January 18, 20223 yr I imagine it is much easier to finance a condo tower (in secondary markets) that is wholly owned by one entity with dollars to back it up (in this case - Airbnb) than one built spec.
March 28, 20223 yr Insurance company to create 150 high-paying jobs, move to GE building at the Banks By Tom Demeropolis – Senior staff reporter, Cincinnati Business Courier Mar 28, 2022 After acquiring Great American Life Insurance Co. last year, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. has decided to keep and expand its operations in downtown Cincinnati. Glidepath Holdings Inc., the subsidiary of MassMutual that acquired Great American Life Insurance in May 2021, received approval Monday for a more than 1.9%, nine-year job creation tax credit from the Ohio Tax Credit Authority for the creation of $12.75 million in new annual payroll as a result of the company’s planned expansion project in Cincinnati. The estimated value of the tax credit is more than $1.8 million. In addition to new jobs, the tax credit will help retain $76.7 million in existing payroll. MORE
March 28, 20223 yr 45 minutes ago, The_Cincinnati_Kid said: Insurance company to create 150 high-paying jobs, move to GE building at the Banks By Tom Demeropolis – Senior staff reporter, Cincinnati Business Courier Mar 28, 2022 After acquiring Great American Life Insurance Co. last year, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. has decided to keep and expand its operations in downtown Cincinnati. Glidepath Holdings Inc., the subsidiary of MassMutual that acquired Great American Life Insurance in May 2021, received approval Monday for a more than 1.9%, nine-year job creation tax credit from the Ohio Tax Credit Authority for the creation of $12.75 million in new annual payroll as a result of the company’s planned expansion project in Cincinnati. The estimated value of the tax credit is more than $1.8 million. In addition to new jobs, the tax credit will help retain $76.7 million in existing payroll. MORE What building were they located before they were sold? Where will most of the employees be relocating from ?
March 30, 20223 yr Why Great American Life picked the Banks for its Cincinnati office By Tom Demeropolis – Senior staff reporter, Cincinnati Business Courier Mark Muething, president and chief operating officer at Great American Life Insurance, had a unique take on the company’s decision to move its offices out of Great American Tower and Dixie Terminal after American Financial Group sold the annuity provider to Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. He was in the camp that believed it was important to make a break from the prior parent company. “It would be like living in your parents’ basement if we stayed there,” Muething told me. Yesterday, Great American Life announced it will relocate to the GE Global Operations Center at the Banks, as well as a small space in the 312 Elm building. Muething said before they selected the office space at the Banks for the majority of its operations, they looked at just about every large block of space in downtown Cincinnati, Covington and Newport. MORE
March 30, 20223 yr 11 hours ago, The_Cincinnati_Kid said: Why Great American Life picked the Banks for its Cincinnati office By Tom Demeropolis – Senior staff reporter, Cincinnati Business Courier Mark Muething, president and chief operating officer at Great American Life Insurance, had a unique take on the company’s decision to move its offices out of Great American Tower and Dixie Terminal after American Financial Group sold the annuity provider to Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. He was in the camp that believed it was important to make a break from the prior parent company. “It would be like living in your parents’ basement if we stayed there,” Muething told me. Yesterday, Great American Life announced it will relocate to the GE Global Operations Center at the Banks, as well as a small space in the 312 Elm building. Muething said before they selected the office space at the Banks for the majority of its operations, they looked at just about every large block of space in downtown Cincinnati, Covington and Newport. MORE Who's the primary tenant in the Great American Tower then?
March 30, 20223 yr 1 minute ago, RealAdamP said: Who's the primary tenant in the Great American Tower then? Great American Insurance has other lines besides Life Insurance. This was only their life insurance division that was sold.
March 31, 20223 yr On 3/30/2022 at 9:05 AM, RealAdamP said: Who's the primary tenant in the Great American Tower then? Most of Great American Insurance Group's 33 Property & Casualty business units are headquartered or have operations in Great American Tower. "It's just fate, as usual, keeping its bargain and screwing us in the fine print..." - John Crichton
March 31, 20223 yr Time to get on the stick and start construction of 180 Walnut. Hard to believe this was announced and approved literally years ago. Any news on 180 Walnut at The Banks?
March 31, 20223 yr Agreed, especially with how quick the old Macy's "Foundry" has leased up and the story about a new speculative office building across the river in Covington, there is clearly an appetite for smaller, super high end Class A office space.
March 31, 20223 yr 24 minutes ago, jvarney1 said: Time to get on the stick and start construction of 180 Walnut. Hard to believe this was announced and approved literally years ago. Any news on 180 Walnut at The Banks? The biggest issue / hold up, they cant get the financing until someone agrees to lease a large portion of the building. Banks are struggling to approve office construction loans in this working environment right now. Its a bad cycle, they want lessors for the building prior to giving financing, and lets be honest you want to be the person signing a lease for a building that hasn't broken ground?
April 18, 20223 yr The new restaurant space coming along in front of the underground railroad freedom center.
April 18, 20223 yr 22 minutes ago, Miami-Erie said: Do we know what restaurant is going to be in that building? Filson Queen City Kitchen & Bar - Developed by Anderson Real Estate and Nicol Development Filson's namesake restaurant will be approximately 7,600-square-feet and have both indoor and outdoor dining with seating for about 450 people inside and 200 outside
April 18, 20223 yr The brick and corrugated metal looks great and high quality. Wish the Banks used this aesthetic from the beginning.
April 26, 20223 yr I guess I'll put this here? Here’s how much it will cost to upgrade Paul Brown Stadium Paul Brown Stadium needs $493.7 million in upgrades over the next 20 years, according to a study by consulting firm Gensler funded by the Cincinnati Bengals and Hamilton County. The facility condition is the first of two examinations the stadium, which opened in 2000, will receive. Another study will look at potential master plan changes needs at a time when NFL teams and their host cities are spending more than $1 billion for new stadiums. Gensler said that costs in the facilities assessment could also be covered in the master plan update. The county cautioned that the number is only Gensler's recommendation and is not endorsed at this time by Hamilton County and the Bengals. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2022/04/26/pbs-upgrades.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
April 26, 20223 yr According to the Business Courier article linked above, in 2020 Hamilton County paid: $43 million in debt services $7 million in operations $3 million in capital maintenance $1 million in capital reserve contributions for a total of about $54 million. From my understanding, the $43 million will end in 2032 when the bonds are paid off. My best guess is that the County and Bengals will negotiate a new deal where the team front loads a lot of the costs until the bonds have been paid off in 2032. Then the county will ramp up contributions. It would probably be less money that they currently pay in debt services, and the County will probably negotiate away most of the $7 million in operations contributions, since that's a big black eye for the County's original lease. It's pretty absurd that the County pays for operations and the Bengals make all of the revenue. I'm sure the Bengals won't just absorb all of that $7 million, and will insist some portion of additional capital improvements are paid for by the County. I also imagine the Reds will ask for some additional capital improvements for GABP when the bonds are paid off in 2032.
April 27, 20223 yr Don't be surprised if the Bengals come back to the taxpayers for more sales tax money. Who needs a regional rail network anyway?
April 27, 20223 yr 16 minutes ago, Miami-Erie said: Don't be surprised if the Bengals come back to the taxpayers for more sales tax money. Who needs a regional rail network anyway? They already have it the .5 sales tax passed in 96 has no sunset date.
April 27, 20223 yr One key thing is that the bengals control the naming rights. I would anticipate that will be part of someone’s contribution toward the renovation of pbs
April 28, 20223 yr 2 hours ago, ucnum1 said: They already have it the .5 sales tax passed in 96 has no sunset date. No sunset? Wow, it's even worse than I thought.
April 28, 20223 yr 12 hours ago, Brutus_buckeye said: One key thing is that the bengals control the naming rights. I would anticipate that will be part of someone’s contribution toward the renovation of pbs I don't think the Bengals will ever change the name of the stadium as long as Mike is alive. Even after he dies I'm not sure it will happen.
April 28, 20223 yr Chris Wetterich pushing back on the idea that taxpayers will only have to fund modest renovations to the current stadium: Quote Just how confident are officials that Bengals won’t need a new stadium? In 2020, the city of Nashville started talks with the Tennessee Titans about the renovation of Nissan Stadium, which opened in 1999, a year before Paul Brown Stadium. Initial estimates were that Nissan Stadium would need between $500 million and $600 million in upgrades, a figure not far from the $494 million announced Tuesday for Cincinnati’s Paul Brown Stadium. But by February 2022, Nashville’s mayor and the team had determined that the upgrades would cost double the initial projections and that a new stadium would be a better investment. It seems odd that the half billion dollar figure is even being talked about right now because it doesn't include any substantial improvements to the existing stadium, which the team will certainly demand: Quote It’s important to note that the $494 million figure put out on Tuesday is unlikely to be the last word. It deals only with renovations to the stadium as it exists today. Another report is expected by year’s end on a “master plan” for the facility. Thornton said Tuesday that there will be some overlap in costs but there could be new stuff as well. Such as? “Upgrades to food service. Additional seating types. I mentioned standing room-only seating types. There will be things that generate revenue and enhance the fan experience. Bringing more local things into the facility,” Thornton said. “Those are what we’re seeing in more modern facilities. Paul Brown can be renovated to receive those.”
April 28, 20223 yr The Tennessee legislature just passed $500 million for replacing Nashville's Nissan stadium, which is only one year older than PBS. They are looking at a dome option to add more events to an already very tourist/convention heavy city of Nashville but I think that move and the Buffalo move proves that the Bengals will at least try to get more money. Why wouldn't they?
April 28, 20223 yr 10 minutes ago, ucgrady said: The Tennessee legislature just passed $500 million for replacing Nashville's Nissan stadium, which is only one year older than PBS. They are looking at a dome option to add more events to an already very tourist/convention heavy city of Nashville but I think that move and the Buffalo move proves that the Bengals will at least try to get more money. Why wouldn't they? PBS needs it, badly. I've been to 24 NFL stadiums and, imo, PBS trails only Jax as the worst in the league.
April 28, 20223 yr 25 minutes ago, YABO713 said: PBS needs it, badly. I've been to 24 NFL stadiums and, imo, PBS trails only Jax as the worst in the league. What specifically is missing at PBS that you see at other stadiums? I've admittedly only been to NFL stadiums in Cincinnati, Detroit, Seattle, and Indianapolis. Enclosed stadiums have a completely different vibe, so I've only been to outdoor stadiums in Seattle and Cincinnati. I think the biggest flaw with PBS is that Mike Brown still thinks he's running an NFL team in 1980 where you just give the team a physical place to play and the bare essentials. There's no flair inside of PBS (statues, banners, color), and if you dropped the stadium into another city and removed the local ads, you wouldn't know it hosted the Bengals. But that's a symptom of a cheap owner who doesn't care about fan experiences, not really the fault of the stadium itself. And I'm sure the clubs and suites are in desperate need of a refresh, but that's not what the average fan sees.
April 28, 20223 yr 18 minutes ago, taestell said: Chris Wetterich pushing back on the idea that taxpayers will only have to fund modest renovations to the current stadium: It seems odd that the half billion dollar figure is even being talked about right now because it doesn't include any substantial improvements to the existing stadium, which the team will certainly demand: I'm not sure what you mean saying no substantial improvements to the existing stadium are included in the $500 million. The structure itself is improved along with all the technology. Those, along with the architecture work to come up with those improvements, are by far the largest costs. They make up more then $400 million of the current estimate. Those improvements mentioned from the master plan aren't large expenses. Upgraded food service? Additional seating types? Not big ticket items. They'll look into potentially putting a roof on the place and that will not end up happening because of the price tag. I'm sure the final price will be higher then this current estimate but it's not going to magically double. Nashville needs to completed replace their infrastructure while PBS doesn't.
April 28, 20223 yr I am just quoting the Business Courier article which states that the half billion dollar estimate "deals only with renovations to the stadium as it exists today" and that any upgrades to make PBS like "more modern facilities" will be included in the master plan which will be released later this year. I don't know what enhancements will be proposed or what the cost of those might be.
April 28, 20223 yr 1 hour ago, YABO713 said: PBS needs it, badly. I've been to 24 NFL stadiums and, imo, PBS trails only Jax as the worst in the league. I've been to most of them and I disagree. Baltimore, Buffalo, Charlotte, Nashville, New Orleans, Landover, and Tampa all have worse venues. Cleveland, Detroit, Philadelphia, and Chicago aren't really any better but I'm being nice today since I've had my Wendy's breakfast. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
April 28, 20223 yr 1 hour ago, ryanlammi said: And I'm sure the clubs and suites are in desperate need of a refresh, but that's not what the average fan sees. Way too 2000s inside Ovals everywhere Circles around signs No menus on chalkboards anywhere Too much silver
April 28, 20223 yr 1 hour ago, ryanlammi said: What specifically is missing at PBS that you see at other stadiums? I've admittedly only been to NFL stadiums in Cincinnati, Detroit, Seattle, and Indianapolis. Enclosed stadiums have a completely different vibe, so I've only been to outdoor stadiums in Seattle and Cincinnati. I think the biggest flaw with PBS is that Mike Brown still thinks he's running an NFL team in 1980 where you just give the team a physical place to play and the bare essentials. There's no flair inside of PBS (statues, banners, color), and if you dropped the stadium into another city and removed the local ads, you wouldn't know it hosted the Bengals. But that's a symptom of a cheap owner who doesn't care about fan experiences, not really the fault of the stadium itself. And I'm sure the clubs and suites are in desperate need of a refresh, but that's not what the average fan sees. There's a few areas where I thought PBS was well behind other venues: 1. Fan experience once you're in. There are two extremes to this - 1) Buffalo has a straight "football fan" atmosphere, with little to no frills and just same basic corporate sponsorships; 2) Atlanta has an entertainment venue, where you can essentially watch NFL red zone while also watching the Falcons in person. PBS certainly leans more towards Buffalo in this regard, with a lot of exposed concrete below each terrace - but IMO it doesn't play as well without a stadium design like Buffalo's. And the fight song should probably go or get some revision too lol. 2. The Banks are a cool area, which is a plus for the stadium. 3. I was there with some colleagues in a suite last year, and the people in front of us were seated in legitimate folding chairs. This wasn't wheelchair access, either - that section was to our right. 4. I haven't been to Landover, Tampa, Kansas City, or Foxborough - so I don't have a full sample size. But my overall impression is that PBS takes a modern design and then affords its visitors almost no modern amenities, which makes it all feel conflicted to me.
April 28, 20223 yr I agree with all of that (except the fight song haha). I think the biggest difference is in the premium seating options, which probably haven't been updated in 22 years. I wouldn't be surprised if it was the same carpet in the premium boxes. Add a little local flair, better concessions, some color to the concourses, and some unique amenities (team museum, maybe on the southern end of the stadium with a rooftop bar for standing room seats), and you've got a mid-tier stadium. And if the team has continued success, the crowds will stay, and the atmosphere will be better. No physical improvements would be made, and most people would just put the stadium a few spots higher on their favorite stadiums lists.
April 28, 20223 yr 51 minutes ago, YABO713 said: . And the fight song should probably go or get some revision too lol. You completely discredited yourself with this!
April 28, 20223 yr 1 hour ago, YABO713 said: I haven't been to Landover Just last season Washington had a railing collapse next to the tunnel during the Philly game and had raw sewage spilling into the stadium so without having been there I'm still willing to put them at the bottom of the list. 54 minutes ago, ryanlammi said: Add a little local flair, better concessions, some color to the concourses, and some unique amenities (team museum, maybe on the southern end of the stadium with a rooftop bar for standing room seats), and you've got a mid-tier stadium. I agree with all of this. For a team with, in my biased opinion, some of the coolest uniforms/helmets in the league we have one of the most monochromatic and boring looking stadiums. I'm not saying we need to paint everything orange, but more color/graphics whether it's jungle green, black and orange or anything besides grey/silver and white would go a long way.
April 28, 20223 yr 10 minutes ago, ucgrady said: I agree with all of this. For a team with, in my biased opinion, some of the coolest uniforms/helmets in the league we have one of the most monochromatic and boring looking stadiums. I'm not saying we need to paint everything orange, but more color/graphics whether it's jungle green, black and orange or anything besides grey/silver and white would go a long way. The stadium has seen very few updates since it was built because of Mike. The guy is cheap and boring. His grand daughter had to convince him a ring of honor was a good idea (as if it somehow would be a bad idea) and she along with her mother/Mike's daughter are much more in charge now. Hopefully they'll add more things to the stadium like you described. They're not even a huge expense but it just makes the place feel more welcoming and fresh. That's one thing the Castellini's actually do well is almost every year they add something new to GABP. It might not be much but over 15+ years it's kept the stadium from looking dated.
April 28, 20223 yr 1 hour ago, Cincy513 said: Yeah suggesting the fight song should be changed is fighting words. Sorry - I'll back off.... you guys sound mean and Hungary
May 5, 20223 yr WCPO has more details on the half billion dollar renovation cost vs. the upcoming master plan: Quote Paul Brown Stadium: Should Bengals build a new stadium instead of renovating the old one? “The price tag did not seem unreasonable to me, at all … $500 million for just the basic upgrades to a functioning stadium, is about right,” Reichard said. “I don’t think anyone in this process asked for anything radical in terms of upgrades, in terms of new fan amenities.” But those new amenity requests are coming. They will be the focus of a separate master plan that Gensler intends to release later this year. That plan will “respond to what is occurring at other NFL stadia in other markets,” according to Aluotto’s memo.
May 5, 20223 yr I saw pilings being drilled on the shore of the river this morning. My first thought it is that it might have been related to the marina, but it was located West of the Roebling which I didn't think is right? Edited May 5, 20223 yr by ucgrady
June 1, 20223 yr In the latest Ohio Capital budget the state awarded $1.2M for a "new park planned between the Ohio River and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center"... I would think that this is the proposed re-do of Freedom Way in front of the NURFC into a pedestrian plaza... which I think would be a big upgrade for the area. Edited June 1, 20223 yr by wjh2
June 6, 20223 yr The new Freedom Center plaza will be great along with the new restaurant to help connect both sides of the Banks but man they really need to move forward with Lot 24. Especially with Icon being finished, the new cul-de-sac and stair, the new black music walk of fame etc. that lot is just really primed and ready. The county already built up the garage at that location and apartment demand is still high so what is the hold up?
June 6, 20223 yr 1 minute ago, ucgrady said: The new Freedom Center plaza will be great along with the new restaurant to help connect both sides of the Banks but man they really need to move forward with Lot 24. Especially with Icon being finished, the new cul-de-sac and stair, the new black music walk of fame etc. that lot is just really primed and ready. The county already built up the garage at that location and apartment demand is still high so what is the hold up? Griewe Development was the last ones to call dibs on Lot 24, but covid hit and it went quiet quickly. No rumblings in my circles on the development of that block. Agree something needs to be done but seems like the steering committee isnt worried about it right now.
June 13, 20223 yr I'm sure the building is well constructed and will serve its function. I just feel like this part of the city deserves more bespoke architecture. For example: A restaurant on the Scioto River Edited June 13, 20223 yr by Chas Wiederhold
June 13, 20223 yr 23 minutes ago, Chas Wiederhold said: I'm sure the building is well constructed and will serve its function. I just feel like this part of the city deserves more bespoke architecture. For example: A restaurant on the Scioto River I don't disagree, I just think the Banks has been so drawn out and contentious for so many decades, that now people are just building something to get it built out. The whole project is primarily been phoned in design wise.
June 13, 20223 yr I actually like the brick section with the factory style windows, as it calls back to the old 2nd street warehouse bars/restaurants that used to be there. However what I absolutely hate is that it switches from brick to vertical siding and back to brick on that main building. Other random and cheap materials on the sides also take it down a notch but again if the whole thing looked like the brick warehouse style I think that would be it's own kind of 'bespoke' as it would be pretty specific to the area and not just a generic contemporary thing.
July 15, 20222 yr Black Music Walk of Fame will be royal tribute to Queen City artists Hi-Tek, born Tony Cottrell in Cincinnati, is one of those people who may be better known in circles outside of his hometown. As a producer, he made his way up through the ranks of the New York rap scene in the ‘90s. Hi-Tek worked with some of the groundbreaking artists of that time, including Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and 50 Cent. He eventually recorded solo, chart-climbing albums of his own, beginning with his debut “Hi-Teknology.” He's about to get some recognition in his hometown. Hi-Tek will be one of four artists inducted into the nascent Black Music Walk of Fame on July 23. Now under construction on the south side of the Andrew J. Brady Music Center, the Walk of Fame will be a $6 million interactive attraction, supported by a $12.5 million addition to the riverfront parking garage underneath it. When completed, the Walk of Fame will be the latest addition to the Banks, Cincinnati’s riverfront entertainment district. It will have room to honor up to 200 people, creating a lasting tribute to the contributions Black artists from this region have made to rock ‘n’ roll, gospel, rap, jazz, classical and pop music. “We don’t have anything permanent that focuses on Black musicians, artists, songwriters and producers from this area, who really made a major impact,” said Alicia Reece, a Hamilton County commissioner and former state legislator and Cincinnati City Council member who is leading the effort to make the Walk of Fame happen. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2022/07/15/a-royal-tribute-to-queen-city-musicians.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
July 19, 20222 yr 4EG announces new concept at the Banks By Andy Brownfield – Senior staff reporter, Cincinnati Business Courier Jul 19, 2022 Updated Jul 19, 2022, 2:09pm EDT One of Cincinnati's largest bar operators has unveiled its newest venue, taking over the former Joella's Hot Chicken space at the Banks. MORE
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