March 23, 200619 yr Good news...with nothing getting done, we'll have plenty of surface parking for all the Covington and Newport projects...
March 27, 200619 yr Actually, this is not bad whatsoever. The details need to be hammered out on a few things and the County and the City need to continue to meet to make this a reality. It may be frustrating but anytime you're talking about something that has billion dollar potential it takes time. Chill.
March 27, 200619 yr Actually, this is not bad whatsoever. The details need to be hammered out on a few things and the County and the City need to continue to meet to make this a reality. It may be frustrating but anytime you're talking about something that has billion dollar potential it takes time. Chill. I'm with you ... Cincinnatians look at this like we are trying to build a new Chuck E. Cheese. I was looking at other similar projects that have a similar price tag and even in today's cost (2005), the Sears Tower doesn't come close.
March 28, 200619 yr Ok college kids, unemployed, and senior citizens you got a job to do. You must attend one of the following: <b>Banks developers-to-be to present plans</b> Cincinnati Business Courier - 4:57 PM EST Monday Four of the development teams vying to take on The Banks project will present their plans to the Hamilton County Commissioners and Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory over the next two weeks. The presentations, which are open to the public, will take place in the third-floor Discovery Center at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in downtown Cincinnati. Teams scheduled to give presentations are: March 28, 10 a.m., Rockefeller Group and Kimco; March 31, 2 p.m., AIG Global Real Estate Investments and Carter Real Estate; April 4 (time to be announced), Partnership for Lasting Urban Growth and River Bank Consortium; April 4 (time to be announced), Cincinnati Banks Development Co. Five development groups submitted their qualifications in early March to build The Banks riverfront residential/retail/office project. http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2006/03/27/daily9.html?jst=b_ln_hl
March 29, 200619 yr Did Anyone go to the first meeting???...just wondering if anyone had any information...i will be attending the meeting on friday...Makes me love not having class on friday...UncleRando and I will give a detailed report after the meeting... :-D
March 29, 200619 yr Did Anyone go to the first meeting???...just wondering if anyone had any information...i will be attending the meeting on friday...Makes me love not having class on friday...UncleRando and I will give a detailed report after the meeting... :-D Yes, please do! And for us visual hungry addicts, will you guys bring your cameras to catch some of the scenes as well as unpublished renderings that we may have not seen yet? You guys would be the #1 Stunnaz if you did that! ;)
March 30, 200619 yr Banks interviews delayed BY KIMBALL PERRY | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER The master developer of The Banks will be named April 7, two days later than originally planned. A problem coordinating the schedules of Hamilton County Commission President Phil Heimlich and Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory resulted in two of the four master developer candidates not being able to be interviewed until Tuesday - the day before the original April 5 deadline Hamilton County set to select the developer... E-mail [email protected] Three await size-up The three other finalists for Banks Master Developer interview within the week: Friday - The team of AIG Real Estate Investments and Carter Real Estate Tuesday - Partnership for Lasting Urban Growth and River Bank Consortium Tuesday - Cincinnati Banks Development Co. www.enquirer.com
April 7, 200619 yr Banks plan at crossroads County close to picking developer - but what now? BY MARLA MATZER ROSE AND KIMBALL PERRY | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITERS With the interview process for would-be developers now concluded, the clock is ticking on Hamilton County's selection of a master builder for the $600 million mixed-use riverfront development known as the Banks. With the decision expected within days, a politically charged moment is at hand for the oft-delayed development that is considered a jewel of the Cincinnati riverfron..t. www.enquirer.com
April 7, 200619 yr have mercy! this is getting so amazingly frustrating. im sure each side has a legitimate gripe but they are coming off like the biggest bunch of babies
April 8, 200619 yr O.K. O.K. Let me make sure I understand this whole thing once and for all. If I am way off, please let me know. From my understanding the county is responsible for the garages and roads ( although I'm sure some of the money for the roads will come ODOT also.) Right? The city has the air rights which means they are somewhat responsible for what is build on top of the garages. Meaning that it seems that it is only right that they should have a chance to participate in the selection process. Right? The COUNTY wants to use the CITY'S money to help build the garages and roads. Money I would think the county should come up with since they are the one's responsible for that part of the project. The CITY doesn't like the idea that the COUNTY wants to use the CITY's money like that, because they hold the air-rights and they say their money should be used for the stuff above the garages. If this observation is correct I can't argue with the CITY's stance that much. It sound's like the COUNTY went about this without really thinking things through. To me, it seems like this situation can be easily resolved if all the ego's were put away for a day. Maybe the OLD City council didn't want to get things done, but the NEW City council does. The COUNTY broke off ties to the OLD City council right? Give the new guys a chance. To the COUNTY: The CITY own's the air-rights, therefore allow them to have a say in the selection. And stop trying to spend the CITY's money on the part of the project that you are financially responsible for. There you go, all fixed now. :clap: Wish it was that easy. :oops:
April 8, 200619 yr ^You're pretty close Cincykidbc1 but substitute "PHIL HEIMLICH" for "COUNTY". The sad thing is that the old city council left such a bad taste in people's mouths that most probably don't realize the new city council is worth a damn.
April 10, 200619 yr Form a 50-50 Banks partnership Editorials Cincinnati Enquirer Hamilton County officials are close to picking a master developer for the $600 million Banks riverfront development - again, without the city. The last deal collapsed when the county balked at Corporex's request for more public dollars. This time, Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory has been included in the county's public interviews of four development teams, but City Manager David Rager has warned county commissioners that a new city ordinance blocks him from signing off on a master developer or development deal negotiated solely by the county. Mallory has been working to avert the political "train wreck" likely to occur if the county hands council a take-it-or-leave-it done-deal... www.enquirer.com
April 20, 200619 yr Ex-mayors seek Banks suit Deal with city being violated, they charge BY MARLA MATZER ROSE AND KIMBALL PERRY | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITERS The fight over the Banks development could be moving from a political debate to a courtroom fight, after two former Cincinnati mayors asked the Hamilton County prosecutor to step into the struggle over the $600 million project. Former Mayors Bobbie Sterne and David Mann retained lawyer Marc Mezibov two days before county commissioners may pick a developer for the Banks... http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060420/NEWS01/604200392
April 20, 200619 yr Commissioner Phil Heimlich is setting Cincinnati up to fail. He needs to wake up and check his ego at the door for the sake of the city & county - shesh...
April 20, 200619 yr i want to go crazy. oh shit...too late. aaaahhhhhhh :shoot: :evil: :shoot: :whip: :shoot: :wave: :shoot: :drunk: :shoot: :weird:
April 20, 200619 yr Okay, somebody tell me one more time.....this project is going to be built by when? I mean, that's if it gets built at all. :roll: This is the typical dickering around that you see happen in Cincinnati, and which always ends up in something much less than what was originally envisioned. (Remember FSW?) I predict by the year 2015, we will only see a couple of 2-story red-brick buildings that house a few shops and maybe a restaurant. The rest will be surface parking and....um, what's that green stuff? Oh yeah, GRASS!
April 20, 200619 yr I believe that this project WILL happen no matter what. This will happen in either a collaborative way or a secular way...either way it WILL happen. As for your predictions of a couple two-story brick bldgs., I believe that you will be way off. From what I heard at a meeting with developers (down at the Freedom Center) it sounds as if they want to build more intensively than what was originally envisioned (8 story bldgs.) I would venture to say that you will see some bldgs. up an running by 2008. As for the completion of the entire project I would say 2010...2012 (not 2015).
April 20, 200619 yr i love your optimism. i just hope its not a blind faith cuz ur optimism allows me to sleep at night.
April 20, 200619 yr How many signature's on a petition do you think it would take to have a vote on removing Phil Heimlich from his position?
April 20, 200619 yr UncleRando has always been a pure optimist about almost everything that has to do with Cincinnati. He is definitely a cure to all the cynics in this town.
April 21, 200619 yr Brent Spence Completion 2018 Banks Completion 2020 or later How many think I am way off? And I really want to see this happen before I die.
April 21, 200619 yr How many signature's on a petition do you think it would take to have a vote on removing Phil Heimlich from his position? good question...i'm on board!
April 21, 200619 yr Banks developer on horizon By Joe Wessels Post contributor Hamilton County commissioners have taken another step toward selecting a developer for The Banks -- the 15-acre project along Cincinnati's riverfront deemed critical to the city's rebirth. Hamilton County sought and received answers from development groups to six additional questions to help them decide which developer to choose... http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060421/NEWS01/604210376/1010/RSS01
April 22, 200619 yr ODOT nixes Banks loan, for now Cincinnati Business Courier - 8:45 AM EDT Thursday There's a new sticky wicket in Hamilton County's financial plan for The Banks project. The Ohio Department of Transportation has declined to extend a low-interest loan for the riverfront project, saying it wants more details on other elements of the county's financial plan first. .. http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2006/04/17/daily38.html
April 22, 200619 yr yeah...that sounds like one heck of a...positive??? its great to see the state is going to hold them accountable to include the city...who would have thought?
April 22, 200619 yr This whole thing gets more frustrating year after year and is exhibit A for the need of a uni-gov approach. There are now obvious financial challenges, and I still think if the city and county had worked together from the start this could have been started back in 1999 as originally planned. I am amazed that people in charge have let politics hinder this for so long, and with all the nitpicking over the years I see no end in sight. Hamilton County will pick a developer and the city will withhold approval as they own air-rights. We, the taxpayers, approved building the stadiums and even those got delayed as the city and county fought over land control and exchanges. I laugh whenever they say they want to get this done but nothing in their current or past handling of this supports that. Sorry for the negativity, but it is sad when the promo video and material begin to look dated before the project is even started.
April 22, 200619 yr Does anyone get the feeling the state has just, in a way, chosen sides. Sort of saying "you think you can go it alone? Well, proove it!" The state seems to realize that the CITY and COUNTY need to work together on this. I've read several articles, quoting experts in business and development, stating that the COUNTY was making a mistake trying to go it alone. They've also said that PHIL HEIMLICH obviously does not have enough experience in this kind of development to make the kind of decision he made when he decided that the COUNTY should go it alone. How can you go it alone when you are only ONE of the entities that owns rights to the project? This is most likely going to put pressure on the COUNTY to change their stance and hopefully see the light. Keep your fingers crossed. Maybe it's also time for Dr. Henry Heimlich to give one of his maneuver's to PHIL to dislodge the ego that has been stuck in his throat.
April 22, 200619 yr I can't figure out what the City or the County wants at the Banks. I don't understand the need for a master developer, particularly if said developer isn't going to use their own money for the project and simply rely on TIF financing. I feel that the project should progress in this order: 1) Finish the parking garages and gain a revenue stream from them; 2) Build some sort of Streetcar connecting the Riverfront to Pill Hill, going through Downtown and OTR; 3) Begin topside development, beginning with the block between the Reds stadium and the Museum, then the block to the west of the museum, and finally the block west of that next to the Bengals stadium. These projects can be undertaken by the same or seperate entities, whatever arrangement garners the development the most state and federal funds. The problem with the Banks project is that it never really made it past the point of an artist's rendering that existed to sell the stadia development. Let's admit this crucial point, stop trying to complete a project that was never seriously thought about in the first place, and instead begin anew, realizing what an opportunity we have here now.
April 22, 200619 yr ^ ^ Agreed, I have never read an explanation for why the whole project needs a master developer, why separate developers can't be hired for each of the blocks. I suppose it might have something to do with the various grants they have been awarded, but at the same time, this entire situation was caused by the economic downturn around 2000-2001, which put sales tax receipts way behind what was expected. From what I remember, the bond issue depended on an annual improvement in reciepts of 3%, but it nearly flatlined briefly during that time. I have not read any news about improving sales tax receipts, if there is a sudden surge of 4 or 5% in one year, then things could get rolling really quick.
April 24, 200619 yr From the 4/24/06 Cincinnati Business Courier: City Council asks for mediator on Banks Cincinnati Business Courier - 4:59 PM EDT Monday Mayor Mark Mallory and eight members of Cincinnati City Council on Monday asked the Hamilton County Commissioners to agree to a mediator with regard to The Banks project. The group, in a press conference, asked that any further action on The Banks be delayed until mediation takes place. The commissioners have been interviewing potential master developers for the project, and expect to make a choice this week... http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2006/04/24/daily10.html
April 25, 200619 yr I thought Cincy would be done with mediators after the one brought in after the riots royally ripped the city off. One a side note, is it possible to add "Cincy" to the spell check dictionary, or is that part of the software that can't be altered (easily).
April 25, 200619 yr Banks mediation needed County cool to city proposal for involving itself in project BY MARLA MATZER ROSE AND KIMBALL PERRY | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITERS After months of behind-the-scenes efforts to broker a resolution on who will oversee the Banks project, Mayor Mark Mallory and business leaders associated with the private Cincinnati Center City Development Corp. stood together Monday to call on Hamilton County to agree to third-party mediation... http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060425/NEWS01/604250334/1056
April 25, 200619 yr Lets just lay out the people on the different sides of the argument here: City of Cincinnati (Mayor, City Council), Cincinnati Port Authority, 3CDC (almost every corporate big-wig in Cincinnati USA) v. Hamilton County I just dont understand why the county still feels the need to do this alone. Look at the great success 3CDC has had with Fountain Square! Why not allow these global business leaders to take a look at the deal and help with the process? This would make far to much business/common sense for the county!
April 25, 200619 yr I just dont understand why the county still feels the need to do this alone. Look at the great success 3CDC has had with Fountain Square! Why not allow these global business leaders to take a look at the deal and help with the process? This would make far to much business/common sense for the county! I ditto that, probably just an ego thing. Plus, no one ever said Portune and Heimlich were the two smartest guys in the world.
April 26, 200619 yr It's interesting how the Banks went from being on no one's mind to being the hot political development story. This project had been on the drawing board since the stadiums were mere glimmers in the owner's eyes. I think Heimlich and DeWine thought they pulled the coup de grace of public/private partnerships with the Corporex/Vandercar deal, but when that fell through everyone else who was supposed to be involved actually got involved. It's odd how the Port Authority was created to organize the construction of the Banks and some how got shoved down to third or fourth most important agency with regard to the project. Heimlich & DeWine are running scared in my opinion, and somehow figure that there's no reason to capitulate. There's a pretty good chance that Phil won't be on the Commission in November, and I think that's what's primarily influencing his decisions, though I can't see how he thinks his current actions are helping that situation for him. He is almost universally blamed for the impasse- even The Enquirer has gotten on the anti-Heimlich bandwagon.
April 26, 200619 yr Assuming anyone actually keeps up with this stuff besides us, I would think that the city is coming out ahead with respect to public opinion. The mayor seems to want to play nice, but the county doesn't want to play.
April 26, 200619 yr My mom went to a meeting at the convention center yesterday. Evidently both sides spoke about the banks. She said Mayor Mark Mallory took some good shots at the county. All and all though, she left feeling confident about the the likelyhood of the banks being finished in the near future, which is a good sign I guess.
April 26, 200619 yr Lawsuit asks halt to Banks Ex-mayors sue county to stop developer pick BY KIMBALL PERRY | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER Two former Cincinnati mayors sued the Hamilton County Commissioners Tuesday, asking a judge to bar the county from selecting a developer for the Banks project. "This suit states that the politics must end," said lawyer Marc Mezibov, who filed on behalf of David Mann and Bobbie Sterne. Mann, a Democrat, served on City Council for about 18 years; Sterne, a Charterite, served almost 25 years. Both left City Hall in the 1990s... http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060426/NEWS01/604260341/1056/rss02
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