June 15, 200816 yr Wow! This thing has really grown, a 20 story tower! Riverfront plan more ambitious Manhattan Harbour will be a 'destination' BY SCOTT WARTMAN | [email protected] The number of homes and businesses planned for Dayton's riverfront has grown during the past two years. As the developer of the massive retail/housing development known as Manhattan Harbour waited for government approvals, the plan has evolved from 800 homes to 2,000 housing units and 230,000 square feet of commercial space for the 142-acre area in front of the floodwall. The developer, Cincinnati-based DCI Properties, has most of its approvals and anticipates starting construction on buildings and roads within the next year. The slow economy and housing market hasn't intimidated DCI Properties and its president, David Imboden. Rather, a tax incentive known as tax-increment financing and the help of Dayton officials has allowed the development to grow in size, Imboden said. Read full article here: http://news.nky.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20080615/NEWS0103/806150380
June 15, 200816 yr 10 years from now, the riverfront will be what it should've been a looooooooong time ago. Cincy and NKY together should have one of the best spots in the country and you can't argue that one bit;) bravo to the progress!
June 17, 200816 yr wow this will be a lot cooler than i originally imagined and should really help revive dayton drastically.
June 17, 200816 yr wow this will be a lot cooler than i originally imagined and should really help revive dayton drastically. I have mixed emotions about this development. First, it will be completely cut off from the rest of the city (it's on the river side of their levee). Of course all Dayton residents will have access to the shops/restaurants that this development will bring, along with the added tax dollars. Second, as a resident of Bellevue I look forward to all development around my area, I just don't know how much more traffice Route 8 (Fairfield Ave in Bellevue) can take. There are sometimes I worry about traffice destroying the wonderful shops and bistros that have sprung up in Bellevue in the last few years.
June 23, 200816 yr I wonder if an east side ferry wouldn't be a good idea. With this and all the new development in the east end, it could provide a nice alternative to building roads (or one of jmeck's tunnels).
June 23, 200816 yr You're right, I think a ferry really could find a niche over there since those cities are more or less on an island. It's easy to forget that there is no access to the I-275 bridge -- the 275 bridge can only be reached from 471 since there is no interchange between the river and 471. Probably a ferry from the eastern end of Dayton to Delta Ave. could work. This development is incredibly only 2 miles from Hyde Park Square as the crow flies so I think there would be a decent demand for it. Right now there is a place offering water taxi rides to the Reds games from Bellevue but this is not serious transportation. As for a bridge, I dunno if there's enough demand, and a bridge in that location although only 2 lanes would require a long center span with piers near the shorelines since it is a difficult navigation point. That is a point on the river where all commercial navigation makes a radio call, it's called "Dayton Bar".
July 10, 200816 yr You're right to worry, both Bellevue and Dayton need to be proactive and instead of trying to turn every single building along the avenue into another shop the area doesn't need (hello Skinny Legs pub) knock down the occasional building for a parking lot so the parking can be moved off street and maybe rt.8 can get some more room and even a wonderful turning lane :D Second, as a resident of Bellevue I look forward to all development around my area, I just don't know how much more traffice Route 8 (Fairfield Ave in Bellevue) can take. There are sometimes I worry about traffice destroying the wonderful shops and bistros that have sprung up in Bellevue in the last few years.
July 10, 200816 yr They definitely need to get that parking off of the avenue, but any additional lots should get tucked away on the side streets, not on the RT 8 itself. This would work particularly well on the "river side" of the street, since that area is flood prone anyway. It's amazing that so few of the buildings along RT 8 in Bellevue have been demolished, which adds to the charm of the area.
July 12, 200816 yr Typorir I hope you were kidding about that whole post. Skinny Legs is a welcome addition to the avenue, my only beef is they don't have draft beer yet! You should have see that building before Ezra bought it, it was horrible. Jimmy, I live on the river side of the Fairfield and there will be hell to pay if they try to put in a parking lot. One of my biggest pet peaves with the Bellevue gov't is their disregard for that part of the city (plus rumors that it's all slated for demo anyway, which if thats the case I better be compensated HANDSOMELY). Granted it has a lot of 'shotgun' houses that are only 1 story and probably can never be redone into something people will pay good money for, but there are also lots of nice 2 story row houses like the one I bought.
July 12, 200816 yr Sorry rekxu83. I didn't mean to put down that part of Bellevue. I live nearby and have often admired the housing stock there. I'm a huge fan of "smaller" houses of that period (I own one myself, actually), and I particularly like the shotgun-style, so it's funny that you should mention it specifically. I only brought this up as an alternative to demolishing existing buildings located directly on the avenue itself, which would rob the shops there of much of their current appeal and drawing power. And by parking lots, I was envisioning the city tucking away a small parking lot here and there in lots that might already be vacant (we certainly have a bunch of those where I live in Newport), as opposed to demo-ing large amounts of housing to add surface lots. It wouldn't take very many of these lots to equal what would be lost if the on-street parking went away, which might happen if Manhattan Harbor takes off. Northside has some parking of this nature, which is what I was envisioning. My apologies for not being more clear.
July 13, 200816 yr http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080713/BIZ01/807130344/-1/NEWS0107 Didn't see this posted anywhere else. A pretty in-depth look at the development and the man behind it.
July 13, 200816 yr Wow..some pretty serious punches thrown at Cincinnati by Mr. Imboden. I guess the City should just settle for crappy, self serving developments and let people like David do as they will. At least then we'd finally be getting something accomplished in this city!!!!!!!!!!!! What a crock. Uh-Oh...did i just start another Cincinnati vs. Northern KY debate?
July 13, 200816 yr Every time I read an article like that I want to puke. It is really hard to tell if the guy is truly pissed at the City of Cincinnati, or if he had a minor beef and the author just twisted it to juice up the article. The guy obviously had no problem with all his other developments on the Cincy side and now all of the sudden doesn't know how to work through some disagreements with the City? Give me a break. I also agree with PhattyNati that the guy may think he walks on water and the City should bend over for him. The only first hand knowledge I had of the project he is speaking of on the Cincy side is one in which he was REPEATEDLY fined for illegal dumping of fill to raise the site. He has obviously done a lot of great work and I think the Manhattan Harbor project is killer, I just hate this mutally exclusive BS some of these guys pull when someone doesn't do exactly as they want.
July 13, 200816 yr ^ What was the name of the project he pulled out of in Cincinnati, and where exactly was it?
July 13, 200816 yr ^I may be wrong, but I think they may be referring to Corbin Park on Riverside. Point is, Cincinnati doesn't need to bend over backwards for folks like Mr. Imboden. Not anymore. Have at it, KY.
July 13, 200816 yr It was not Corbin Park, but it is right there by it, he landbanked a chunk of land starting the corner of Gotham Place and Eastern Ave./Riverside Dr. and going east to roughly the Duke Energy substation.
July 14, 200816 yr If you've met one guy like Mr. Imboden you've met them all. I'm sure he felt slighted the first time the city did anything resembling holding his project up (which probably had something to do w/ his dumping...err illegal landfill dumping) and blew it out of proportion. Guys like him think everybody should bend over backwards for them. Which, I'll be the first to admit, is probably a good & neccesary trait if you're a developer.
July 21, 200816 yr Typorir I hope you were kidding about that whole post. Skinny Legs is a welcome addition to the avenue, my only beef is they don't have draft beer yet! You should have see that building before Ezra bought it, it was horrible. I did see it and I see it quite regularly being a resident for the last 9 years, and no I wasn't kidding, do you really think the people who live nearby enjoy a dive bar (and that's really what it is) and everything it brings with it? loud speakers on the street? nice of the city to OK a big 'screw you' to every actual resident within sound range of the place, gee wonder where all the bar visitors are going to park? eh well all the people who live there can just walk a few miles right? A restaurant open in the evening is one thing, a noise and traffic nuisance to actual residents is quite another, I'm sure no one will agree and will respond with a nice "well they can all just move" except a lot of them really don't have the option. Eh well.
July 21, 200816 yr ^ Alexandria has your name written all over it! ... as long as you don't mind living in a 99% white demographical area. ;)
July 21, 200816 yr Typorir, as a resident you always have the option to notify the City about the noise. That is something the City can address. As for parking, they are not required to have off-street parking at their location. However; the City did have a plan to paint angeled parking on Ward Avenue and make it one way which would have freed up parking for residents and for those visiting Fairfield Avenue. The City has been working on the off-street parking issue for several decades and has recently created a parking committee to explore options. Some of those options include the possible purchase of private property but as usual with these things it takes time. As for Manhatten Harbour, the City is very concerned with this development because of its impact to Bellevue's downtown. The traffic study they have presented to their Planning Commission calls for removing several blocks of on-street parking from the Bellevue part of Rt. 8. On-street parking is essential for providing a safety buffer between pedestrians and traffic. Eliminating this would reduce parking for businesses and hinder pedestrian activity. Bellevue is working with Dayton and the Transportation Cabinet to find a solution. “All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.” -Friedrich Nietzsche
July 22, 200816 yr Removing Fairfield's on-street parking would be disasterous for Bellevue. I'm frankly at a loss as to what they can do about the problem. The only two options I see are: a.) Put up w/ the traffic, just get used to it b.) Build a new road somewhere I'm betting we'll just have to get used to it.
August 7, 200816 yr Damn, that is bigger than I thought. It would be nice of the ACoE would allow for at least another cut-through between the floodwall to have more interconnectivity between the development and Dayton.
August 7, 200816 yr What happened to the images? Sorry...I was doing some reorganizing on my Photobucket account, and forgot to relink. It's all better now.
August 8, 200816 yr I think it will add alot to the basin! I got no gripes if they can pull it off! Hell I admit it, I'm pulling for'em!!
September 12, 200816 yr Dayton project financing unveiled Development could get $100M tax deal By Scott Wartman • [email protected] • September 12, 2008 The 2,000-home development on Dayton's riverfront would get a tax incentive worth about $100 million with a proposal unveiled Thursday before City Council. At a public hearing Thursday, developer DCI Properties and the city unveiled the proposal for the creation of a tax increment financing district, or TIF, around the Manhattan Harbour. TIF districts allow the increase in tax revenue generated by a development to go back into the public infrastructure of that development. The city would issue $100 million to $120 million in bonds. Tax revenue generated by Manhattan Harbour would pay for the bonds and the interest. Read full article here: http://nky.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20080912/NEWS0103/809120392
September 12, 200816 yr "Several residents from Riverpointe, the condo complex on Dayton's hillside, worry that Manhattan Harbour could block their views of the river valley" Maybe we should ask them to tear down their condos because the destroyed my view of the hillside. I understand the concern but give me a break.
September 12, 200816 yr Phatty I agree all the way. Old fashioned people in downtown or near it hate the fact we're becomming "progressive" and are getting high rises. The fact of Cincy turning into a big metropolis frightens these people beyond belief. How in the hell will a 15-20 story tower ruin the entire view of the river? JUST LOOK TO THE LEFT OR RIGHT OF IT. omg.
September 12, 200816 yr No kidding. It's like the suburbanites that move further and further out into the farms, and complain about the smell of cows or the usage of noisy tractors next to their properties.
September 13, 200816 yr Phatty I agree all the way. Old fashioned people in downtown or near it hate the fact we're becomming "progressive" and are getting high rises. The fact of Cincy turning into a big metropolis frightens these people beyond belief. How in the hell will a 15-20 story tower ruin the entire view of the river? JUST LOOK TO THE LEFT OR RIGHT OF IT. omg. Well, a 10 story office building has completely ruined my view of downtown Cincinnati. When I look my front door, I see nothing but cement and glass. I have a little bit of Mt Adams left, but without that 1 building, I'd have the whole Cincinnati Skyline. Imagine what that would do for my property value. I'm not trying to bitch, but I totally understand why homeowners in the area are upset. It's a completely legitimate concern.
September 13, 200816 yr Well, a 10 story office building has completely ruined my view of downtown Cincinnati. When I look my front door, I see nothing but cement and glass. I have a little bit of Mt Adams left, but without that 1 building, I'd have the whole Cincinnati Skyline. Imagine what that would do for my property value. I'm not trying to bitch, but I totally understand why homeowners in the area are upset. It's a completely legitimate concern. When a building is built directly next to your residence, yes that MAY take your view. But when you live on a hillside that is atleast a mile away, there is plenty to look at even with the tower being built.
September 13, 200816 yr That looks pretty cool. All the stuff going on along the river right now is mind-boggling...
September 14, 200816 yr Well, a 10 story office building has completely ruined my view of downtown Cincinnati. When I look my front door, I see nothing but cement and glass. I have a little bit of Mt Adams left, but without that 1 building, I'd have the whole Cincinnati Skyline. Imagine what that would do for my property value. I'm not trying to bitch, but I totally understand why homeowners in the area are upset. It's a completely legitimate concern. When a building is built directly next to your residence, yes that MAY take your view. But when you live on a hillside that is atleast a mile away, there is plenty to look at even with the tower being built. True. Just pointing out that this sort of thing can be very important for a homeowner. Ultimately, you own the property, not the view. The view's just a bonus, but seeing it altered can be very frustrating. That's living in the city though, I suppose. /edit: I'll see if I can figure out a way to take and post a few pictures this week. The view is hilariously terrible now.
September 15, 200816 yr I live in Newport, so Manhattan Harbour won't affect me at all. I'm referring to the hideous "Heinz Building" that is next to the Levee. My initial post was just to play devil's advocate, since there were 3 or 4 consecutive posts calling out homeowners concerned about losing their view.
September 15, 200816 yr I think Cincy and NKy will continue to get more and more high rises for years to come. The people living in homes with obstructed views will just have to suck it up or move away because it's not changing. Times are changing and that means everyone has to adapt. Architects won't design holes in the buildings so some 80 year old can see her favorite tree from across the river.
September 15, 200816 yr Actually I doubt we'll see much beyond what we already have. The capital for big developments is disappearing and cities are going to run out of the capacity to make these happen.
October 3, 200816 yr Dayton riverfront project seeks public funds $120 million tax break would pay for infrastructure By Scott Wartman • [email protected] • October 3, 2008 The slow economy hasn't kept a developer from seeking public funding for a 2,000-home project on Dayton's riverfront. DCI Properties in the past month has asked the city and Campbell County Fiscal Court to pledge that future tax revenues generated by the site, known as Manhattan Harbour, go back into the development. The tax revenues would pay for raising the ground of the site by 14-16 feet so it is above the flood plain. It would also pay for public infrastructure, including roads and utilities. Tax revenue would account for $120 million of the approximately $1 billion project. The tax break, known as tax-increment financing or TIF, takes the tax revenues a development creates through increased value and jobs and reinvests it back into the site until bonds are paid. Read full article here: http://nky.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20081003/NEWS0103/810030407
October 3, 200816 yr Architects won't design holes in the buildings so some 80 year old can see her favorite tree from across the river. Didin't they sort of do that with Great American Ballpark?
October 16, 200816 yr Dayton tax plan advances District would pay for Harbour upgrades By Kevin Kelly, Cincinnati Enquirer, October 16, 2008 A plan to establish a tax-increment financing (TIF) district around a major development planned for Dayton's riverfront now has enough local support to file an application with the state. Campbell County Fiscal Court on Wednesday unanimously approved a local participation agreement for a TIF district around the Manhattan Harbour development. On Tuesday, Dayton City Council voted unanimously to create the TIF district and adopted its development plan and local participation agreement. "We're really excited about the final actions to move this project forward," said Jim Parsons, a lawyer representing the developer, Cincinnati-based DCI Properties. "To submit the application to the state you have to have local approval first for state participation. So this is a critical step for us, but also it shows the local support that's available for this particular project."
December 12, 200816 yr New Cincinnati developers plan both affordable housing, higher-end project Business Courier of Cincinnati - by Lucy May A recently transplanted development firm has plans to both create affordable housing in urban Cincinnati and finance a $900 million project on Northern Kentucky’s riverfront. C&M Communities opened offices on the third floor of Emmanuel Community Center in Over-the-Rhine earlier this year and has been quietly sizing up the market and lining up investors. But now C&M CEO Terry Chan and his brother, Gary, are poised to unveil their vision, and it’s a big one. They want to redevelop both low-income and market-rate housing and help the people who rent it become financially self-sufficient through credit counseling, a savings program and even job training. At the same time, C&M has teamed up with local developer Dave Imboden on his DCI Properties’ Manhattan Harbour project in Dayton, Ky. The $900 million waterfront project sits on 142 acres and could include as many as 2,000 homes and 230,000 square feet of retail and a hotel. The plan also calls for assisted living, walking trails, a park and a ferry shuttle between the site and downtown. Read full article here: http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2008/12/15/story2.html
January 26, 200916 yr Not sure if its ok for one of the developers to post on this forum, but we are keeping a blog at http://manhattanharbour.blogspot.com. We'd love to hear input from everyone in the community. EDIT: fixed link
January 27, 200916 yr ^Great, thanks for sharing. I've gone ahead and made a few comments...I'll also probably give the new blog a plug on UrbanCincy in the coming days.
February 4, 200916 yr River metropolis may start soon By Lisa Bernard-Kuhn • [email protected] • February 4, 2009 Construction could begin this spring on the first critical pieces of a $900 million riverfront project that's expected to draw new retailers, restaurants, housing and a 150-room hotel to this tiny Northern Kentucky city. When completed, Manhattan Harbour is expected to span 142 acres of waterfront property. That's roughly eight times larger than The Banks development in downtown Cincinnati and four times bigger than Ovation, the mixed-use project that Covington-based Corporex has planned for Newport. Anchored by the 460-slip Manhattan Harbour marina, formerly Watertown Marina, the project is being touted as a world-class development that will pull design concepts, shops and entertainment venues from top destinations across the globe. Read full article here: http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090204/BIZ01/902040319/1001/BIZ
February 4, 200916 yr Describing this as a "metropolis" seems to be a bit overboard. It's a big project (about the size of The Banks in scope), but it's no "metropolis."
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