Waaaaah....

 

Well, Rouse walked out.  More drama, courtesy of the 6/27/05 Enquirer!:

 

 

Rouse quits over Banks developer

By Cindi Andrews

Enquirer staff writer

 

Business leader Jack Rouse has quit as chairman of Hamilton County’s economic development task force over the commissioners’ surprise decision to pick a developer for the Banks.

 

“I find the behind-the-scenes maneuverings, the lack of an open public process and the unethical manner in which your staff put the Banks “deal” together deceitful and underhanded,” Rouse, CEO of Jack Rouse Associates, said in a letter to the commissioners dated Thursday.

 

“If that is the way Hamilton County conducts business, then the task force clearly appears to be a sham.”

 

E-mail [email protected]

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050627/NEWS01/306270006/-1/rss

 

I guess I missed some points on this earlier but per the second post above, what are the problems with the garages?  Has this been talked about publicly?  They mentioned the Freedom Center.  This is the first I am hearing of this.

The only garage problem I have ever heard of was that the "lid" for the parking garages was never accounted for, and who's responsibility it was.  The County said they were responsible for the following:  ground level base and asphalt, first floor supports, second floor base and asphalt, and the second tier of supports (which would support the new ground level development pads at 2nd St. level. The County and the Underground R.R. Museum people had a major snafu on this.  It then brought to light who was responsible for paying for the "lids" or development pads at ground level for the rest of the garages.  This is obviously quite a bit of money.  I am not sure who eventually paid for the RR Center pad, and the County still has maintained that the developers should pay for the pads, while developers have said they require a clean street level building pad to work off of to make the project economically feasible.

The Banks: Who's in charge?

Power elite at odds over $1 billion in development

 

By Gregory Korte

Enquirer staff writer

 

Secret plans and surprise announcements.

 

Whisper campaigns and indignant resignation letters.

 

How did the Banks - a project everyone agrees is vital to the economic development of the city, the county and the region - become so complicated?

 

A big reason is that it's not controlled by one person. It's not even controlled by one committee. In one form or another, it's controlled by a long list of committees - some competing, some cooperating, and some just confusing.

 

On the 14th floor of the Kroger Building in downtown Cincinnati, for example, is a corporate-controlled development agency whose nickname sounds like a Star Wars character: 3CDC.

 

Public-private partnerships

 

The story of the Banks as a riverfront development project starts with Jack Rouse, who owns a company on the 13th floor of the Kroger Building that designs and builds attractions around the world. His resumé includes the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center and the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame, both on Cincinnati's riverfront.

 

 

'Colossal red herring'

 

But Bortz's brother and partner, former Cincinnati Mayor Arn Bortz, reacted strongly to the suggestion that Towne Properties has a conflict of interest.

 

"That's a colossal red herring to divert people from the stench of the process they have recently hijacked," said Arn Bortz.

 

The Port Authority selected the development finalists long before 3CDC existed, Arn Bortz said, and his brother has fully disclosed his interests and has not participated in 3CDC discussions on the matter.

 

'A stale corporate shell'

 

When county commissioners looked for a development agency to handle the financing for their new Banks plan, they turned to the Hamilton County Community Improvement Corp. of Greater Cincinnati.

 

It has existed since 1962, but its board members are hardly household names and not nearly as high-powered as the Port Authority-3CDC partnership. While 3CDC has the CEO of Cinergy Corp. and the Port Authority has the president of the utility's Cincinnati Gas & Electric Co., the CIC has Cinergy's economic development manager, a step down the corporate organizational chart.

 

'Whisper campaign'

 

The nonprofit development corporation was created in 2003 as part of an effort to get management of development projects outside of City Hall. Its 26-member board of directors includes a who's who of the city's corporate elite - 10 of which have offices along Fourth Street.

 

 

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050703/NEWS01/507030388

  Hello its me, I was just daydreaming again.

I wonder if it would be possible ( I don't see why not )  if the people of Cincinnati and Hamilton County could create our own organization or council or whatever to represent directly what we want, which is for these two governments to stop bitching at each other over everything ( and I do mean everything ) that comes up in this city.

  Call it a revolution of sorts. Sometimes as taxpayers we forget that we are the ones who pay these guys. As a Cincinnati resident, I pay both Cincinnati city taxes and Hamilton County taxes. Needless to say, I feel very cheated on every situation that involves both governments. Have they ever seen eye-to-eye? I would  call 'THE BANKS' project (and just about every other project that these two governments have wasted our time and money) a gross mishandling of our funds. Don't people go to court over such things?

  Since we are the reason they get paid, this new People's Council would reside over BOTH governments. Not really as their bosses but just to remind them of who they are working for, to ride their ass hard until something is done, and to work as a broker of sorts in situations like THE BANKS.

  I know it is a long shot, but hey I am a dreamer and dreaming is what I do. :-D

It would be great if there were some kind of petition drive, festival or something where people could come together with the common message of "Stop yer bitching!"  This would have to accomplish something, though, like getting picked up by the national media.  That would shame the politicians, for sure.

 

I'm not sure how effective it would be, though, because it wouldn't affect the plutocrats who really run this city at all.  What are we going to do, boycott their products?  Yeah, that works....

 

I'm all out of ideas.

 

P.S. There was a puff piece/free ad for Jack Rouse Associates in today's Post.  I won't ruin the thread by posting the whole thing, but here's the link:

http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050704/NEWS01/507040343/1010/RSS01

 

From the 7/5/05 Cincinnati Post:

 

 

Port's future role murky

By Kevin Osborne

Post staff reporter

 

With a recent Hamilton County decision to select a developer for the long-delayed Banks project, it remains unclear what role - if any - the regional Port Authority will retain in overseeing riverfront development.

 

Who controls the project and how much accountability they will have is important because building the housing and shopping district will require hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars.

 

All sides involved with the Banks are hashing out details about how to proceed after the county bypassed the Port Authority in June and put together its own deal.

 

Jack Rouse, a local businessman who heads the Port Authority's board of directors, believes the agency still could provide valuable services in developing the Banks.

 

 

http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050705/NEWS01/507050352

 

Bypassing Jack Rouse costs city good friend

 

By Stephenie Steitzer

Post staff reporter

 

 

 

 

Jack Rouse isn't much of a suit-and-tie kind of guy.

 

The Billings, Mont., native tools around in jeans and cowboy boots - but don't mistake that as meaning he isn't serious about his work.

 

Rouse, 65, is chief executive officer of a world-renowned company that designs museums and other entertainment attractions and one of the chief architects of a plan to develop the riverfront.

 

He serves on almost every city and county board that matters, including the regional Port Authority, 3CDC and Downtown Cincinnati Inc.

 

"He's passionate, he's creative, he's intense and he cares a great deal about the community," developer and former Cincinnati mayor Arn Bortz said.

 

Rouse's passion surfaced earlier last week when he resigned in protest from the county's economic development task force, calling the county's decision June 10 to bypass the Port Authority to choose a Banks developer "unethical," "deceitful," and "underhanded."

 

 

http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050704/NEWS01/507040343

Man, I already posted the link for that puff piece!  Doesn't anybody actually read the threads?  ;)

I wasn't feeling well this morning and ended up reading up on World's Fairs/Expo.  I propose that if the Banks gets built, Cincinnati should bid to host the World's Expo 2015. This project being built/completed would represent a great achievement.

 

All kidding aside, I do hope people stop bickering and don't lose the momentum that has developed in the last few weeks. I want to see some stuff built!

We have a Mayoral primary on September 13th - if the candidates can come to be identified with their support of or opposition to getting the Banks going, that's the second most powerful venue we have for making our voices heard.  The most powerful venue, of course, is on November 8th, when we choose the mayor and council members...

 

Of course, I'll never vote for Alicia Reese again, regardless of her stance on the Banks - but since she decided whining was the order of the day, that makes that decision easier!

Banks project puts foot forward

Pre-development pact is approved

 

By Cindi Andrews

Enquirer staff writer

 

 

 

Hamilton County's effort to get the $600 million Banks riverfront development underway by spring has taken another step forward, even while county officials say critical support from Cincinnati leaders is still lacking.

 

The county-controlled Community Improvement Corporation of Greater Cincinnati approved Wednesday a pre-development agreement with two developers - Corporex Cos. and Vandercar Holdings.

 

The agreement echoes the deal laid out by county commissioners in a surprise announcement in June: Corporex Cos. and Vandercar Holdings have until Dec. 7 to come up with a detailed plan to build the first two blocks of the eight-block Banks project. The companies will contribute $10 million toward the $55 million needed for parking garages that will serve as the development's foundation.

 

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050715/NEWS01/507150410/1056

Mayor's advice to city: Help get Banks moving

 

By Cindi Andrews

Enquirer staff writer

 

 

 

Mayor Charlie Luken said Friday that Cincinnati should consider helping Hamilton County leaders fast-track the Banks riverfront development.

 

City Council could temporarily sign over to the county its ownership interest in airspace rights and expected revenue for the Banks, Luken said. That would clear the way for the county to hammer out details of the project with developers Corporex Cos. and Vandercar Holdings, he said.

 

City Council would then have to vote only once on the Banks project, Luken said, after the deal was complete.

 

"There's nothing I want to do more before I get out of here than get that going," said Luken, who is not seeking re-election this fall.

 

City leaders were taken aback last month when the county announced it selected Corporex and Vandercar as developers of the Banks.

 

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050716/NEWS01/507160397/1056

The only problem is that no one listens to the mayor anymore.

From the editorial section of the Post

 

Hold the flowers

 

If Hamilton County commissioners expect constituents to throw flowers at their feet for the secret deal they engineered to take control of downtown riverfront development, maybe they should check their intelligence sources again.

 

The pre-development agreement that commissioners signed Thursday with the Corporex Cos. of Covington and Cincinnati-based Vandercar Holdings Inc. formalizes the deal that was announced last month. But it isn't cause for celebration. And it certainly shouldn't prompt Cincinnati officials to give up any of the leverage they hold over the development of the section of the riverfront known as the Banks. Given the way commissioners have acted so far, the city will need all the muscle it can muster to protect its interest in ensuring the project is done right.

 

Apparently annoyed by the slow pace of progress that the city and the regional Port Authority were making in lining up developers and launching work on The Banks, commissioners secretly crafted a deal that for all intents and purposes shoved those entities aside. Without consulting the city or anyone else, commissioners named Vandercar and Corporex (doing business in a partnership known as the Banks Development Co.) as master developer for the project. These are well-known, reputable firms that have agreed to put up $10 million toward construction of underground garages that will serve as a platform for other development, but their reputation in Greater Cincinnati is largely based on suburban style office buildings and big-box retail stores.

 

 

http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050716/EDIT/507160306/1003

Banks plan still has some riled up

Time to move on, county leaders say

 

By Kimball Perry

Enquirer staff writer

 

 

Hurt feelings need to heal if a high-profile, $600 million riverfront development is to be as successful as officials hope.

 

That was the message Wednesday from Hamilton County Commissioners Phil Heimlich and Todd Portune to the county's Economic Development Task Force. Bad blood lingered over the surprise announcement last month that Hamilton County selected two local companies to develop the Banks.

 

Heimlich and Portune attended the meeting because Jack Rouse resigned as chairman of the agency that was to oversee the project after the announcement. A replacement for Rouse has not been named and they had to run the meeting.

 

Hamilton County had selected Covington-based Corporex Inc. and Vandercar Holdings Inc. of Madisonville to develop the project, angering some on the volunteer boards assembled to make such recommendations. The anger from those who felt left out - including the city of Cincinnati and two task forces - became a central issue of Wednesday's meeting when Thomas Humes said the announcement undercut efforts of others working to develop the Banks.

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050728/NEWS01/507280357/1056

"If we ended up with a Newport on the Levee, we'd be disappointed. ... This is a neighborhood. This is a community," Banta said of the Banks.

 

Amen.  If we end up with a Levee-like project I'll be extremely pissed.

i think that is a misconception that a lot of people have...that it will be a newport on the levee

Banks project gets financial boost

Private investors should save county $29 million

 

Dan Monk and Lucy May

Staff Reporters

 

 

Hamilton County shifted more than the balance of power last month when commissioners announced plans to hire Corporex Cos. Inc. and Vandercar Holdings LLC as master developers for The Banks riåverfront development project.

 

The county also shifted a big chunk of the cost to the private sector.

 

County officials said this week that they expect private developers to cover about $29 million in infrastructure costs for the project, which involves construction of up to 1.4 million square feet of retail, residential, office and hotel space on the Cincinnati riverfront.

 

And under the financing plan being crafted, developers should not expect to share in any parking revenue from the project or other tax proceeds to help cover their costs.

 

Rather, the county wants to focus public dollars on construction of garages, roadwork and utilities, with developers using private resources to build podiums on top of those garages to support housing, restaurants and shops.

 

County officials estimate those podiums could cost roughly $19 million for the first four blocks of development. That's in addition to the $10 million that Corporex and Vandercar pledged to the project up front.

 

Two local developers said it should be possible to put together workable deals that let investors make money while recovering the $29 million in infrastructure costs. That's partly because the project calls for so much new real estate to be developed. Spread across the entire project, the privately funded portion of infrastructure costs breaks down to $21 per square foot.

 

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2005/08/01/story6.html

Said Banta: "It is our belief that it's important to bring enough mass on early enough in the process that you create the excitement and energy for the project to be successful. We don't believe you can do that chipping away one block at a time."

 

That's so right.

I also posted this in the Cincinnati Light Rail Thread.....

 

Garages could help fund light rail

Banks might be catalyst for $450M line to Milford

Lucy May

Senior Staff Reporter

 

 

Ohio and Hamilton County officials are working to parlay $24.5 million in federal money earmarked for riverfront parking into funding for what would be the region's first light rail line.

 

Planning is in the early stages. But the potential is so strong that Ohio Department of Transportation Director Gordon Proctor recently declared the project the region's best shot at building light rail.

 

"The tracks are there," he said after an Aug. 1 meeting of the Hamilton County Transportation Improvement Dis­trict. "And it appears there will be even more of a destination on the riverfront."

 

The whole plan hinges on the success of The Banks, the riverfront development that will consist of as much as 1.4 million square feet of retail, residential and office space between Paul Brown Stadium and Great American Ball Park.

 

County officials and their development team, The Banks Development Co., need the federal money to help build the $55 million in parking garages planned to lift the development out of the flood plain and replace the surface parking lots that are there now.

 

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2005/08/08/story6.html

Riverfront transit center: lots of potential, little utilization

Dan Monk

Senior Staff Reporter

 

 

As transit hubs go, it makes a pretty good parking lot.

 

Cincinnati's riverfront transit center is an engineering marvel that cost more than $40 million to build and can accommodate up to 500 buses (or 20,000 passengers) an hour. Its massive air-handling system is equipped to handle light rail, commuter rail or inter-city passenger trains, should any of those modes make their way to downtown Cincinnati.

 

Trouble is, hardly anyone ever sees it. The facility is locked up and closed to the public more than 250 days out of the year. The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center doesn't use it for school buses, finding it easier and cheaper to park buses along Second Street. Cincinnati's Metro bus system says the center is too far from downtown to be used as a regular bus stop.

 

And it's expensive to operate, with this year's expense budget totaling $220,000. Electric service alone costs $120,000 a year and that's just to keep it open for 81 Reds games, 10 Bengals games and scattered riverfront events.

 

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2005/08/08/tidbits1.html

They did the right thing...It was cheaper to build the center when Fort Washington Way was under construction (same thing with the FWW deck --- piles where sunk in the median to support the center pier)

I agree, if they DIDN'T build it, the same guy would be complaining that they should have built it during construction of FWW, when it does come time to use it more efficiently.

I tried to take a look at the transit center when heading down for Reds/Bengals games and those glass entrance ways have always been lock. I've been curious since there is some public art down there, supposedly.

 

    Not long before the whole FWW / stadium thing, TANK stopped using Dixie Terminal.

 

    For those who don't know, Dixie Terminal was a main stop for streetcars and later buses from Kentucky. There was both an entrance on the ground floor at 3rd street, and a special ramp directly from the Suspension Bridge to the second floor for streetcars / busses only. Each floor had a loop for the streetcars / busses to turn around within the building. Passengers would pass through the beautiful Ren Revival arcade to ground level on the other side at fourth street. The reason TANK gave for not using it was that most of the passengers wanted to go to Sixth Street, so the bus system changed their route. Of course, all the retail in the arcade died out from loss of traffic. The building was converted to offices. In fact, they added another floor. The arcade is still there. There used to be a good view of the Roebling Bridge from the arcade but now the freedom center blocks it. There is a sign at the fourth street entrance that says "Railroad tickets sold here," if I remember correctly.

 

    Anyway, when I first heard of the transit center, I thought, "Gee, TANK decided not to use Dixie Terminal anymore because it was better to drive passengers up to Sixth Street. Who do they expect to use the Transit Center?"

 

    The Transit Center has been locked every time I've been there. Has anyone been inside since it's been finished? I know there was a proposal to put in some public art. In fact, there was supposed to be a competition. The idea was to dress the concrete walls. Did this proposal die off?

 

    I agree that the designers allowed flexibility.

 

    The most surprising thing is how few people even know about the transit center.

 

    There is a tour of the transit center under construction on Jake's site, www.cincinnati-transit.net. By the way, Jake, your site is excellent and I refer to it often.

For those who don't know, Dixie Terminal was a main stop for streetcars and later buses from Kentucky. There was both an entrance on the ground floor at 3rd street, and a special ramp directly from the Suspension Bridge to the second floor for streetcars / busses only. Each floor had a loop for the streetcars / busses to turn around within the building. Passengers would pass through the beautiful Ren Revival arcade to ground level on the other side at fourth street. The reason TANK gave for not using it was that most of the passengers wanted to go to Sixth Street, so the bus system changed their route. Of course, all the retail in the arcade died out from loss of traffic. The building was converted to offices. In fact, they added another floor. The arcade is still there. There used to be a good view of the Roebling Bridge from the arcade but now the freedom center blocks it. There is a sign at the fourth street entrance that says "Railroad tickets sold here," if I remember correctly.

 

I remember that arcade as a kid taking a bus to downtown with my grandmother.

 

The only time I was down at the Transit Center I was in the parking lot leading into it. It was locked by two huge chain-link gates so not much to see. I've been in the car with out-of-towners who though it was some sort of subway entrance. I doubt most people going to Reds games know what it is either.

From the 8/10/05 Cincinnati Post:

 

 

City planners seek zone change for Banks site

By Kevin Osborne

Post staff reporter

 

Against the advice of City Manager Valerie Lemmie and several City Council members, Cincinnati's Planning Commission has begun the process to change the zoning for the long vacant riverfront land where offices, shops and housing are envisioned.

 

Planning commissioners say the change is necessary to ensure that the city still has input into the multimillion-dollar Banks project after Hamilton County officials unilaterally selected a developer for the site in June.

 

"We're not trying to be obstructionists in this," said Caleb Faux, the Planning Commission's chairman.

 

"We're trying to make sure what we've all talked about seeing on the riverfront actually happens in the way that's been planned."

 

Hamilton County officials, however, are worried that the action will mire the long-awaited project in a lengthy series of bureaucratic approvals that will jeopardize recent momentum.

 

"This, in essence, would result in the city wresting control of the advancement of the project," said Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune.

 

In the past two months, Portune said, private meetings with city administrators and several City Council members have calmed initial concerns and resulted in a consensus about the project's general direction.

 

http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050810/NEWS01/508100344

 

I was in the transit center when my family took the bus to Tall Stacks.  It had some nice public art and was a great facility. I wish it could be used more.

Ahh, the art does exists! I'm going to a few Bengals games this year so I'm going to try and get a peek. Thanks.

County to meet city planners about Banks

 

By Kimball Perry

Enquirer staff writer

 

 

 

Hoping to head off any delay of the $600 million Banks residential and commercial development, Hamilton County officials are going to a Cincinnati Planning Commission meeting Friday to address that body's concerns.

 

"What we don't want is to create a whole other component of the process," Assistant Hamilton County Administrator Eric Stuckey said Tuesday.

 

The visit comes a week after the Planning Commission began the process of changing the zoning for the Banks, the development planned to be built between the two stadiums on the Ohio River banks.

 

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050817/NEWS01/508170392/1056

Great.

Luken opposes zoning change

Mayor wants no delays for Banks

 

By Kimball Perry

Enquirer staff writer

 

 

Mayor Charlie Luken wants the Cincinnati Planning Commission to halt its attempts at a zoning change that could delay development of the Banks riverfront development, a request the chairman said he might refuse.

 

"The mayor does not support the Planning Commission adding another layer of bureaucracy to the Banks," Luken's spokesman, Brendon Cull, said Wednesday.

 

Luken will submit to City Council a resolution calling for the Planning Commission to stop its attempt to change zoning for the 15 acres planned as the site for the $600 million residential and commercial development.

 

Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune spoke to Luken after the Planning Commission voted 4-1 last week to begin the process of changing the zoning so that any appeal of a zone change would go before City Council instead of a judge.

 

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050818/NEWS01/508180438/1056/news01

Banks zone-change arguments continue

 

By Kimball Perry

Enquirer staff writer

 

 

Cincinnati's Planning Commission stressed Friday that it needed to be involved in the approval process of the Banks, while Hamilton County officials insisted a streamlined process was needed so the $600 million development moves forward quickly.

 

""The fact that we have been accused of being obstructionist to me is amazing," commission member Terry Hankner said.

 

Hamilton County officials appeared at the commission's Friday meeting to ask the group not to proceed with a proposed change in zoning for the 15-acre area on the Ohio River banks. Hamilton County officials fear that the change will add unneeded bureaucracy to the development.

 

Assistant Hamilton County administrator Eric Stuckey told the commission that county officials have relied on cooperation between the two governments, and that attitude "has delivered."

 

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050820/NEWS01/508200350/1056/news01

From the 8/20/05 Cincinnati Post:

 

 

County is unable to prevent zoning for Banks project

By Kevin Osborne

Post staff reporter

 

Hamilton County officials failed to persuade Cincinnati's Planning Commission Friday to stop its planned zoning change for a prime riverfront parcel where offices, shops and housing are envisioned.

 

County administrators hoped to quell the Planning Commission's fears that the city would lose input into how the long-planned Banks project is developed.

 

The Planning Commission, however, said a report prepared by the city manager and her staff raised questions about gaps in the county's proposed financing plan for the Banks.

 

Also, the Planning Commission said although the developer has pledged to follow the city's original 2000 design plan for the Banks, the county's deal with the developer would prevent the city from blocking any changes to the plan that could be sought as the project is built.

 

As a result, planning commissioners are proposing a zoning change that would require the project's final site plan to go before the commission for approval.

 

Further, the zoning change would require the developer to seek city approval for any variances sought during the project.

 

http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050820/NEWS01/508200358

 

Are the "zoning" disputes about what will be built and its uses or primarily over how parking revenue is split, who pays for the ground level of the garages, etc.?  A big problem with this project is that people want it to be perfect from the beginning, and everyone has different ideas of what perfect means.  If it is to be a true extension of the central business district, the comings and goings of specific businesses in the buildings should be allowed to take their course without government intervention.  Not signing interested businesses because they don't fit into what people want right now (or specific zoning) and allowing spaces to remain vacant would be a big mistake.  Remember that a Frisch's and Subway were two doors down from the Maissonette, and although nobody cared about that situation on 6th St., a similar unlikely mix might be damned as a failure on the riverfront.    Also, if fifteen years from now a hotel chain wants to convert riverfront apartments, or vice verse, they should be able to do that without having to adhere to procedures well above and beyond what exists in the rest of the city. 

 

   

I think the Planning Commission's angle is that the county hired developers that have been known to change a pre-conceived plan into something less than perfect, so they want to tighten up the zoning to make sure that what gets built fits the original vision.

 

That's my guess, at least.

agreed.  i think the whole deal is pointing a finger at vandercar...maintaining some accountablility for whatever they propose.  If we ever get to that point anyway

^ Oh, and then there's the face-saving aspect of it....

I was digging around and trying to find something else when I came across this.  Yes, it's the Cincinnati Business Courier article announcing "The Banks"....um, October, 1999:

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/1999/10/04/story1.html

 

I'm getting fed up with this bullshit.

1) Who the hell cares what other cities are doing with there parking garages?  Just because no one else has done it doesn't mean it can't be done.  I hate when people give excuses rather than solutions.

 

2) This parking is needed badly in my opinion.  If the local government can provide a cheap parking option on the riverfront, it should have the effect of driving down the value of surface lots in the CBD.  This could promote a higher and better use for those lots.

 

3)  They think that making people park in the CBD will cause them to stay around?  Please, don't make me laugh.  Regardless of where most people park downtown they are gone lickity-split.  Besides does anyone quoted in this article remember what they're building on top of the garages?  Won't people be drawn to those retail and restaurant spots?

 

4)  Build it and stop whining about every little problem.  So what if we'll have the largest parking garage in the country or world?  I see that as another feather in our cap not something to be ashamed of. 

This is unbelievable and looks like a stall tactic.  None of these guys even mentioned providing entrances from Mehring Way. Many West-Siders go to the games on the Sixth St. Expressway, exit at Mehring Way, and take that under the C&O Viaduct along the riverfront.  The Pete Rose Way connection is blocked on the east by the baseball stadium but on the Bengals side it heads right at it.  For those exiting to I-75 N, many might not realize that leaving via Central Ave. to the ramp at 4th St. is the smartest way to go and clog things up by exiting to 2nd St.  This goes for I-75S as well, since the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge is the smarter way to go than fooling around on 3rd St. 

 

 

 

     

 

 

 

 

"A 1,000-car garage, if it's there for sports venues, people may come at different times. But the bad thing is, people all leave at the same time," said Kim Jackson, executive director of the Virginia-based International Parking Institute. "How do you get all those cars out of there in a timely fashion? You don't want to be the 999th car waiting to get out of that garage because you're pissed off."

 

    OH MY GOD!!! This is freakin hilarious. It's always something with this place. Man it makes me want to SCREAM!!!

  If I park in a parking garage to attend a big event, I expect to have to wait in line to get out.

  They must have a lot of parking garages with 5 exits in Virginia. Most of the parking garages that I have ever parked in, no matter what city I was in, only had one exit. If you end up being the 999th person in line to get out then that's your bad.

  Plus, I thought the Transit Center would be where the exit would be placed. I'm probably assuming wrong. But if am was right, then wouldn't that provide a clear shot to get out seeing as how it's not really being used right now anyways?

 

Look! ... Everyone just Simma Down Now!

 

A few weeks ago my wife and I drove to Baltimore. We visited the Bay area where some of you may be aware that their developement is unbelievable (sad to say the city center needs major help) and paying off BIGTIME!

 

We met a lady that lived in the city within the downtown area. What was encouraging, is that the lady told us this wasn't something that happended overnight and it has been an ongoing project for over 30 years!

 

I hope some of you find peace & hope in this story.

 

Anyway...

Banks project oversight debated

 

By Kevin Osborne

Post staff reporter

 

 

Halfway through a six-month negotiation period, Cincinnati and Hamilton County officials still are haggling about who will oversee the details of constructing a multimillion-dollar riverfront project.

 

When Hamilton County commissioners announced in June that they had unilaterally selected a developer for the long-stalled Banks project, they also proposed creating a "Banks development review board" to quicken approvals and permits.

 

But it remains undecided who would be involved with the review board and who would appoint its members.

 

The hotly debated issue's outcome will affect how Cincinnati's central riverfront looks for decades to come.

 

 

http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050908/NEWS01/509080359

Wait, wasn't Riverfront Stadium's PG the largest in the world when it was built?

 

By my count it had 4-6 exit points...I don't remember it being all that difficult to exit.

From the 9/16/05 Enquirer:

 

 

Plan may ease city fears over Banks

By Kimball Perry

Enquirer staff writer

 

A proposal to create two new boards to address zoning concerns and expedite creation of the Banks appears to have eased a feared bureaucratic logjam that could delay start of the $600 million riverfront development.

 

Cincinnati’s Planning Commission was considering changing the zoning of the Cincinnati riverfront property between the two new sports stadiums to give the city some authority over changes that could be made after the development plan is approved.

 

 

E-mail [email protected]

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050916/NEWS01/399990012/1056/rss02

 

Banks deal reported near

City-county zoning spat may be averted

 

By Kimball Perry

Enquirer staff writer

 

Hamilton County will have a signed agreement with a developer to begin work on the Banks "well within a month."

 

That was the opinion Friday of Tom Gabelman, the private attorney Hamilton County hired to work on riverfront development.

 

The final piece of that riverfront development plan is the Banks, a $600 million residential, commercial and retail project planned for Cincinnati's riverfront, vital to the economic future of both the city and the county.

 

Gabelman's comment came moments after he and other county officials presented a proposal that likely averted a zoning showdown county officials feared would slow the project's start - and possibly endanger its existence.

 

"If we don't have a development agreement, we don't have a project," Hamilton County Commissioner Phil Heimlich told the Cincinnati Planning Commission.

 

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050917/NEWS01/509170398/1056