Buildings to be razed for Bellevue development

By Patrick Crowley

Enquirer staff writer

 

BELLEVUE - Work begins next month on the first project in a $110 million riverfront building boom for this Campbell County city.  The Ackerman Group, an Anderson Township developer, plans to begin demolishing buildings on 14 acres along Fairfield Avenue just east of the Riverboat Row restaurant district.

 

That will make room for an $80 million development called Harbor Greene that will include:

 

•  100 luxury condominiums with river views that will sell for up to $300,000.

•  90,000 square feet of office space.

•  15,000 square feet of retail space and a restaurant.

•  a 40,000-square-foot Gold's Gym

•  Nearly 700 parking spaces.

•  Green space, a park, walking paths and a bike trail.

 

Work is expected to be complete in late 2005 or early 2006.

 

MORE: http://www.enquirer.com

any renderings available?

Couldn't find anything anywhere.

It's about time they started. They've been talking about a large riverfront development for a long time.

this is directly across the street from the house i lived in before i moved to oakley.

 

everything that the ackermann group does is absolute garbage. this project will be a disgrace as well. here are a couple renderings.

 

(i lived in the 11th house from the right at the top of the picture. my mom owns it and moved into it when we moved out. if she still has a view of the river, city, and mt. adams after this monstrosity gets built, she's going to restore it to a single family.

 

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yeah, you do have to feel for all the residents who are going to lose their views. That is one knock all of the NKY cities get, they all build tall right on the riverfront and block out everything else. Where did you find those renderings?

Nice renderings. I'm glad to see that parking will be confined to surface lots on the main commercial thoroughfare and on the waterfront.

grasscat, are you being facetious? the parking and overall suburban nature of the development are what bother me the most.

rather than integrate this into the existing grid, it's a self-contained "complex" with, from what i can see, only 3 possible entryways.

 

i got the renderings from the developers website, www.ackermanngroup.com . months ago, i called the company and asked them if they had any renderings available to the public. the lady i spoke with was far from accomodating, basically brushed me off, and took my phone number. needless to say, they never called back, but i found their website after a lot of searching.

the way i see it, until the ackermann group improves their building/design methods, they should stay out of the city and/or established neighborhoods.

btw, don't forget that these are the kind folks that brought us the beauty that is the "cornerstone at rookwood." that should give you an idea of their cutting-edge design...

damn yea look at all that surface parking, why not build a garage??? and put some riverfront walkways and landscaping there

agreed cinyc

grasscat' date=' are you being facetious? the parking and overall suburban nature of the development are what bother me the most.

rather than integrate this into the existing grid, it's a self-contained "complex" with, from what i can see, only 3 possible entryways.[/quote']

I suppose my sarcasm didn't exactly come through.

 

For the record, I think it's horrible.

Nasty.

grasscat' date=' are you being facetious? the parking and overall suburban nature of the development are what bother me the most.

rather than integrate this into the existing grid, it's a self-contained "complex" with, from what i can see, only 3 possible entryways.[/quote']

I suppose my sarcasm didn't exactly come through.

 

For the record, I think it's horrible.

 

that's what i figured, sorry. :)

Some new project info.....

 

 

Bellevue suddenly posh place to reside

Homes going for millions

By Mike Rutledge

Enquirer staff writer

 

Joanna Maehren lived for 15 years in Newport's trendy East Row Historic District, but she's moving into a newer Northern Kentucky hot spot for housing and small businesses: neighboring Bellevue.  She is renovating four shabby apartments above the beadery into a single, nice apartment for her family.  Maehren and her sister are not alone in betting on Bellevue.

 

Since the start of 2003, more than 800 homes have sold in the city that in 2003 had an estimated 6,138 residents, according to the Campbell County Property Valuation Administrator's office.  "We currently have four developments happening in Bellevue that are residential developments, and they're upscale," said city administrator Don Martin.

 

Two riverfront projects are in the works:

 

• The Ackermann Group's $65 million Harbor Greene development east of the Buckhead Mountain Grill. It will feature 106 condominiums in three mid-rise buildings, all with river views. They will sell for $360,000 to $1 million - with penthouses going for $1.5 million. The development will include 90,000 square feet of office space; 15,000 square feet of retail space; a 10,000-square-foot development pad for a restaurant, and a 40,000-square-foot gym featuring a pool.

 

• The 24-unit Bellevue Waterfront Condominiums development at Taylor and Eden avenues. "That one is about 75 percent sold out already, and it's not up out of the ground," Martin said. "They range from $350,000 up to $900,000."

 

MORE: http://www.enquirer.com

Bellevue...going TRENDY?!?!?

 

The world is ending.

They are building those million dollar homes....where we get those awesome skyline shots :(

 

Soon we'll go there and try to get pics, and get the cops called on us because the richies dont want people taking pics by their house.

Especially Chris. :D

If you like to watch local politicians turn over shovels of pre-dug earth...from the 10/19/04 Kentucky Post:

 

Bellevue complex breaks ground

Town homes and condos planned

Post staff report

 

The public is invited to attend the groundbreaking and unveiling of Bellevue's latest development project.  The event will be held at 12:30 p.m. today on the riverfront at Taylor Avenue.  In case of rain, it will be at the Envelope Printery, also at Taylor Avenue and the Ohio River.

 

The Donenfeld Group of Cincinnati has plans to develop 24 condos in the $350,000 to $800,000 price range.  The project involves two, six-story condominium buildings along with six freestanding town homes.  The rendering for the project will be unveiled at the ceremony.

 

"The project continues to grow our availability of new upscale housing to complement and diversify our existing stock of older, solidly built homes," Bellevue Mayor Jack Meyer said.  The project is one of four in the works, or in the planning stage, for this river city.  The most high profile is the $65 million Harbor Greene residential and commercial development along Fairfield Avenue, just west of the Donenfeld condo project.

 

http://www.kypost.com/2004/10/19/belle101904.html

Here is a shot of the rendering.....

 

 

They should stack them :)

The related article, from the 10/20/04 Enquirer:

 

 

Bellevue condos to merit name

View costs almost a million bucks

By Mike Rutledge

Enquirer staff writer

 

The 24-unit Bellevue Waterfront Condominiums will have lots of glass facing the Ohio River and 650 square feet of outside terrace apiece, along with some of the other amenities prospective residents are likely used to, such as private, two-car garages.

 

"The main selling point has been that the size of the units is commensurate with the way our buyers have been living," said Jack Donenfeld, CEO of Cincinnati-based Donenfeld Group, which specializes in resort and condominium development in ski and waterfront areas, such as Telluride, Colo., and Naples, Fla.

 

"Many of our buyers are coming directly from their own homes," Donenfeld said. The buyers, a mix of empty-nesters and younger professionals from "Cincinnati and all over Northern Kentucky," are used to such amenities as their own garages and secure elevators that go directly into their living spaces, he said.

 

http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/10/20/loc_kywaterfront20.html

those dont look half bad

Well, those newer renderings don't exactly go with the overview map that CiNCYC posted. So maybe they changed quite a few things and it won't be that bad. Hope they release some more stuff soon.

^ The map he posted was of Harbor Greene. The one they are starting on is a different development, Waterfront Condominiums, is east of that.

If you people only knew the games and that got played on that whole deal... :x

Kind of a lofty goal, innit?  From the 12/22/04 Enquirer:

 

 

Mall Road upgrades will continue

By Brenna R. Kelly

Enquirer staff writer

 

FLORENCE - As last-minute holiday shoppers sat in bumper-to-bumper traffic along Mall Road on Tuesday night, Florence city leaders moved forward with a plan to transform the road's aging retail strip into "the most contemporary downtown in America."

 

Retail adviser Stan Eichelbaum envisions a vibrant district of shops, homes, offices and entertainment called Florence City Center.

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041222/NEWS0103/412220362/1077/NEWS01

 

oh lord

Let's add towers, awnings and dormers to the strip malls and it will become a "contemporary" downtown!

 

:wtf:

i have so many opinions about this, i wouldn't even know where to begin. 

 

until i see some actual plans/renderings/whatnot, i'll keep them to myself.  i will say it sounds good for what it is, but it would take a lot of work and money to improve that disaster area.  coining it "city center this" and "city center that" won't cut it.

That has got to be a badjoke!! is it april 1st?? Im laughing almost as much as I heard about the Florence freedom baseball team! :lol:

My buddy just rehabbed a house in Bellevue. bought an empty shell Bungalow for nothing..looks incredible now.

If you people only knew the games and that got played on that whole deal... :x

 

huh?

Yeah, BackDoorWillie.  You keep mentioning this...why don't you actually elaborate?

how timely. i was just in the process of gathering up a few folks to see if they wanted to put up a sign declaring rising sun, ohio "the most rural bump in the road in america." we too want to make this vision a reality.

 

yeah....dumb joke sorry.

 

Where is Rising Sun, Ohio?  ;)

^Oh no, I prefer the gnostic school of civic development.

Maybe through meditation, the answer will appear to all of us!

^ HA 

 

Article from the 12/24/04 Kentucky Post:

 

 

Consultant to re-create Mall Road

Retailers expected to be recruited

By Denise Wilson

Post staff reporter

 

Plans to reinvent Mall Road moved forward Tuesday, when Florence City Council approved a contract with its retail consultant.

 

Council unanimously approved a municipal order that authorizes Florence Mayor Diane Whalen to extend a contract with Stan Eichelbaum and his Cincinnati-based firm, Marketing Developments Inc., to conduct the next phase of the Mall Road Study, said Assistant City Coordinator Rick Lunnemann.

 

http://www.kypost.com/2004/12/24/mallroad122404.html

 

Is the Florence city council on drugs or what? I lived in that area for almost 2 years and this is going to be something that I don't think Florence can handle. Mall Rd is like two miles long in that stretch they are talking about. It's going to be immensly expensive and take a long time to complete. I thought Florence learned their lesson with the Freedom Baseball Stadium?

grasscat--where is rising sun, oh? lol! here it is--don't blink or you'll miss it:

 

http://maps.yahoo.com/py/maps.py?Pyt=Tmap&&csz=Rising+Sun+OH+&Get%A0Map=Get+Map

 

***basically its in northwest ohio. rising sun actually has some fame as the birthplace of silent film legends dorothy and lillian gish. why do i know that factoid? because of the gish theater at bgsu. *not to be confused with rising sun in ohio county in kentucky which happened when i googled.

 

 

Here is a great, loooong article from the 1/14/05 Cincinnati Business Courier:

 

 

Finessing Florence

New vision would punch up aging Mall Road corridor to create 'new urbanism' ethos.

Lucy May and Lisa Biank Fasig

Courier Staff Reporters

 

There was a time when this corridor of aging shopping centers, telephone poles and long lines of traffic reigned as the retail gem of Northern Kentucky.

 

Mall Road, with Florence Mall as its anchor, for decades served as the epicenter of retail activity in the burgeoning Florence community. With its lineup of department stores, discounters and restaurants, easy access to all the major interstates and little competition, it was assured success.

 

But Mall Road, though no less important now than it was 30 years ago, has failed to grow with the region it serves. Northern Kentucky now counts 340,000 households. What it requires, in the mind of Cincinnati retail consultant Stan Eichelbaum, is a transformation that would make it the "southside downtown."

 

http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2005/01/17/story1.html

 

Here's an update on Harbor Greene from the 2/23/05 Kentucky Post:

 

Harbor Greene is under way

Bellevue home to $90M project

Post staff report

 

Construction began this week on the $90 million Harbor Greene residential and commercial development along Fairfield Avenue in Bellevue.  It is one of four new upscale developments that will give the city of 6,138 an array of mixed-income residents.

 

The new condominiums, town homes and single-family houses will range in price from $300,000 to $1.4 million.  Most houses in Bellevue are valued between $50,000 and $100,000.

 

Harbor Greene, being constructed on 14 acres by the Ackermann Group of Mount Carmel, Ohio, will consist of 105 condominiums, 90,000 square feet of office space and 100,000 square feet of retail space, including a Gold's gym and a restaurant.

 

http://www.kypost.com/2005/02/23/harb022305.html

 

just have to hold my breath and hope this thing turns out better than i anticipate.

^ I remember commenting to ColDayMan once, "This area looks like the Streets of West Chester".  :D

Great more 350,000-800,000 condos, please stop with the upmarket and refocus to the starter condo 130-200 range because this is getting ridiculous.

^ I've always advocated more market-rate, affordable housing near the core.  I'm afraid with all of these upscale condo projects, we're going to have a glut.

 

That's not to say that I don't get excited by all of these condo projects.  A lot of developers seem to see the benefits outweighing the risk, which I guess is a good thing.  I mean, we could be having no action at all.

The project has a website if you wish to check it out:

http://www.harborgreene.com/index.htm

 

QUOTE: "Now accepting contracts"

Also under construction is the first of three buildings of three town homes each at Lake Street and Ross Avenue.

 

The nine homes being built by Bora Development of Cincinnati will range in price from $350,000 to $500,000.

 

Here's a slightly small rendering of these townhomes, the Bellevue Townhomes or whatever.  They are going for $300K+.

 

http://www.starone.com/displaylist.asw?listnum=307997&mls=nky