River metropolis may start soon
By Lisa Bernard-Kuhn
lbernard@enquirer.com
DAYTON, Ky. - Construction could begin this spring on the first critical pieces of a $900 million riverfront project that's expected to draw new retailers, restaurants, housing and a 150-room hotel to this tiny Northern Kentucky city.
When completed, Manhattan Harbour is expected to span 142 acres of waterfront property. That's roughly eight times larger than The Banks development in downtown Cincinnati and four times bigger than Ovation, the mixed-use project that Covington-based Corporex has planned for Newport.
Anchored by the 460-slip Manhattan Harbour marina, formerly Watertown Marina, the project is being touted as a world-class development that will pull design concepts, shops and entertainment venues from top destinations across the globe.
"We want to make sure we come out of the gates running, but we also want to be responsible with our timing," said Terry Chan, president and CEO of C&M Investment Group.
The Over-the-Rhine-based firm, which also has offices in the East End, closed a deal last month to buy out DCI Properties, the project's original developer.
"These guys are big thinkers, and they have what it's going to take to make this into something that's cutting edge - something that people around the world will say, 'Wow this is happening in the Midwest, Cincinnati,'" said DCI founder David C. Imboden.
DCI will no longer exist, but Imboden said he's staying on as a minority - 10 percent - investor in the deal.
He plans to self-finance a 20-story condominium tower that's expected to be part of the project's first phase. Named Manhattan Flats, the tower will have 100 condos, with prices starting at $300,000.
Simultaneously, Chan said he's working to lure a resort-style hotel to the site that he hopes will be part of the development's first phase in 2010.
Longer-term plans call for more than 1,900 condos, apartments and single-family homes, a retirement center and nearly 250,000 square feet of retail. A walking trail throughout the development would ultimately connect to neighboring Bellevue, Newport and Covington.
"The plan is subject to change, depending on the market, but we don't just want to fill it with the usual stuff," said Chan, a former finance executive with General Electric and Caterpillar.
C&M is working with Alpine Wealth Management Group to finance a significant portion of the project, Chan said. The New Jersey-based investment group is lining up a team of U.S. and foreign investors, he said.
"You have to be creative in this market, and by the time this starts to come online, we think there will be plenty of pent-up demand," Chan said.
Alpine could not be reached for comment.
Before construction can begin on Manhattan Flats or other pieces of the project, C&M needs approval from the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development on the creation of a tax increment financing district.
TIF districts allow cities to direct increased property tax revenues generated by a new development back into that development to help pay for public infrastructure projects. In the case of Manhattan Harbour, the city would issue $120 million in bonds and the TIF would stay in place as long as it takes to pay off that financing, typically 30 years, officials have said.
Property tax revenue generated by Manhattan Harbour would help pay for the construction of a two-lane boulevard that will run through the development and connect it to existing streets in Dayton. It would also help cover the installation of utilities and the Herculean task of raising the site up to 16 feet above the flood plain with more than 1 million cubic yards of dirt.
The cabinet is expected to vote on the TIF agreement on Feb. 26.
If approved, Chan said work could begin this spring to prepare the site, install the utilities and build the road. It would likely be another 1.5 years, he said, before the first condo tower or retail spaces are finished.
Dennis Redman, Dayton's city administrator, said the last thing that officials want to do is rush the project.
"This project is no different from any other project, in that the economy will dictate the speed that it's delivered," he said. "This country's major lenders are not situated at this point in time for the innovative financing that's needed for these kinds of major projects, but I think it's fair to say that the combination of tax increment financing and foreign investment will help keep this project on track."