BY CINDY SCHROEDER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
NEWPORT -- The Millennium Monument may not be finished by what some consider to be the start of the new millennium.
Instead, developers of the tower that would be among the world's tallest structures may open only a section of it on New Year's Eve 1999, said Chris Novak, Newport's director of community services. Other sections could be phased in throughout the year.
"The full tower looks very doubtful (for New Year's Eve 1999)," Mr. Novak said. "I think these guys are starting to realize that there's no reason to put themselves under a specific deadline."
City sources and those close to developers say delays in securing financing and in getting Federal Aviation Administration approval for the tower's height have prompted developers to consider opening the tower in phases.
"Any time you try to finance a project like this, it's so unique," Mr. Novak said. "There's nothing like it anywhere else in the world."
The tower is the dream of Campbell County businessmen David Hosea and Wayne Carlisle, who announced plans a year ago to ring in the new millennium, which begins 2001, with a tower that they planned to build on a site across from The Syndicate Restaurant.
One option calls for a 1,234-foot tower that would include a 66,000-pound Millennium Bell at the 100-foot level to ring in the year 2000. Beneath the world's largest swinging bell would be an 84-bell carillon, the world's largest.
Another option calls for the bells to be moved to a separate 120-foot structure across the plaza from the larger tower. The developer's original timetable called for construction to begin by June 1, with the tower opening by New Year's Eve 1999.
Mike Rozow, spokesman for the monument effort, would not confirm a start date, but did say that the plan still calls for an 18-month construction schedule.
"Wayne continues to reach for the vision and the dream of a celebration honoring the Millennium Monument on Dec. 31, 1999," Mr. Rozow said.
Jim Verdin, president of the Cincinnati-based Verdin Company, which is overseeing the creation of the Millennium Bell and the carillon, said that he's still been told to have the bells ready by New Year's Eve 1999.
"That would work (to open the section with the Millennium Bell by New Year's Eve, 1999)," Mr. Verdin said.
While developers are exploring various options, Mr. Novak said, he's comfortable that "they're trying to do things right."
"Even if the whole thing's not ready by the end of 1999, it'll still stand as a monument to the new millennium," Mr. Novak said.
