Bordering Downtown, Cincinnati's West End was once one of the city's most vibrant neighborhoods. The character of the West End was profoundly altered between 1937 and 1943 when large tracts of land were claimed for the construction of over 2,000 units of ill-fated public housing at Lincoln Court and Laurel Homes. Lincoln Court and Laurel Homes epitomized the problems of the neighborhood until 1998 and 1999 when Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) received two HOPE VI grants that are the cornerstones of a $180 million revitalization program.

Today, CMHA, The Community Builders, Inc., residents of the developments, and a range of local stakeholders are building a new community that will once again make the West End one of Cincinnati's most desirable neighborhoods. The new master planned community of 686 mixed-income rental units and 250 for-sale homes will include a banking center, grocery store, new retail space, a community facility, childcare facilities, improved school facilities, and redesigned streetscapes and open spaces.

The Community Builders' Community Initiatives division will play a central role throughout the program by working with former residents of Lincoln Court and Laurel Homes to help the take advantage of the employment and housing opportunities being created.

City West has won several awards, including a 2005 Grand Award from Builder magazine's 25th annual Builder's Choice Awards, a 2004 American Institute of Architects (AIA)/Housing PIA award for Community by Design, and a 2003 The New Face of America's Public Housing Award for general excellence from the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU).