January 14, 200916 yr I look at this site every day from 28 stories up. It is pretty amazing how much steel has been put down already on the sublevel pad, much of it in the past few weeks Just a grid of endless steel rods, woven like an intricate mesh floor on top of the base concrete pad. There's even a port-o-san sitting on top of this meshwork...they mapped out the plumbing and sewer and other infrastructure which was installed earlier just below this grid (it all runs to the southwest corner of the site where the water and sewer mains come in)....just endless loads of steel rods are continually being delivered and laid down. Can also see the space that has been reserved for the sub-level elevator.
January 14, 200916 yr So how do they do the sublevels? I remember watching a show on Discovery Channel (?) about a building they were constructing in LA and they did some type of special construction for the floors below grade.
January 15, 200916 yr My friend was down at the site yesterday and he talked to a construction worker. He said that the project is way ahead of schedule. He also told him that the drilling at the Banks has hit a problem, but didn't specify. Hopefully it's nothing, but I'm not entirely confident.
January 15, 200916 yr About 700 concrete trucks will be deiivering concrete from between 2 am and 2 pm this Sunday to the site, to create a 6-foot thick concrete mat for the tower. Getting more excited each day!
January 15, 200916 yr My friend was down at the site yesterday and he talked to a construction worker. He said that the project is way ahead of schedule. He also told him that the drilling at the Banks has hit a problem, but didn't specify. Hopefully it's nothing, but I'm not entirely confident. They may have hit a snag somewhere in that huge hole, but I thought I saw a drill in the phase four part of the project west of the Freedom Center. They could've run into something there. They've got columns build and look to be forming some decks just to the west of GAB. Hopefully it's nothing major. QCSII, is going to start cooking just as soon as this cold sh!t goes away!!! Not that it's slowing them down by any means.
January 15, 200916 yr but I thought I saw a drill in the phase four part of the project west of the Freedom Center. They could've run into something there. They have been drilling there for a while (south lot between Paul Brown and Race). I think they are done with the major drilling and have begun assembling the support columns which you see over at the main dig of Phase I. The drilling at Phase I seems to be continuing, unabated....
January 16, 200916 yr looks like the beginnings of crane number two are taking shape on the 4th street side of the site.
January 16, 200916 yr TRAFFIC ALERT Third Street and Sycamore Street http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/city/downloads/QueenCityTowerConcretePour11809.pdf Construction of the new Queen City Square Tower is continuing at an impressive pace. Its present stage will require the closure of various streets this weekend for a large volume concrete pour. The dates, times and street closures required for this work are: Sunday January 18, 12:00 AM Third Street will be closed, including both sidewalks, between Broadway and Main Street. A Cincinnati Police Department (CPD) officer will be at the intersection of Third Street and Broadway to assist in directing traffic. Sycamore Street will be closed, including both sidewalks, between Third and Fourth Streets. A CPD officer will be at the intersection of Fourth Street and Sycamore Street to assist in directing traffic. The following detour will be set up to reroute traffic: For traffic exiting from I-71 southbound and for northbound Broadway traffic, the detour is north on Broadway, west on Fourth Street, and south on Walnut Street. For traffic exiting from Columbia Parkway and for southbound Broadway traffic, the detour is south on Broadway, west on Pete Rose Way, south on Old Broadway, west on Mehring Way, and north on Main Street. For traffic travelling south on Sycamore Street the detour is west on Fourth Street, and south on Walnut Street. The closure and detour routes will remain in place until the concrete pour is complete, at approximately 5:00 PM on Sunday January 18. Drivers are encouraged to reduce their speed and use caution when approaching the closure area.
January 18, 200916 yr New tower to take big step forward By Lisa Bernard-Kuhn • [email protected] • January 16, 2009 The corner of Third and Sycamore streets will be flush with construction activity most of the day Sunday as contractors begin the massive effort to pour the concrete base for the incoming Great American Tower at Queen City Square. The tower, a project by Western & Southern Financial Group's development division Eagle Realty Group, will become Cincinnati's newest and tallest skyscraper at 41 stories. http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090116/BIZ01/901170309/1076/BIZ
January 18, 200916 yr Is there a webcam on this site like The Banks? Not yet, but I believe one is in the works.
January 19, 200916 yr A big vision becoming concrete Foundation poured for Great American Insurance Building, city's tallest By Amber Ellis • [email protected] • January 19, 2009 http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090119/NEWS01/901190345/1055/NEWS DOWNTOWN - One by one, dozens of trucks lined Third Street on Sunday, waiting to unload concrete into a vacant lot that will soon house the city's tallest skyscraper. Below, more than 100 workers, clad in yellow construction jackets, hurried about. They had 12 hours to complete one of the largest continuous concrete pours in Downtown history. "It's kind of interesting to see all that was put into place," said Tom Stapleton, vice president of Eagle Realty Group, the developer of the $322 million project. "There are very few times you see someone pull off a big logistic undertaking such as this. This was a choreographed type of event. There were so many people, so many different parts and pieces of equipment." Once work is done, the Great American Insurance Building at Queen City Square will become a focal point of the cityscape. The massive tower, with its crown inspired by a tiara worn by Princess Diana, will begin to take shape on Sycamore Street between Third and Fourth streets. It will measure 86 feet higher than Carew Tower, now the city's tallest building.
January 19, 200916 yr I'd really like to know how tall the crown will be, and how tall the office tower will be. 660 makes the building sound short unless the crown is an apparatus that extends down the large faces of the structure for X amount of feet.
January 19, 200916 yr I'd really like to know how tall the crown will be, and how tall the office tower will be. 660 makes the building sound short unless the crown is an apparatus that extends down the large faces of the structure for X amount of feet. http://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?searchID=41410767
January 19, 200916 yr I'd really like to know how tall the crown will be, and how tall the office tower will be. 660 makes the building sound short unless the crown is an apparatus that extends down the large faces of the structure for X amount of feet. http://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?searchID=41410767 The diagram reads 689 feet, as originally billed, but 86 feet indeed puts it at 201.2 meters. Any ideas about the disparity?
January 19, 200916 yr Looks like a second tower crane is going up on the north end of the pit. The existing crane will be the one that builds the tower and the new one will probably be disassembled after that shorter part of the building is finished.
January 19, 200916 yr The total height, according to Eagle Realty is 660ft. Sure, but that leads me back to my original question - is this building as tall as Carew without the 130 foot crown?
January 19, 200916 yr The total height, according to Eagle Realty is 660ft. Sure, but that leads me back to my original question - is this building as tall as Carew without the 130 foot crown? Something isn't right here, because the floor difference is almost 10 floors?
January 19, 200916 yr I believe the new building without the crown will be slightly shorter than Carew, but each individual floor height is higher than the Carew Tower's floors. Also I believe the 41 floors include 11 garage floor, but I am not absolutely certain about this. Randy, do you know?
January 19, 200916 yr Yeah, but this leads us back to the debate about what "higher" means. Since QCS is on 3rd Street, it's possible that it will be "taller" than Carew, without actually being "higher" than Carew. I have no idea if that is taken into account or not, when people refer to QCS2 as being the new tallest in Cincinnati.
January 20, 200916 yr Maybe this will help... Obviously these aren't 100% accurate, but they give you a pretty good idea. The 660' includes the crown on top and adds about 100' feet or so to the building's height. Once complete it will be about 86' taller than Carew when you count the crown. Starting at 3rd & Sycamore you have about a 531' elevation...making the Great American Insurance Tower reach 1,191' above sea level (with crown). Carew Tower sits at an elevation of 705' as measured from 5th & Vine...making Carew Tower reach about 1,279' above sea level. In the end Carew Tower will be just shy of being 100' taller in terms of overall elevation height. I measured elevations at MapMyRun.com (official I know).
January 20, 200916 yr Hm...very interesting. Thanks for the information Randy. I'm wondering if you'll be able to see this building while driving in to downtown from Columbia Parkway. Currently you can see Carew over the top of Mt. Adams, making it one of my favorite scenes in all of Cincinnati, and adding QCS to the mix would only make that view all the more dramatic.
January 20, 200916 yr Chunks of info courtesy of Randy....but I still look at the rendering and see 690, not 660.
January 20, 200916 yr Chunks of info courtesy of Randy....but I still look at the rendering and see 690, not 660. I would chalk that up to graphic inaccuracies. The 660' is the accurate number.
January 20, 200916 yr Starting at 3rd & Sycamore you have about a 531' elevation...making the Great American Insurance Tower reach 1,191' above sea level (with crown). Carew Tower sits at an elevation of 705' as measured from 5th & Vine...making Carew Tower reach about 1,279' above sea level. In the end Carew Tower will be just shy of being 100' taller in terms of overall elevation height. I measured elevations at MapMyRun.com (official I know). 170' of elevation change seems like an awful lot. 531' sounds about right, but 705' seems quite high, especially for the basin. *edit... I just checked CAGIS, 3rd and Sycamore is at 513.9', and 5th & Vine is at 551'. Carew will be at 1125' above sea level, and the flag pole will top off at 1210'. Great American will have the tip of it's spire reach 1174' and most likely appear slightly taller, since the spire is bulkier than the flag atop Carew. It will not be by much, though. It will also depend on where you see it from; from Newport QCS will definitely appear taller, and probably from Covington as well, but from the west or north they may end up appearing different.
January 20, 200916 yr I got 3rd and Sycamore at 561 and Carew at 630 on http://www.heywhatsthat.com/profiler.html
January 20, 200916 yr Maybe this will help... Starting at 3rd & Sycamore you have about a 531' elevation...making the Great American Insurance Tower reach 1,191' above sea level (with crown). Carew Tower sits at an elevation of 705' as measured from 5th & Vine... (official I know). You make light of it, I know but...I see no way 5th & V being over 150' higher than 3rd and S. 50' maybe. Nevermind.
January 20, 200916 yr I don't see that area handling retail on the LL well. having a streetcar a block away certainly would help
January 20, 200916 yr Why couldn't they just make the darn thing 700' and call it a day? Is it that hard to add 40 freaking feet to an already tall building? I'm upset this won't be technically taller than Carew Tower. Nonetheless I'm excited to see this building's new addition to the Cincinnati skyline. Also, QCSII is much fatter than Carew Tower. So I guess that took away from the height.
January 20, 200916 yr It will kinda be cool that Carew is wide looking at it east west and QSC is wide looking north south
January 21, 200916 yr Why couldn't they just make the darn thing 700' and call it a day? Is it that hard to add 40 freaking feet to an already tall building? I'm upset this won't be technically taller than Carew Tower. Nonetheless I'm excited to see this building's new addition to the Cincinnati skyline. Also, QCSII is much fatter than Carew Tower. So I guess that took away from the height. Because it's Cincinnati and it's Uncle Carl and it was supposed to be 689'', they went to the press to inform the city, and then one day it was 660''. I believe they actually added one floor while subtracting nine meters. Cin-cin-nati.
January 21, 200916 yr Why couldn't they just make the darn thing 700' and call it a day? Is it that hard to add 40 freaking feet to an already tall building? I'm upset this won't be technically taller than Carew Tower. Nonetheless I'm excited to see this building's new addition to the Cincinnati skyline. Also, QCSII is much fatter than Carew Tower. So I guess that took away from the height. Because it's Cincinnati and it's Uncle Carl and it was supposed to be 689'', they went to the press to inform the city, and then one day it was 660''. I believe they actually added one floor while subtracting nine meters. Cin-cin-nati. You know in Pittsburgh building never change at all from the time they are proposed until the time they are built. Also they come with a free puppy.
January 21, 200916 yr ^same in indy. except now theres a problem....a lot of homeless puppies because of the beautiful market square arena development that has happened.....oh wait.
January 21, 200916 yr Indy uses some tall poles to reach 700 feet, they should add a spire to the crown of QCS. :D
January 21, 200916 yr Over the past two years i have sent letters to WS asking them to please seriously consider topping the building at 700ft or higher by adding either a multi-level observation deck or restaurant, but no response. Maybe they will surprise us like the developers of the Empire State building who, at the last moment, added additional height so it would be taller than the Chrysler building.
January 21, 200916 yr Over the past two years i have sent letters to WS asking them to please seriously consider topping the building at 700ft or higher by adding either a multi-level observation deck or restaurant, but no response. Maybe they will surprise us like the developers of the Empire State building who, at the last moment, added additional height so it would be taller than the Chrysler building. didn't they do that by secretly constructing a spire inside the top of the building and then raising it up at the last second? Observation deck does seem like a no brainer or a lounge of some sort.
January 21, 200916 yr didn't they do that by secretly constructing a spire inside the top of the building and then raising it up at the last second? Observation deck does seem like a no brainer or a lounge of some sort. That was actually the Chrysler Building with the surprise spire. They were competing with another building in downtown Manhattan that had announced it was going to add a few floors to be the tallest (I think this is the Trump Building now). I think an observation deck wouldn't be quite as good as the Carew ($2, open air, the tiny stairs are all classic) so a restaraunt/bar would be a great move.
January 21, 200916 yr Chrysler building was in competition with the Severance Bldg at 40 Wall St for tallest in NY. The surprise spire was raised after the completion of 40 Wall so Chrysler could have the last laugh. Low and behold the Empire State gets built just 11 months later. A ton of theatrics for a title they only held for a little under a year... Either way, there is no competition nor any new desire to break the 700' barrier, not to mention the steel would have to be reworked to add extra floors. Be happy that the city is getting a new tower, and leave it at that.
January 21, 200916 yr The height changes come from two places... design and architectural standards and financial realities. The fact that it's "Cin-cin-nati" has little to do with it. It costs more to build a taller building - what a concept. In this economic climate and with financing being as difficult as it is, we should be thrilled that any building at all is getting built. We're the largest city in the country with no new tallest skyscraper built since WWII, and we're griping about 40 feet. Maybe if we just stack 40 puppies on top of the building...
January 21, 200916 yr Over the past two years i have sent letters to WS asking them to please seriously consider topping the building at 700ft or higher by adding either a multi-level observation deck or restaurant, but no response. Maybe they will surprise us like the developers of the Empire State building who, at the last moment, added additional height so it would be taller than the Chrysler building. Lol that will be the day! It will probably be 659' when it's all said and done! I think I'm going to drive by there this weekend and take some pictures since no one else will. :-P
January 22, 200916 yr We should be like chicago with their Chicago Spiral Tower. I think it's suppose to be like 2000'. It's insanely tall.
January 22, 200916 yr We're the largest city in the country with no new tallest skyscraper built since WWII That is ridiculous! I'm actually not from Cincinnati natively so I didn't know that.
January 22, 200916 yr We should be like chicago with their Chicago Spiral Tower. I think it's suppose to be like 2000'. It's insanely tall. Except that the Chicago Spire has stalled.
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