By Ken Alltucker
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Tim Sharp has resigned as president of the Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority, three years after helping form the group overseeing Cincinnati's riverfront and brownfield development.

The move comes just after the port authority's board appointed the private, nonprofit group Cincinnati Center City Development Corp. (3CDC) as development manager for the planned Banks neighborhood between the riverfront stadiums.

"I feel like I've done what I needed to do," Sharp said Monday. "Now that we have 3CDC on board, I feel a little more comfortable passing the baton."

Kim Satzger, who oversees planning and brownfields for the authority, has been named interim president. The port will convene a screening committee over the next several weeks to select a permanent president.

Sharp, who said he's not ready to discuss his plans, assumed his position in January 2001 just before the nation's economy tipped into recession. The bad economy and events such as Cincinnati's race riots in April 2001 and the Sept. 11 terrorist strikes tossed cold water on construction of speculative office and retail projects across the Tristate.

"Despite that, look at the things we've been able to do," said Sharp.

Sharp said the port assisted 22 development projects across Hamilton County, from the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center on the riverfront to the redevelopment of the former Forest Fair Mall in Forest Park.

The port's been particularly busy over the past year, closing $54 million in financing deals and securing $30 million in federal and state grants.

Yet the group also has faced some criticism for the slow progress of the planned Banks neighborhood of condos, shops and offices between Great American Ball Park and Paul Brown Stadium.

Chief among the stumbling blocks has been the inability to raise $56 million to pay for the parking garages that will serve as the foundation for the Banks. Facing cost overruns at Paul Brown Stadium and slower-than-projected sales tax collections, Hamilton County hasn't been able to find the money.

Nevertheless, the port has lined up $25 million in federal and state grants to pay for riverfront parking - enough money to start building at least two parking garages, Sharp said.

3CDC's new role will include spurring the Banks by assembling a private development team and consulting government officials, according to an agreement approved by the port authority's board Thursday. Sharp resigned Friday, and the port authority announced the resignation Monday.

3CDC, a private group led by Procter & Gamble chairman A.G. Lafley, was formed in July with the goal of moving the city's stalled development efforts out of City Hall and into the hand of private-sector interests. The group's three areas of focus include the Banks, the Fountain Square district and Over-the-Rhine.

Jack Rouse, who chairs the port authority and also heads 3CDC's Banks working group, could not be reached Monday. In a prepared statement, Rouse praised Sharp's "expertise and experience in public sector economic development."

Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune said having 3CDC oversee the development of both the Banks and the Fountain Square overhaul should ensure the two projects don't compete with one another.

But he also notes that it's a different approach than what Hamilton County commissioners envisioned when the county and city voted to create the port more than three years ago.

"It is a major departure from what originally had been established," Portune said.

"I don't want to be in a situation where we are reacting to something. We ought to have a responsible discussion about this."

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E-mail kalltucker@enquirer.com