BY SUSAN VELA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
BELLEVUE -- By the fall of 1999, three new restaurants, some office space and a dock for a water shuttle could be in operation on the site of the old Southern Ohio Marina.
Nine acres of upscale residential development could follow to the east -- but only if the first phase of the $40 million riverfront development project is a success.
Bellevue city officials gathered Wednesday to announce their hopes of becoming a major player in Northern Kentucky's riverfront development efforts.
However, City Administrator Donald W. Martin noted that developers will have to see people walking in and out of the first phase's restaurant and office doors before committing to building hotels, condominiums or anything else nearby.
"They don't want to (go near) abandoned buildings and burnt-out boats or anything that's an eyesore," he said.
The large-scale project is dependent on a $1 million federal community development grant. Approval for the grant could come by mid-November.
Approval would mean the project's first phase, which is expected to tally $10 million to $15 million, could be complete in a year. The second, nine-acre phase could take another two years.
Bellevue officials want to use the entire grant to help finance the $1.2 million price for the four-acre former marina site. The Bellevue Urban Renewal and Community Development Agency then would borrow at least $2 million to help pay for infrastructure and development of three new buildings.
The structures would be leased. At this point, two national restaurant chains are interested in bringing franchises to the site. One specializes in seafood; the other, in steaks.
Bellevue officials were mum about the chain names but note that their present franchises are at least 70 miles away.
Their 20-year lease agreements with Bellevue would generate money for the urban renewal agency's loan debt and help it plan for future development on the riverfront site and Fairfield Avenue, a nearby thoroughfare.
If the grant is denied, city officials promise to still purchase the old marina site. But Mr. Martin said the city would have to put its riverfront development plans on hold.
Mayor Tom Wiethorn stressed that the urban renewal agency has wanted to develop the riverfront for a long time.
"It's not a Johnny come lately thing," he said, noting that Wednesday's announcement was a result of a lot of pieces falling into place.
Included, he said, was a recent approval from Environmental Risk Management of Cincinnati. The agency conducted environmental studies on the site earlier this year and ruled it clean.
