Great American Tower at Queen City Square reaches 80% occupancy

The Great American Tower at Queen City Square is taking a page out of Carew Tower’s book as it too will become the city’s tallest building and be built during an economic downturn.

Cincinnati’s long-time tallest, Carew Tower, was built at the beginning of the Great Depression.  81 years later the Great American Tower will surpass Carew Tower and become Cincinnati’s tallest once again during a troubling economic time.

The majority of the tower will be occupied with Cincinnati-based Great American Insurance Group who will take up nearly 50 percent of the Class A office space.  Joining them will be Cincinnati-based law firm Frost Brown Todd who will occupy 100,000 square feet on floors 30 to 33 of the building.

The 660-foot building is now just over 80 percent occupied with the Frost Brown Todd announcement says project developer Eagle Realty who also cites that a University of Cincinnati Economics Center for Education & Research report projects the creation of 2,343 jobs during construction with an estimated 550 man (person) years of labor required.

Senior vice president of Eagle Realty Tom Stapleton says that the project is currently on-schedule for occupancy in January 2011, and says that Eagle Realty is working very hard on filling the remaining 20 percent of the building.

Stapleton says that Eagle would love to attract a firm from outside of the Cincinnati market and that the Queen City Square development has allowed some increased flexibility since it has freed up enough space for a large tenant in the center city market.

Stapleton also says that a skywalk that would connect the public spaces of the Great American Tower and Atrium Tower is still a potential depending on client demands.  The 20,000 square feet of retail space is being managed by the Cincinnati-based Brandt Realty Group.

“We’re trying to set a new standard,” says Stapleton about the Queen City Square development that boasts some of the best office space in the Cincinnati region.

David Ginsburg, president and CEO of Downtown Cincinnati Inc., says that the Frost Brown Todd announcement is important because it represents the retention of one of America’s premier law firms in downtown Cincinnati.  Ginsburg also says that it sets the stage for expansion which will create even more high-value jobs within the center city.

“The announcement is an expression of confidence in downtown,” says Ginsburg who believes this commitment in addition to those made by Great American Insurance Group and Western & Southern Financial Group will inspire other firms to join them in downtown Cincinnati.

Stapleton also notes that the popular construction webcam will be operational again soon as it had to be taken down temporarily while work was being done on the nearby Chemed Building.  He expects the work to complete within the next week or so and the webcam to be back up shortly after that.

Writer: Randy A. Simes
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