Ruth's Chris Steakhouse sets opening date for October 15.

Here is the other angle, full sized: http://www.annaleegordon.com/EMS/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/2012_07_02-The-Banks-View-1-email.jpg

 

 

 

 

Is that facade we're seeing the north or south?

Why can't they just...make it look nice?

Is that facade we're seeing the north or south?

 

It's such an early, crude rendering that I doubt even the intern that put it together knows that. 

The glass curtain is planned to face 2nd St (north). The south wall facing the river is not planned to have any special treatment.  That seems backwards to me considering most images of the city are from the south side.  This info is from the engineering firm. 

^ ya!!!! That's crazy- If ANYTHING it would make sense to have the glass wall facing the river- that's where the views are and that's what people would see from afar.  What is wrong with people! haha

 

^ ya!!!! That's crazy- If ANYTHING it would make sense to have the glass wall facing the river- that's where the views are and that's what people would see from afar.  What is wrong with people! haha

 

 

Lets wait till there is an image, who knows we might like it. Probably not but...

^ ya!!!! That's crazy- If ANYTHING it would make sense to have the glass wall facing the river- that's where the views are and that's what people would see from afar.  What is wrong with people! haha

 

It's possible that the developer knows more than we do about the likelihood of Fort Washington Way being capped, and what might go on those caps.  I don't want to speculate on that too much in this thread, though.

Won't the design be subject to the Planning Commission's approval? Or is there some special arrangement for the Banks? The view from the river is really important and I hope others agree.

The southern elevation is also from where the building would be getting the most solar gain, so that's likely a factor as well.

The south elevation is exactly where windows SHOULD be.  There should be some overhangs at each floor to minimize solar gain yes, but in the summer the sun angle is so high, plus the sun rises and sets way to the north, that the sun simply doesn't penetrate into the building much even when there's no shading.  In the winter the angle is lower and sunrise and sunset are to the south as well, so you get the sun in more when you need it. 

 

East and west are terrible for curtain walls because you can't block the sun at all from above as it comes straight in at a low angle, nor can you block it from the sides because of how much its position varies over the year.  The hot morning and evening sun blasts in during the summer, but it's too weak to be of any use in the winter. 

 

The only real advantage to having many windows on the north side is that you get consistent diffused light for most of the day throughout most of the year.  That's good for artist lofts and factories and general daylighting.  The downside however is that you never get any solar gain in the winter while getting some in the early morning and late evening in the height of summer.  In hot climates that's ok, but the northern exposure bleeds a ton of heat out of the building all day throughout the winter months. 

I've talked to friends from the city. There is no funding for Caps. Mayor will try to get $$ from Feds next year if Obama wins, still a huge "what if".

I've talked to friends from the city. There is no funding for Caps. Mayor will try to get $$ from Feds next year if Obama wins, still a huge "what if".

 

They proposed to use money from the casino.

two years ago, yes.  I feel that casino money would only going to be used as a match if Federal funds are received as CincyGuy was alluding to.  Something tells me this is still a long time off.

I don't think any of us outside the know really have any idea what form this is going to take.  So without knowing what the current plan is for it, we can't really speculate as to whether building just one block of whatever that plan is makes any sense.  Ideally it would all be built at once and that would be coordinated with streetscape updates for 2nd/3rd.  But if just one block or part of a block is capped it might conflict stylistically with what is there now. 

 

 

I was a bit surprised by this.  Anyone know the back story....Not sure if this is good or bad.  They could be getting out all together or selling to secure financing for phase 2.  Interesting!

 

Banks owners place apartments, retail up for sale

Business Courier by Jon Newberry, Staff Reporter

Date: Friday, September 28, 2012, 6:00am EDT

Mark Bowen | Courier

 

The Current at the Banks apartments.

 

Jon Newberry

    Staff Reporter- Business Courier

 

 

The owners of the Banks development on Cincinnati’s central riverfront have put the project’s high-profile apartments and retail space up for sale....

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/print-edition/2012/09/28/banks-owners-place-apartments-retail.html

INteresting... I would think that rents from phase 1 could be used for financing of the next phase. Of course, I don't know the specifics of the financing. For all I know, rents could be barely enough to cover the loan payments.

Not a big deal at all.  Carter/Dawson may be a developer that just does not hold its projects, there are a lot of developers that build, fill up the project, and flip it ASAP to pull the money out to do new projects, others build and hold.

Not a big deal at all.  Carter/Dawson may be a developer that just does not hold its projects, there are a lot of developers that build, fill up the project, and flip it ASAP to pull the money out to do new projects, others build and hold.

 

Thanks.  I think its a good sign

will be interesting to see what it sells for.

will be interesting to see what it sells for.

 

I wonder if they can...or will sell the development rights for the remaining phases.

^They're probably still interested in developing the rest themselves.  They just don't want to sit on real estate that they no longer have a plan for.  They'll pour that money into another project (perhaps Banks Phase II, but probably whatever they're working on next).

Banks partnership seeks bids for $5.4M contract

Business Courier

Date: Monday, October 1, 2012, 11:47am EDT

 

The Banks Public Partnership is inviting contractors to submit bids for a $5.4 million contract to make pedestrian enhancements at the riverfront development.

 

Contractors submitting bids must be prequalified by the Ohio Department of Transportation. The project has a goal of 6 percent disadvantaged business enterprise participation.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2012/10/01/banks-partnership-seeks-bids-for-54m.html

 

" to make pedestrian enhancements"

 

Like planting some trees instead of using bike racks?

Looking forward to the bridge being replaced.

Intermodal transportation staging area? What, I don't even.

Intermodal transportation staging area? What, I don't even.

 

I.e. where people move from being passengers to pedestrians, or where people move from one form of transportation to another?

I understand the words, but why don't they say what they are actually putting in?

 

"where people move from being passengers to pedestrians"

Sounds like a bus stop.

 

"where people move from one form of transportation to another?"

Which forms would those be?

 

Just seems to me if it is known they are putting in "an intermodal staging area", then the planners/developers know at the very least which modes it is for. Someone is being intentionally vague with the language.

Bus stop is not a "cool" word. Unless it's a "Bust Stop" joke picture with topless women hanging out at one in the Bits & Pieces section of a late '70s Hustler magazine.

I went past Johnny Rocket's last night at 8pm and it was closed.  Not a good sign if they're not staying open even until 9am on weeknights.

9pm

Well it is.. Johnny Rockets. Not exactly a destination restaurant. I'd personally like to see a Cincinnati chili parlor there instead. The developers at the Banks need to get moving. Where's the hotel? Where's the office tower? Where's the rest of the first phase? Once The Banks is built out I'm sure it will be able to support a good number of restaurants. As it currently is, I doubt it will be able to support all the restaurants that are opening--especially now that baseball season is coming to a close.

the service at that johnny rockets is horrible. they scared away any repeat customers that ever went in there. mahogany could also use some help in the service department, it's is pretty bad too.

Well it is.. Johnny Rockets. Not exactly a destination restaurant. I'd personally like to see a Cincinnati chili parlor there instead. The developers at the Banks need to get moving. Where's the hotel? Where's the office tower? Where's the rest of the first phase? Once The Banks is built out I'm sure it will be able to support a good number of restaurants. As it currently is, I doubt it will be able to support all the restaurants that are opening--especially now that baseball season is coming to a close.

 

Good questions. Where are the hotel and office tower? In March it'll be two years since Holy Grail opened and there's still no plans in place for either of those two supposed Banks anchors. There will be nothing more disappointing than seeing that walled-off hotel pad there five years from now.

 

All these new restaurants - Tin Roof, Crave, Moerlein, Mahogany's, Ruth's Chris, Yard House, Wine Loft, etc. - are going to need a more steady customer flow than the current Reds/Bengals-fueled busy times provide.

When I follow projects like The Banks I remind myself that our national economy is not exactly robust. It's a great time to build if you've got the money, but nationally our long-term growth prospects are still iffy and we have a lot of debt. Urban core growth might be very real, but so are these macro problems.

When I follow projects like The Banks I remind myself that our national economy is not exactly robust. It's a great time to build if you've got the money, but nationally our long-term growth prospects are still iffy and we have a lot of debt. Urban core growth might be very real, but so are these macro problems.

 

I think it is remarkable what Cincy hasaccomplished since '08 despite of the status of the nation's credit markets and overall economy. It's a shame the prior 8-10 years were not as positive from a development standpoint; obviously the riots had a lot to do with that.  It seems urban development in most of America really boomed in those years spurred by emuch looser credit and Cincy wasn't able to capitalize at all really.

Banks next phase set for winter start

Design inspired by curves, colors of waterfront

Business Courier by Randy Simes, Owner and managing editor of UrbanCincy.com

Date: Friday, October 5, 2012, 6:00am EDT - Last Modified: Thursday, October 4, 2012, 4:19pm EDT

 

Developers at the Banks hope to break ground in early 2013 on the next major phase of construction work at the $600 million development.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/print-edition/2012/10/05/banks-next-phase-set-for-winter-start.html

Click through and see that the renderings are completely different than what has been speculated about here for the past month.

They are not in anyway "completely different". They are the same design, but these are more final and from after their meeting with the urban design review board. Essentially though it's a similar concept. I like this one better though.

The new renderings have nice vertical white features that make it look less hodge-podged than the older tri-matierial renderings we saw. The lack of ugly orangish brick is also a welcome change.

I like that better. The banks is looking good

Yet again, Cincinnati Bengals hold important card for Banks

Business Courier by Jon Newberry, Staff Reporter

Date: Friday, October 5, 2012, 6:00am EDT

 

Plans for the second phase of the Banks might still need an OK from one man whose interests aren’t necessarily the same as the Carter-Dawson development team’s – Cincinnati Bengals owner Mike Brown.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/print-edition/2012/10/05/yet-again-cincinnati-bengals-hold.html

Do the right thing, Mr. Brown.

 

So is this the only block that will be developed in this phase?  Or will they also begin work on the blocks immediately to both the south and the west?

WAYYY better renderings.  I wish it were built where the current Banks development is located but whatever.

Can't read the full article -- what all will be in this portion?

Your putting your trust in that a-hole and extortion artist?  The only reason that man wasn't railroaded out of town is because people are overly nice on sports officials.

 

And I hate to come across so sensationalist, but there are few people that anger me more than Mike Brown and what he did to damage Cincinnati.

This does at first glance look to be a lot better than the first phase of the Banks. I do not have a Business Courier subscription, but does the article say when they expect residents to move in?

 

I recently drove off I-71 onto 3rd street, and noticed that the strip of GABP-Banks-NURFC-Future Banks-PBS looks/will look fantastic. By the time the next phase is done it will actually look like everything connects.

This does at first glance look to be a lot better than the first phase of the Banks. I do not have a Business Courier subscription, but does the article say when they expect residents to move in?

 

I recently drove off I-71 onto 3rd street, and noticed that the strip of GABP-Banks-NURFC-Future Banks-PBS looks/will look fantastic. By the time the next phase is done it will actually look like everything connects.

 

Throw in the FWW caps, the renovated historic buildings on the NE corner of Third and Main and maybe another development or two along Third Street on what is currently surface lots or squat parking garages and look out!

Some shots from the Yard House construction site: