Bowdeya Tweh

btweh@enquirer.com

A 25-story apartment building could tower over Cincinnati's riverfront if an Atlanta-based real estate developer moves forward with the project.

The Novare Group wants to build a 352-unit tower with more than 3,000 square feet of street-level retail space on Pete Rose Way next to the Purple People Bridge.

The developer is under contract with Montgomery Inn to buy land for a project, said Evan Andrews, a vice president of Montgomery Inn and son-in-law of founder Ted Gregory. Andrews said he couldn't disclose more details.

Montgomery Inn owns more than three acres of land south of Pete Rose Way. The Hamilton County auditor's office values the land parcels at $2.7 million.

The real estate deal could close by the end of May. Novare Group officials expect to begin construction as soon as the fourth quarter of 2016 after obtaining key approvals and financing commitments.

Additional residential development on Downtown's eastern edge has been studied by developers for more than a decade.

"We like that Cincinnati is an NFL and MLB city and is on the upswing in the urban core," said Jim Borders, president of the Novare Group. "It has several Fortune 500 companies, is one of the places in the Midwest where millennials come when they graduate from college or grad school to start their careers, and had positive job growth last year.

"We have developed in Nashville, and Cincinnati is a natural progression geographically from there for us. ... Cincinnati has similar characteristics to many of the other cities in which we have developed."

Seventeen SkyHouse towers have been completed or are underway around the United States. The SkyHouse towers are in places such as Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Nashville, Orlando, Raleigh and Tampa. The Cincinnati project would be the first SkyHouse development in Ohio and the Midwest.

SkyHouse Cincinnati’s residences would range from studio to three bedrooms with high-end finishes, floor-to-ceiling glass and private balconies. The building is expected to feature a top-floor luxury clubroom, fitness center and swimming pool with 360-degree views of the city. Borders said SkyHouse communities are environmentally sustainable and are Energy Star-certified.

"The program is aimed at Gen Y professionals who are choosing to live in town and want to be close to culture, entertainment and work," Borders said. "SkyHouse delivers that while also creating a unique, safe urban experience for residents who are choosing to rent rather than buy."

If Novare Group moved forward with the project, it would be largest among the new Downtown multifamily residential developments either planned or under construction.

Here are some of the other developments:

294 apartments in the planned renovation of 309 Vine St. led by Michigan-based Village Green.

292 apartments completed as part of Radius at The Banks.

208 apartments as part of Indianapolis-based Flaherty & Collins' mixed-use project at Fourth and Race streets.

176 apartments at Anderson Birkla's AT580 project at the corner of Sixth and Walnut streets.

153 apartments in a conversion of the Garfield Suites Hotel at 2 Garfield Place.

131 apartments in a mixed-use project at Eighth and Sycamore streets led by North American Properties.

62 apartments as part of Ashley Commercial Group's project at 32 W. Sixth St.

Since 1995, Novare Group has developed more than 12,600 high-rise residences in 38 buildings in the United States. Led by Novare Group, the SkyHouse team includes co-sponsor Batson-Cook Development Co., general contractor Batson-Cook Construction and architect Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart. Founded in 1963, Atlanta-based Batson-Cook Development Company is a subsidiary of Kajima USA.