Neyer Properties’ proposed $100 million Kenwood Towers and the FBI’s new $47.3 million division headquarters are one step closer to completion with the sale of a 6-acre land parcel.
After a year of negotiations between the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), real estate representative for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Sycamore Township and property owner Neyer Properties, and nearly four years after choosing the site, Neyer Properties officially sold a 6.26 acre parcel for the FBI’s new field office on Tuesday, June 8.
The Molasky Group of Companies of Las Vegas bought the rights to own and construct the center from Barry Real Estate Companies in Atlanta. Barry Real Estate struggled to obtain financing for the project.
A new public road connecting Hosbrook and Montgomery Roads will allow both projects access to Montgomery Road and nearby I-71. Kenwood Towers is located at 8020 Montgomery Road, with the FBI center next door at 8050 Montgomery Road.
Plans for Kenwood Towers include a seven-story, 160-room hotel offering meeting and banquet facilities and a nine-story, 266,000 square foot office building and parking garage.
Engineering plans for the new connector will be finalized soon, with road construction and the FBI building slated to begin concurrently by fall, 2010. Completion of both the road and FBI building is set for the fourth quarter of 2011.
Neyer Properties sold the eastern half of the 12-acre Kenwood Towers parcel it purchased in 2003 to move and grow the FBI’s field offices from a 65,000 square foot building downtown to a new, state-of-the-art 110,000 square foot, Class A/LEED facility in Sycamore Township.
The site was formerly home to Best Western’s/Harley Hotel, which was torn down in 2007.
Located east of Kenwood Towne Center shopping mall and close to I-71 and Montgomery Roads, Kenwood Towers is surrounded by retail, restaurant, professional services and other amenities.
Jeff Chamot, senior development project manager for Neyer Properties, worked as a liaison between the FBI’s developer, The Molasky Group, and Sycamore Township. He has worked with surrounding neighbors for four years to ensure the project’s success.
“We donated nearly two acres of land to the township in part to help build the new public road to Hosbrook Road, which will also provide a permanent wooded buffer for the neighbors,” said Chamot. One hundred-foot setbacks from residential property lines, efficient traffic flow along Hosbrook Road and green facets of the projects were all factors that swayed the residents to support the FBI project and zone change a year ago.
A $3.5 million tax increment financing (TIF) bond was recently approved to build the new access road and put in new utilities to get construction started.
Because Kenwood Towers is located in a township, no earnings taxes are applied to tenants coming to the property. The project is anticipated to bring in more than $600,000 in additional property tax revenues to the Indian Hill School District.
“We’ve worked cooperatively with all parties involved and know what we want to accomplish with this project,” said Tom Weidman, president of the Sycamore Township trustees.
The FBI headquarters are required by GSA standards to be built and certified to a minimum of LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver.
Neyer Properties’ proposed office and hotel buildings at Kenwood Towers are being designed to LEED Silver certification as well.
Neyer has been involved in a total of 10 LEED projects within the greater Cincinnati area. The firm made a commitment three years ago to build all future office projects with LEED designations.
“With the addition of the FBI and the proposed office and hotel buildings, Kenwood Towers will bring many more people to our area to patronize the local and established businesses we have here and provide additional growth in the future,” Weidman projected.
Neyer Properties is a full-service commercial real estate developer specializing in sustainable development, construction management, investment, and redevelopment. The firm celebrates its 15th anniversary this year and invites friends and stakeholders to join its green building community at facebook.com/neyerproperties.
This release was featured on the front cover of the Cincinnati Enquirer on Thursday June 10, 2010
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