BY LISA DONOVAN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
As the vision for the new Contemporary Arts Center sharpens, the city is negotiating to acquire properties at the northwest corner of Sixth and Walnut streets.
The unveiling of the design for the arts center may be the momentum necessary to move along the negotiations, one property owner said. Whatever the case, James Batsakes said the close of his family's 91-year-old businesses at 605 Walnut St. and demolition of its building is inevitable.
Mr. Batsakes is part owner of the Batsakes Hat Shop and the family's neighboring dry-cleaning store and plant. Mr. Batsakes said the move will be bittersweet - a bit sad because the family's business is leaving its long-time location, and happy because the downtown is growing, improving.
"We don't want to stand in the way of progress," he said. The hat shop is one of about five businesses that will have to move to make way for the CAC.
Construction could begin in late 1999. City council has set aside $4.3 million to buy the properties and for "site preparation," which would include demolition and other construction costs, said Deputy City Manager Richard Mendes.
The city frequently lends a hand - ranging from acquiring property to making public improvements, such as building sidewalks and roads - for projects city officials think will provide an economic boost to the city.
Several businesses along that stretch, including Hustler publisher Larry Flynt's bookstore, are also eligible for up to $20,000 in relocation fees.
The city law department is reviewing whether the Hustler store is eligible to receive relocation assistance under federal regulations that the city follows. Such regulations require the business to be a "lawful activity" for assistance.
City officials raised questions about its eligibility in light of its suit against the store, which says the business violates municipal regulations of sexually oriented businesses. That case is pending.
Mr. Batsakes said he suspects the hat store will be relocated downtown, but doesn't know whether the owners would be able to find a downtown space to re-open the dry-cleaning store and plant.
He said that while he enjoys watching downtown revitalization, he laments that the pool of small businesses seems to be shrinking. His hope is that there will be a combination of high-rises for big businesses and quaint little stores in the downtown.
"Downtown is moving along," said the 69-year-old businessman who started working full time for the family business after high school, in 1947. "In some respects, it's for the better, (but) they could use some smaller retailers. It's all high-rises."
