Rethinking The Banks

The Banks is being built right before our eyes on the Cincinnati riverfront.  The $1 billion riverfront project will eventually house more than 3,000 new residents; offer hundreds of thousands of square feet of office space and street-level retail and entertainment options that will truly transform Cincinnati’s center city and its riverfront.

With a project this big and this impactful there are sure to be discussions about how it is executed and Cincinnati is about a decade in on those discussions.  As the former dirt pit becomes concrete, glass and steel the discussions are stirring up once again about how the massive mixed use project will be executed.

Recent conversations have focused on the design of the buildings.  Some members of Cincinnati’s Urban Design Review Board feel that more needs to be done at key intersections and a greater degree of variation needs to be used on the building facades that many hope to be an extension of Cincinnati’s diverse and high-quality architectural styles in the Central Business District.

Today the conversation will shift as the Master Development Team of Carter and The Dawson Company will host its first general information session for the development portion of The Banks.  The event will focus in on the participation of small, disadvantaged, minority- and women-owned business enterprises, and minority and female workers according to project officials.  The Master Development Team also plans to encourage DBE and SBE certification among its project team and other project personnel.

The discussion is sure to have varying viewpoints, but it also seems to be a discussion worth having for the largest development project this region has seen in many, many years.  Not only will the riverfront complete its transformation from an industrial warehouse area used for river-related industries, to one that reflects a more contemporary use of an urban waterfront – one with parks, residences, businesses and entertainment destinations.

The Banks presents a much greater opportunity than just the economic and development aspects contain.  The Banks presents an opportunity for Cincinnati and the residents of the Greater Cincinnati region to see the face of their community transformed in a way that can impact it for years to come physically, socially and economically.

The event will allow members of the public to hold one-on-one discussions with members of the Master Development Team and other project personnel.  The general information session will take place at the Community Action Agency at Jordan’s Crossing at 1740 Langdon Farm Road between 4 and 6pm today.  Those interested are encouraged to pre-register by contacting Ellington Management Services at marilyn@ellingtonmanagement.com.

Writer: Randy A. Simes
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