Bortz's Suggested Revisions To Banks Deal

A really odd thing happened during Monday's joint meeting of Cincinnati City Council's finance and economic development committees, a meeting to discuss The Banks. All nine council members were there and talked about the proposed development for more than six hours.

Toward the end, Councilman Chris Bortz proposed amendments to the cooperation agreement. Council members started to discuss the changes - then Mayor Mark Mallory walked into the room and spoke to Bortz for the first of several times. Suddenly, the proposed amendments were "just suggestions" that nobody - including Bortz - brought up for discussion.

His changes would have: committed the city and county to moving ahead with the public infrastructure even if the current developers pulled out of the plan; set up the port authority to be the ongoing overseer of the project; and guaranteed that rates charged by the county in the new Banks parking facilities would be competitive with the rates charged by the city in garages in the central business district. The latter, he said, would guarantee that at least some of the parking in the new development would be affordable.

Here are more details, from an e-mail Bortz sent Monday night:

"If the City of Cincinnati and Hamilton County are truly committed to getting The Banks built, then we should put in writing now our intent to proceed with the public infrastructure (the streets, the utilities, the park, the garage, the podium) even if the development team chooses or is unable to proceed.

I have great confidence in the Carter/Dawson team but a "proceed anyway provision" in the City-County Cooperative Agreement is a nod to the tremendous amount of work that has been put in over the last 11 years, particularly in the last 18 months. The Banks Working Group has done what most of us considered impossible.

Before the blinding light of victory overtakes us, let's acknowledge the contingencies that exist, including the challenging hurdle Carter/Dawson face of securing private financing. A commitment to proceed signals to the developer, and the public, that despite the real estate market and despite the outcome of the election, the City and the County will be breaking ground.

I have also suggested that we guarantee some affordable parking on The Banks. We must maintain a competitive edge with our suburban neighbors, and affordable parking is that edge. With a public subsidy of this magnitude, I believe citizens deserve a commitment that parking rates are going to remain reasonable for at least some of the spots. We already know the residential components of this first phase will be priced out of range of most folks. But at least we can make it affordable to park at The Banks so people can enjoy the park, the retail, and all the other entertainment amenities we are building.

And finally, let's answer the most important question, "What's next?". The success of The Banks Working Group is a direct result of removing politics from the process. Let's stick with what works. Hand off management to a properly formed and authorized professional Port Authority. That is how it is done, and done successfully, all over the country. The success of this first phase is critical and will determine the development of the remaining blocks. "