SUBURBAN LIFE
Your Community Press newspaper serving Columbia Township, Deer Park, Dillonvale, Kenwood, Madeira, Rossmoyne, Sycamore Township
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2013
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Sycamore to upgrade crosswalk signals By Leah Fightmaster lfightmaster@communitypress.com
Sycamore Township is upgrading its crosswalk signals to match state standards and make some intersections safer for pedestrians. Greg Bickford, planning and zoning director/acting administrator, said the township is going to pay to replace the current crosswalk signs that Hamilton County owns and install signals that count down the seconds until the traffic signal turns green for the street the crosswalk is
across. There are 48 crossing signs that will be replaced, Bickford said, and the township would pay about $102 per unit. Bickford He added that the county agreed to install them if the township buys the signals. He added that the countdown signals are up to the Ohio Department of Transportation’s safety standards, but surpass
those of the county. Bickford said the change will make the intersection at Montgomery and Kenwood roads less dangerous, because pedestrians will know how long they have to cross the wide lanes and high traffic levels on those roads. He added that the intersection could get a video camera there as well, which would allow police and the township to see a problem and possibly change the traffic signals’ timing to alleviate it.
Sycamore Township will be replacing 48 crosswalk signals in the township, including ones at the interseciton of Montgomery Road and Kenwood Road. LEAH FIGHTMASTER/THE COMMUNITY PRESS
Saks moving to Sycamore Twp. Gannett News Service
Saks Fifth Avenue is moving from Downtown to Sycamore Township – a loss for the city but a clear reversal of fortunes for one of the most ridiculed retail developments in the region. Saks will occupy space in the still-unfinished Kenwood Collection, once known as Kenwood Towne Place, adjacent to popular Kenwood Towne Centre mall. Kenwood Towne Place became a symbol for commercial real estate failures as construction stopped and a foreclosure, a bankruptcy, criminal prosecutions and numerous lawsuits followed. Officials from Sycamore Township-based developer Phillips Edison & Co. said that Saks will be key to filling Kenwood Collection with high-end tenants and becoming a regional shopping destination. “For us to be able to have them up there, that allows us to show other retailers who may have been dismissive of Cincinnati to understand the kind of draw this market has,” said David Birdsall, president of Phillips Edison’s strategic investment fund. There are only 41 Saks Fifth Avenues in 22 states. Kenwood Collection, meanwhile, is located within 90 minutes of more than 5 million people with $15.5 billion in spending power, Birdsall said. He said the Kenwood Collection store is expected to open in spring 2016. Greg Bickford, Sycamore Township’s planning and zoning director and assistant township administrator, said he’s pleased to see Phillips Edison’s progress in attracting tenants to the highprofile site. He said the Saks announcement helps cement the Kenwood area’s status as a unique entertainment and retail destination. Phillips & Edison is “a good company, and they know what they’re doing,” said Bickford. “We knew it was going to take some time because there’s not a lot of tenants in the market that could fill that space and make it successful.”
The city executed a 15-year deal in 2002 that provided Saks with $6.6 million in financing to upgrade and remain in the city. THE ENQUIRER/GARY LANDERS
What about downtown Macy’s? Negotiations are continuing to keep the Macy’s store Downtown, with the retailer wanting assurances that there’s a plan to attract other retailers as well, developer Arn Bortz said Wednesday. Macy’s lease at Fifth and Vine streets ends in January 2018. “People are reluctant to take risks to make it better unless they are confident they have company in doing this,” said Bortz, a partner at Towne Properties and involved in the negotiations. Jim Sluzewski, spokesman for Cincinnati-based Macy’s, said Wednesday that the company is “very proud” of its store at Fountain Square. But he declined to discuss its future in the city or its recent financial performance. In May, CEO Terry Lundgren pointed out that all 840 of its stores were profitable.
In the meantime, it will be business as usual at the Fifth and Race location Downtown. The city executed a 15-year deal with Saks in February 2002 that provided the retailer with $6.6
million in tax increment bond funds to upgrade its store and remain in the city. The announcement is a blow to plans that the city of Cincinnati had to create a Downtown
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retail shopping corridor on Race Street between Fourth and Sixth streets and anchored by Saks and Macy’s. Cincinnati officials and Downtown boosters had lobbied hard in recent months to convince Saks to stay in the city’s central business district. But they said the high-end retailer’s announcement to leave won’t deter progress to create the shopping corridor. “While this is unfortunate, Downtown remains vibrant and growing,” City Manager Milton Dohoney Jr. said. “There are new hotels, new residential towers and continuing excitement. “The city remains focused on our retail strategy for the Race Street corridor with community partners and developers.”
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Dohoney, who is resigning Dec. 1, said the timeline Saks has provided gives the city an opportunity to find a new tenant for the space across Fifth Street from dunnhumbyUSA’s new headquarters, under construction. Saks informed the city about its decision in a conference call Nov. 13. Kathleen Norris, a city consultant helping to develop the Race Street retail plans, said planners have known that Cincinnati could lose Saks. Norris, a managing principal at Urban Fast Forward, said Saks officials told the city that it hadn’t intended to leave Downtown, but Kenwood Collection developers came in with an offer. See SAKS, Page A2
Vol. 50 No. 35 © 2013 The Community Press ALL RIGHTS RESERVED