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2005-07-12
Progress over the river
by The Cincinnati Enquirer
In recent months, some folks in Newport have voiced unhappiness about the lack of amenities at the Cincinnati end of the Purple People Bridge.
Now, it appears, happier days lie ahead: Newport on the Levee might be in for some competition from a development on the Cincinnati side of the pedestrian walkway across the Ohio River.
The family of the late, great restaurateur Ted Gregory joined Cincinnati officials Thursday to unveil plans to develop a site along Pete Rose Way. The family already operates the Montgomery Inn ribs restaurant on the Ohio River east of the pedestrian bridge, as well as the Montgomery Inn Banquet Center at the foot of the bridge.
The family hasn't come up with a specific plan for the property but has instead invited developers to submit proposals. Family members and city officials say they envision a development that would have about the same size footprint as Newport on the Levee but one that might include office space, condominiums or apartments, a hotel and other features in addition to, or instead of, retail. The plan does include a commitment by the Gregory family to double the size of the existing banquet center and to build a parking garage.
And here's more good news: The family isn't demanding that the city give them a handout as a precondition for the project. While developers might eventually apply for tax breaks or grants, the closest thing on the table to a subsidy, at this point, is a land swap with the city that could be construed as a $1.3 million taxpayer contribution. (If the project doesn't happen, the city gets its land back.)
It has long been a sore point that Cincinnati and Hamilton County have poured nearly $2 billion into the downtown riverfront's infrastructure (including the two stadiums, Fort Washington Way reconstruction and the accompanying floodwall and sewer and street connections with downtown) only to see development flourish in Newport, Bellevue and to a degree Covington.
If, in fact, the Gregory family's project takes off, it likely would evolve less as competition for Newport on the Levee than as a complement to it. With a critical mass of attractions on both sides of the river, both would benefit. The same would likely hold true, we suspect, with regard to the proposed Banks development on the Cincinnati shore between the Reds and Bengals stadiums. As Mayor Charlie Luken asserted Thursday, Cincinnati is big enough to handle both projects at the same time.
In any event, there's an undeniable attraction to a privately-financed, market-driven project at the northern end of the Purple People bridge. We applaud the Gregory family for their vision and hope the project succeeds.
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