Posted May 26, 200421 yr Building would be near Suspension Bridge Publication Date: 05-26-2004 By Jeanne Houck Post staff reporter Corporex Cos. wants to construct a 17-story building on Covington's riverfront for $350,000-plus luxury condominiums, retail space and parking. Representatives of the company presented the proposal Tuesday to the Covington City Commission, which is expected to vote on the plan in June. In order to proceed, Corporex needs the city to approve changes in the development plan for the 1.06-acre site just west of the Suspension Bridge, and to rezone it from general commercial to central business district. Corporex's plan includes: • A 17-story building with 14 floors of condominiums and three floors for a lobby, retail center and parking. There would be one floor of parking underground. • Seventy-two condominiums ranging in size from 1,200 to 5,000 square feet and in price from $350,000 to $375,000. • Some 40,000-square feet of common areas such as a plaza and a pool. • Retail space -- 9,500 square feet. The property was cleared for development in February 2002 when Corporex and the city of Covington agreed to pay the site's former owner, The Renaissance Group, $1.2 million to settle a four-year-old lawsuit over the value of the land. Renaissance, which had announced plans for an 18-story tower with offices, condos, parking and a restaurant, cried foul after Covington used eminent domain to force the sale of the parcel to the city in 1998 for $771,000. More at http://www.cincypost.com :clap:
May 26, 200421 yr I used to work at Corporex, they had this on the drawing board when I started there in 1998, so don't look for it to happen soon. Also, he still has a high vacancy rate for the condos atop the Madison Place building just west of the Marriott. They are much higher end, but they haven't been selling. As for the comment about needing the economy to rebound, a large portion of the RiverCenter complex is still available for sublease, I'm sure at a much lower rate than what it would take to justify the building of a new tower, plus the City of Covington paid for the parking garage under RiverCenter, and I doubt they would put much into a new one unless a large tenant could be found.
May 26, 200421 yr I disagree with what you say above. I think these units are resonably priced, therefor they will sell fairly quickly. The units in the madison place tower are like $1 million plus. Covington will not have to pay for any parking... there is going to be one level of parking to be built. Yes, this was on the drawing board a long time ago, did you forget that this land was in a court battle for over 4 years? Also, this tower will be a condo tower only, no office space so the office vacancy rate has nothing to do with this. I look forward to seeing renderings.
June 2, 200421 yr Seventy-two condominiums ranging in size from 1,200 to 5,000 square feet and in price from $350,000 to $375,000. [/quote OK that is a typo. Am I the only one that caught that? If the 1,200 sq ft ones go for $350K then the $375K @ 5,000 is a steal. LOL
June 3, 200421 yr yeah, for only 25000 more than the little one? why would anybody want the 1200 ones.
June 23, 200420 yr Covington gives initial OK to Corporex condo tower Lucy May Courier Staff Reporter The Covington City Commission has given initial approval for construction of a new, 17-story condominium tower. Covington City Manager Greg Jarvis told a group attending a real estate development seminar today that Tuesday night's vote is an important step in getting the Corporex Cos. project off the drawing board. The tower would include street-level retail and a 140-space parking garage, Jarvis said. The bulk of the project would be made up of between 65 and 70 condominiums, ranging in price from $350,000 to more than $700,000. More at http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/
June 25, 200420 yr Sounds pretty sweet. Covington has developed quite a skyline over the past few years!
August 16, 200420 yr Any more news on this one? Is it still gonna be like the old rendering that I've seen? Or has anyone seen anything new?
August 16, 200420 yr It's probably going to be something completely different, but no one knows for sure. Nothing new has been put out since the above articles.
October 4, 200420 yr "Panoramic" Condos to Create New Skyline Rooms With a Vision By Larry Nager The Sunday Challenger COVINGTON-The architect who is reshaping Ground Zero and the developer who reinvented the Covington Riverfront are teaming up to revolutionize Northern Kentucky's skyline. Daniel Libeskind, whose winning designs for the World Trade Center site cemented his place as the pre-eminent architect of our time, and NKY developer/visionary Bill Butler, whose RiverCenter complex transformed Covington from sleepy border town into thriving urban center, are collaborating on a dramatically innovative new structure unlike anything ever seen on either side of the Ohio River. More at http://www.challengernky.com
October 4, 200420 yr About time for some daring architecture in this town. If completed according to plan this could be a landmark on the national level.
October 4, 200420 yr HHHMMMMmm. I don't know about those renderings. The first one makes the building look huge. Time will tell....hopefully there are some more renderings around.
October 4, 200420 yr Hopefully it will eventually be joined by a handful of other towers in order to take attention away from the Corporex Towers, which are about as mediocre as it gets. Also, the site in front of the parking garage is still availible, and I'm sure there are long-term plans for the site where whatever that low rise building is between the bridge approach and the Roebling Row condos.
October 4, 200420 yr I don't care if it's a big-box 30 story tower or this thing, BUILD IT!!! "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
October 4, 200420 yr Maybe this development will expedite resolution of the whole issue with the Covingtion jail. It is my understanding Covington wants to put a park in the general vicinity but the jail is holding it up. Jack Quinn's has even threatened to pull out if something doesn't happen. Either way, this project is a huge plus.
October 5, 200420 yr I agree Haynes. Why can't Cincy get new condos built??? I mean it is a huge happening all over the country. I guess you've got to build the old stuff up first.
October 5, 200420 yr ^ Uh, take a look at any of the half dozen threads following the half dozen projects in Cincinnati. True, we have not had a high-rise condo development since Adams Landing, but there have been around 500 new condo and apartment units added since 1998 with at least 100 happening in the next two years. Also, a 20 floor high rise is planned above the new parking garage at 7th & Broadway. Downtown has tons of old class-B office space left to redevelop, so it could be some time before a substantial amount of new construction takes place.
October 5, 200420 yr exciting to say the least. can't wait to see the enquirer's take on it in a few months.
October 5, 200420 yr Oh CiNYC, ye of little faith, it only took the venerable Enquirer two extra days to get the story out, lol. They are working at warp speed down there these days. _____________________________ Condo tower coming to Ky. Tuesday, October 5, 2004 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Architect famed for WTC site to design high-rise By Ken Alltucker Enquirer staff writer Corporex Cos. hired a New York architect to design a $25 million high-rise condo tower in Covington at the base of the Roebling Suspension Bridge. Corporex chairman Bill Butler and architect Daniel Libeskind plan the 18-story tower just west of the bridge. It would add 75 to 90 condos to the Covington riverfront, a Corporex spokeswoman said Monday. Libeskind won a competition to design the new buildings at the site of the World Trade Center - including the Freedom Spire, which would be the world's tallest structure. He also designed the Jewish Museum in Berlin. The Covington project's signature feature would be a sloping, terraced rooftop featuring gardens, landscaping and snapshot views of Cincinnati's skyline. Butler wants to start construction in April for a September 2006 opening. More at http://www.enquirer.com
October 5, 200420 yr By the way, I haven't added my two cents. I like the design and hope it gets built, but who knows whether it will? This isn't Corporex's first time in proposing something for that site if I'm not mistaken. I know they were proposing a similar sized tower about 5 years ago somewhere near that site anyway. I'm puzzled by the spelling of Liebeskind's name too (by the by). I've previously seen it spelled with 2 e's, but I notice the articles use Libeskind as does his website, though plenty of websites spell it as I did. Liebeskind means something like "love child" in German, though I don't know if it has the same connotation in German as in English. Maybe he is trying to avoid that interpretation or maybe it is the Polish spelling of the name. Color me confused on that one. Maybe some learned architecture student can enlighten me.
October 5, 200420 yr ^ When the first tower was proposed, corporex was in a lawsuit battle over the land. That battle lasted roughly 5 years. It was finally settled early this year if I remember correctly. So this tower is the first that really has a chance to get off the ground.
October 5, 200420 yr it seems like it would cost alot more then 25 million to build a tower like that. preety cool though.
October 5, 200420 yr wow. that rules my company just moved into river center, so i can sit at my desk and have a view of this thing while it is built. i can't wait i wonder what the cost on the condo's will end up being. i'd love to live in a building like that.
October 5, 200420 yr Covington lands luxury condos By Bob Driehaus Post staff reporter Covington lost its riverfront Applebee's restaurant on Monday, but the city has something much bigger to crow about. The city announced that Corporex Cos. is building a $25 million luxury condominium high-rise designed by Daniel Libeskind, chief architect of the new World Trade Center in New York. The building promises to be something unique in Greater Cincinnati -- a fluid crescent-shaped, 18-floor centerpiece whose design is lightened with huge glass windows. Groundbreaking is expected to be in April 2005, with completion by September 2006. While the color scheme of the exterior has not been finalized, the building's shape and overall design will be a stark departure from the relatively uniform look of Corporex's other riverfront high-rises built in the last 15 years. "The architecture will be just extraordinary when you see it three-dimensionally. The roofline is a signature feature," said Bill Butler, chairman and CEO of Corporex Cos. Libeskind will work in concert with GBBN, a Cincinnati architectural firm. More at http://www.kypost.com/
October 5, 200420 yr ^ It's official. Corporex gets ok to build. I started another post about this, so it would get everyone's attention (although I'll probably get in trouble for doing that). Click below to go to post. http://www.urbanohio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1238
October 5, 200420 yr Wow that was fast. Ground breaking in the spring. Now will Corporex build phase 3 of the river center?
October 5, 200420 yr Here is another article, note the last line about the parking garage. That is likely the key to the whole project. Covington built the garage underneath RiverCenter and the Embassy Suites, the State of KY built the garage underneath Madison Place. It will be interesting to see how fast the governmental powers react to get this going. BTW, where did the rendering come from??????????? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Condo tower coming to Ky. Architect famed for WTC site to design high-rise By Ken Alltucker Enquirer staff writer Corporex Cos. hired a New York architect to design a $25 million high-rise condo tower in Covington at the base of the Roebling Suspension Bridge. Corporex chairman Bill Butler and architect Daniel Libeskind plan the 18-story tower just west of the bridge. It would add 75 to 90 condos to the Covington riverfront, a Corporex spokeswoman said Monday. The Covington high-rise is the latest proposed in what's becoming a crowded urban condo market. A December 2003 survey commissioned by Downtown Cincinnati Inc. showed more than 250 units were under construction at or near downtown with plans to build another 265 units. More at http://www.enquirer.com
October 5, 200420 yr Prolix, we'll look forward to photo documentation from you of the building progress. Good job Ronnie.
October 5, 200420 yr If you right click and look at the "properties" of the photo of the rendering, it appears that it came from the Kentucky Post. I just hope the unfinalized exterior colors are not dark browns. That monochromatic color scheme Corporex has going on the Covington riverfront is not attractive in my view. It needs some variety. It's a pity Cincinnati can't move this fast on garages etc. and those they do build, like the one at 7th and Broadway, is just sitting there with no 20-story condo being built on it as was supposed to happen.
October 5, 200420 yr I was at UofK probably just overlapping Libeskinds time there. He came back as a guest lecturer, and was a quite fascinating speaker. Back then he was exploring line, plane, positive and negative space via a series of drawings called "Micromegas" (after the Voltaire story, I guess) ...you can see a bit of Malevich going on there, or even Lissitzky. But its quite a shock to see a Liebskind skyscraper going up on the banks of the Ohio! Now all we need is something by Rem Koolhaas and the region will have a complete collection works by the Deconstructivst masters.
October 5, 200420 yr The developer also expects to seek some assistance from Covington to build a parking garage at the base of the condo tower. oh, fantastic! this will just add to the ever-worsening hell that is downtown Covington at street level. has there been a building built in the last 15 years down there that doesn't have parking and/or a blank wall fronting the street on all sides?
October 5, 200420 yr Actually Covington is pretty neat at street level, at the Point (where the Licking meets the Ohio), and in the old downtown and Main Strasse. It just gets sterile around that new developement...yes....true.
October 5, 200420 yr The 25 million seemed a bit low to me as well. But I did a bit of research and it may not be far off actually. Using the facts that it is 18 stories (eight stories shorter than Miranova in Columbus for example) and there will be about 75-90 units I worked up a figure - but hard to really know since I couldn't find a building area (only unit sizes) - and depending on parking, site issues, exterior cladding, etc. I can now see that number as realistic. Get's more expensive if parking is say underground but then it is hard to say even if the cost of a parking garage is included. My estimate is that it could be. They just say they want Covinton's financial support on building it. And remember too that the condo price includes a lot of the interior build-out.
October 6, 200420 yr Actually if you look at it, The peak will be 18 stories and the rest is slopped down from there to a low of 8 stories.
October 10, 200420 yr That's an awesome looking building. Like how it comes to a winding point -- like climbing up a mountain pass.
October 10, 200420 yr A new article in the 10/9/04 Enquirer: Dramatic N.Ky. tower might be king of skyline By Mike Rutledge Enquirer staff writer If Northern Kentucky developer Bill Butler builds his proposed 18-story, $25 million residential tower near the Roebling Suspension Bridge, Cincinnati's most dramatic-looking skyscraper will be in Northern Kentucky. Butler, the chairman of Covington-based Corporex Cos., hopes his Daniel Libeskind-designed condominium tower proposed for Covington's riverfront will promote more unity between the Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati riverfronts. The crescent-shaped building will offer 75 to 85 luxury condominium units. All will have views of downtown Cincinnati. Aside from the tower's sweeping curves, designed to maximize the views, it will have a sharply-angled roof that will start at the 11th floor and end at the 18th. Each level will have a terrace. Many aspects of the project - including exterior materials and colors and the costs - must be finalized before Butler hopes to break ground in the spring, with an opening in September 2006. It is to be built west of the entrance to the suspension bridge, on the Coach & Four restaurant's former location. Full article at http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/10/10/loc_kytower10.html
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