Thursday, February 17, 2000
Debacle could delay other projects
Adviser says timing crucial
BY LUCY MAY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Hamilton County may not have enough sales tax money to cover the $180 million in parking garages and other public improvements planned for Cincinnati's central riverfront rebirth.
Financial adviser Ted Ricci told county officials Wednesday that they must review the scope and timing of those public improvements in the coming weeks to determine what the county can afford when.
Hamilton County Administrator David Krings stressed that doesn't mean that parking garages or other public improvements won't get built. Rather, it's a question of how the county juggles its financial resources to make it all happen, he said.
The longer it takes for the county to build the parking garages, the longer the public's wait for the waterfront park and riverfront shops and housing touted as the byproduct of the two sports facilities.
That's because until the parking garages get built, the riverfront will be paved to provide parking lots for the Bengals, Reds and Firstar Center. And the parking garages are being designed to serve as the foundation for the shops, restaurants and housing proposed in The Banks development plan.
The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center is one of the projects planned for the central riverfront that's depending on county funds.
County officials pledged long ago to build the parking garage and pad that will support the museum buildings — a contri bution estimated at $6 million.
Freedom center representatives started negotiating a lease agreement with the county within the past two weeks and are watching the stadium cost overruns with interest, said Susan Redman-Rengstorf, the freedom center's national campaign coordinator.
“We are very concerned about the overruns,” she said. “It could affect the Freedom Center down the road.”
The museum is counting on the county to build the garage and development pad in time for the Freedom Center to meet its 2003 completion date.
Mr. Krings said Wednesday he doesn't expect the money for the Freedom Center to be a problem. In fact, he stressed that the county has no firm designs or construction timetables for the parking at all.
Tentative plans called for the garages to be completed in 2001 and 2002. But those plans were dumped after the River front Advisory Commission recommended The Banks development plan and suggested moving some of the garages off the riverfront, Mr. Krings said.
Now county officials and members of the advisory group are working to figure out a parking plan that works for everyone, said Thomas H. Humes Jr., president of Great Traditions Land & Development Co. and a member of the advisory group.
The advisory group, he said, is not particularly worried about whether the cost overruns will delay The Banks.
“Nobody likes surprises when it comes to cost increases, but I think we have to put this in perspective,” he said. “The goal is to build a brighter future, and that involves some major, long-term investments.”
Maybe it will be a good thing to have more time to plan the parking and determine what's built on top of the garages, he said.
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