CINCINNATI — After years of delay, Hamilton County in late December finalized the purchase of prime riverfront land near Paycor Stadium — a source of strife with the Cincinnati Bengals.
The county plans to demolish the Hilltop Basic Resources concrete-mixing plant this spring to create more promised parking for Bengals fans and riverfront visitors.
The site is set to become a green parking area by this summer, more than five years after the county agreed to buy Hilltop’s 17 acres for the Bengals.
“Some green there, some trees, a bike lane going along the side of it. So, something that’s more aesthetically pleasing than a concrete facility,” said Hamilton County Commission President Denise Driehaus, who expects Hilltop to vacate the space by the end of January.
But the deal didn’t come together easily.
Hilltop President Kevin Sheehan has been looking for a new home for the concrete facility since he got a call from Hamilton County officials in March 2017 asking if he would be interested in selling land.
Hamilton County agreed to buy Hilltop’s riverfront property in October 2019, at what the county described as a fair market price of $29.75 million.
But the actual price is much higher.
The county has spent an additional $2.6 million on a slew of extra costs such as Bengals game day parking, asphalt paving, site development and preparation, zoning, property tax, interim plant development, environmental studies and title and closing fees.
The county also plans to spend an additional $860,000 to demolish the concrete plant and clear and grade the land. A spokesperson said the county plans to open the bidding process soon for work to begin in the spring.
“In the end, it’s a prime piece of real estate on the riverfront that will belong to the taxpayers,” Driehaus said. “A concrete facility isn’t the most attractive thing to have on your riverfront.”
Hilltop’s land became a valuable part of a land swap between the Bengals and the county, which allowed the Andrew J. Brady Music Center at The Banks to be built.
As part of the deal, the Bengals gave up $30 million owed in game-day payments to allow the county to buy the Hilltop property and offer it to the Bengals for parking, tailgating and a practice facility.
“So essentially the Bengals are paying for that property, and the county, the taxpayers, will own it,” Driehaus said. “It really created a win-win situation.”
In exchange, the Bengals gave up parking areas east of the stadium to allow for the construction of the concert venue near Smale Riverfront Park.
When Hilltop’s relocation stalled for years, it sparked friction between the county and the Bengals, according to recently obtained emails and letters.
In July, Bengals Vice President Troy Blackburn accused the county of violating the lease for not reimbursing the team “game day expenses” in the final nine years of the lease. The team waived those payments in a 2018 contract amendment, in exchange for the county's pledge to "acquire and develop" the Hilltop land in partnership with the team.
The amendment required the county to "use reasonable efforts to assure" the "completion of the Hilltop facility no later than the first preseason game" in 2020. Four years later, Hilltop's concrete plant remains on the site. The team started sending the county bills for game day reimbursement in 2024.
Hilltop had plans to relocate to Queensgate and Lower Price Hill, but those sites fell through due partly to city politics and community worries about the industrial presence.
As a result, the county agreed to split up the Hilltop purchase and bought seven acres in 2020 where the Bengals built a temporary indoor practice facility.
“Throughout the process, Hilltop has worked diligently and cooperatively with county officials. We agreed to relocate our facility to support the county’s vision for the central riverfront and accommodate additional parking for Bengals games, music events and other activities,” according to Sheehan's statement to WCPO.
Hilltop expects to open its new facility on 17 acres in the Riverside neighborhood later this year.
“By the end of 2025, we will begin operating the largest, most state-of-the-art concrete production facility in the region … positioning us to meet the growing construction materials needs of the region, including the Brent Spence Bridge Corridor Project,” Sheehan said.
Hilltop will begin operating a ready-mix concrete plant in Anderson Township this month at their Kellogg Road aggregates terminal. The family-owned business opened in 1941 and has been operating from its site downtown since the 1960s.
In the meantime, with the county and the Bengals’ relationship in question with both sides accusing the other of violating the stadium lease, WCPO asked Driehaus if the 17-acre Hilltop site could someday be available for another use.
“I don’t know, they’re in the flood plain so you have to remember that, so it would be hard to build something with a lot of density in that location,” Driehaus said.
While The Banks is also in a floodplain, Driehaus said those developments were built on pilings. The Hilltop site is much closer to the Ohio River.
“It’s really close to the shoreline. It would be much more challenging on a property like that,” Driehaus said.
“That said, could there be other opportunities, yeah sure. But right now, we are trying to fulfill an obligation that we have, and create an asset for the community that goes beyond just what the Bengals want,” said Driehaus. “But rather responds to added development on The Banks and is something that they can use all year long.”
