Is the old Mariemont Steam Plant finally coming down?

At the Mariemont  Village Council meeting on Monday, October 27th, Michael Heines, a developer from JAE Capital, indicated they had purchased and plan to tear down the old Steam Power Plant and convert a part of the approximately three acres into condos. These 18 condos would range in size between 1500 and 1800 square feet and sell for between $300,000 and $450,000 dollars.

In this preliminary ‘Concept Plan’, Mr. Heines assured the Council that the development would not disrupt the toe of the hill coming down from Mt. Vernon Ave and, in fact, the landfill to bring the elevations up above the 100 year flood plan might give added support to the hillside.

He went on to say that the majority of the hillside would be donated back to the Village of Mariemont to add to the bird sanctuary and,if all goes ahead as planned, the land would be ready for builders sometime in August or September of next year.

Many questions remain along with various regulatory hurdles:

1.  Will the new condos be accessed by Miami Run in Columbia Township that is private property and how will the Village provide services to any new owners?
2.  It would seem prudent for the Village to do a due diligence study of the property before accepting any land to avoid any potential liability for this historically unstable hillside area.
3.  What happens to the network of steam pipes that remain and will pest control experts be utilized?

We all hope that the hazardous and ugly old Steam Plant becomes history and that JAE Capital can be successful where other developers have not been at this site in the past.