News

Latest Schematic Designs for The Banks Unveiled

Cincinnati, OH (March 24, 2009) – The Master Development Team of Carter and The Dawson Company unveiled its latest schematic designs for the first phase of The Banks today at a Cincinnati Urban Design Review Board (UDRB) meeting.

The renderings incorporate more design details than preliminary renderings unveiled in June 2008 and include an additional structure – the office building to be placed on the corner of Walnut and Second Street. The renderings capture components of Phase 1A and Phase 1B, including stairwell and elevators head houses, that illustrate a more complete vision for the development than earlier versions.

“These renderings help convey the overall ambiance we’re striving to create for the development – one of an active, pedestrian-friendly, downtown neighborhood,” said Bailey Pope, vice president of design of construction for the Dawson Company. “By including renderings for all uses – apartments, office and retail – the public can start to understand the shape and feel of the urban spaces that we’re planning for the development.”

Pope noted a few highlights of the latest renderings, such as Freedom Way’s design and the apartments’ special window treatments. “We’ve designed Freedom Way to be lined with shops and restaurants and serve as outdoor living space for the city,” said Pope. “We’ve paid special attention to the windows and balconies to balance between the privacy of the dwellings and the desire for active engagement of the street scene.”

The new renderings incorporate suggestions from the UDRB, a citizen advisory board to the city that reviews projects architecturally to help create designs consistent with Cincinnati’s urban master plan. The UDRB reviewed preliminary designs last June, and the development team has continued conversations with the UDRB throughout the design review process.

Developers expect to continue to refine these schematic designs to reflect recent UDRB member input. This includes increasing the contemporary flair of the designs.

Individual architects presented drawings today that depict the character of individual structures they’ve been contracted to design. The architects presenting their designs include:

• Cole + Russell and Moody-Nolan for the Phase 1A apartments and retail
• Cooper Carry for the Phase 1B office building
• THP with DNK Architects for the stairwell and elevator head houses

The renderings will be available at www.carterdawson.com after the official unveiling.

The Banks is a joint City of Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Carter, Dawson project. Once completed, The Banks will be Cincinnati’s largest single, mixed-use development and be composed of a dynamic blend of residential, office, hotel and retail components. Phase 1A of the riverfront development is under construction and will include a minimum of 300 apartments and 70,000 square feet of retail.