Kenwood Towers would include offices, hotel

Kenwood Towers, LLC, a subsidiary of Neyer Properties, has presented to the Sycamore Township Zoning Commission a preliminary concept plan for a mixed-use development on a 12-acre site at 8050 Montgomery Road.

The developer has proposed for the western half of the site a nine-story, 266,000-square-foot office building and a seven-story, 160-room hotel.

The site plan also contains a parking structure of 800 cars, 100 sheltered parking spaces under the office building, and 100 surface parking spaces, with access from both Montgomery and Hosbrook roads.

Neyer Properties will be seeking LEED certification for the project and plans bio-swale storm water retention systems, high-efficiency mechanicals, low-emitting materials, high-efficiency irrigation and fixtures, and renewable energy systems.

The old Harley Hotel, most recently a Best Western, was demolished at the site in 2007.

"We believe this is still a great location for a hotel, however it needs to be part of a cohesive development, and this location serving Sycamore Township will need to be a high end hotel," says Jeff Chamot, development project manager for Neyer Properties in a letter of intent to the township.

Chamot says that the project will maximize the value of the land, benefitting Sycamore Township and surrounding property owners.

"The project will create approximately $85 million in new property values," he says.

The developer is currently working out a tax increment financing arrangement with the township for public storm water infrastructure and a portion of the parking garage.

The eastern half of the property would be developed separately as the new Cincinnati headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

In August, the FBI announced plans to build a 109,000-square-foot field office for 97 to 146 employees of its Special Weapons and Tactics and Hazardous Materials units, with construction beginning in spring 2009 and ending in fall 2010.

The FBI and its property manager, the U.S. General Services Administration, will have to negotiate its own development plan with Sycamore Township and Hamilton County.

Writer: Kevin LeMaster