SEE VIDEO!

 

http://www.wcpo.com/news/2004/local/01/11/oakley.html

 

 

Trend To Redevelop Urban Real Estate

 

While many businesses seem to be leaving urban Cincinnati, another movement also seems afoot -- reinvesting in it.

 

Some of the hot locations include Oakley, Norwood and Hyde Park.

 

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that real estate developer Kent Arnold of Vision Land Development, says demolition will begin next month to make way for The Millworks shopping complex.

 

http://www.cincinnatimillworks.com/

 

 

 

 

 

Looks like this development actually has some momentum. Looks like a different developer is at the reigns. Millworks at Market Street:

 

http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/05/07/biz_millworks07.html

The theater would anchor a town square-style development called Market Street at Millworks....

 

Hmm. I thought Oakley already had a town square with a theater. :(

I think Oakley's theater is a music pavilion while this one would be a movie palace, which IS needed in that area (Showcase? bitch please).

Also, it sounds as if this project does not compete with neighboring Rookwood and Kenwood, due to the more true "lifestyle center" amenities (grocery store, movie theater, offices, a book store, etc, which really should not take away Rookwood's business (which is literally down the street). They might compliment each other like the Streets of West Chester and Tri-Country.

.

Doesn't everything? ;)

Good grief,,that big clock reminds me of the old Plamolive clock across the river from Louisville....

you mean the colgate clock lol

Well this one just made a big leap back to the forefront. On the Channel 5 news this evening they had a nearly 3-4 minute "exclusive" look and announcement of the Millworks project, including an on-air look at the model above.

 

The reporter claimed the developer hopes to have 45 acres of the project done by summer 2006. They also mentioned that the connector is still part of the plan.

 

The reporter was hyping it up pretty good, saying it would "dwarf" the Levee and would bring lots of retail not found anywhere else in the area. The developer also said it wouldn't compete with Rookwood...

It looks pretty good, and yes alot like the levee too.

Yeah, it's 72 acres (approx. 10 times the size of Newport-on-the-Levee).

 

I got a chuckle when the reporter called the renderings of the project "one of Cincinnati's best kept secrets". Everyone who frequents these forums should laugh at that! I noticed that Monte's original post was in late February. :D

I am most excited about the Kennedy Road Connector, the traffic at the corner of Ridge and Highland blows. I won't hold my breath though as the road project will take tons of government $$$$!

is this technically oakley or norwood?

lots of vacant land along the "Millworks Parkway"...look for development there...City should push for employment there (i.e. Light Industrial or Office)...

Oakley

^

It's Oakley.

Some updated information from Oakley Community Council's Land Use and Zoning Report, February 2005:

 

 

Millworks

 

Vision Land Development holds an option to buy the Cincinnati Machine property, west of Marburg Avenue, north of the railroad tracks and south of the Center of Cincinnati. Kent Arnold, a member of the development group, was also a participant in the Oakley North Urban Renewal Plan (ONURP) process. Kent has indicated support of the planning concepts the ONURP is based on and is working with the City and the OCC. Preliminary plans call for removing most of the structures and saving some of the office buildings. Property owned by Kirk & Blum (K&B), adjacent to the Cincinnati Machine property, may also be included in the project in the future. Earlier this year, K&B announced plans to close the Oakley plant and move to Batavia. The total site, more than 70 acres, is proposed to be developed as a mixed-use retail and office complex with pedestrian-friendly amenities as recommended in the ONURP. The Cincinnati Planning Commission approved a concept plan for the project in 2004. The developer also entered into an agreement with Trademark Property Company of Fort Worth, Texas, a firm that specializes in this type of project.

 

This project has been delayed by negotiations over funding of the Kennedy Connector, a proposed link between Ibsen Avenue and Kennedy Avenue at Duck Creek Road. The lack of solid funding for the connector has forced the developer to alter the project direction. Details are not available at this time.

 

http://www.oakley09.org/zoning02-2005.htm

 

Good to know this project is still on. However, if this project goes on then we're going to have an economic powerhouse in the center city.

With the scale of this project as proposed, some sort of connector is going to be a necessity. Even with the existing retail in that area (which draws many fewer shoppers than Millworks would), the going gets tough at peak times.

 

I hope they can work out a satisfactory deal for the connector. The "neighborhood feel" of the parts of Oakley surrounding the Millworks site is already long-gone. This development would generate important sales tax revenue for Ham. Co. and, eventually, good property tax income for Cincinnati.  I say eventually, because I'm sure the development will receive generous property tax credits.

Well said Kendall.

I heard on channel 5 that "Jungle Jim" is planning on opening a 2nd, slightly different store and it's going to be in the Millworks development.

 

Official word is supposed to come in about 2 weeks.

 

:clap:

^ Now that's what I'm talking about: 1) A locally-owned destination retailer to add momentum to a major reuse/redevelopment project and 2) Jungle Jim's so close I can frequent it!

I hope that the Jungle Jim's announcement will be accompanied by more stores joining.  It would be nice if some other unusual stores (for this area) came--like an IKEA for instance. 

Jungle Jim's eyes site in Oakley

Lisa Biank Fasig

Courier Staff Reporter

 

Jungle Jim's, the sprawling Fairfield supermarket that introduced Greater Cincinnati to ostrich eggs, caribou meat and hundreds of square feet of international foods, is planning to open a second market in Oakley.

 

The store will be the second to commit to the developing Cincinnati Millworks project, a mixed-use center at the former Milacron plant. National Amusements Inc. also is planning to open a stadium-style theater at the site, located off Marburg Avenue.

 

Jungle Jim's has yet to sign a lease for Millworks, but it is expected to finalize that next week, said Phill Adams, director of development for the retailer. It will be owner Jim Bonaminio's first off-site expansion since opening the theme-park-like Jingle Jim's 30 years ago. It is expected to open in the spring of 2007.

 

http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2005/03/07/daily21.html

That's good news and maybe with a push into Oakley then we're only a few years until they push into Downtown.

Kennedy Connector Baby

 

Oakley to get a Jungle Jim's

Wacky store going into former factory

 

By Ken Alltucker

Enquirer staff writer

 

 

Jungle Jim's, the eclectic specialty foods supermarket in Fairfield, plans to open its second Greater Cincinnati store in Oakley in 2007.

 

Although no lease has been signed, the retailer expects to complete a letter of intent within a week to signal a commitment to open a store at Cincinnati Millworks. That outdoor mall is planned at the former Milacron factory off Marburg Road.

 

Nice to hear they have already committed $7M toward the project, at least it is not pie in the sky.

 

 

This will be weird. will the railroad be an at grade crossing or they will make an underpass?

They would have to separate the railroad from vehicular traffic.  At-grade would make no sense and would defeat the purpose of the Kennedy Connector.

An update on the Jungle Jim's from the 4/1/05 Fairfield Echo:

 

 

Jungle Jim’s opening new store in Oakley

New 75,000-square-foot store to specialize in international foods

By Dave Greber

Fairfield Echo

 

Construction is expected to begin early this summer on Jungle Jim’s Oakley-based food market, officials said Friday.

 

After finalizing the lease for a space to build a 75,000-square-foot international market at Cincinnati Millworks March 14, “Jungle” Jim Bonaminio wasted no time in showcasing his latest idea to the public. And he did it in true Jungle fashion.

 

Bonaminio met members of Cincinnati City Council, Hamilton County Commissioners and developers of the future mixed retail center in full wizard garb as a 30-pound iguana clung to his head at the unveiling Friday.

 

http://www.fairfield-echo.com/hp/content/news/stories/2005/04/01/hjn0402newjim.html

 

I've never heard it referred to as "the Jungle" before...do I just need to get out more, or is that a fairly new locution?

New locution for a new location.

I've never heard of it referred to as "The Jungle" either.

 

The Jungle's on the riverfront, dammit!

Jungle Jim's is the f---ing best!!

I hope the retail keeps on coming to HP/Oakley.  It can only do more for cleaning up Oakley's industrial area and increase property values in the area.  Traffic is getting a little heavy though.  But I don't care if traffic becomes absolutely unbearable because the people of Hamilton County voted down light rail so that is what we get.  Too bad so sad.  WE NEED LIGHT RAIL - at the very least just so we can ride it around drunk after the bars on weekends. 

^ Amen

The Jungle's on the riverfront, dammit!

 

ahem, that who dey jungle stuff started with the new orleans saints. yes that's a quibble.

 

Since you don't get to be a saint until after you die, are beatified and canonized, there are probably more bengals in the jungles than there are saints!

The Jungle's on the riverfront, dammit!

 

ahem, that who dey jungle stuff started with the new orleans saints. yes that's a quibble.

 

 

That is actually a myth.  Montecarloss posted a while back a link with the history of the "Who Dey" chant, which was started by the Bengals before the New Orleans Saints.  If Monte (or whoever) can find the link, it would be great.

Yep...mrnyc, the "Who Dey/Who Dat" thing is a myth, and the Saints never used "jungle".

Oakley project moving ahead

By Jon Newberry

Post staff reporter

 

More than two years after plans were unveiled and a year after developers said the project was "all coming together," a major retail complex planned for the former Cincinnati Milacron campus in Oakley still hasn't begun construction.

 

But a partner in the sprawling project said developers expect to complete land acquisitions of the 72 acres and begin demolishing buildings by June.

 

The first phase of the 500,000-square-foot project - a 16-screen movie theater, a new Jungle Jim's international grocery market, various restaurants and apparel retailers new to the Greater Cincinnati market - will open in early 2007, said Kent Arnold, president of Cincinnati-based Vision Land Development LLC. Vision Land is a partner in the development led by Fort Worth, Texas-based Trademark Property Co.

 

UPDATE ON KENNEDY CONNECTOR: (via a letter from City Manager Lemmie to a concerned business owner on Ibsen Ave.)

 

* The city is moving forward with the plans

* Engineers and contractors are in the process of testing soils

* Real estate staff is putting together costs of right-of-way acquisition

* Final design will be completed within the next 12 months

 

* Until the design is ready, there will be no right-of-way property acquisition

* Vision Land Development is moving forward with the Millworks project

 

http://city-egov.rcc.org/BASISCGI/BASIS/council/public/child/DDD/13010.pdf

 

If you care, here's the letter from R.K. Burroughs of Precision Industrial Automation to the office of Sam Malone regarding his concerns.  Why he mentions working with black people in Over-the-Rhine, I'll never know--it kind of smacks of pandering.  Anyway:

http://city-egov.rcc.org/BASISCGI/BASIS/council/public/child/DDD/12711.pdf

 

 

 

 

From the June 10, 2005 print edition

Approvals delay land purchase for Millworks

Lisa Biank Fasig

Courier Staff Reporter

 

The long-planned Cincinnati Millworks mixed-use project, future home of a Jungle Jim's grocery and an upscale movie theater, won't be able to start its first phase for at least another couple of months, despite plans to begin purchasing property in June.

 

Developers still require city approval for a couple of tax-increment finance requests, said Tom Carter, principal of Trademark Property Co. of Fort Worth, Texas, which is developing Millworks with Cincinnati-based Vision Land Development. That approval is expected as soon as late June, and he hopes to close on the property 30 to 45 days after.

 

"We're not going to close until we get through the city approvals," Carter said. "It's just too large of an event to not have it buttoned up before we close."

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2005/06/13/story7.html

The city is working quickly to try to land a $3M Clean Ohio (brownfield) grant.  A memo from City Manager Lemmie to city council on 6/8/05 supporting the ordinance:

 

 

June 8, 2005

 

To:           Mayor and Members of Council

From:        Valerie A. Lemmie, City Manager

Subject:    Emergency Ordinance – Clean Ohio Revitalization Grant/Millworks Development

 

Attached is an emergency ordinance captioned as follows:

 

This emergency ordinance authorizes the City Manager to apply for a grant in the amount of $3,000,000 from the Ohio Department of Development,

Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund. Grant funding, if awarded, will be used to acquire specific parcels of land, selective demolition, and the assessment, remediation,

and abatement of site environmental hazards in support of the Market Street at Millworks development project.

The Market Street at Millworks project includes the redevelopment of the Cincinnati Milacron, Unova, Kirk and Blum, and Factory Power sites in Oakley into approximately 500,000 square feet of retail, office, entertainment, and dining space, comprising over 47.5 acres. The total project cost of this development is estimated to be approximately $90.2 million.

 

An ordinance to authorize the development agreement will be forthcoming and provides additional detailed information regarding this project. At that time, an additional ordinance authorizing the City Manager to accept the grant funding, if awarded, will be submitted to City Council for approval.

 

The reason for the emergency is the need to submit the grant application prior to the program deadline of June 24, 2005.

 

The Administration recommends approval of this emergency ordinance.

 

http://city-egov.rcc.org/BASISCGI/BASIS/council/public/child/DDD/13215.pdf

 

anyone hear anything recently about this? oops just relized there are recent updates.

More odds and ends....

 

 

* Yet another business owner is concerned about the proposed Kennedy Connector.  Precision Industrial Automation, Inc., sent a communication to the city stating that the road would cut right through their property.  Also, the threat of this road (which was proposed well before it was funded) has affected business, providing graphs that show a downturn in business and ai increase in terminations.  They claim they have been unable to convert a major business asset into cash, and that continuing business with this project leaving them hanging is making business impossible.

 

* This is in response to the report I posted in May.

 

* They have proposed a win-win solution, involving city cash.  See pages 20 and 21 here.

 

* They also seem to be playing up the race angle, saying that it will hurt a fledgling minority-owned supplier.

 

* The Oakley Community Council supports Precision's concerns, stating that "the waiting game must end".

 

* Oakley Community Council is also worried about possibly being in too good of a location, asking that the transportation issues be addressed by Planning/Zoning/City Council: "Transportation to, from, and within Oakley presents a 'Jeckyll and Hyde' scenario.  Oakley is perhaps the most desireable and sought out community for businesses and residents alike in large part because of its great access, yet the adverse impact associated with this growth must be proactively resolved now.  Oakley is now intensely effected by major office/retail developments.  'The Rookwood's and Cornerstone' connected through Oakley's Business District to 'The Center of Cincinnati and Millworks'.

 

* Oakley Community Council has recently applied for a $75K grant through Cincinnati Neighborhood Business Districts United to study and determine cost for a major transportation and gateway project for Oakley's business district.  The bulk of this grant would go to implement the urban design plan first approved in 1982 and updated and approved by city council in 2000.

 

* The Oakley Community Council asks that council make a decision on the Kennedy Connector project, assist Precision Industrial Automation in relocation to another site in Oakley, and support the Oakley CC's traffic concerns.

 

http://city-egov.rcc.org/BASISCGI/BASIS/council/public/child/DDD/13348.pdf

 

* The ordinance ($3M grant)  I posted on June 14 passed unanimously.

From the 6/23/05 Cincinnati Post:

 

 

CECO deal aids retail project

By Alexander Coolidge

Post staff reporter

 

Plans to redevelop the former Cincinnati Milacron site in Oakley into a shopping center inched forward Wednesday as one of the developers acquired nearly 11 acres of the property for $8 million.

 

New York-based CECO Environmental Corp. said it agreed to relocate its Kirk and Blum subsidiary's 275,000-square-foot manufacturing facility to an undetermined Greater Cincinnati site. Trademark Property, the Fort Worth, Texas developer, will acquire the site and incorporate it into the first phase of its planned 500,000-square-foot retail center.

 

Kirk and Blum's 10.7-acre property will be divided into two parcels. The $6.9 million sale of the first parcel will close July 15, while the $1.1 million deal on the second parcel will close April 1. Trademark retains the right to extend either closing up to three months for a fee.

 

http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050623/BIZ/506230350/1001/RSS04

 

Oakley site goes for $8M

Millworks picks up 11 acres

By Mike Boyer

Enquirer staff writer

 

The parent of Kirk and Blum Manufacturing Co. in Oakley said this week it has agreed to sell the nearly 11 acres that comprise its corporate offices and the Kirk and Blum plant to the developers of the $100 million Millworks retail development.

 

CECO Environmental Corp. said it would receive $8 million for the property from Trademark Property Co., lead developer on the Millworks project, which includes a cinema, a Jungle Jim's grocery, other retail, restaurants and office space.

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050625/BIZ01/506250337/1076/BIZ

Did anyone see the article about an IKEA store that may be coming to Cincy? They mentioned Millworks, but can't remember where I read it.