Dispute over Cincinnati's Hudepohl facility comes to head
Garrison Hilliard
Business Courier of Cincinnati - by Dan Monk Senior Staff Reporter
The city of Cincinnati is pursuing criminal charges against developers who have
left the old Hudepohl brewery partially demolished and exposed to the elements.
A Sept. 25 pre-trial hearing has been set for Saeed Safi, 33, and Safi Safi, 30,
each facing three misdemeanor counts involving fire code violations at the
former Queensgate brewery. Each charge carries a potential penalty of up to 180
days in jail and/or fines of up to $1,000. The brothers, who couldn�t be reached
for comment, each pleaded not guilty. They�re represented by Thomas Raisbeck,
who declined comment.
�Anxious to remediate�
Assistant Cincinnati Prosecutor Keith Forman said the Safis are part of
investment group Hudepohl Square LLC. They purchased the long-dormant brewery in
2004, then engaged in a three-year legal battle with demolition contractor
Demetrius Ball. Their civil attorney, Deepak Desai, said Hudepohl Square is
working with city officials to identify funds for remediation. In the meantime,
it�s spending several thousand dollars to erect a wall around the property and
block any openings within 10 feet of the ground.
�It�s unfortunate the situation has gotten to this point,� said Desai, a partner
in the Santen & Hughes law firm downtown. �My clients are anxious to remediate
the property. It cost them a lot to buy the property. It doesn�t make them any
money just sitting around.�
Cincinnati Community Development Diretor Michael Cervay confirmed discussions
with Hudepohl Square but said the developers were urged to conduct a preliminary
environmental study before applying for remediation grants.
The Safis tried to generate excitement for the redevelopment in January 2005 by
putting the building�s 170-foot smokestack on eBay. They sought a minimum $1.5
million but drew no offers in the weeklong auction.
Forman said the new concrete barriers at the Hudepohl site are a step in the
right direction but will not slow the criminal case. In fact, Forman said the
city�s building department is considering new charges against the Safis. The
building was declared a public nuisance in March. Homeless people and urban
explorers have been entering the building and are putting themselves at risk.
�The site is horrendous,� Forman said. �The fire department has exhausted all
their patience. They�ve been dealing with this for years. What we fear is that
someone, a firefighter, a homeless person or one of these urban explorers, is
going to enter that building and plummet to their death.�
Cincinnati Fire Capt. Steve Coldiron said charges were filed in May after fire
inspectors found combustible materials on the site and a lack of barriers to
prevent public access to the building. Following an Aug. 28 arraignment for
Saeed Safi, Coldiron said the building is in �pretty poor condition,� with floor
slabs in danger of collapse and rebar exposed through rotting concrete.
Images of the interior have been posted on local blog Queen City Discovery,
www.queencitydiscovery.blogspot.com.In one entry, blogger Gordon Bombay
described the trash and crumbling brick found on the way to this precarious
perch on the second floor: �Here there were no doors, just a straight dropoff
down to the ground if you went straight or a climb up a set of stairs that
seemed to have very little support to your left.�
The Web site indicates Bombay is the nickname of freelance photographer Ronny
Salerno. The site is dedicated to �documenting the crumbling ruins and abandoned
structures of the Cincinnati area�s past.�
Troubles from the start
Hamilton County records indicate Hude�pohl Square paid $172,000 for the 1.6-acre
property that served as the birthplace for Hudy Delight beer and as Hudepohl�s
headquarters for four decades. Safi Safi told the Business Courier in January
2005 that he was working on a $6 million renovation that would bring office,
light industrial or entertainment uses to the property.
But county court records indicate the company was fighting with its demolition
contractor by August 2005. Ball sued for foreclosure to collect on a mechanics
lien in 2005. Hudepohl Square won a $142,000 judgment on a counter-claim against
Ball in 2008. That led to a bankruptcy filing by Ball in November 2008. Desai
said the dispute left Hudepohl Square without funding to complete the demolition
or pursue redevelopment.
�They have a way out,� said Forman. �They can transfer the property to an owner
who can respond to the fire department�s concerns. The pace they�re going, it�s
going to take years. We just can�t do that, out of safety concerns for the
public.�
When Hudy reopened after Prohibition in 1933, it bought the Gest Street complex
of the Lackman Brewery that had been built in the 1850s and expanded in 1880,
according to the Cincinnati Preservation Association. Over the years, Hudy
transferred all its operations there. When its annual production reached 700,000
barrels in the late 1940s, it expanded the complex. In 1986, it merged with
Schoenling; a year later, it closed the Queensgate plant.
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(Photos at website)
http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2009/09/07/story3.html?b=1252296000^2041781