In my opinion its not that bad to walk from 2nd street over FWW and 3rd Street.  I remember the old FWW too.  And "Top 6"

I don't believe a benefit to cost study has been done on the caps, but I'd be surprised if it even would be a 1 to 1 b/c ratio

In my opinion its not that bad to walk from 2nd street over FWW and 3rd Street.  I remember the old FWW too.  And "Top 6"

 

You remember Top 6 seats at Riverfront???  Nice.

 

Let me be clear, I don't think the walk is bad.  But it just feels separated from the rest of downtown to me.  I don't know, it's hard to explain.  I don't think the freeway is the main issue either, and I don't see how a park will help if 2nd and 3rd street are still there.  They are huge roads and not so easy to cross, and then you have to walk up a hill that has either the bottom of office buildings or seemingly empty buildings.  Some bars/businesses between 3rd and 4th street might help.  (Incidentally, something else that would help for visitors, I would think, would be if the signs and maps of the city in between the river and downtown could be updated to reflect post-1995 developments.  This is something that annoys me every day I walk to work.)

 

I don't think the Streetcar is necessarily the answer, but it would certainly help connect everything together. 

 

I do understand that we have to wait a while (i.e., a few years) for the rest of the Banks to develop before it doesn't feel like an island.  I think it will especially feel like and island during the non-baseball months, btw.  That's obviously what you sign up for, though, when you move into a brand new neighborhood, so I'm not complaining about that.  Actually, I'm not complaining about anything, the Banks are great and I am glad to live there, just trying to share my general impressions of the project but sort of struggling to express myself.

Huey's 24-7 in progress:

 

I think that is actually going to be Johnny Rocket's, from what I am hearing.

 

You are correct.

 

Furniture and appliances were delivered yesterday. Floor tile work is done and furniture install today. Some signage is up inside.

Race street pour currently underway:

THIS IS COMPLETE HEARSAY....but I was just on the Newport Ducks tour and the driver said that he knows that Hard Rock Cafe is in negotiations with Carter Dawson.  I'd say that believable...and this driver did seem to know his facts regarding other tenants and opening dates for The Banks so maybe it's true.

THIS IS COMPLETE HEARSAY....but I was just on the Newport Ducks tour and the driver said that he knows that Hard Rock Cafe is in negotiations with Carter Dawson.  I'd say that believable...and this driver did seem to know his facts regarding other tenants and opening dates for The Banks so maybe it's true.

 

The Newport Ducks tour guides also make many, many wacky and inaccurate claims like that President Garfield made his inaugural address at the location of his statue in Piatt Park.

THIS IS COMPLETE HEARSAY....but I was just on the Newport Ducks tour and the driver said that he knows that Hard Rock Cafe is in negotiations with Carter Dawson.  I'd say that believable...and this driver did seem to know his facts regarding other tenants and opening dates for The Banks so maybe it's true.

 

The Newport Ducks tour guides also make many, many wacky and inaccurate claims like that President Garfield made his inaugural address at the location of his statue in Piatt Park.

 

Hahaha....well this time it was "one of his campaign speeches" but I know what you mean.  That's why I prefaced it with "hearsay" in all caps.

Unfortunately, I'd bet my house that it's not gonna happen.  Hard Rock Cafe isn't opening anything in the US, in fact, they've been closing US locations.  Since the 2007 change in ownership, they've switched to an almost entirely international focus. 

 

Hard Rock's planned locations for 2012 openings include:

Dubai

Hanoi

Budapest

Macau

Santiago

Brussels

Malacca

 

Closed US locations in the last 5 years:

Newport Beach CA

Austin TX

Sacramento CA

Salt Lake City

Los Angeles

Birmingham AL

 

 

I don't see Cincinnati on that list anytime soon.  :(

All though Hard rock has never been in this market. I wouldn't want a dying breed coming in now. Same with Espn-Zone and Planet Hollywood. New energy is needed.

My grandma and her old lady friends went on a Duck tour a month ago and came back convinced off all kinds of things.  They drove right past The Banks but were thoroughly confused.  They thought the freedom center was the Reds hall of fame and that "The Banks isn't built yet".  They remembered the Holy Grail and told them that was one of the Banks buildings, but they thought that area was "old".  Keep in mind that these women have lived in Cincinnati since 1925.  They believe what a tour guide says before me, despite my having written a book on local history. 

My grandma and her old lady friends went on a Duck tour a month ago and came back convinced off all kinds of things.  They drove right past The Banks but were thoroughly confused.  They thought the freedom center was the Reds hall of fame and that "The Banks isn't built yet".  They remembered the Holy Grail and told them that was one of the Banks buildings, but they thought that area was "old".  Keep in mind that these women have lived in Cincinnati since 1925.  They believe what a tour guide says before me, despite my having written a book on local history. 

 

LOL! Well, there are also a lot of idiots and ignorant people in this city giving out false information based on what the news says and other ignorant people.  There's so much negativity said about downtown that its almost laughable.  Having actually seen things first hand, I've come to realize a lot.  1) You will only get shot in OTR if you deal drugs or are a black man from a neighboring city coming down there to do or deal drugs.  2) There's only a handful of streets in OTR that are actually dangerous. 3) Naysayers talk crap about Cincy because they themselves have never experienced success so they point fingers and want to deny success of others 4) The Banks is attracting people and has already started to live up to its expectations 5) Suburbanites and downtown occupants both want a great city, we just have to get past the people who bash it whom haven't been downtown in years but think they know it all.

Having actually seen things first hand, I've come to realize a lot.  1) You will only get shot in OTR if you deal drugs or are a black man from a neighboring city coming down there to do or deal drugs.  2) There's only a handful of streets in OTR that are actually dangerous.

 

Quite a falsehood about why black men get shot..

When people get shot in OTR it's NOT because of that? really? anyways...I'm still excited about our downtown.  I apologize because this is definitely not a racial statement even though I made it sound like it.  Bottom line is I just hate it when people bash our downtown as a whole.  Every city has their issues and it seems like those other cities are ignored.

Honestly only .00777 of the population do the bashing. Hardly a good sample.

Having actually seen things first hand, I've come to realize a lot.  1) You will only get shot in OTR if you deal drugs or are a black man from a neighboring city coming down there to do or deal drugs.  2) There's only a handful of streets in OTR that are actually dangerous.

 

Quite a falsehood about why black men get shot..

 

This is not a falsehood at all. Drug crime is by far the biggest factor in black male deaths, even when it is secondary to gang violence, it's driven by drug economics.

 

What else would you propose kills most black men? For that matter, at least drug-related gun crime is something that has a chance of being reasonably solved by policy changes. "Racism" or "our capitalist, dog-eat-dog society" are far less likely to be easily solved and lead to a reduction in crime and crime-related deaths.

Just happen to be lurking and noticed the last few posts....glad to see that it not only Cleveland threads that go off topic at the drop of hat.

All though Hard rock has never been in this market. I wouldn't want a dying breed coming in now. Same with Espn-Zone and Planet Hollywood. New energy is needed.

 

With the evolution of downtown and the Gateway Quarter of OTR, I'm having a hard time figuring out where The Banks is going to fit into the picture retail-wise. The Banks was conceived in an era of silver-bullet waterfront/brownfield transformations in the 90's that has somewhat gone by the wayside now that 15 years has passed and the place still isn't fully realized. Not that it's a bad idea, but now we have a pretty spectacular grassroots transformation of downtown and OTR underway that has the potential to blow away anything that The Banks can provide in terms of cultural depth and historical meaning.

 

I almost wonder if they shouldn't just focus on mainstream residential product and the less glamorous retail that serves it, like an urban format grocery. Not to say things like Ruth's Chris can't exist in that environment, in fact something like that is appropriate. I just don't think Freedom Way is going to turn into the Champs Elysees of Cincinnati, or even Louisville's 4th Street.

 

 

It's an unfortunate statistic.

It doesn't matter what ends up at The Banks initially.  Few restaurants and businesses survive more than 10 years. 

I think the Banks will be the mainstream alternative to OTR's edgy, bohemian bar/restaurant scene. Seeing as it is between the stadiums, it would be natural for a more preppy-jock place for suburbanites to come and hang out. Which is really fine -- if you want everyone to come downtown, you have to cater to everyone. Downtown proper is between the two, and a mix of the two plus the higher-culture, monied scene concentrated in the "backstage district".

 

top6's explanation of life at the Banks makes it sound like a bit of a frat party already. It could be a game-changer in attracting preppy suburbanites to want to live and party downtown. But it might be kind of creepy for those of us who are not into places like the Cadillac Ranch.

 

This makes connecting the Banks to the rest of downtown critical, if we don't want it to be a bubble suburbanites feel uncomfortable leaving without their cars. (Like NPotL but with apartments.)

 

A grocery store should probably have a more central location, like near Fountain Square. I don't think the Banks is going to attract many stores geared toward residents, but I guess we'll see.

And, pretty much any development takes years to fill. Malls were about the only developments that opened reasonably full, but those don't get built any more.

Having actually seen things first hand, I've come to realize a lot.  1) You will only get shot in OTR if you deal drugs or are a black man from a neighboring city coming down there to do or deal drugs.  2) There's only a handful of streets in OTR that are actually dangerous.

 

Quite a falsehood about why black men get shot..

 

This is not a falsehood at all. Drug crime is by far the biggest factor in black male deaths, even when it is secondary to gang violence, it's driven by drug economics.

 

What else would you propose kills most black men? For that matter, at least drug-related gun crime is something that has a chance of being reasonably solved by policy changes. "Racism" or "our capitalist, dog-eat-dog society" are far less likely to be easily solved and lead to a reduction in crime and crime-related deaths.

 

Mexico, Brazil, Thailand, countries with restrictive gun laws and extremely high homicide rates.  The only thing that solves gun violence is a commitment by a state or a number of states to grant the underclass full rights of a citizen.  To be born in a low income area anywhere in the world and be subjected to the weakest formal instruction, particularly as a young child while the brain is developing at its fastest rate, is not a coincidence or happening.  It is the ruling class using the underclass as a spending class, an economic engine.  If a household has no equity, as many poor and first-generation college grads don't, they consequently spend a larger chunk of their monthly income than those with more equity.

 

Back to the Banks: Having five different entertainment districts in the immediate downtown area (NKY, Banks, Casino District, Main St., Fountain Sq), it will be hard for anyone not to find their niche downtown.  Increased options will make the area more consistently vibrant, day to day, hour to hour.  The Banks is such a massive local drama that people will come down just to see what it looks like, and combined with the activity that the park will bring during evenings, I feel the development will compete with all the aforementioned districts.  As jmecklenborg said, tenants come and go, but every development needs a rock, a surefire success in the market and location, the last door to close if the whole outfit fails, and Moerlein House will be that to the Banks.  It's local, it's beer and it's between the stadiums...could really be an exciting place to drink and possibly inspire other investors to copy the format elsewhere around town.

^Aren't the stadia officially part of the Banks?  I think those should stay open at least 30 years.

Not sure if this made the thread yet......

 

Down by the RiversideNew Cincinnati neighborhood addresses old planning woes.

Travis R. Eby

 

A neighborhood is born in Cincinnati. After a decade of debate, financing, design, and construction, phase one of The Banks—arguably one of the country’s most ambitious urban design projects—is nearly complete. When finished, the 18-acre mixed-use development will add nearly three million square feet of building to long vacant land between Cincinnati’s Central Business District and the Ohio River.

 

http://archpaper.com/news/articles.asp?id=5646

Hey everyone ... long time lurker on this site, finally decided to join. I love coming here and finding out all the stuff that's happening (or planned) for Cincinnati.

 

Anyways, I'll try to contribute something on my first post. I was listening to the Bengals call-in show last night from Holy Grail. They had on as a guest Frostee Rucker, one of the Bengals defensive players. And he said that he had purchased a frozen yogurt franchise that will open this spring at The Banks. I haven't seen that anywhere else.

 

Here are a couple of tweets last night from Lance McAlister, who hosts the Bengals show on 700/1530:

 

@LanceMcAlister

Lance McAlister

Frostee purchased orange leaf yogurt franchise. Will open in spring here on banks.

 

@LanceMcAlister

Lance McAlister

Calls it froyo....frozen yogurt...has partial stake in Hyde park location

 

 

Sounds good but I hate to hear when pro athletes are suckered into investing in restaurants.  It seems like these guys never learn from stories of retired players getting swindled.

Got some pictures of the inside of the new Johnny Rockets.

 

 

 

Thanks for the interior pics!

 

 

Johnny Rockets at Banks to open Oct. 27

Business Courier - Date: Wednesday, September 28, 2011, 3:01pm EDT

 

Johnny Rockets at The Banks will open Oct. 27.

 

The 2,950-square-foot restaurant will be located at 191 E. Freedom Way at The Banks riverfront development. The full-service restaurant features an outdoor patio, a walk-up order window and to-go licenses for both food and alcohol, according to a press release.

 

The new location features a unique design and exclusive menu items. The storefront has the Johnny Rockets logo set inside a giant baseball and athletic sports graphics will cover the walls. New menu items include Dusty’s Bacon Burger and the Lotta Domata Hamburger, created in honor of Reds’ manager, Dusty Baker and Bengals’ defensive tackle, Domata Peko.

 

Cont

Well, hopefully it has better food than the ordinary Johnny Rockets, which isn't anything special.

Well, hopefully it has better food than the ordinary Johnny Rockets, which isn't anything special.

 

Seconded.  I want to go for more than just the jukeboxes;)

 

Downtown Residents Council - The Banks Open House Tonight (9/29) 6pm-8pm

 

Currents at the Banks will be having a get together for Downtown Residents Council members and residents at the Banks. They will be providing food and non-alcoholic drinks (bring your own alcohol - BYOB).

Not to foretell doom or anything, but I mostly think of Johnny Rocket's locations in places like Forest Fair and City Center Malls.

Bengals' Rucker bringing Orange Leaf yogurt to The Banks

 

Bengals defensive end Frostee Rucker is whipping up some cool plans for The Banks: An Orange Leaf frozen yogurt franchise.

 

Rucker's agent, Jimmy Gould, confirmed Thursday afternoon that Rucker is working to bring the self-serve frozen yogurt concept to the riverfront development - located between the Bengals and Reds stadiums.

 

The eatery is expected to open in March. It would become the third Orange Leaf location locally. The other two are in Kenwood and Colerain Township

 

Cont

Not to foretell doom or anything, but I mostly think of Johnny Rocket's locations in places like Forest Fair and City Center Malls.

I don;t know about the one in Forest fair mall but the one in Kenwood was paid for after only a month and a half. I have heard.

I'm wondering if the Johnny Rockets on the Banks will canabalize the one on Newport on the Levee, they are pretty darn close to each other.

I guess the question is if Johnny Rockets a destination location, or is it a place people go to when you're at The Banks or at Newport on the Levee and happen to be hungry.

^ Yep, and I think it's the latter.

 

Does the NPotL one have a liquor license? If JR is a destination, that would be a huge boon for the Banks outlet.

I believe I heard this is only the second JR in the country to serve alcohol. The other being in the L.A. area.

Not to foretell doom or anything, but I mostly think of Johnny Rocket's locations in places like Forest Fair and City Center Malls.

I don;t know about the one in Forest fair mall but the one in Kenwood was paid for after only a month and a half. I have heard.

 

Heheh, that's always what people always say with Cincinnati malls. "Screw it, we're going to Kenwood so we can make some actual money."

Did you guys hear Frosty Rucker from the Bengals signed a letter of intent to bring the "Orange Leaf"

self serve yogurt joint to The Banks.  It looks really cool! http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20110929/BIZ01/109300337/

 

^ Is this post a joke? haha someone already posted about the Orange Leaf earlier today. :)

Oops.  Didn't see it.

 

Tin Roof to open at The Banks

Business Courier

Date: Friday, October 7, 2011, 10:23am EDT - Last Modified: Friday, October 7, 2011, 10:26am EDT

 

The Tin Roof at the Banks will be the company's ninth location.

 

The more than 5,000-square-foot bar and restaurant will be located on Freedom Way next to the Police Welcome Center.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2011/10/07/tin-roof-to-open-at-the-banks.html

So how does parking work down there? I still see that "Parking $25" sign at the new garage. I'm confused.

^ $4.50 a day. More expensive on game days.

Tin Roof to open at The Banks

Business Courier

Date: Friday, October 7, 2011, 10:23am EDT - Last Modified: Friday, October 7, 2011, 10:26am EDT

 

The Tin Roof at the Banks will be the company's ninth location.

 

The more than 5,000-square-foot bar and restaurant will be located on Freedom Way next to the Police Welcome Center.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2011/10/07/tin-roof-to-open-at-the-banks.html

 

Hmmm... I thought that's where Ruth's Chris was going.  Not that we really needed another steakhouse downtown, but I'm also pretty sure we don't need 2 country-music themed bars within 100 yards of each other.

 

Maybe I was wrong about the Ruth's Chris location and they still plan on opening one at the Banks.

The Ruth's Chris was rumored for the 9,300-square-foot two story space which is west of the Current @ The Banks apartments entrance and Police Welcome Center. Tin Roof will only occupy 5,000-square-foot so they must be going in on the east side of the Police Welcome Center.

Hmm. Other than Ruth's Chris, and Holy Grail which is already open, I'm not bursting with excitement about any of these announcements...

 

Ps Thanks for the parking info OC

The Ruth's Chris was rumored for the 9,300-square-foot two story space which is west of the Current @ The Banks apartments entrance and Police Welcome Center. Tin Roof will only occupy 5,000-square-foot so they must be going in on the east side of the Police Welcome Center.

 

That makes sense.  That 2-story space is where I heard Ruth's Chris was going; I assumed (apparently incorrectly) that was the space being referred to.

 

I thought with Holy Grail's expansion there would not be enough room for a large bar between the police station and the Grail, but I guess I was wrong. 

 

Really, the Moerlein Brewery is going to be by far the best thing down there (even though it's not part of the Banks proper), and really the only thing with any uniqueness or local flavor.  (Holy Grail is local, but really nothing more than a [barely] adequate sports bar.)  But as others have said in this thread it's really a matter of just getting a critical mass, and getting it off the ground, and then tenants will come and go.