Is The Banks too boring?

Concerns are mounting that The Banks' design is too boring and lackluster for Cincinnati's newest, highest-profile riverfront development.

Strip away the two sports stadiums and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, and critics cite an uninspiring skyline. They say the new apartment and office buildings may be sending the wrong message, that the city is uninspired.

Matters of design, style and beauty are, of course, subjective and open to debate. For The Banks, they also raise questions about whether Cincinnati is missing a chance to create a special destination that obtains the best payback for the hundreds of millions of public dollars spent on development there.

An Enquirer review of project planning documents and interviews with city officials, developers, business leaders and architecture experts finds planners of The Banks spent less energy on design and more on landing the right mix of projects and getting them done in tough economic times.

The powerful Joint Banks Steering Committee, which oversees activity at The Banks, has given wide leeway to developers for the signature project's look. Cincinnati's Urban Design Review Board assesses all new building plans, but its opinions are advisory only.

The result is a growing riverfront neighborhood of brick, glass and steel structures whose look has ignited passions on all sides. Disagreement over the design of General Electric Co.'s incoming, 10-story operations hub is the latest example.

"Our vision was for The Banks to be the pre-eminent mixed-use development in the Midwest," said Jim Shelton, vice chairman of Atlanta-based Carter, which is co-developing the 18-acre site with the Dawson Co. "That was our goal, is our goal, and we think we're well on our way to that goal."

Said Jim Fitzgerald, founder of Downtown-based FRCH Design Worldwide and a member of the Urban Design Review Board: "We have been disappointed with the quality of architecture on The Banks to date other than the stadiums. The stadiums are of reasonably good architecture, but the other buildings are very vanilla, very uninteresting, very disappointing."

Heaviest criticism targets newest project

The heaviest criticism yet came July 9 over GE's plans for its future $90 million U.S. Global Operations Center. Plans show a 338,500-square-foot, glass-and-masonry structure with steel frame at Second and Rosa Parks streets.

Carter and Dawson worked with architect Rule Joy Trammell + Rubio on development plans for the building after GE announced its intention in April to locate in Southwest Ohio. The plans had the blessing of the Joint Banks Steering Committee, and GE ultimately chose to locate at The Banks over three other sites.

"The Joint Banks Steering Committee is confident that the master developer, working with the city, county and General Electric, will design and construct a building that is in full compliance with all of the requirements of the master development plan," said Tom Gabelman, a Frost Brown Todd attorney who sits on the committee.

Carter executives said GE needed a competitive rental rate and gave the company guidance on the type of building it wanted.

Grievances about the design were first aired by the Urban Design Review Board after GE had committed to The Banks. Normally, the review board provides input before project plans are finalized. In the case of GE, however, the speed of the project precluded the early look.

GE deferred questions for this story to Carter and Dawson.

City, county and business leaders could only dream of The Banks becoming a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood when urban design plans were published in 1999 and later updated.

Among the guidelines: Building exteriors would feature brick, stone or cast stone. Buildings would form "a rich texture which contains surprises, dynamic contrasts and varied profiles." Glass should be clear or lightly tinted. Doors and windows should be set back at least three inches from building facades.

Zoning and other Downtown development requirements also dictated what would get built.

Construction began on the first phase of The Banks nearly five years ago during the country's worst recession in decades. The activity in Cincinnati was a testament to what could be achieved through public-private partnerships in a tough economy.

When Carter and Dawson joined the project in 2007, Shelton said it was hard to predict how the project should look knowing development could take a decade or longer to complete. He said Carter also is constrained by "what the marketplace allows us to do."

Early on, the developers successfully lobbied to raise the height restrictions on buildings to increase density.

So far, the market has allowed a dozen new bars and restaurants and 300 apartments to open at The Banks. Widely acclaimed Smale Riverfront Park also is under development.

Carter and Dawson so far have presented plans to the Urban Design Review Board three times, making tweaks but no wholesale changes.

Architect John Senhauser, one of five Urban Design Review Board members, said regional leaders should have pushed harder, earlier, for developers to meet early design guidelines.

Hamilton County Commissioner Greg Hartmann acknowledged there's room to improve. "At the same time," he said, "I'm very pleased that a lot of these developments have gotten out of the ground. Certainly that's progress, but there's room to grow. It's not unusual to build momentum architecturally."

Mayor John Cranley declined to comment.

City and county leaders have praised The Banks for helping transform a flood-prone "dust bowl" to an emerging hub of economic activity.

Shelton said the design of future phases will complement what's already there.

Cost also is a factor in complex urban real estate developments, said Sean Suder, a Cincinnati-based land use attorney at Graydon Head & Ritchey. Projects like The Banks can be expensive to build out, and developers can be forced to reduce how much they invest in buildings, he said.

Signature architecture not among the criteria

Several people reached by The Enquirer called for a larger community conversation about the city's built environment and how to make it better for people here.

Former Cincinnati Art Museum Director Aaron Betsky is a vocal critic of architecture at The Banks.

"It's an ongoing problem that this city finds it very difficult to invest in the wonderful infrastructure and urban environment it already has and instead throws money at new construction that seems to be of a lower quality," Betsky said.

Chicago and New York City, cities with stunning skylines, attract competition among developers and have more leverage over what gets built. Zoning or planning boards in smaller communities or neighborhoods with powerful historic districts also can exert significant design control.

Indianapolis-based urban affairs analyst and noted blogger Aaron Renn said Cincinnati is "hardly the worst offender" for contested urban design. "The city could've easily said some signature architecture was one of the criteria of the project," said Renn, who has visited Cincinnati and is familiar with The Banks project. "They apparently didn't because, frankly, some of the stuff there is decent but undistinctive."

Cities also have very little leverage when it comes to a massive Fortune 10 employer like General Electric, Renn said. The state, county and city have approved giving GE $112.4 million in incentives over 15 years to locate at The Banks.

In an ideal world, GE has a site that works for its operations, and the city gets to experience the economic benefits from the development and a building that enhances its skyline.

Even if the building is "play-it-safe architecture," he said it's still a boon for Cincinnati.

Renn also said it's unfair to GE to expect a signature building when bland buildings, not including the stadiums, surround it.

"You already have a massive win," Renn said. "You've gotten 98 percent of the victory already.

"Don't let the failure of the last 2 percent make people feel bad about what's an incredible win for the city of Cincinnati." ■

About the Joint Banks Steering Committee

Formed in 2007, the committee oversees The Banks development on behalf of the city and county. It's the successor to the Joint Banks Working Group, which Cincinnati and Hamilton County formed in May 2006.

The Joint Banks Working Group was tasked with selecting the master developer and creating master development plans and agreements. The agreements are the framework for how each block of the riverfront will be developed.

Members are Katie Blackburn, Bob Castellini (chairman), Tom Gabelman, Steve Leeper, Steve Love, Robert Rhein, Robert Richardson and Tim Riordan.

About the Urban Design Review Board

Established in 1964, the five-member Urban Design Review Board advises the city manager on the appropriateness of a project's design in relation to its urban context. The panel also determines whether architecture meets the goals established for development around Downtown and the riverfront. The board's opinions are advisory only.

The board has provided opinions on previous improvements at The Banks and other projects including those at Fountain Square, dunnhumby Centre, Queen City Square and Horseshoe Casino Cincinnati.

Members are Jay Chatterjee, Jim Fitzgerald, Paul Muller, Buck Niehoff (chairman), and John Senhauser.

What they're saying

"The Banks' image should be coordinated like a symphony because it offers the best view of Cincinnati and is one that sticks in the minds of visitors. Design should incorporate aspects of being on the riverfront and the speed of movement with its proximity to major highways." -- Jay Chatterjee, Dean Emeritus and Professor Emeritus of Architecture and Planning,

University of Cincinnati

"We're creating an environment that takes advantage of the park, river and the benefits near the stadiums and Central Business District. In our mind, we've done a good job and had (lots of) support." -- Jim Shelton, Vice president, Atlanta-based developer Carter

Coming Monday: Idea resurfaces to cap Fort Washington Way with green space