April 15, 201510 yr Not sure if it's been mentioned here yet, but Johnny Rockets officially closed. Not surprising. They barely looked open after they went independent.
April 16, 201510 yr Johnny Rockets was terrible. Bad service, overpriced burgers and shakes. I'm looking forward to something else taking the spot.
April 16, 201510 yr Can't believe they survived the winter. Not surprised they waited until after opening week to close. "It's just fate, as usual, keeping its bargain and screwing us in the fine print..." - John Crichton
April 22, 201510 yr I was down at The Banks the other night. One thing that really struck me is how massive these buildings feel. They feel significantly larger than the phase 1 buildings and the apartment building still has another floor to go and the GE building has two to go.
April 23, 201510 yr Is there going to a retail component to the banks? Really hoped to see a mall lite situation
April 23, 201510 yr They've always stated they are hoping for retail. Unfortunately it's unlikely that'll happen much until it's further built out. There just isn't the critical mass yet to support stores. I'd imagine that when we look back in 20 years 3/4 of the businesses that open first will have closed and some will have been replaced with retail. For that reason I wouldn't get overly attached to anything that exists in The Banks now.
April 27, 201510 yr AC Hotels May Open Second Regional Location at The Banks By Randy A. Simes ― April 1, 2015 The Banks development team is close to finally securing a hotel at the multi-billion dollar development, according to multiple sources close to the project. After years of failed starts and negotiations, UrbanCincy has learned that AC Hotels by Marriott is the hotel now being eyed for the prominent central riverfront location. The news is yet to be officially announced or confirmed by The Banks development team, but UrbanCincy has confirmed the information over the last week with individuals who have requested to remain anonymous due to the ongoing negotiations taking place. http://www.urbancincy.com/ From this Cincinnati: State of Downtown post: "Now, two of Winegardner & Hammons' seven hotel projects under development are in Downtown Cincinnati – an Autograph Collection planned at the former Anna Louise Inn near Lytle Park and an AC Hotel at The Banks. A formal announcement of The Banks hotel is pending a final agreement with Hamilton County, which Conway said is in the final stages of negotiations." "It's just fate, as usual, keeping its bargain and screwing us in the fine print..." - John Crichton
May 4, 201510 yr County administrator removed from economic development duties Chris Wetterich - Staff reporter and columnist - Cincinnati Business Courier Hamilton County commissioners removed County Administrator Christian Sigman from his duties overseeing economic development days after Sigman wrote City Manager Harry Black a letter questioning whether to change developers at the Banks. Sigman will be replaced by Assistant County Administrator Jeff Aluotto. Commissioners met in executive session this morning to evaluate Sigman. Cont "It's just fate, as usual, keeping its bargain and screwing us in the fine print..." - John Crichton
May 6, 201510 yr More shenanigans... Enquirer's Jason Williams fails to mention the "reporter" (him?) that was booted. Banks committee boots reporter from meeting The public-appointed group that drives major decisions on The Banks riverfront development project closed its meeting to a reporter Tuesday afternoon. "It's supposed to be open," Hamilton County Commissioner Greg Hartmann said of the session. But that wasn't the case at Great American Ball Park, where the county-appointed attorney on the project told an Enquirer reporter to leave before a meeting of the high-powered Joint Banks Steering Committee. Tom Gabelman later told The Enquirer that the meeting was strictly to receive updated information on the progress of several parts of the project. No votes were taken, he said. Cont "It's just fate, as usual, keeping its bargain and screwing us in the fine print..." - John Crichton
May 6, 201510 yr With every article about The Banks recently there seems to be this undertone of "its barely holding on" .... and the article usually fails to mention the new restaurants opening up that have replaced the ones that didn't make it out of the first wave. Things can only be looking up at The Banks with major sections of the park about to open along with GE and 300 more residential units.
May 6, 201510 yr Have you noticed lately it's making stories so it can write stories about...itself? It's like the Kim Kardashian of print media.
May 6, 201510 yr Have you noticed lately it's making stories so it can write stories about...itself? It's like the Kim Kardashian of print media. They've managed to insert their own reporters into at least three stories the past two weeks. I remember when journalists reported the news rather than make the news.
May 6, 201510 yr The Enquirer is so meta... “All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.” -Friedrich Nietzsche
May 8, 201510 yr http://www.cincinnati.com/story/money/2015/05/08/banks-downtown-news/26981117/ -Hotel Announcement for The Banks will come within next week -Negotiations are taking place with a Grocery Store to land at the Banks. -A retail tenant has also been identified for an undeveloped outlot at The Banks -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/your-watchdog/2015/05/08/next-uss-cincinnati-memorial/26980551/ -USS Cincinnati Memorial Display is still coming, but has been delayed because of the developments at The Banks, still trying to find perfect and right location on the riverfront
May 8, 201510 yr I'm very glad they have a tenant for the other out lot in front of the Freedom Center. The construction fencing and equipment there looks really bad, so it will great to have the restaurant built out and the lawn cleaned up a bit. I also think a grocery store makes a ton of sense at The Banks because of the parking garage underneath and the proximity to the streetcar. It will be convenient both for big grocery trips by car and smaller trips by foot, perhaps with the aid of a pedestrian cart. This would give grocery options at both of the poles of the streetcar, making it fairly easy for anyone in the core to access groceries.
May 11, 201510 yr http://www.wlwt.com/news/sources-marriott-to-build-ac-hotel-at-banks/32928336 With the proximity of this announcement to the suspension of the outspoken county administrator, I don't think it comes as any surprise why he was punished and silenced so swiftly.
May 11, 201510 yr I don't think anyone is surprised by this, it appears that when it got built, everyone knew it would be an AC hotel.
May 11, 201510 yr From the Business Courier: Banks signs hotel tenant "It's just fate, as usual, keeping its bargain and screwing us in the fine print..." - John Crichton
May 11, 201510 yr ^ hotel room expansion maybe, I really don't see much on the one story strip though. Probably will be used for meeting room/conference room space.
May 11, 201510 yr Fabulous news! On that one story short strip, I would think they would want to add more room for conferences, etc. However, that will be facing the back of Moerlein and the short grassy area to the west of Moerlein, so it would be hard to notice it much anyways. BTW, my girlfriend and I were walking around down here for the first time in a while, specifically in Smale Riverfront. It is a very beautiful park and a great asset to the city. There were lots and lots of people out and people coming in and bringing their kids to the splash grounds and the play grounds. We walked over to Yeatman's Cove area and this was much more noticeably quiet. Beautiful area, but they just don't have much housing around it. If they can fill those empty lots east of I-71 / I-471 interchange, the park would get much better use in that area. I think UrbanCincy.com did a story on this not too long ago. The assets are there, they just need to add the housing...
May 11, 201510 yr The Business Courier article said that the AC Hotel will have a "Spanish style" facade. I'm not sure exactly what that means, but here's a rendering from the presentation (as posted on Twitter by Bill Rinehart: ):
May 11, 201510 yr A pair of condo towers with restaurants were planned for the former Montgomery Inn banquet center property next to the L&N Bridge before the crash. The banquet center was torn down in 2008 or 2009 in preparation for the towers but they never broke ground. It's pretty clear that a restaurant or several restaurants overlooking Sawyer Point will be necessary to bring any crowds there.
May 11, 201510 yr So could something bigger be built on the short section eventually? They always planned on putting something shorter there so it wouldn't block the views of the people in The Banks apartments. Originally this was going to be townhomes, but that got scrapped in favor of making it part of the hotel. Now we can all start speculating about when something will be built on the office tower pad at The Banks. I predict they will build a spec Class A office tower without a specific tenant in mind -- otherwise, they will lose the development rights. And, due to the recent incident, they know there is at least some possibility that they could be replaced by another developer.
May 11, 201510 yr Great news. I can still remember all of the haters saying The Banks would fail back in 2008. Yep. What a failure...*snickers
May 11, 201510 yr More big news for The Banks today. There is just so much momentum rolling in this city right now... It's awesome to witness! http://www.cincinnati.com/story/money/2015/05/11/banks-next-phase/27124613/ The Banks ready to start next phase, say officials Bowdeya Tweh, [email protected] 3:32 p.m. EDT May 11, 2015 "Plans to start development of the next phase of The Banks could get approval within the next 30 days, project officials said Monday on the same day that the project's long-awaited hotel was unveiled. A grocery could be part of the third phase, the officials hinted."
May 11, 201510 yr Not till spring 2017...does it really take that long to build a 7 story hotel? And a grocery store sounds real nice. It's crazy to think that Cincinnati might actually become a real city where people actually work and live, and not something that just people from Mason visit to see a Bengals game or a Reds game
May 11, 201510 yr Become? We're already there. We just need to keep going to become a place where you don't ever have to leave the core if you don't want to. At this point in time that's difficult for a lot of people's lives. Phase 3 would be fantastic to happen right away instead of having to wait 4 years like between phase I and II.
May 11, 201510 yr Major props go to Randy Simes for scooping all local media in Cincinnati on this announcement. Great work Urban Cincy!
May 11, 201510 yr Great news. Will they be connecting Race Street to Mehring Way then for the next development? I was in St. Louis recently and St. Louis has a massive entertainment block called Ballpark Village which is pretty cool, basically an enclosed mall of bars. But I think Cincinnati beats it, especially being on the Riverfront and it is continuing to add to it. Once it is all built out, the Banks will truly be a great neighborhood. And I think this will move faster then the space between phases I and II.
May 11, 201510 yr No, Race Street will end in a cul-de-sac in the park. It appears from most master plans that there will be a pedestrian path connecting the cul-de-sac to Vine.
May 11, 201510 yr Tom Gabelman said The Banks' momentum in landing GE, more residents and a hotel makes the grocery store more likely. He said the site now occupied by Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill was initially envisioned as a spot for a 17,000-square-foot grocery store but it didn't happen. He said one possible location for a store could be Second Street near Paul Brown Stadium. Perfect location with a streetcar stop out in front. Instead we have an area that on most mornings you'll find trash, cigarette butts, and dried vomit. "It's just fate, as usual, keeping its bargain and screwing us in the fine print..." - John Crichton
May 11, 201510 yr No kidding. Anyway we could trade out To Kill Tea Bag for the grocery at this point. I can dream.
May 12, 201510 yr So could something bigger be built on the short section eventually? They always planned on putting something shorter there so it wouldn't block the views of the people in The Banks apartments. Originally this was going to be townhomes, but that got scrapped in favor of making it part of the hotel. Now we can all start speculating about when something will be built on the office tower pad at The Banks. I predict they will build a spec Class A office tower without a specific tenant in mind -- otherwise, they will lose the development rights. And, due to the recent incident, they know there is at least some possibility that they could be replaced by another developer. With P&G shedding off brands, I'd like to see them spin a brand or group of brands off into a stand alone company based in Cincinnati instead of simply selling them off to out of town interests. I want to see Cincinnati keep the jobs and also the local business, design work, etc supported by these brands. I think the office pad at the Banks would be the perfect location for something like that- a hip urban location with lots of amenities close to the old mothership. There is precedent for what I'm talking about- Sunny Delight and was spun off of P&G into a stand alone company for example. Sometimes a spin off can become a big deal in its own right- like Family Matters coming out of Perfect Strangers! www.cincinnatiideas.com
May 12, 201510 yr I have a feeling Travis is right and that we'll be seeing a building built on spec in order for the developer to not lose the right to develop the site. Which could be okay. The rendering of the generic building they have on the leasing website looks decent enough and varied enough from the rest of the Phase I architecture that it would be a nice addition. Does anyone know if Class A office space is easier to rent out at this point when built on spec or purpose built? Do companies looking for this type of space like to have a little more control (like GE for example) or do companies generally not care about that and being able to see the building in real life could be an advantage?
May 12, 201510 yr I have a feeling Travis is right and that we'll be seeing a building built on spec in order for the developer to not lose the right to develop the site. Which could be okay. Although the developer may want to do this, I don't know if we are back to a place where banks will lend to build on spec without any portion leased. I have a feeling the developer may just appeal for more time.
May 12, 201510 yr I don't think they're able to. I think there was a limit to how many times they could extend the time and they've come to the end of that time. Now, depending on how those in power feel this could potentially just be changed. But from recent talks it seems like the county isn't necessarily worried about the idea of different developers taking over aspects of The Banks. Which could also be good architecturally speaking. Different developers, different architects, etc. could lead to a bit of a better variety in the built environment which goes a long way towards making a neighborhood more comfortable.
May 12, 201510 yr If the rights expire, I think the remaining Phase 1 space should be built as an apartment or condo tower. The demand exists to fill that today. We should not think of The Banks as an inflexible master-planned community. We should be able to adapt to changing demands as the build-out continues.
May 12, 201510 yr Weren't there agreements though as to the makeup of each portion? Though I agree there's demand for more residential it would be nice to have a mix on that block. Having some more office workers during the day can help offset the slow periods that occur in heavily residential neighborhoods.
May 12, 201510 yr If the rights expire, I think the remaining Phase 1 space should be built as an apartment or condo tower. The demand exists to fill that today. We should not think of The Banks as an inflexible master-planned community. We should be able to adapt to changing demands as the build-out continues. You're right obviously about flexibility, but I think in the long run office flanking the Freedom Center is better for the mix. The mid-day high intensity traffic in the middle of the area strikes me as better for the retail offerings than, say, having it over by Paul Brown, which is rapidly becoming the only parcels left to develop. Or how about mixed office and residential?
May 12, 201510 yr So last week I gave a carload of four very friendly 50 year-old women from South Carolina an Uber ride from the Taft Ale House to their hotel in Covington. They asked what "that" is -- I told them it's the Underground Railroad Museum. They went blank, not knowing what the Underground Railroad was. I followed up with "well you know the famous scene from Uncle Tom's Cabin where she crosses the Ohio River ice happened about ten miles upstream from here...". Again, silence. Turns out none of them had heard of the Underground Railroad *or* Uncle Tom's Cabin. Seriously, how in the *FLIP* do American adults of means have zero familiarity with such basic episodes in the country's history? I get that they're from South Carolina, and perhaps their schools consciously avoided those subjects back in the 60s and 70s, but I have no idea how one could never run across those items on television or through other media in the past 30-40 years.
May 12, 201510 yr If you've never lived elsewhere, its not something that's discussed much. Maybe because it happened around Cincinnati, and the Stowes lived in Cincinnati, it is more common. I first knew of it from The Little Rascals!
May 12, 201510 yr I was born and lived in Massachusetts for the first decade of my life and learned about the Underground Railroad there. It should be known by every American.
May 12, 201510 yr Not till spring 2017...does it really take that long to build a 7 story hotel? And a grocery store sounds real nice. It's crazy to think that Cincinnati might actually become a real city where people actually work and live, and not something that just people from Mason visit to see a Bengals game or a Reds game Did I really just read this on Urban Ohio? I don't have the numbers handy, but there are tens of thousands of people who live within one mile of Fountain Square, and even more that work there.
May 12, 201510 yr I was born and lived in Massachusetts for the first decade of my life and learned about the Underground Railroad there. It should be known by every American. I was trying to put it in the perspective of 50+ women from South Carolina who went to school in the 60s and 70s, not someone who grew up recently in more liberal Massachusetts where learning of slaves escaping might be celebrated.
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