Cindi Andrews

candrews@enquirer.com

Coolness factor%2C amenities make The Banks the frontrunner to land new GE center.

Oakley offers good highway access but might be a tight fit.

Experts say Mason is the longest shot on GE's short list.

The revitalization of downtown Cincinnati and the national move toward urban living are making The Banks the odds-on favorite for the new General Electric hub, according to local real estate experts.

"There's such a resurgence of wanting to be downtown" across the country," Shaun Bond, director of the University of Cincinnati Real Estate Center, said by phone Thursday as he took students on a tour of downtown Chicago. "This big urban renaissance means a lot of companies are focused on central business district locations right now."

GE, which is No. 8 on the Fortune 500, said Thursday that it plans to begin construction within three months on a shared-services center for 1,400-plus employees. Company officials have said only that they're looking in Hamilton County and surrounding Southwest Ohio counties, but sources say only The Banks, Oakley and Mason are on the short list.

The Banks, a $300 million public-private project, offers at least a half-dozen possible office sites – any of which could be ready quickly, according to Phil Beck, project manager for The Banks.

"We are ready to rock and roll," he said. "The whole concept from Day One has been 'live, work, play.'"

So far, however, it's all been about living and playing. Current at The Banks has a waiting list for its upscale apartments, and most of the restaurant and bar space is full.

The GE center is exactly the sort of project The Banks was meant to attract, said Doug Bolton, managing partner at Cassidy Turley.

"The Banks is for those companies who are not now in town," Bolton said. "All of the people who are in the know say this is the project to get The Banks office development get kicked off."

The business case for The Banks

What's in it for GE if the company picks The Banks? According to the experts and a review of assets, The Banks offers:

• More amenities than any other part of the region, from baseball, football and concerts to dining and Smale Riverfront Park.

• Proximity to hundreds of apartments and condos that are on the drawing board to meet growing demand from millennials, empty-nesters and others.

• Plenty of space. One pad planned as an office building – just east of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center – is ready to go. Three spots closer to Paul Brown Stadium are anticipated for offices, and two more planned structures don't have a defined use.

• Parking that's convenient and plentiful, although more expensive than outside the urban core. When completed, The Banks will have more than 7,000 parking spaces.

One of the biggest deciding factors for GE may be in what kind of image it wants to project, said Josh Gerth, vice president at Jones Lang LaSalle.

GE Aviation is based in Evendale, an older community in a largely industrial part of the region. It also added a location recently in the wealthy northern suburb of West Chester.

The Banks would send a different kind of message – "more high-tech, modern – more of the coolness factor," Gerth said.

Oakley Station 'compromise' candidate

Oakley Station ranks lower than The Banks on the coolness scale, he said. It has new, upscale apartments, but it's also adjacent to a lot of chain retail that might be less attractive to a company like GE.

Space might also be an issue. Representatives of developer Vandercar didn't return calls seeking comment, but Oakley Station's website envisions 350,000 square feet of office. That might be a tight fit for GE, which is reported to be looking for up to 400,000 square feet for a new U.S. hub that will consolidate accounting, IT and other back-office functions.

Still, UC's Bond said, if developers and the company could make the space fit, it might be a good "compromise location" between the urban and suburban options. It's also easy to reach, at the intersection of Interstate 71 and the Norwood Lateral.

Mason considered a long shot

Despite having the strongest track record of attracting companies in recent years, Mason is least likely to land the deal, several local real estate and development officials say.

"Out of all the options I would think Mason would be the last place," Gerth said.

GE would want to be close to Interstate 71, developers agree – likely at the Western Row exit because the Fields Ertel exit is too congested and built-up. About 150 acres at Western Row could be opened up if the exit is expanded. However, plans to expand the interchange haven't been finalized.

David Mussari, owner of West Chester-based Prudential Commercial Real Estate, said he's also hearing Mason is least likely to land GE. That's OK, he said, because the whole region will benefit from the influx of residents regardless of where the center is built.

"Not everyone will want to live Downtown," Mussari said. "We will see the benefit throughout the region."