Riverfront deal gets approval

Developer plans 90-acre housing project in Dayton

By Ryan Clark  Enquirer staff writer

 

This city's riverfront potential is finally on the brink of development, city officials said.  City Council has reached a multimillion-dollar development agreement for a primarily residential project on about 90 acres along the Ohio River, Mayor Ken Rankle said Thursday.

 

An agreement for the project, which the mayor said could be worth as much as $500 million, was signed with an affiliate of Cincinnati-based DCI Properties Tuesday night, for property located between O'Fallon Street and the Watertown Marina, along the Dayton riverfront.  The project is expected to begin sometime in 2006, but because the idea is still in its infancy, Rankle said there are no firm plans.

 

Read full article here:

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051104/NEWS0103/511040439

River living - 22 feet up

Land for proposed housing will get more elevation

By Ryan Clark Enquirer Staff writer

 

The floodwall area of Dayton, Ky. The city has reached a development agreement for a primarily residential project of about 90 acres in this area along the Ohio River.  This city's riverfront will one day be the most desirable location in the Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati area - according to the man who plans to develop the land.

 

David Imboden, developer and owner of DCI Properties, says he envisions mid- to high-end single-family housing - homes and townhouses - on the land. He has scheduled a meeting with a national land planner for today to brainstorm possibilities for the project.

 

Read full article here:

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051110/NEWS0103/511100394

Dayton plan moves ahead

$430 million riverfront project to be lifted out of flood plain

BY SCOTT WARTMAN | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

 

More than a million cubic yards of dirt could be shipped and spread on the Dayton riverfront next summer in preparation for a $430 million housing and commercial development, if all goes according to plan, the developer said Tuesday.

 

A resolution unanimously passed by Dayton City Council on Tuesday will allow Cincinnati-based DCI Properties to start a financial plan for the development. The resolution will allow, if necessary, the issuance of up to $430 million in industrial building revenue bonds to finance the project.

 

Read full article here:

http://news.nky.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20061206/NEWS0103/612060398

im surprised this hasnt gotten any comments.  i wish there was some sort of rendering or something.  nonetheless, good news as always.  really becoming an amazing corridor-the ohio river that is. 

10 years from now there going to be wondering why an ugly ass project was built on their riverfront instead of preserving sight lines for quality of life.

"I think the scale of this site allows for an entire lifestyle project to be designed, rather than one specific building, or two or three buildings," Kersting said. "It will be an entire lifestyle development."

 

What the hell...I just don't get it I guess.  Does EVERYTHING have to be a freaking 'lifestyle' this or that??!?!!?  It has become this catch phrase now for every new development that pops up, and to be honest its almost as abused as the phrase 'master planned' when it comes to new developments.  Why don't we start calling big-box development 'lifestyle' things...oh wait we already do  :whip: :whip: :whip: :whip:

Calm it, St. Louis Bread Company.

^Your comments get more and more cracked out by the day....Get well soon ColDayMan!

You're on crack, cracker!

 

(and I mean that in the nicest way meant, my pigment-impared friends)

Ugh.  BACK TO TOPIC, ColDayMan and UncleRando!!!

 

Whoops.

You're on crack, cracker!

 

(and I mean that in the nicest way meant, my pigment-impared friends)

 

I have been both EXTREMELY offended (wink)...and also validated (see following quote) with that statement!

 

^Your comments get more and more cracked out by the day....Get well soon ColDayMan!

BACK ON TOPIC!!!

10 years from now there going to be wondering why an ugly ass project was built on their riverfront instead of preserving sight lines for quality of life.

 

It's better than leaving the prime development spot vacant. For as much as some people clamour for more dense, urban development, it's surprising that some oppose anything good for a city whose population has remained stagnant.

 

It's an ideal location. Minutes from downtown Cincinnati, location in an established neighbourhood, and prime real estate. Additional tax revenues and decent looking structures only augment existing development and enhance it.

 

Get more into the city, not out in the suburbs. This is one step.

Riverfront project would cost $500M

KERRY DUKE & KEVIN EIGELBACK | March 7, 2007

 

Dayton residents got their first look Tuesday at the vision for a more than $500 million, 100-plus-acre development that would include more than 800 residential units, several hotels, stores, and parks built along the city's riverfront.

 

A few hundred showed up to hear the preliminary plans of the developer, DCI Properties LLC, at a meeting of the Dayton City Council held at Lincoln Elementary School.  Judging from the applause, most of them liked what they heard, although they had some reservations that the project would exacerbate an already bad traffic problem.

 

The project - which as yet has no name - should bring residents' property tax rates down, Mayor Ken Rankle told the crowd. As it stands now, the city doesn't get enough property tax revenue to support either its fire department or seven-person police department.

 

Read full article here:

http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070307/NEWS02/703070352

"He told the audience he doubted the new development would bring as many as 15 students into the school system, because the developers aren't building for parents with young children."

 

These guys are on crack!  This is such a long shot.  Were going to have 2 billion new residential units along the river before ( if ) its all said and done.  Which dont get me wrong would be a great thing if that many more people were living that close to downtown.  But i do believe a few of these developers are getting a little ahead of themselves with new housing demand. 

 

Redmond said the tallest building in the complex will be about 10 stories and be situated in such a way that no one who currently has a view of the river will be obstructed. Most parking will be underground, in garages or hidden so as to keep the space open and accessible, he said.

 

Not a chance in hell that every single resident will not get their view blocked or altered.

 

And as for the hotel, a very small one maybe, but what is the market for a hotel that far away from the highway with no real office space to speak of?  Not to mention the additional hotels already planned for Newport and Bellevue, and the fact that greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky has been one of the worst performing hotel markets for several years now.

 

Other than that, I say go for it and best of luck.

^ haha yeah.  i appreciate their optimism and desire to make the most of what seemingly is an impossible devlopment challenge but it doesnt seem like they have any idea what they are doing.  its like they reached their hands into the "development vocabulary fun bag" and pulled out "hotel" and "not for parents with young children" without really knowing what they mean.

I'm trying to pinpoint where this would be built at. Does this location make any sense?

my understanding is its this http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=k&om=1&z=16&ll=39.118091,-84.46656&spn=0.010388,0.018883

Yeah I'm pretty sure that it is in the vicinity of where PhattiNati pointed out.  Not to mention, but seicer your sight is not even in Dayton, KY...it is in Bellevue, KY.  But its all good!

Is anything going in where I was indicating at? It's been a while since I've been through Dayton so my memory may be a bit foggy.

isnt that where harbor green is?

I don't buy that these people did not know these improvements were coming.  There were public meetings, and I am sure everyone in this small town knew what was going on.  If I were going to open a business, you bet your ass I would research the hell out of the site before signing a lease. Also, if they used a real estate agent, why the hell didn't they bring this up?

 

Development hurts business

Riverfront restaurateurs complain that project's road work turns customers away

BY SCOTT WARTMAN | [email protected]

 

The prep work for a massive $600 million riverfront residential development in Dayton has left at least two owners of existing riverfront businesses miffed.  Preliminary site work has started on the 96 acres owned by the city of Dayton and being developed by Cincinnati-based DCI Properties into 535 to 635 condos and homes.

 

The operators of three riverfront restaurants say the city should have given them more information that construction would hamper access to their businesses before they signed leases this year and invested tens of thousands of dollars.

 

Read full article here:

http://news.nky.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20070608/NEWS0103/706080400

"I sat at the corner and saw our customers turn around," Roden said. "I saw five cars in 10 minutes that made the loop and turn around."

 

Im sure they werent customers...just Kentucky folk that were lost.

I sat at the corner and saw our customers turn around," Roden said. "I saw five cars in 10 minutes that made the loop and turn around."

:laugh: One of those might have been me!! I wanted to see what was going on down there. I took a few pics.

Developer embarks on massive Ky. riverfront project

BY LAURA BAVERMAN | August 31, 2007

 

A July 31 flood map change by the Federal Emergency Management Agency now allows development - not the river - to flood the Dayton, Ky., riverfront.  Two years after Dave Imboden won the master development rights for the western Campbell County riverfront, he's proved to FEMA that his $1 billion plans for Dayton's banks won't make other Ohio River communities more susceptible to flooding. That's given him the go-ahead to start $60 million of road, sewer and electric infrastructure improvements to prepare the site.

 

Named Manhattan Harbour after Dayton's 1920s hot spot "Manhattan Bathing Beach," the 1.5 mile-long, 140-acre project is likely to include a mix of residential, medical, municipal, retail and entertainment developments.

 

Plans include up to 1,100 residential units from $250,000 to $2 million. A continuing care retirement community, surrounded by a medical village, is planned for 20 acres near the center of the project. A community center and municipal building will sit at the project entrance on Berry Street. And a retail and entertainment village on the west end of the site will feature more than 150,000 square feet of shops, small businesses and restaurants.

 

Read full article here:

http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2007/09/03/story13.html

This is the first time I've heard the project actually being named.  I've merged the topics.

 

"Harbour"?  What's with all of this British spelling?

Good god in 20 years Cincinnati's urban experience from the vantage point of a boat floating from Dayton to Covington is going to triple.

Developer buying marina?

DCI would do upgrade, build housing nearby

BY SCOTT WARTMAN | September 5, 2007

 

The developer of Manhattan Harbour, an 800-home residential development, has an option to buy the lease for the adjacent Watertown Marina and Yacht Club, Dayton city officials said Tuesday.  Dayton City Council voted Tuesday to allow DCI Properties to buy Watertown's lease from its owner, Heritage Marine Group, which has a 90-year agreement with the city and pays $63,000 annually.

 

Concern and rumors about the future of the marina have risen among the people with boats lodged there, particularly the dozen families who live in houseboats. The dock holds about 220 boats.  The marina's owner doesn't know what DCI Properties will do if they buy it, said Dan Henson, operations manager for Heritage Marine Group.

 

Read full article here:

http://news.nky.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20070905/NEWS0103/709050358

Massive project dramatically alters Dayton riverfront

BY GREG PAETH | September 6, 2007

 

A massive $600 million redevelopment plan for more than a mile and a half of riverfront in Dayton is expected to move forward in the next couple of weeks when contractors begin hauling in thousands of tons of fill material that will shore up the land along the Ohio River.

 

The project, which could bring as many as 1,100 new homes, townhouses and condominiums to Dayton, would be the second largest riverfront project in Northern Kentucky as measured by cost estimates. (Covington's Corporex Cos. has proposed Ovation, a residential-office-retail complex on 14 acres in Newport, whose estimated cost is upwards of $800 million.)

 

Already under way is a $15 million sewer project in which the developer, DCI Properties of Cincinnati and Sanitation District No. 1 of Northern Kentucky are building an 84-inch main that will replace a 24-inch line that sometimes dumps raw sewage into the Ohio River during heavy rainfalls.

 

Read full article here:

http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070906/NEWS01/709060361

Planners wary of project

Concerns on green space abound

BY SCOTT WARTMAN | [email protected]

 

As dirt will be trucked soon to Dayton's riverfront for an 800-home development, residents in this small town are raising concerns about loss of green space.  These concerns boiled over in a Dayton Planning and Zoning Board meeting this week, where the board voted 4-0 against recommending a change of zoning for 59 acres proposed for the development known as Manhattan Harbour.

 

Those 59 acres include the city-owned and privately run Watertown Marina, 22 acres owned by the marina company, and about 37 acres of city-owned land on the east end of the property.  City officials say they don't anticipate the decision will impede the development.

 

Read full article here:

http://news.nky.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20070907/NEWS0103/709070354

Manhattan Harbour conceptual plan online

Building Cincinnati, 11/1/07

 

Site plan, courtesy of DCI Properties: Click to enlarge

 

The conceptual master plan that DCI Properties presented to the City of Dayton in April is available online.

 

Developer David Imboden is planning a $200 million riverfront project that could include up to 1,100 housing units as well as civic, retail and entertainment uses.

 

A retirement community and medical village is planned for the center of the project.

 

DCI is also trying to acquire the Watertown Marina and Yacht Club, which it would renovate and add to the development.

 

Work is currently going on to install an 84-inch water main on the site, at a cost of $15 million.

 

View the concept plan

 

http://www.building-cincinnati.com/2007/11/manhattan-harbour-conceptual-plan.html

 

What is Roebling Row, as pictured in the slides?

 

Looks like this is gearing up for an exciting project! I'm not too sure about the front parking lot along KY 8 for the grocery store, but the lot is still quite small.

Roebling Row is a development that is across the street from The Ascent, at the foot of the Suspension Bridge on the KY side.  I'm not sure if they are apartments or condos, but they were built within the last 5 years or so.  That picture is taken from the "back side", an odd choice, since that isn't what pedestrians and vehicles see as they pass.

^ I'm pretty sure Adam Dunn lives in Roebling's Row.

Building project delayed

BY SCOTT WARTMAN | [email protected]

 

The caravan of trucks carrying large amounts of fill dirt that will raise Dayton's riverfront 14 to 16 feet likely won't happen until summer, according to city officials.  The plan to raise the 800-plus home development project known as Manhattan Harbour above the flood plain was delayed pending permit approvals, City Administrator Dennis Redmond said.

 

Construction crews are laying down large sewer pipes on the site, which is in front of the flood wall along the Ohio River. Sometime in the summer trucks will start hauling 1.2 million cubic yards of dirt down Ky. 8 from property underneath the Combs-Hehl Bridge, Redmond said.  In 18 months, Redmond said the site could be ready to allow traffic back onto Dayton's riverfront.

 

Read full article here:

http://news.nky.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20080113/NEWS0103/801130431

That stinks that it has been delayed.

^^I thought this kind of stuff only happened to Cincinnati projects.  Hmm...

On the upside, the delay should buy time for Bellevue and Dayton to work out how the 2 lane (already congested) Route 8 is supposed to handle all of the traffic this development would generate.  With all of the new projects planned in those 2 cities, they need to find an alternate way to access 471.  Glad it isn't my job to figure that one out.

New bill may hurt city plans

Proposed law threatens work on Dayton's riverfront

BY SCOTT WARTMAN | [email protected]

 

The weather has slowed construction on Manhattan Harbour, the large residential and commercial development planned for the city's riverfront.  But proposed changes in a state tax incentive, however, could have a bigger dampening effect on the work, local officials said. Legislators say proposed changes to tax- increment financing laws threaten the 800-home development in front of the flood wall.

 

The developer, DCI Properties, needs about a month of good weather to finish laying the 8,000 feet of sewer line and then can start hauling 1.2 million cubic yards of dirt on the site to raise the ground above the flood level, said Jim Kersting of DCI Properties.

 

Read full article here:

http://news.nky.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20080310/NEWS0103/803100355

But House Bill 512 would put more restrictions on this incentive, known as tax- increment financing, passed last year by the legislature.

 

State Rep. Robin Webb, D-Grayson, introduced HB 512 and said the TIF districts give away too much tax money to developers and were not being used as intended.

 

Five projects around the state have been approved as TIF districts, including the $900 million commercial and residential Ovation project planned for Newport's riverfront.

 

Who saw this one coming...

Well, it's affecting more than this project alone Randy. A few rural representatives are upset that TIF is being used to help finance development projects in urbanized areas -- but it's absurd because TIF has been used for many years in Louisville and was expanded to other major cities more recently. It's another urban versus rural debate. I don't think that the TIF whine will go through.

I understand that it is affecting more than just this...the article states that there are "five projects around the state that have been approved as TIF districts..."

 

From what I've seen, the KY TIFFs have given too much to developers and it has come back to hurt places like Newport in the case of the NOTL project.  There is no free money...and I think that KY was riding a dangerous wave here.  It should also be noted that being overly risky on TIFFs is not an issue unique to KY...this is something that has been an issue in many areas around the country.

 

It really isn't all that different from how HamCo projected extremely high growth rates for the stadium sales tax levy.  As soon as that didn't meet projections everyone started to panic.

From what I've seen, the KY TIFFs have given too much to developers and it has come back to hurt places like Newport in the case of the NOTL project. 

 

That's debatable.  Yes, Newport hasn't seen the tax revenue it expected from NOTL, and I'm sure that they'd like to see more stores actually open instead of just a ton of restaurants/bars.  But it still pulls in a large crowd on evenings and weekends, and sparked changes that are revitalizing most of the city after decades of decay.  New businesses are opening on Monmouth all the time, historic homes are being renovated at an amazing rate, and new housing is being constructed on several streets on lots that have been vacant for years.  None of that was on the radar prior to the Levee.  Also, major projects like Southshore, the Newport Pavilion shopping center, and Ovation might not even be in discussion without NOTL attracting so much attention to the city.  And there's no way that a city of Newport's size requires a huge movie theater or an aquarium, so having them within walking distance at the Levee is a huge score for Newport residents with children.  NOTL gets bashed a lot on this board, and I'll be the first to admit that there are many of things I would change about it given the opportunity, but I'd guess that most Newport residents are glad the Levee was built and do not view it as hurting the city. 

 

 

EDIT:  I think you have a good point about KY getting too risky with TIFFs, though.  I just think that NOTL is a win and not a loss.  Manhattan Harbor, on the other hand, is another story altogether and I think the label of "risky" applies very well to it.  For one thing, its location is remote and inaccessible and if the project is successful, it will require a major reworking of the already overburdened roadways in the area.  Widening RT8 would do a lot of damage to Bellevue's historic distric, whose shops sit directly on "The Avenue".  There's no clear route to build a bypass, and I can't see anyone supporting the building of bridge from Dayton across the Ohio to keep traffic off of RT8 and 471.  I'm afraid that this project is just the begining of a bunch of logistical headaches for people in both Bellevue and Dayton.  But, I have been wrong before.

^Agree!

^I'm talking about the sucess of the TIFF.  Newport overvalued the TIFF and it is now hurting them financially.  They over-projected the TIFF so that they could get more money upfront for NOTL.  But now they aren't seeing the increased tax values that they projected in order to get the upfront loan that they got...that gives you a bit of a financial issue.

 

NOTL has done a lot of good for Newport...but even a perfect project with zero problems can be financially troublesome if you over estimate the value of a TIFF - as Newport did for NOTL for example.

^ Oh, okay.  I thought you meant overall.  Newport was a pit when I was growing up, so I was shocked when I first heard the plan to build NOTL. 

Yup...NOTL is certainly not my cup of tea, but to many people it is a popular destination for things like the movie theatre, the aquarium, and the restaurants.  The retail seems to be failing, but it is still a win for Newport as a whole...it is just unfortunate that the TIFF is coming back to bite them in the butt on this one.  If that wasn't the case we probably would be seeing cranes for phase II of NOTL including a hotel and some offices I'm sure.

Wow, a delayed project in ky.

Dayton project gets 'reprieve'

Development still alive on riverfront

BY SCOTT WARTMAN | [email protected]

 

Legislation that some feared would threaten the 800-home development on Dayton's riverfront appears dead in the state Senate.  That means the city can proceed with plans to create a tax-increment financing district around the Manhattan Harbour development in front of Dayton's flood wall. The district would fund about $60 million in infrastructure improvements with some local and state taxes, said city administrator Dennis Redmond.

 

Some legislators had sought to reign in this tax incentive, known as tax-increment financing, which lawmakers expanded in 2007.  Cities have used new TIF laws to help fund five large developments around the state.  Rep. Robin Webb, D-Grayson, introduced House Bill 512 with the intention of revamping TIF laws and, among other changes, take away some taxes that could have gone to support the infrastructure.

 

Read full article here:

http://news.nky.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20080409/NEWS0103/804090389