Time to Dump The Banks?

Last week’s issue of CityBeat outlined planned changes to the long-stalled Banks housing and shopping district that involve doubling its size and increasing the amount of public subsidies proposed to $110 million, or nearly 20 percent of the project’s overall cost.

With taxpayers already footing the bills for the new Bengals and Reds stadiums along Cincinnati's riverfront, as well as the cost for redesigning Fort Washington Way and installing new infrastructure such as sewers and roads, there's a growing public sentiment to rethink whether building The Banks makes sense.

Some residents have written letters to newspapers and filled the blogosphere with comments suggesting that, instead of spending more taxpayer money to build condominiums, shops, offices and a hotel along the river, it would be better to expand the park also planned nearby to fill the entire 17-acre Banks site.

Among the most common suggestions for the park include relatively inexpensive attractions such as an amphitheater, restaurants, marina, carousel and large Ferris wheel. A few elected officials have privately said they are beginning to concur as estimated costs for The Banks continue to soar, although the topic is rarely mentioned publicly and a majority of Cincinnati City Council and Hamilton County commissioners support staying the course.

One of the officials who say The Banks should be built is County Commissioner David Pepper. Due to space limitations, Pepper’s remarks on what he views as the value of building The Banks didn’t make it into last week’s issue, so we’re presenting them here.

“It would be a huge mistake not to make the most of (the site),” Pepper said. “It needs to be a mix.”

Because officials promised a revamped riverfront with a mixed-use development when they successfully campaigned in 1996 to increase the county’s sales tax to build the new stadiums, canceling the project now would set a bad precedent, he added.

“To not do anything would be a real waste and a broken promise,” Pepper said.

Sluggish progress on The Banks during the past eight years is a telling symbol of how local government was broken during much of that time, with Cincinnati and Hamilton County often at odds on how to proceed. That atmosphere has changed in the past year with a newfound spirit of cooperation, Pepper said.

Asked why the Banks site needs any public subsidy if it’s “one of the most prime parcels of undeveloped commercial real estate in the nation,” as officials regularly touted during the past decade, Pepper replied it would help ensure the site is developed to its full potential. Otherwise, it might be haphazardly divided and sold off in chunks to the highest bidders.

“To sit and do nothing will lead to sub-standard results,” he said.

Similar subsidies to close financing gaps in projects are common nationwide, Pepper added. He pointed to the large amount of subsidies that the Commonwealth of Kentucky has contributed to help spark the much ballyhooed redevelopment along Northern Kentucky’s riverfront across the river.

“We want to do it carefully and make sure there’s a public benefit,” he said. “Look around the country: This is usually the way cities and regions revitalize themselves, by working in partnerships with the private sector.”

CityBeat would like to know what our readers think about this issue. Should Cincinnati and Hamilton County press ahead with The Banks plan or build a park and other public space there instead?

— Kevin Osborne

Comments

[David Gallaher]

Why wasn't getting my governments out of the real estate speculation business one of your options, Kevin?
"Space" existed before "public space," didn't it?
Or is government creating space like it is creating jobs? Heh heh.
Which came first: Life on Earth or government on Earth?
Which will come last? Government, at the rate we're going.

[The Pooper Plan]

Yeah, just because other stupid people do it, we should to. By private public partnership he means the public foots the bills and takes the risk and the private rich white guys come in and make the profit.

It's a hell of a deal if you can get it. You gotta own some politicians or have a daddy with a big rolodex.

What deal has Pepper been a part of that has really benefited this cty? Fountain Square? No. The purple people bridge? No. Oh yeah, the Freedom Center. Thanks poppa Pepper!

[Neal]

I'm having a hard time visualizing how "the public" is going to benefit from another highly developed parcel of land along the river. Of course, I had a hard time seeing how "the public" benefited from spending well over half a billion dollars on a football stadium.

I suppose, like with the stadiums, a few of "the public" will benefit quite highly.

The rest of the public, including my children, their children, and so on, will be paying so the few can benefit.

[Randy Simes]

I find this to be a particularly interesting article. Why wait until now to do this story...it could have been done while Hamilton County leaders and Cincinnati leaders were at odds. The two governments are now on the same page, and the development is moving right along.

$800 million projects just don't fly through and become reality overnight, or even over years and decades at times. This is even more true when you consider the factors at hand that have been attached to this project.

All in all, the project will proceed and neither the city or county can afford for the entire 17 acres to become a park. The potential tax revenue is too high to pass up...especially when you have stadium debt to pay off.

[John Rosen]

A better use of the 110 million would be building a streetcar system to connect the river to downtown, OTR, and eventually clifton.

[funnelcake]

Ebay the land dammit! Whatever gets built will get done faster, easier, better & at no cost to the tax payer.

Government has no clue what to do. But the open market will.

[5chw4r7z]

I too like the park idea. But build it in a way so down the road if someone wants to come in with their own money they can develop it. If done right they could invent new festivals to host there and probably draw the same amount of people.

[citykin]

My understanding is that the Bengals lease gives them veto power and a share of profits from any development in the blocks closest to Paul Brown Stadium. Therefore, develop the riverfront park up, through these blocks and over Ft. Washington Way making a pleasant connection to town. Then do some unsubsidized, lower-rise entertainment buildings on the eastern blocks. Condos here should not be the priority.