Friday, October 29, 1999
Bellevue gets started on riverfront project
Restaurants and offices to occupy site with a view
BY TERRY FLYNN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
BELLEVUE — It's a lot of loose dirt on the Ohio River right now, but city officials served notice with a ground-breaking ceremony Thursday that the Port Bellevue development will mark the next step in this city's growth.
“This is a great day for Bellevue,” said state Rep. Jim Callahan, D-Wilder, who traces his roots to this little river city. “A lot of people have worked long and hard to make this development a reality.”
Port Bellevue, expected to open about this time next year, is on the Bellevue-Newport line, just east of Newport's Riverboat Row, the Chart House restaurant and the Comfort Suites hotel.
Tenants include Joe's Crab Shack, a restaurant specializing in seafood; an unnamed steakhouse; and a Burger King with two stories of office space above the restaurant. All will have a stunning view of the river and the Cincinnati skyline.
The land was previously oc cupied by a marina and a manufacturing company, both of which had been out of business for a number of years.
“About 14 years ago, we tried to market this property to out-of-town developers,” Mayor Tom Wiethorn recalled. “I remember one of the men talking to another and saying, "This mayor wants me to put a mink coat on a bag lady.' I never forgot that.
“We've done a lot with this lady since then.”
Since then, he said, more than $40 million and 500 new jobs have come to town.
“We expect bigger, better and more interesting things to happen here in the near future,” he said.
The development, which is being handled primarily by the city, was made possible by a $1 million grant enabling the city to acquire land needed for the project and clearing the site.
A second phase of the development is tentatively planned for an open area along Fairfield Avenue just east of the present work site. No specific schedule or tenants have been identified.
Further east along the river, a private developer has indicated there are tentative plans for condominium and/or apartment development on Eden Avenue.
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