Project Year in Review: 2022

The Banks

PHOTOS—Main: Paver installation at Lot 28 underway at the site of Cincinnati Black Music Walk of Fame. Upper right: Variable Message Signage guiding I-75 traffic to stadium cash parking exit. Lower right: Killer Queen bar and restaurant under construction along East Freedom Way.

The Banks Project:
2022 in Review

The year saw crowds return to experience all The Banks had to offer in 2022.

  • Public Parties construction continued throughout the year. The Cincinnati Black Music Walk of Fame took shape on Lot 28.
  • Business at The Banks was fueled by Cincinnati Reds and Cincinnati Bengals games, and by special events such as The Flying Pig, Cincinnati Black Music Walk of Fame Induction Ceremony, Cincinnati Music Festival, Oktoberfest, BLINK, Celtic Festival, Cincinnati Parks Foundation’s Hats Off Luncheon, Kroger Wellness Festival, Brady Music Center concerts, FIFA World Cup Watch Parties, Riverfest, and Moerlein Lager House’s Rockin’ the Roebling Concerts and Holiday ChristkindlMarkt.
  • Frost Factory and The Filson Queen City Kitchen & Bar opened, while Anderson Real Estate announced a lease with Killer Queen for available space on the north side of East Freedom Way.
  • Variable Message Signage (VMS) and Digital Message Signs communicated vital information on parking and wayfinding along the riverfront.

PHOTOS—Left: Mothers and children enjoy the Women’s Garden in Smale Riverfront Park. Center: The Filson Queen City Kitchen & Bar opened in September. Right: New concrete ramps were poured at Lot 28.

Highlights

Public Partnership

Great American Ball Park signs congratulate the Cincinnati Bengals on winning the AFC Championship game.
Lot 28 fenced off for construction of the Cincinnati Black Music Walk of Fame.
Lot 28 construction included a concrete wall pour in March.
One of Smale Park’s water features draws a crowd on a warm May afternoon.
Workers prepare rebar for a concrete wall in Lot 28.
Workers finish concrete deck at the Lot 28 site of the Cincinnati Black Music Walk of Fame.
Cincinnati Parks team member cleans the Vine Street steps.
Variable Message Signage reminded drivers to watch for pedestrians.
Cincinnati Parks celebrates Earth Day in Smale Riverfront Park.
The shape of the Cincinnati Black Music Walk of Fame emerged as construction on the outdoor, one-of-a-kind sensory experience continued.
Workers dug trenches to prepare the site for features creating the Cincinnati Black Music Walk of Fame.
Workers installed wall cladding at the Cincinnati Black Music Walk of Fame site.

Highlights

Development

Bengals fans line the DORA along Freedom Way during AFC Championship game.
Visitors queue up for Black History Month programs at the Freedom Center.
The Frost Factory continued its build-out of space on West Freedom Way.
Work continued in April to complete the exterior structure of The Filson, Lot 19.
The process of hiring staff for The Filson began in May.
The Frost Factory opened in June.
Cincinnati Black Music Walk of Fame induction ceremony was held July 23, 2022.
Rockin’ the Roebling presented weekly summer concerts on the Schmidlapp Lawn.
Riverfest fireworks painted the sky orange Labor Day weekend.
BLINK installations drew crowds to The Banks in October.
Build out continued in November for Killer Queen, East Freedom Way.
Holidays at The Banks included a Moerlein Lager House ChristkindlMarkt on the Schmidlapp Lawn.

Project Pillars

Economic Inclusion

Phase I, II, IIIA, IIIB and IIIC Small Business Enterprise (SBE) participation 1/1/08 through 12/31/22.

Phase I, II, IIIA and IIIB Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE)

Goal/participation varied by project, between 4% and 9%.

Money paid to SBE and DBE contractors 1/1/08 through 12/31/22.

Percentage of workforce living within the 26-county Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area*

87%

* Phase I, II, IIIA, IIIB, and VMS Phase II from 1/1/08 through 11/30/22. There are no local residency participation goals for the project.

Combined Minority and Women Workforce Participation 1/1/22 through 11/30/22 for Phase IIIC

Female: 3.65%
Minority: 16.03%

Safety

Public Parties construction safety hours for all phases from 1/1/08 through 12/31/22.

Budget

The Public Parties project work remained within budget.

Schedule

All Public Parties work is on schedule for 2022–2023.

100%

Additional Information

Public Parties

One of many concrete pours by workers on Lot 28.

Workers install rebar on Lot 28.

Variable Message Signage guides visitors to parking on gamedays.

Developer

Brady Music Center lights up in orange for at-home Bengals games.

Pre-game tailgating draws Bengals fans to Schmidlapp Lawn and the DORA.

Moerlein Lager House and Servatii Pastries sponsor an inaugural holiday event, ChristkindlMarkt on Schmidlapp Lawn.

Parks

The Balance Disk is a popular attraction in Smale Riverfront Park.

Fall foliage frames the foreground of the Roebling Bridge.

Family takes a walk in the snow at Smale Riverfront Park.

Communications

1,640

FOLLOWERS

143

TWEETS @IBackTheBanks

1,455

ENGAGEMENTS‡

60,599

IMPRESSIONS*

1,778

MEDIA MENTIONS

www

• TOTAL VISITOR SESSIONS: 14,334
• AVG MONTHLY SESSIONS: 1,195
• TOTAL PAGE VIEWS: 20,761
• MONTHLY PARKING VIEWS: 985
• AVERAGE DURATION: 1:29 mins

Additional Media Information

Further details are available here.
* Impressions equals the number of times users saw the tweet on Twitter.
‡ Engagements is the total number of times users have interacted with a tweet, including retweets, replies, follows, and likes.

Lot 28, site of future Cincinnati Black Music Walk of Fame.

What’s Next

Opening of Killer Queen on East Freedom Way.

Completion of Lot 28 development, with a ribbon-cutting and opening celebration for the Cincinnati Black Music Walk of Fame scheduled for Saturday, July 22, 2023.

Variable Message Signage Phase III (parking guidance within the Intermodal Transit Facility/Central Riverfront Garage) will get underway.

For more information: Phil Beck, AIA, LEED AP Project Executive The Banks Project (513) 946-4434
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