Tag: urban design

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Business Development News

Great American Tower rises triumphantly above downtown Cincinnati

Crews from Turner Construction Company continue to work on the finishing touches of Cincinnati’s new tallest skyscraper that will house a variety of companies including Great American Insurance for which the Great American Tower gets its name.  The $322 million office tower boasts more than 800,000 square feet of office space and is scheduled to welcome its first tenants in spring 2011.

The Great American Tower is part of the larger Queen City Square development which includes the 303 Broadway office tower next door.  The two towers share a 2,200-space parking facility and exterior design features.

The new tower has reached its highest point at 665 feet above Third Street with its majestic “Tiara” atop the structure’s 41st floor.  UrbanCincy photographer Jake Mecklenborg was invited to tour the new tower as crews finish the structure’s crowning design feature.  Mecklenborg’s photographs capture dramatic views from the top of the tower of Over-the-Rhine, Downtown, The Banks and the Cincinnati Riverfront Park.  He also captures crews hard at work throughout the project.

Eagle Realty is currently working on leasing the final 175,000 square feet of office space at the Great American Tower on floors 28, 29, and 35 through 38.  Once complete, the tower will house thousands of business workers, new retail offerings, and a dramatic new architectural feature to downtown Cincinnati that will eclipse historic Carew Tower as the tallest structure in the Ohio River Valley.

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Business Development News

CPA event to highlight Bellevue’s preservation success story

Cincinnati Preservation Association (CPA) and the City of Bellevue, KY will host a tour of the small Bellevue community along the Ohio River on Friday, July 9 from 9:30am to 12:30pm.

Bellevue has been recognized for its successful preservation techniques that have worked to revitalize the city’s neighborhoods and historic commercial district along Fairfield Avenue. Those attending the tour will have the opportunity to learn about the city’s innovative programs that have gotten it where it is today. Such programs include Bellevue’s local historic district and ongoing form-based code initiative.

The event will take place at the Callahan Community Center (map) and is free and open to the public. CPA is asking that those interested RSVP by calling (513) 721-4506 or emailing info@cincinnatipreservation.org.

UPDATE: Due to timing issues, the tour of Bellevue originally scheduled for Friday, July 9th has been canceled.  CPA officials say that the event will be rescheduled for a later date.

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News Politics Transportation

New Cincinnati bicycle safety ordinance to be one of strictest in Midwest

In addition to the progressive Bicycle Transportation Program unanimously adopted by Cincinnati City Council last week, Cincinnati policy makers also approved safety ordinance that will be one of the most comprehensive of its kind in the region, and even stricter than what is found in Chicago.

“What this plan really does is not add additional transportation infrastructure,” said Gary Wright, President, Queen City Bike. “It adapts the existing transportation infrastructure to new needs in a cost-effective way.”

The new safety ordinance approved 8-0 by Cincinnati’s City Council requires motorists to maintain a three-foot distance when passing bicyclists. The ordinance also makes driving or parking an automobile in a bike lane illegal, and places extra responsibilities on drivers when opening doors as to avoid endangering bicyclists.

“This bike plan can help turn this into the 21st Century city that we all want it to be, one that can look forward to more streets, shops, cafes, and parks filled with people, where people will want to be,” Wright concluded.

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Business Development News Politics

City Council poised to approve lease agreement for $4M Moerlein Lager House

Sources inform UrbanCincy that City Council is poised to approve a lease agreement with MLH Cincinnati USA, LLC to construct and operate the new $4 million Moerlein Lager House located within the Cincinnati Riverfront Park which is currently under construction. The ordinance will go before City Council’s Budget & Finance Committee on Monday, June 28th at 1pm, and then move on to a full council vote on Wednesday, June 30th where it is expected to pass with an overwhelming majority.

The new Moerlein Lager House is the first tenant signed for the new Cincinnati Riverfront Park which will eventually support several restaurant/bar uses. Once complete, the new microbrewery restaurant will brew 5,000 barrels of beer annually, offer brewery tours, and seat 500 inside with another 600 outside in two biergarten areas and a second-level terrace that will boast dramatic views of the new park, Ohio River, and Roebling Suspension Brige.

Christian Moerlein CEO Greg Hardman says that the two biergarten areas have the ability to be connected around the building during special events thus creating one enormous biergarten area.

Details on the lease agreement expected to be approved by the Budget & Finance Committee will be released on Monday, but it is understood that a variety of rent payments will be paid by Christian Moerlein to the Cincinnati Park Board over the course of the lease.

The 15,000 square-foot development is expected to be complete by spring 2012 which is one-year after the projected completion for the first phase of the Cincinnati Riverfront Park.

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Development News

Cincinnati to break ground on long-awaited firefighter’s memorial

Officials will break ground on the Greater Cincinnati Firefighter’s Memorial in downtown Cincinnati on Tuesday, June 29 at 10am. The new memorial will be located along Central Avenue in between 5th and 6th streets on the western edge of downtown.

The Memorial has been in the planning stages and will become a reality thanks to in-kind work from Turner Construction, Baker Concrete Construction, GBBN Architects, and donations from hundreds of individuals from throughout the Cincinnati region.

According to officials, the Greater Cincinnati Firefighter’s Memorial will honor fallen firefighters from 194 fire agencies within the 12-county Cincinnati metropolitan region. The groundbreaking ceremony will take place at the site of the memorial (map) where a 33,500 square-foot green space will be constructed and include landscaped areas, gardens, a statue and walkways with pavers etched with names of donors to the Memorial.

Donations to the Greater Cincinnati Firefighter’s Memorial can be made online, or by contacting Gretchen Hooker at gretchen.hooker@cincinnati-oh.gov or (513) 357-2621.