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Neighborhood partnerships
resulting in solid change

The campus transformations that began at UC in the 1990s have also led to new directions in the way UC relates to its neighbors, especially the communities that ring the East and West Campuses (see map). The results of that new partnership are already springing up around us. Bellevue Gardens, a rowhouse-style apartment complex along Martin Luther King Drive, is one of them. So are the Urban Outfitters and Starbucks that have opened in the McMillan/Calhoun street business district. This week, Currents looks at future projects that will be revitalizing areas on the south, west and east borders of campus. But first, let's meet K. Scott Enns, who holds a new position at UC that reflects this new spirit of teamwork:

For about one decade, UC has been partnering with area businesses, community residents and the city of Cincinnati to work toward a single goal: the enhancement of its surrounding neighborhoods. Multi-million dollar housing, new businesses and the improvement of roads and recreational spaces are making the urban area more inviting and more resourceful for the thousands who come here every day "to work, play and live," said K. Scott Enns, UC's new coordinator of Community Development.

Beginning in the early 1990s, the community development activity quickly grew to encompass several development corporations and approximately $16 million in loans from UC. It was soon clear that someone was needed to coordinate these efforts, someone who could act as liaison between UC and the many different interests involved. That person was K. Scott Enns, who was hired in spring 2001.

A graduate of the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning, Enns worked for many years prior to joining the ranks of UC's employees. He worked in the private sector for 12 years as a consultant and later as a senior planner for the City of Cincinnati planning department.

"Scott was selected because he was already highly involved with the issues in this neighborhood," said Dale McGirr, UC vice president for Finance. "He was the liaison to the Uptown area from the City of Cincinnati Planning Department for over a year prior to this search and had already contributed to many plans. He is also an Uptown resident and really feels strongly about city neighborhoods. With so many projects coming up around us, we needed someone who could serve our neighborhood partners fully and without delay. He has been a terrific addition."

An average day in the work life of K. Scott Enns can be quite challenging, but also quite rewarding. "I'm in a lot of different venues," he said. He's not kidding. He conducts research, meets with development corporations, serves as a steering committee member on a business district planning project and stays abreast of local tax legislation, just to name a few of his duties. "The greatest challenge is being able to hear all the voices of the community and bringing those voices into the discussion. If I can help these businesses and residents improve their neighborhoods, I'm going to explore all of the options to accomplish it," he said.

"It's exciting to work with a group of people with such diverse interests who are all sitting around together saying 'how can we get this done,'" he said.

Community, consensus and collaboration are vital characteristics of the development projects, he said. Many other universities that try to revive their local communities do so by stacking the deck, so to speak. These universities take the driver's seat and establish committees and development corporations with the faces they want to see, with the agenda they want to accomplish, leaving little room for discussion or community involvement, Enns said. "UC is very much not in the driver's seat," said Enns. "We continue to work within the structure of established community development corporation boards. We are all equal partners. UC is one vote of five, which is really unusual."

This approach "emphasizes the community grass roots base these relationships were built on," said Enns. "As a result, we have a much greater understanding of the needs and assets that have shaped these communities and a grassroots approach to strengthen them."

As a community effort, the goal is oneness of purpose, not sameness. "The community partners are all focused on one purpose - revitalizing neighborhoods into more livable communities. That's refreshing. Each community has areas and experiences that need to be celebrated," said Enns.

The vision for these partnerships off campus, according to Enns, comes from the same vision of excellence that exists on campus. As a result, Enns predicts that many universities will be looking to UC in the future as a model to emulate. "We're assisting the communities surrounding the campus to become the best neighborhoods the region has to offer," said Enns. "Five years from now, the University Village area will be a multicultural environment, a place students who are freshmen now will be able to experience before they leave UC. It's going to be a place that alums will want to come back and experience. Imagine a neighborhood where UC students and Cincinnati residents live, work and play together with an intelligent, great, eclectic urban atmosphere, something for the urban connoisseurs. It's exciting to be a part of it," said Enns.

Other Development Projects: