Posts tagged “the banks”

‘Cincinnati From Devou Park’ captures new urban b-roll for Queen City

By ―

Every so often the UrbanCincy team strolls through the interwebs to find out what kinds of video content people are producing about Cincinnati in the digital age. It turns out that the overwhelming majority of that content is commercial in nature, but every once in a while we find some good old fashion urban b-roll.

One of the most recent items we came across is Cincinnati From Devou Park by Michael Toffan. The nearly three-minute video slowly pans about the views from one of the region’s most popular vantage points. It is a slow and methodical video set to the song ‘Every Woman’ by Stephan Baird.

The video expectedly captures the views of downtown Cincinnati and Covington, but it also intimately showcases ongoing construction at The Banks (0:33), the aging Brent Spence Bridge (0:53), and barge traffic on the Ohio River (2:05).

National organization to manage bikes at Riverfront Park

By ―

Cincinnati will join the ranks of Chicago, San Francisco, New York City, Washington D.C. and Miami, Florida as another city to utilize Bike and Roll, a nationally recognized bicycle rental and tour company, as the operator of the Bike, Mobility and Visitor’s Center for the Central Riverfront Park. The center is scheduled to open in Fall of 2011, along with the Jacob G. Schmidlapp Stage and Event Lawn, despite recent city budget cutbacks to the Parks Board.

“The Phase I features currently under construction are being built with a blend of previously procured federal, state, local and private funds,” said Willie Carden, Director of Cincinnati Parks. “So this construction work will proceed as we endeavor to open and maintain the park. In the meantime, Common Area Maintainence charges from The Banks development, the Schmidlapp Event Lawn rentals, and rent from the Moerlein Lager House and the Bike Center will begin to generate significant revenues for the operation of the park – attracting thousands of visitors for recreation, socialization and relaxation to the region’s new front door.”

In a true example of public-private funding and ownership, Bike and Park (the Cincinnati branch of the company) will exclusively staff, maintain, and operate the Visitor’s Center and bike rental facilities – including lockers, showers, and toilet rooms – in the park. They will pay all rent and operating costs, and will fully furnish the center.

The Bike and Mobility Center will offer a full range of options for both visitors and Cincinnati residents to enjoy. A wide variety of bikes will be available for rent, as well as strollers, tagalongs, trailers and kids’ safety equipment.

Bike repair services will be available at the center, a relief to bikers in the Basin who have been longing for a bike shop or a place to fill their tires that is in the 45202 zip code. There will also be bike storage facilities for commuters coming in from the Ohio River Bike Trail who want to ride to work. The Visitor’s Center shop will carry bike-related retail items, as well as pre packaged snacks and drinks for purchase.

“The Bike Center will provide more health and recreational opportunities to downtown commuters and visitors than ever before,” said Carden. “Bike and Park is committed to providing outstanding service and equipment to enhance the Cincinnati Riverfront Park experience for all—just as they have done in the dynamic communities in which they currently operate.”

Bike and Roll has built up a vast network of sight-seeing tours for its other locations – visitors can ride around at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco, or Navy Pier in Chicago. Having an experienced, nationally recognized company create new routes, maps and biking experiences will help to shape Cincinnati’s cycle culture for the better, making riding a bike in Cincinnati safer and more mainstream.

picture: Bike and Mobility Center at Central Riverfront Park, provided

The Banks development team releases new website, renderings for $600M development

By ―

The progress being made at The Banks development along the Ohio River in downtown Cincinnati is palpable. Underground parking garages have been built to lift the development out of the 100-year flood plain and provide parking spaces for those living, working and visiting Cincinnati’s central riverfront. With that complete, the buildings that will house 300 apartments, retail and office space are now rising on the eastern portion of the site near Great American Ball Park.

The development team responsible for the $600 million private investment has now released a new website, updated renderings for Phase 1 of the project and has begun a branding and marketing campaign intended to “define and illustrate” what it will be like to live, work and play at The Banks. The new campaign focuses around a slogan of “It’s happening on the river” and includes a new logo in addition to the new website and marketing effort.

“I think after all these years, it’s hard for people to believe that things are finally happening at The Banks,” said Malloy Peterson, vice president of marketing at Carter. “This campaign, along with the ongoing construction now visible at the site, will help change that perception and start to build interest among the community that The Banks is really taking shape.”

The updated renderings illustrate the large sidewalks that will accommodate the many visitors and residents of the mixed-use development. The mid- and high-rise structures will include street-level retail that has apartments with balconies or office space on the upper floors.

Residential development above street-level retail spaces looking east along Freedom Way towards Great American Ball Park [TOP]. Corner retail development at 2nd & Main streets [BOTTOM]. All images provided by Carter and The Dawson Company.

“Throughout all aspects of this project, we’ve been steadfast in delivering a development that creates excitement and interest throughout Greater Cincinnati,” said Harold A. Dawson, Jr., president and chief executive officer for The Dawson Company. “With a grand opening a year away, this new campaign brings to life our team’s vision of The Banks.”

Those interested in living at one of the 300 apartments in Phase 1 of The Banks can now contact Kristi Fickert from Village Green Management at (888) 371-7241 or by email at liveatthebanks@villagegreen.com.

Both the private and public portions of the overall development are currently on-schedule, and will see the underground parking garage to the east of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center open this June 2010, with a grand opening of the private development portion scheduled for spring 2011. Once fully built-out, The Banks development will house more than 3,000 new residents and will be Cincinnati’s largest single, mixed-use development composed of residential, office, hotel and retail components.

Tour of The Banks – February 2010

By ―

Earlier this month just a few hours before a February snow blanketed the Cincinnati area, UrbanCincy was invited on a hard hat tour of The Banks construction site. The event was hosted by Messer Construction as a way to get show off some of the recent progress made along the Ohio River. News was recently made about vertical construction starting above ground, but Messer has been diligently plugging away at the “dirty” work of the project for quite some time now.

As we went through the safety briefing, we were told that the project now stands at over 160,000 hours worked without a lost time accident which was clearly something of which the group was very proud. They have very strict controls in place to help ensure that all the workers are safe and able to put forth their fullest effort, and made sure we followed all their rules as we entered the work site.

After the briefing it was time for a tour, and while our photos from the trip will likely better show you the story of what we saw, the best way to describe this project is BIG. While that is probably evident if you drive by the site, it took on a whole new meaning as we walked around inside the garage.

Once everything is complete, there will be seven acres of parking and you will be able to go in at Paul Brown Stadium and emerge at Great American Ballpark. The best part of course is that these garages will be topped off with development and green space which give it a great multi-use functionality. For perspective, a similar (and much grander) project would be Boston’s “Big Dig.”

The other part of the story that became a bit clearer upon our visit was the difference between The Banks and Central Riverfront Park. While they share much of the same infrastructure, project manager Dave Prather was able to help draw a picture about what the park will offer. If you go past the site these days you will be able to see where the garage stops and everything south of that will be the park, while everything north is considered part of The Banks. According to Mr. Prather, Phase I remains on track with an expected opening in April of 2011 which includes the Moerlein Lager House.

Enjoy the pictures, some of which were taken by Jake Mecklenborg. Messer seemed interested in making these hard hat tours a regular event, so stay with UrbanCincy for more developments as progress on The Banks continue.

Phase 1a of The Banks to rise quickly

By ―

This past Tuesday, January 27th, Cincinnati City Council’s Strategic Growth Committee gathered at City Hall to listen to and review construction updates on the long-awaited Banks development project. David L. Holmes, Assistant City Manager and John F. Deatrick, Banks Project Executive were both on hand to explain the project’s progress in further detail.

The update focused on Phase 1a of the construction plan, which includes 300 apartments and nearly 80,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space with parking garages below street level. As of this January, Phase 1a is 65% constructed and staying well within the budget previously set for the development.

Construction of Phase 1a of The Banks is 65% complete as of January 2010 – Photo Provided

Both the City of Cincinnati and Hamilton County have pledged monies towards The Banks. The City has pledged $20 million and has so far paid $7.5 million, while the county has committed some $5 million. After both the city and the county have paid their committed shares, they will split the remaining cost 50/50.

Phase 1a of The Banks is projected to open by Opening Day 2011. According to the presenters, apartment leasing will begin in fall of 2010, though the projected price points of said apartments are still up in the air. As soon as the exterior facades on the buildings are finished, the streets that are currently closed off due to construction will reopen.

Construction has begun on 300 apartments and 80,000 square feet of retail at Phase 1a of The Banks – Images Provided

The scope of construction that has been most recently completed is mostly structure for parking and mechanical, electrical and plumbing infrastructure. They are currently laying shear walls and columns in the south site by the bridge. The workers are waiting for warmer weather to come back in order to pour more concrete.

One of the financial directors gave an update on the amount of local, small business, minority and women employees and businesses currently engaged in the Banks project. She emphasized that 74% of construction workers for the project currently live in the Cincinnati metropolitan area, 20% are minorities, and 2.5% are female. Council members Charlie Winburn, Laure Quinlivan and committee chair Chris Bortz expressed concern for making sure that “as many Cincinnatians as possibly are involved in the construction and in the business of the Banks.” Winburn stressed making sure that “this project has the utmost integrity” when it comes to keeping money local, (despite hiring out of Birmingham for the general contractors).

Phase 1a site plan for The Banks – Image Provided

After Phase 1a is complete in early 2011, work will begin on reconstructing Mehring Way to cut a wider arc above the river, bordering the new Central Riverfront Park. As a result, project managers are currently in the process of appropriating stimulus funds for this development.

While retailers for the Phase 1a portion of the project are not yet set in stone, much has been speculated about a potential grocery store, entertainment venues like an ESPN Zone, and other restaurants, bars and entertainment venues to compliment the evolving riverfront district. Connectivity to the existing Riverfront Transit Center, and proposed Cincinnati Streetcar, will help connect The Banks to the rest of Downtown, Over-the-Rhine, and Uptown neighborhoods resulting in a live/play/work situation that will be attractive to all.

What happened to the locavore movement?

By ―

The news is out that the Atlanta-based Carter/Dawson development team has selected Birmingham-based Brasfield & Gorrie, LLC as the general contractor for the private development portions of The Banks. The Carter/Dawson team stated in a press release that Brasfield & Gorrie is “one of the largest privately-held contracting firms in the nation, and brings their extensive successful experience in building complex, mixed-use, vertically integrated developments in dense urban areas.”

This may be all well and good but the issue I have is that they’re based out of Birmingham. It’s not that there is anything wrong with Birmingham, or Atlanta for that matter, but there are huge sums of public money going into The Banks development. These tax dollars should be spent in the taxpayer’s best interest, and with unemployment hovering around 10 percent, we should be demanding that these contracts be awarded to local companies who will be employing Cincinnatians.

The Banks development plan – rendering provided.

It’s much like the rationale behind shopping local. When you award contracts to local companies they’ll hire people in the region, those people will take that money and upkeep their homes, go shopping, eat out, and support the local economy. When we give these contracts away to someone else there goes much of that money.

I can’t say for sure whether Brasfield & Gorrie is the best firm for the job, because they very well might be, but I do know that there are qualified companies here locally that would have loved the opportunity to not only get this contract, but also make a lasting impact on the city they call home. The one bright spot is that Brasfield & Gorrie has committed to achieving the development team’s goal of at least 30 percent SBE participation, and committed to utilizing a “significant amount of local talent to get the job done efficiently and effectively.”

Phase 1A of The Banks development – rendering provided.

Brasfield & Gorrie is expected to start assembling their team on site almost immediately and will begin construction on the overbuild of Phase 1A in December with a set completion date of Spring 2011. Once complete, The Banks will represent a total private investment around $600 million. Paul Brown Stadium, Great American Ball Park, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, Riverfront Transit Center are all complete and part of Cincinnati’s Riverfront Master Plan developed by Urban Design Associates. The Central Riverfront Park is under construction now and will compliment the entire development.

The Banks & Queen City Square

By ―

Cincinnati’s new tallest building, the Great American Tower at Queen City Square, continues to climb upward as it now appears to be over the half-way mark in terms of total height. Meanwhile, The Banks is climbing above street level, the new street grid continues to develop, and the underground parking garages that will lift the development out of the flood plain are pretty much completed for phase 1 of the billion dollar mixed-use development. The first of the multi-floor residential buildings with street level commercial space should be rising within the coming weeks.

Here are a series of pictures taken over the last week or so of some of the progress being made on both developments happening Downtown. Aside from the few taken from the upper deck at Paul Brown Stadium, they are mainly a street view of where things stand these days.