Pieces in place for next Banks phase
Developer touts restaurant mix, hopes grocery store, bookstore not far behind
Written by
Lisa Bernard-Kuhn
DOWNTOWN — By Opening Day, The Banks could be home to seven newly opened restaurants and entertainment venues serving up everything from live music, hot dogs and draft beer to top-shelf wines and filet mignon.
The offerings, bolstered this week by the addition of Ruth’s Chris Steak House, further solidify a grand vision for the riverfront community that leasing agent Mark Fallon has doggedly chased for more than a year. The effort is helping to set the stage for The Banks’ next phase, which could include a grocery store, coffee house, bookstore and spa.
In June 2010, Atlanta-based developers Carter and The Dawson Co. tapped Fallon, vice president of leasing at Jeffrey R. Anderson Real Estate, to lure top retail tenants for The Banks’ $80 million first phase.
Since then, he’s sought the right mix of national chains and locally-owned restaurants and entertainment spots that he hopes, when combined, will make The Banks unlike any development in the Midwest.
“Our strategy has been to go after an eclectic mix of restaurants and entertainment operators who can stay busy on a random Tuesday night, in the middle of winter when nothing else is happening Downtown,” Fallon says. “If we can do that, then we’ll be hugely successful.”
The lineup is a considerable shift from the initial plan laid out for The Banks less than five years ago.
In 2007, before ground was broken on the 18-acre project, developers touted plans that included a grocery store, nightclubs and small- to mid-sized retailers unique to Cincinnati.
But as the financial crisis and recession took hold, developers had to adjust. They ditched plans for high-end condos and opted to build 300 luxury apartments – a step needed to avoid financing hazards that have plagued the housing market. As the project’s 90,000 square feet of retail space and new apartments took shape in 2010, developers began fine-tuning their retail strategy.
“In 2007, we hadn’t gone through any of the economic changes that we continue to deal with today,” said Laura Swadel, director of Carter’s investment group. “We figured the eastern side near the Reds stadium would be heavy on restaurants and bars, but we didn’t think at the time that it would necessarily be the only kind of retail.”
The fact that the first phase is now dominated by restaurants, however, doesn’t concern developers. By offering a mix of locally owned restaurants and first-to-Cincinnati national chains, Fallon says The Banks has become the most “discussed and sought after project” in the Tristate area among national retailers.
Fallon is actively leasing retail space for The Banks’ second phase, which could break ground later this year and include another 90,000 square feet of space with another 300 apartments. The phase is located at the corner of Second and Vine streets, in the block just west of The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.
In addition to a grocery store, Fallon hopes to land retailers such as a coffee shop, bookstore and spa – businesses aimed at catering to The Banks’ growing residential base. On Wednesday, The Banks’ first 300 apartments, known as Current at The Banks, reached 100 percent occupancy.
“One of the things that I have been surprised by is how quickly the residential portion leased up here,” he said. “I’d like to continue to add other uses that enhance that experience.”
Fallon is as confident about what he thinks will succeed at The Banks as he is about what won’t work. Traditional retail shops, including fashion retailers, won’t make it, he says.
“It’s just not appropriate here,” he said. “If you put a fashion store down here that’s already in all the malls, you’ve squandered the best piece of real estate in the Midwest. That’s not what this is about. We already have an empty mall downtown.”
With more than 80 percent of the retail space now leased in the first phase, Fallon’s vision continues to come into focus.
By April 5, operators of Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar and Grill, Crave, Mahogany’s Cafe and Grill, Tin Roof and The Wine Guy Bistro hope to be open, Fallon said. They’ll join restaurants Holy Grail Tavern & Grille and Johnny Rockets, which opened last year. Before the end of the year, Ruth’s Chris Steak House is expected to open and Fallon expects to sign at least four more restaurants for the project.
Last year, Fallon sat in on more than 80 meetings with prospective tenants and researched hundreds more.
“It’s like a dating ritual. We’re sizing them up and they’re sizing us up,” he said.
“It’s a long and arduous vetting process, but it’s worth the effort. We have no interest in opening something just to see the lights come on.”
Quote:LOCKING UP THE BANKS
Open now
Residential units
The Holy Grail
Johnny Rockets
Police welcome station
Coming soon
Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar and Grill
Crave
Mahogany’s Café and Grill
Tin Roof
Ruth’s Chris Steak House
The Wine Guy Bistro
Moerlein Lager House
Proposed
Grocery store
Coffee shop
Bookstore
Spa
Hotel
Office tower
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20120.../301180139