Some of the balconies on the apartments have a plain wooden beam on one side, but metal/painted wood/idk what on the other side.  It looks absolutely horrendous, and I would sincerely hope these will be changed.  I thought maybe they were just place holders until the real material came in, but some of the units that had these had plants and furniture on the deck, which I took to mean they are done.  Someone please tell me I am wrong.

I don't believe they are finished. I've seen work being done on multiple occupied balconies. I hope I'm right as they do look terrible.

Hard to believe the ground breaking was only 3 years and 3 months ago

What's up with the painting on the north facing apartment building wall?  Just a way to make the concrete wall a little prettier?

It's a ArtWorks mural.

I think this a rumor appropriate for this discussion board:

 

The hotel space was allegedly sold to a local hotel developer who is shopping for a franchise willing to operate there.  An early start date for construction is this fall. 

 

The 180 Walnut office building has little or no interest at this point.  I'd say the dust has to settle from the QCS II shakeup before any new office space can be built.

I'm not sure, but I imagine the office building they are trying to build isn't quite 1 million square feet. But here is something interesting, Sears is looking to move it's headquarters from Chicago and looking at Ohio as a possibility. Hopefully the city is aware and putting together an impressive package

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/mobile/dayton/news/2011/06/20/sears-eyes-ohio-for-new-headquarters.html

^ There's a thread about that.

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,25826.0.html

Cool, thanks, figured there probably was but hadn't seen it.

I parked in the Banks garages for the first time the other night.  I like how they have ID'd them by blocks.  "baseball block"  "football block", etc.  Needless to say it's quite impressive to think what that area was 3, 5, 15 and 40 years ago!

 

I wonder...when the garages are all said and done, how they will compare in size to old Riverfront's garage?  Wasn't the scuttle on Riverfront that it had the largest parking garage in the USA?  Sound false, but...

according to the Enquirer, the apartments are 90% rented.

The rental market has been unbelievably strong here in Cincinnati. I cannot wait for more apartment units to go online throughout downtown - will finally give many people who cannot afford a condo the chance to live in downtown.

Banks wants Ruth's Chris steakhouse

 

Written by

Sharon Coolidge and

Lisa Bernard-Kuhn

 

DOWNTOWN – The developer of The Banks told Hamilton County commissioners separately over the last week that he’s working to bring a prominent national chain steakhouse to the riverfront development.

 

Commissioner Todd Portune confirmed Thursday that the restaurant is Ruth’s Chris.

 

“Ruth’s Chris is the worst kept secret of anyone that’s interested in the banks,” Portune said.

 

Portune added several prospective retailers are “hanging in the wings to be new tenants” at The Banks.

Sides discuss Banks parking

7:03 AM, Jul. 29, 2011

Written by Sharon Coolidge

 

 

DOWNTOWN – As efforts continue to lure high-profile restaurants to The Banks – including national steakhouse chain Ruth’s Chris – county officials and the developers are discussing a deal to include valet parking on Reds and Bengals game days, when the cost of parking spikes.

 

At play are several issues: On game days the teams get much of the parking revenue as part of their leases with the county. High parking costs equals mean more revenue for the teams.

 

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20110728/BIZ01/307280030/Sides-discuss-Banks-parking?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|

^ It's so ridiculous.  As more and more development happens at the banks it will make the sports teams richer.  How the HELL does that make any sense. 

^Makes plenty of sense if your name is Mike Brown.  Lets manipulate people's fanaticism of sports by extorting the people of the county to give me more money.

 

He really has raped the people of Hamilton county in the arse.  I would have been happy if he did leave.

Changing the parking situation alone would fix SO MUCH of the problem.  The teams get all parking revenue on game days.  INSANE! That alone might close the counties parking deficit.

the banks looking clean and good and did i read 90% rented? great news.

 

for the critics, ok yeah they do need to up the game from that generic off the shelf modern apt style you see everywhere, but no doubt that will happen in future phases, just give people a chance to get more used to it and for the area to get lived in a bit first.

 

i know the transformative project had been on and off for years, but still quite impressive this all came online during the credit crunch.

The Football Block is nearing it's Phase I completion which is due in time for the Bungles season

Over on the Bridge Block, Holy Grail's expansion is underway. Another garage door has been installed and glass installation is underway.

 

Across the street, the entrance to what I believe is Johnny Rockets is taking shape.

I'm really looking forward to the new venues opening.  We love to hang out downtown after Reds & Bengals games and have noticed more and more people doing the same.

 

WTF is that!?!

Tetris, that's what!

Yeah, I got no idea what that is.  The Moerlein lager house appears to be moving along pretty well.

If I were to guess I'd say it's probably a ventilation shaft/fan housing for the parking garage below. 

If I were to guess I'd say it's probably a ventilation shaft/fan housing for the parking garage below.

 

It is. Both the stair/elevator buildings will have this "artwork" on them as well. 

Why does it need ventilation? It's wide open. Does this mean there are plans to build on top of it?

It may look wide open now, but with all the stuff that's going to be built around it, I think it's going to be mostly closed off.  Plus, even if it was wide open on one side, you'd have no airflow on the other where fumes would collect. 

Kinda off topic but every time I look at the Banks, I hope to myself that they plant a lot of trees as part of the streetscape.

Agreed. Mehring Way will eventually be a tree lined street. Same with Freedom Way. The south side of 2nd Street on the other hand could really benefit from some trees. Not to mention pedestrian friendly street lamps.

Huey's 24-7 in progress:

All this Banks stuff seems to be opening much slower than expected. I wonder why.

 

At least Holy Grail opened; otherwise it would be dead down there!

Very diner like...

Hey all.  It's been a while since I've posted! yikes.  I've walked down there and the progress is great.

All this Banks stuff seems to be opening much slower than expected. I wonder why.

 

You're joking, right?  Do you know how long it took Le Banks to even be underconstruction to begin with?  Hell, I was posting about Le Banks on my old website (Cincinnatiuprise) when half this forum was in junior high!  You should be surprised if ANY restaurant is open by now!!!

Under construction since 1788!!  :evil:

All this Banks stuff seems to be opening much slower than expected. I wonder why.

 

You're joking, right?  Do you know how long it took Le Banks to even be underconstruction to begin with?  Hell, I was posting about Le Banks on my old website (Cincinnatiuprise) when half this forum was in junior high!  You should be surprised if ANY restaurant is open by now!!!

 

It's just that all these places were supposed to open this summer (correct me if I'm wrong). When the Holy Grail opened on schedule for opening day, then residents started moving in in June, it seemed like other places would be steadily opening doors. That hasn't happened, though.

 

It's fine, I'm just impatient like everyone else. I don't want to wait for the Banks businesses to open. I don't want to wait for the park to finish, nor the Lager House. Nor Washington Park, for that matter. And certainly not the streetcar!

 

What I'm most looking forward to, though, is Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill. Anyone know the ETA on that?

Our community council did see a "Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill" liqour license application come up about a month ago, but that's all I've heard in forever.

^ Cool, thanks for the info.

 

I was joking about really looking forward to Toby Keith's, btw. (Though I truly am curious about it opening, as I am other Banks businesses.)

 

I know it was unpopular among people on the board, me included, so I was just being ironic. But I realize it's feasible I could've been serious, so here's my disclaimer.

I think its all opening really fast considering people are already living there;)

 

Huey's 24-7 in progress:

 

I think that is actually going to be Johnny Rocket's, from what I am hearing.  (I live at The Banks, and heard that from someone who works there, but that is more rumor than reliable information.  But based on the signs I think Huey's is going to also be in the South Building, but on the West Side, i.e., across from what is rumored to be a Ruth's Chris.)

 

As for the general timing of things opening, I find it very strange that the other bars and restaurants did not make a push to open during Reds season.  I can't imagine they have any strong incentive to open before next April now.  I also find it strange that Johnny Rockets is opening when there is a Johnny Rockets right across the river, although I think this one is going to be a slightly different concept and include a bar.

 

Cool forum, btw.

Welcome to UO, top6.

 

How do you like your place at the Banks?

Welcome to UO, top6.

 

How do you like your place at the Banks?

 

Thanks.  I like it.  I had to move right around when the apartments were opening up, and as I work downtown (and had been hearing about "The Banks" since high school) I just decided to move here. 

 

Just looking at some of the issues raised here, there is definitely a noise factor.  I can sometimes hear the people in the apartment above me walking, and sometimes I can hear dogs barking.  This doesn't bother me, as I can sleep through anything.  There are a few other indications that some things were done "on the cheap"-- e.g., my cable wiring was all messed up, my screen door was not attached correctly, and the thermostat is placed in a very strange place (basically, it's very near the only place you can put a tv).  But these are relatively small complaints: overall, it's a new apartment, and it's pretty nice. 

 

As for public areas, the gym is just 6 cardio machines and some weights, but is adequate for my purposes and I've never had to wait.  The pool is pretty pathetic, but they never really claimed otherwise in selling the place.  On nice days there is a huge crowd there, and it just looks horribly un-fun and crowded to me, but I guess I am old.  I have only been to the rooftop plaza in the north building once, and it's actually pretty nice.  It seems like it would have been possible to build a really nice public area with a big pool somewhere, but I guess that would have been too expensive.

 

There are certainly a lot of young people here who certainly enjoy drinking, and while that's not my scene anymore it doesn't bother me.  I could see how the noise (and the occasional broken beer bottle in the elevator/vomit in the lobby) could annoy some people, though. 

 

All in all, they are perfectly fine apartments in a neat location, and you are definitely paying a premium for the location.  The staff is very nice (and they put together some events that seem fun -- I'm usually not able to attend due to work).  I have never rented in Cincinnati before, but rented in Chicago for a long time, so the rent seems really cheap to me, lol. 

 

As for that location/The Banks generally, it is a little disappointing that the summer went by and nothing except Holy Grail opened.  I also thought the park was going to open at some point, but it has not, which must be especially frustrating for the aforementioned dog owners.  The brewery is going to be awesome though.  I LOVE the way the whole area connects to the ballpark -- there's just a really cool feeling on gameday, and it's only going to get better as more of the Banks, the park, and the brewery are completed. 

 

I do wonder how this is going to work, though.  The area just feels really disconnected from the rest of downtown to me.  You have to go over a highway, cross two 4-lane roads (2nd and 3rd street) and then walk up a hill to get to anything else downtown.  And will there ever be enough at The Banks to get people to say, "hey, let's go down to the Banks"?  I don't know the answer to that, but nor do I know anything about urban planning.  But if it's just going to be a bunch of restaurants and bars for foreseeable future - most of which (outside of the brewery) are pretty much the same as restaurants and bars you can go to anywhere else - what is going to cause people to come down here?  And once they do, is it really going to bring people downtown, given the separation issues I mentioned earlier?  Again, I'm not really familiar with the goals here, but I do sometimes wonder what it is intended to accomplish in the end.  I love this city, though, so I'm happy to be down here.

Top6, great nickname.  Some of us know what you're talking about!

 

 

I do wonder how this is going to work, though.  The area just feels really disconnected from the rest of downtown to me.  You have to go over a highway, cross two 4-lane roads (2nd and 3rd street) and then walk up a hill to get to anything else downtown.  And will there ever be enough at The Banks to get people to say, "hey, let's go down to the Banks"?  I don't know the answer to that, but nor do I know anything about urban planning.  But if it's just going to be a bunch of restaurants and bars for foreseeable future - most of which (outside of the brewery) are pretty much the same as restaurants and bars you can go to anywhere else - what is going to cause people to come down here?  And once they do, is it really going to bring people downtown, given the separation issues I mentioned earlier?  Again, I'm not really familiar with the goals here, but I do sometimes wonder what it is intended to accomplish in the end.  I love this city, though, so I'm happy to be down here.

A park is suppose to fill in the gap.  Just waiting for the highway to be capped.  I have no idea what the time line is on that yet.

^ There is no timeline and there is no funding anywhere for it.  Unless they get some in the presidents Jobs Act, then those highway caps will be the last part of the entire banks project.

Casino money was unofficially targeted by council for FWW caps. However, that can hardly be relied upon, and currently there is no money whatsoever coming from the casino!

^ ya, it was about 20% of the money? And that was based at the original $20 million a year estimate. Since councils vote, the estimate has been revised to "Between $12.5 and $16 Million" due to "seat" cuts that the casino is planning (opening with less tables/slots). So conservatively $13 million for the first few years.  So even if they KEPT the ~20% for caps, it went from $4 million a year to about $2.6 million. And with police and fire jobs on the line and no one wanting the streetcar to cut into anything, I doubt that will stay in the budget!

Caps are different from the streetcar. I see what you're saying, though.

 

But if people are going to the Banks and Smale Park and games, and have to walk over the mess top6 was talking about, they might feel a bit more favorable toward the caps. Who knows. And, frankly, it mostly matters on how much of a stink the Enquirer, the FOP, and any wingnut groups might put up. Otherwise the cap funding could easily go forward with no problems. Occasionally that happens.

What I meant was, a larger portion of Casino revenue will probably go to the streetcar, than the caps, since no one wants to cut police and fire, etc. to fund the streetcar and the caps seem like a pie in the sky dream that only affect a very small number of people (perception).  I think the most likely option of getting caps started (to be planned, let alone built) is the Jobs Act or other federal funds.

 

The Banks will feel less like an island when blocks 3 and 4 open (3-4 years away) and that will almost certainly happen BEFORE the caps are built.