202. The proposed historic district designation of Bella Vista Street (and adjacent properties on Reading Road) will be on the agenda for discussion.

You can find the official notice from the City of Cincinnati here (scroll to the bottom). For more information, you can reach the City directly:

Urban Conservator Beth Johnson can be reached at 513-352-4848 or beth.johnson@cincinnati-oh.gov

Senior City Planner Caroline Hardy Kellam can be reached at 513-352-4842 or caroline.kellam@cincinnati-oh.gov .

Mark your calendars–

On Monday, June 24, 2019 at 6:00 PM, the Department of City Planning and the Historic Conservation staff will hold a joint public staff conference at the Bond Hill branch of the Public Library, 1740 Langdon Farm Road regarding the proposed local historic district designation of all properties Bella Vista Street and 5108 and 5026 Reading Road. This is one chance to make your voice heard.

You can find the official notice from the City of Cincinnati here. For more information, you can reach  the City directly:

Urban Conservator Beth Johnson can be reached at 513-352-4848 or beth.johnson@cincinnati-oh.gov

Senior City Planner Caroline Hardy Kellam can be reached at 513-352-4842 or caroline.kellam@cincinnati-oh.gov .

At long last, I have submitted the Bond Hill Bella Vista Historic District application! It’s all gone to the City of Cincinnati for review — the Conservation Guidelines, the Historic Designation, the Resource Inventory, the flash drive of photos, etc., etc., the whole bit.

The Urban Conservator and the Office of Planning have so far been very kind, collaborative, and very helpful. We met for about an hour last Friday and I experienced the incomparable relief of someone who has finally finished the first leg of a triathalon.

We still have a long while to go before the process is complete but it feels absolutely incredible to have cleared this hurdle. My hope is that we will have secured the Historic District designation some time in September.

After a spirited half hour public dialogue at last night’s meeting, I am happy to report that the Bond Hill Community Council has voted to issue a letter in support of the proposed Bella Vista Street Historic Landmark District and will officially submit the application to the Urban Conservator. This is an important hurdle cleared. Many thanks to everyone who came out to support our effort, especially my lovely neighbors on Bella Vista Street.