From the 8/26/05 Cincinnati Enquirer:
PHOTO: Architect Daniel Libeskind (right) talks with prospective condo buyer Bill O'Meara Thursday. An addition to his project was announced by Covington officials. The Enquirer/Gary Landers
Condos to get boat parking
Marina could replace leaky barge off of Covington
By Marla Matzer Rose
Enquirer staff writer
COVINGTON - The Ascent at Roebling's Bridge, the 22-story condo project being built here by Corporex, will include a marina, Corporex chairman Bill Butler said Thursday.
The city of Covington plans to remove the Covington Landing barge that formerly housed TGI Friday's restaurant from the site to make room for the marina.
Covington closed the landing on July 9, about two weeks after a major leak sprang in the hull, forcing the city to hire contractors to keep the complex above water.
Jon J. Fleshman, spokesman for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Louisville district, confirmed Thursday that there are plans by BB Riverboats owner Alan Bernstein to build a marina on the site. However, he stressed that there has been no application made for a permit for the project, and no permit has yet been granted.
With superstar architect Daniel Libeskind in attendance, Covington-based developer Corporex unveiled what it calls an "experience center" for the $40 million-plus project on Thursday morning.
The sales office, located in Corporex's 100 E. RiverCenter Blvd. headquarters, has an eye-popping view of the river as the backdrop for displays of floor plans and design elements that well-heeled buyers can choose from.
Corporex marketing chief Debbie Vicchiarelli said the company decided on a bidding system for pricing the condos - with minimum prices ranging from just under $400,000 to nearly $4.5 million - in an effort to be "fair" and meet demand from more than 200 people who already had joined a reserve buyers list.
Officials said that the handful of bids that have been received so far have tended to be over the minimum asking price.
Reserve buyers have until Sept. 6 to bid, after which a second group of wait-listed buyers will have a short window of preference before sales are opened up to the general public.
Covington Mayor Butch Callery praised the Ascent and its design in an interview after the unveiling of the "experience center." "I think it will be like the 'Field of Dreams': you build it, and they will come. I think it will attract other development in Covington," he said.
Butler took the occasion to discuss plans he has been championing to redevelop a city block one block away from the Ascent on East Scott Street into a mixed-use project including an upscale grocery, a farmers market and offices. Corporex would not be the developer, although Butler has been championing the idea with the city and state. Backers hope to get state funding for the development.
Another in Newport
Covington becomes the second city in the last several days to reveal plans for a marina on the south shore of the Ohio River. Earlier this week, Newport cleared the way for a condo and office development dubbed SouthShore, which also has plans for a marina, to go forward just east of Interstate 471.
Without divulging many details, Butler indicated that Covington's marina would be the grander of the two.
Callery said Covington Landing probably had to go to make room for the marina there. "We thought that would be a good use of it, once we're getting rid of the Landing there," he said, adding that the plan to bring the Landing ashore would mean the entertainment and restaurants would remain nearby.
Butler and Callery said that Libeskind will likely draw up the initial plans for the marina in an effort to make it more architecturally interesting.
City's role in financing
Covington City Commission is expected to approve financing agreements for the Ascent project - which will include 64 units and eight penthouses - at a special meeting called for noon today at City Hall. The commission will consider a payment in lieu of taxes agreement for the project.
The payment, for 25 percent of what would have been paid in property taxes, would be split between the city, Kenton County and Covington Independent Schools during a 20-year period.
City Manager Jay Fossett said the money would help pay for construction of the 156-space garage at the base of the tower, as well as new sidewalks and improvements to city streets.
"The more units they sell, the more money we get," Fossett said.
Without the agreement, he said it's likely the project couldn't happen. "The infrastructure and garage costs are so expensive that they make these projects almost cost prohibitive without public involvement," Fossett said.
After today's vote, a state bond oversight committee still must approve the use of industrial revenue bonds.
"I think the deal is absolutely fair to the builder, and it's fair to the city and it's fair to the school district," said Jack Moreland, superintendent of Covington Independent Schools. "Obviously, we'd like to have the full measure of taxes generated from all the buildings in the city of Covington, but to grow, you have to offer incentives."
'Greatest form of art'
Libeskind is best known today as a designer of public buildings, particularly the Liberty Tower being planned at the site of New York's former World Trade Center. He called designing a residential project "a particular challenge."
"I think it's the greatest form of art, to create a residential building," said the Polish-born Libeskind. "We often judge cities by great public buildings. But we admire great cities because people live there in a beautiful way. You have to think about how each person will live there; you can't just think about abstract ideas."
Despite his reputation, Libeskind insists he does not consider himself an avant-garde architect.
"I always call myself the most old fashioned of architects," he said. "If you go down to the roots, that's traditional architecture. It deals with light, with earth, with luminosity, with people. ... I don't just care about shapes and styles and fashions. I want to create something that is really sustainable and compelling and beautiful."
At least one prospective buyer in attendance agreed that Libeskind had achieved that.
Bill O'Meara grew up in Norwood, and now is a retired executive and investor with residences in Florida and Boston. For him and his wife, finding a place to come back to for part of the year "has been sort of a dream in the back of our minds," he said. After meeting Butler socially, he said, "When I saw this project in the paper, I said, 'Now that's unique... It really captures the imagination.' "
O'Meara added that this was an exciting time to look at returning to this area after decades away from the city. "It's truly fabulous, what's been happening here," he said. "This is what urban renewal needs to be about. It's going to be a phenomenal, phenomenal place."
Staff writers Cindy Schroeder and Mike Rutledge contributed.
E-mail mrose@enquirer.com
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From the 8/27/05 Cincinnati Enquirer:
Covington OKs Ascent bonds
By Mike Rutledge
Enquirer staff writer
COVINGTON - City Commissioner Jerry Stricker abstained while his colleagues approved two agreements that lay groundwork for financing of Corporex Cos.' proposed 22-story condominium tower designed by Daniel Libeskind.
Stricker, who lives in a nearby riverfront condominium, said he abstained from the two 4-0 votes because he might buy an Ascent unit himself.
"It's going to be known throughout the region, once it's completed," Mayor Butch Callery said about the proposed Ascent at Roebling's Bridge. Corporex president and CEO Bill Butler hopes to break ground in late October.
Callery predicted people would make special trips to see the tower, where unit prices will start at nearly $400,000.
As a way to make the project more financially feasible, up to $70 million in industrial building revenue bonds will be sold to finance the complex and its private garage.
Such bonds require the property be owned by the city, which is not required to pay property taxes. The city then would lease the project back to the developer.
The finance arrangement allows the developer to pay the city, Kenton County and Covington Independent Schools lower amounts than it would otherwise have to pay in property taxes.
"We're both complimentary and appreciative of the assistance and support that's being provided by the city of Covington, both at the elected officials' level and at the administrative level," Butler said. "They've been behind the project since the beginning.
"The project needs some support because of its extraordinary design, and the costs associated with that design," said Butler, who guessed the building's swirled roofline, crescent shape and distinctive exterior surfaces added "30 to 40 percent" to the total cost.
"Everything will become the property of the city, technically," said bond attorney Richard Spoor. "The garage, the plaza, the condominium itself."
Kentucky school superintendents sometimes complain such arrangements are unfair to their districts. But Covington Superintendent Jack Moreland on Thursday said the agreement is fair to both the schools and the city.
The arrangement helps make the project economically feasible, said city Solicitor Frank Warnock. And it's fair to local government coffers because, if the towers weren't built, "We wouldn't receive this money."
E-mail mrutledge@enquirer.com
LOWER RATES FOR THE CONDOMINIUM PROJECT
Here's how normal tax payments would be reduced:
Typically, a building's taxes are based on its value, as assessed by the county.
To reduce the tax burden, and instead direct that money toward construction, the property is to be titled to the city, which does not pay property taxes. The city and schools will receive payments in lieu of taxes.
Rather than being based on the building's full-assessed value, the payment will be based on the cumulative prices that buyers have agreed to pay for the 72 units. Until a unit has been sold, it won't count toward the total value.
The payment in lieu of taxes will equal 25 percent of what the city and the Covington Independent Schools normally would get.
Even though the schools' tax rate is higher, the city and schools would split the 25 percent evenly, because the city provides fire and police services. Kenton County would receive 25 percent of what it normally would get in taxes.
After 22 years, the property will revert to the developer and be taxed in the normal way.
Source: Covington Solicitor's Office
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From the 8/26/05 Cincinnati Post:
Condo buyers line up
Luxury high-rise in Covington offers views of the river and city
By Bob Driehaus
Post staff reporter
More than twice as many people have expressed interest in possibly buying condos in architect Daniel Libeskind's Ascent at Roebling Row high-rise than there are units - two months before groundbreaking.
The interest in condos that start at $400,000 and climb to the $4.5 million Pinnacle penthouse, has been intense and is poised to grow further after Thursday's unveiling of a sales center on the 10th floor of RiverCenter, the future condo building's neighbor to the west.
Bill Butler, president and chairman of Corporex Cos., said about 200 potential buyers each completed a three-page form to reserve a condo despite the fact that units won't be available at least until August 2007, which would be just in time to witness the Riverfest fireworks.
"I think there is a sense of pride on the part of the reserve buyers," Butler said before his press conference. "Pride in the project, pride in their community. A lot of (the interest) is in the architecture. A lot of it is in the place. And the world-class architect is a big factor."
The 10th-floor display will tempt potential buyers with a view that's nearly identical to that from the future condo building's view of Cincinnati's skyline, the Roebling Suspension Bridge, the Ohio River and Covington.
It also includes a decorated study, a sitting room and numerous plumbing and light fixtures, as well as red and black marble kitchen counter tops.
Libeskind said he has fallen in love with the site of the building and the design.
"The building is an expression of this area. You have to do something that grows out of the roots of that place," he said.
With the sweeping spiral design, the use of blue-tinted glass and other features, Libeskind has tried to integrate the building with its surroundings, especially the Roebling Suspension Bridge. He hopes that residents are uplifted by the architecture.
"You can create a mood, appreciate the earth, the lighting of the river at different times of the year," he said.
Libeskind said the views differed from each unit but would all be good. Asked how buyers should choose the best location, he answered: "It's like life. How do you pick the person you love?"
To help with the process, Corporex used a 240-foot crane and took photographs of the views buyers would have from each location of the condos.
Debbie Vicchiarelli, Corporex chief marketing officer, said the building has been modified in response to input from potential buyers, including enlarging some units.
The least expensive offering is a two-bedroom, 1,153-foot condo being offered for $395,000 on the first residential floor. Prices for the 72 condos differ greatly, capped at the 7,290-foot Pinnacle Penthouse that sells for $4.5 million.
One couple that plans to make the move is Shirley Bernstein, the matriarch of the family that owns and operates BB Riverboats and Mike Fink restaurant, and Jack Shepherd.
"The whole Cincinnati area needs an inspiration, and I think this is the perfect building for that," Shepherd said.
Bernstein has a special bond with the building because her late husband, Ben Bernstein, had owned the land and had recognized its potential, she said.
"He saw it as the most important land in the area. I was weeping the whole time the architect talked. Ben was a frustrated architect. He never went to school for it, but he always had architecture in mind," Bernstein said.
ABOUT THE ARCHITECT
Daniel Libeskind is known as a contemporary deconstructivist architect.
He was born in Poland in 1946.
Libeskind won the competition to create the master plan for the new World Trade Center in New York City.
The architect also designed the Jewish Museum in Berlin and the Imperial War Museum of the North in England.
Libeskind was selected over other prominent architects, including Zaha Hadid, an Iraqi and the first woman recipient of the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2004.
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From the 8/27/05 Cincinnati Enquirer:
Covington marina idea beginning to gain favor
By Mike Rutledge
Enquirer staff writer
COVINGTON - A marina just west of the Roebling Suspension Bridge could add a pretty site and some excitement to Covington's riverfront, supporters believe.
Corporex Cos. president and CEO Bill Butler mentioned the possibility this week, in connection with his proposed 22-story luxury condominium tower, the Ascent at Roebling's Bridge.
"We thought it might be nice to have a little pretty place right there as you come across the bridge," said Mayor Butch Callery. "And we were thinking people in the Ascent might have boats. And they could put their boats there."
"I think it's an excellent idea," said Garrard Street resident and former boat owner Adrian Kessler, 77, as he walked his dog near the riverfront. "If you can spend $1.5 million for a condo, you can spend $500,000 for a boat."
"The issue is simply a concept of a first-class marina, or yacht harbor, if you will, that could utilize that space, once the Covington Landing is gone from the site," Butler said. "We haven't really developed any plans for that, but we have discussed the idea with a number of people, including (BB Riverboats') Alan Bernstein.
"It could add a great deal of charm, and visual excitement, to the area," he said. And if renowned architect Daniel Libeskind, who is designing the Ascent, envisions the marina, "that would make it extraordinary."
"I think it'd be a good idea, to clean up the pollution" said Larry Tabeling, a 57-year-old resident of Covington's MainStrasse neighborhood. "It can't hurt."
Permits have not yet been sought from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a marina, and Callery said no agreements have been reached for use of the city-owned land.
The planned departure of the floating Covington Landing entertainment complex probably was needed to make way for the marina, Callery said, although it's not the leading reason the city is selling it. The city hopes to create a land-based restaurant complex at the landing's platform.
E-mail mrutledge@enquirer.com
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