Development Watch
The Skyline’s Crowned Glory Grows Taller
By Julie Irwin Zimmerman
Illustration by Peter & Maria Hoey
The tiara is not yet in place, but the Great American Tower (GAT) at Queen City Square is more than halfway to becoming the tallest building in the Cincinnati skyline. The tower is phase two of the Queen City Square development, which occupies nearly an entire block bounded by Broadway, Sycamore, Third, and Fourth streets. It’s scheduled for completion in early 2011. Phase one, an eight-story office building and 11-level parking garage, opened in 2006.
The building is adding about a floor per week; as of late September, the concrete core of the GAT, which will house elevators and other mechanicals, was approaching 27 stories, while the steel surrounding the core was nearly 23 stories high. Crews have also started adding about 30 aluminum-framed window panels each day; eventually, nearly 6,000 will cover the exterior. “The high-rise portion that’s going up now is the simplest part of the job,” says Ken Jones, general manager of Turner Construction’s Cincinnati office, which is responsible for the tower’s construction. “What’s more difficult is the finish work at the end, the lobbies and the detailed stonework.”
Although Carew Tower has eight more floors than GAT’s plans call for, GAT will be about 90 feet taller, due in part to the fan-shaped decorative roof, which lead architect Gyo Obata says was inspired by the tiara of the late Diana, Princess of Wales. The building is the first major office tower built downtown in nearly 20 years, and despite the glut of commercial real estate, it’s already 80 percent leased. Great American Insurance Group will occupy about two-thirds of the 800,000 square feet of space, and law firm Frost Brown Todd signed a long-term lease this summer to move its 300 employees to four floors of the building. With seven floors still available, who knows which other companies might decide to hold court there.
Originally published in the November 2009 issue.