The Banks Blog

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Mayor Mallory in Vegas to Pitch The Banks to Retailers
International Council of Shopping Centers Conference is the largest in the world

Cincinnati – Mayor Mark Mallory and Trent Germano, vice chairman at Carter, are meeting with retailers about opportunities at the Banks  at the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) annual convention in Las Vegas.  Joined by CBRE Ellis, the retail broker for The Banks, the Mayor and Trent Germano will highlight The Banks’ unique attributes and Cincinnati’s appeal as a whole.

“This convention brings together all of the major players from around the world, and we are taking our message about Cincinnati directly to them,” Mayor Mark Mallory said.  “The Banks is one of the most dynamic and exciting development projects in the country.  There is a lot of interest in getting in on the ground floor.”

Despite the difficult economy, retailers are still looking for signature retail opportunities.  With its position on the riverfront between the two stadiums, The Banks development has been receiving a great response from retailers interested in being a part of the project.  The Mayor will also be meeting with retailers to discuss investment opportunities in other areas of Cincinnati.  This is the Mayor’s third trip to ICSC to pitch investment in Cincinnati as part of his Shop 52 initiative to attract retail opportunities and develop small businesses in all 52 Cincinnati Neighborhoods

“We’re pleased with the amount of interest we’ve received from retailers thus far and look forward to having the Mayor’s support at the ICSC,” said Trent Germano, vice chairman at Carter.

Phase 1A of The Banks will include 70,000 square feet of ground-level retail that will sit below 300 luxury apartments. The retail will line Freedom Way, which will feature 23-foot sidewalks to accommodate retailers interested in opening sidewalk cafes. Future phases of the development will include hotel and office components.

“There is a lot of excitement in the real estate community about The Banks.  Having the Mayor help make the sales pitch distinguishes Cincinnati from our competition,” said Chris Hodge of CBRE Ellis.

While at the convention, Mayor Mallory is meeting with the ICSC board of trustees and the US Conference of Mayors to discuss strategies for improving retail opportunities for urban areas nationwide.  The ICSC convention is the largest convention of retailers in the world.

This panel tells us how much concrete is being used on the project.

We’ve noticed some fun informational panels that have gone up around the site. This one gives you some details on the capacity of the sky crane on site.

I have made a study of the middle ages, and today as I passed by the banks site, I found this siege tower on site.

The fascinating thing about this temporary staircase is that its design is practically identical to the basic structure of a siege tower. Siege towers were used to scale the walls of fortresses during prolonged battles. The towers were first used in Europe in 4th century BC, and several hundred years before that in the Far East.

A true siege tower would have been covered in wood, then covered in some sort of batting like rags, and then covered in a layer of animal hides. The purpose of this was to hide the troops inside the tower from the arrows and stones being thrown at them from the walls of the fortress or castle. The animal hides helped to keep them from catching on fire when flammable material was hurled at the tower.

Read More:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_tower
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/When_was_the_siege_tower_used
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/382397/military-technology/57585/Siege-towers#ref=ref521932

Work interrupted by the rain.