New Addition

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Another new addition to the neighborhood? Yesterday, the City of Dayton Landmarks Commission reviewed a proposed addition to the home at 40 High Street. By unanimous vote, they approved the homeowner's plan to convert a portion of their back porch into a new bathroom.

The addition will be built by Beaver-Vu Construction from Beavercreek. They are best known for new home construction, but apparently will do small jobs like this as well. The exterior of the new addition will match the rest of the house.

The Landmarks Commission helps maintain the integrity of Dayton's historic neighborhoods. It consists of citizen volunteers who review situations like this to make sure that any changes to the historic buildings are appropriate to the neighborhood.

This is more proof that people are still investing in St. Anne's Hill! The only question is.... will it be done in time for the Christmas tour?

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Ruskin, Part II

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Hot off the presses, here's another great article about Ruskin Elementary from the Dayton Daily News. The new school has created a community garden for the kids. An excerpt:

The Ruskin prototype is a 40-feet-by-40-feet garden that contains tomatoes, green beans, cucumbers, squash and other vegetables. Local kids involved with Street Peace, an after-school program overseen by Ruskin teacher Julie Mcglaun, donated $1,000 in seed money to get the project off — or into — the ground.

Yet another reason why Ruskin is a great asset for our neighborhood!
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Ruskin & UD

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Thanks to an anonymous source (... okay, it was me), we learned that the summer edition of the University of Dayton alumni magazine featured an inspiring article about Ruskin School (p 16).

The school is located just across the McClure Street bridge in the Twin Towers neighborhood, but also serves the children of St. Anne's Hill and the surrounding area. Here is an excerpt:

That children and teachers were spending from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on their spring-break days in school preparing for standardized tests had much to do with the school becoming an intrinsic part of the neighborhood. A sign in a commons area proclaimed: “Change the Streets. Study.” A message being sent to the students, said Devon Berry, a 2007 UD master’s in education grad and Ruskin principal, was, “Nobody wants to send kids to a school with poor test scores.” If the students achieve, then people want to move into the neighborhood, and the streets indeed change.

What's the connection to UD? Besides the Principal being a UD alum, Ruskin School is supported by the University of Dayton's "Fitz Center for Leadership in the Community" and they work closely with the parents and teachers at the school. Their programs at Ruskin make them an important partner in our community.


Side note: this page has a great summary of how the new Ruskin School was built, as told by the architects, with an impressive investment of over $10 million by Dayton Public Schools.

So anyway, please take a moment to read this great article from UD Magazine about an important asset for our neighborhood.

-k