Banks project to be open by end of 2009

[WMR]

Originally Posted by remdog

We talkin' earthquakes or (ahem) babes? Thirty years from now a 9.5 might be my pulse rate.

Rem

[vaticanplum]

I was at the unveiling today (though bear in mind I'm hardly a reporter so what I'm saying is just my memory and probably some interpretation). The plans look good and the questions people asked were generally answered pretty thoroughly.

I don't expect them to deviate too far from this plan. The first phase will be the one built up by GABP -- residences and shopping (maybe some office space, I can't remember) in buildings 5-20 stories. The buildings progress in height as they get further from the river. Ultimately the buildings will then be built over to Paul Brown. Both Freedom Way and Theodore Berry Drive will be extended and will serve as the main thoroughfares through the project and those will be largely shopping and restaurants (there will be two large nice restaurants in their own buildings, but they hope to add many smaller ones as time goes on). The buildings will be on platforms to allow for flooding, graduated as they get closer to the river, and much of the area parking will be below and just above these platforms (the platforms are not visible from the outside).

It's amazing to see the drawings, to see how much they can squeeze into that little space without the buildings being hideously tall. I'm impressed with that, and with their commitment to reserve 7.5% of the space for minorities and small businesses. The general style of the area and the buildings is still unclear. They showed some photographs and drawings of a development they did in Atlanta that they're using as a model "flagship" and I wasn't really impressed with the design. They mentioned some concepts such as buildings closer to the river being of a steel structure to imitate the bridges and buildings closer to the streets being echoing Cincinnati's masonry-based history, but between the renderings and the pictures of the Atlanta development, I couldn't really identify too much of that. To me it looked more like just your standard generic modern pretty shopping thing, very similar to Newport on the Levee. Nothing too interesting architecturally. But I gather they don't have all those details figured out yet anyway.

There's also quite a bit of park space, and the knoll that currently stands south of the Freedom Center stands a good chance of ending up as a veterans memorial park.

So my verdict is good. Not fantastic, but good. I'm not so far impressed with the finer details of the design and I think they could stand some more thought. But the basic shell of the area -- the distribution of park space, the height of the buildings -- looks good to me. And there are still a lot of questions to be answered but I think the laughter regarding the project is going to die down soon. They are on it more than people realize and I very much get the impression that it's very close to happening.

[SunDeck]

Well, that's just great.




Now where will the circus set up?




And where will the homeless guys camp?





And where will 25,000 men pee when they are tailgating at PBS?






And finally, where are Cincinnatians supposed to toss their old furniture and appliances now?

[Chip R]

It's nice to have a dream.

[Redsland]

Originally Posted by Chip R

It's nice to have a dream.

What's with all the negativism?

All they need is the financing and for city council to start issuing approvals.

[Chip R]

Originally Posted by Redsland

What's with all the negativism?

All they need is the financing and for city council to start issuing approvals.

Well, hey, if that's all that needs to happen, I'm going to be reserving my condo space down there as soon as that warm front leaves Hell.

[KYRedsFan]

I've seen more drawings of this development than I care for. Just get it done.

[KronoRed]

I'll eat my hat if in 5 years the space between the stadiums is anything more then a bunch of parking lots with the freedom center in the middle.

[Redsland]

No way.

The Freedom Center will be long gone in five years.

[Caveat Emperor]

Originally Posted by Redsland

No way.

The Freedom Center will be long gone in five years.

Its too bad -- the Freedom Center is a really nice facility, I just don't know that a museum dedicated to chronicaling one of the worst parts of American history is a good fit for what the city hopes to turn into an active entertainment district.

[KronoRed]

Originally Posted by Redsland

No way.

The Freedom Center will be long gone in five years.

Well I'm sure the building will still be there, demolition is expensive

[Yachtzee]

Originally Posted by WilyMoROCKS

Did I ever tell you about the time I caught that 250 pound catfish out of the Ohio River? And it glowed green in the dark for some reason. Man that was great.

Did Bob Boone help you reel it in?

[WMR]

Originally Posted by Yachtzee

Did Bob Boone help you reel it in?

Haha, no, but the strangest thing... when I cut open his belly I found a diamond--YES ACTUAL DIAMONDS--encrusted collar entitled, "Schottzie."

And THAT'S when it REALLY started to get strange!

[Roy Tucker]

I certainly have a healthy dose of cynicism about the Banks and have contributed my fair share of snarkiness about it. The amount of bumbling and stupid city and county politics and blundering has been titanic and colossal.

But I sure hope they can pull it off. Because if they don't, the whole cycle of a new Ft. Washington Way, new stadiums, etc. will have failed. Which is a whole lot of money and a once-in-50 years chance to revitalize downtown totally blown.

[LawFive]

but where else can I park for $3/day?