Developer jumps river

DAYTON, Ky. - With his suntanned skin, worn loafers and casual style, David C. Imboden looks like a laid-back guy in search of a cold drink and a quiet patio.

But behind the easygoing exterior of this 51-year-old developer is a relentless deal maker who says he is determined to make the Ohio River a drawing card for this tiny river city.

"Let's face it, the river is the value here," Imboden said as he zipped through plans of his most recent development venture.

Imboden, president of DCI Properties, has spent two decades flipping and redeveloping eyesores along Cincinnati's riverfront.

Known best for his work in the East End, Imboden has made millions of dollars transforming hundreds of abandoned lots and blighted homes into high-end riverfront condos such as Riverfront Terrace and Waterfront East.

Now, the former Taft High School teacher and football coach says he's finished developing in Cincinnati and has set his sites on his largest waterfront undertaking: a more than $1 billion project on 142 acres in Dayton.

Named Manhattan Harbour, the massive development will "be unlike anything we have" in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, Imboden said.

Plans for the resort-style community, which is modeled after a development in Naples, Fla., where Imboden has a second home, show more than 1,900 condos, flats and single-family homes; a retirement center; a 150-room hotel; and nearly 250,000 square feet of shopping, restaurants and office space. "It will be a destination," Imboden said.

And unlike other riverfront projects under way or proposed, the development will boast the only inlet marina on the Northern Kentucky side of the river. "That's hugely desirable for boaters," Imboden said, because the inlet protects them from floating debris and the river's current.

Other developments - such as Capital Investment Group's SouthShore, going up in Newport, and Corporex Cos.' Ovation, also planned for Newport - show plans for marinas. However, each is subject to approvals from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to make sure the docking systems do not interfere with barge traffic.

Financing Imboden's project is Newark, Ohio-based Park National Bank, which has backed other DCI deals.

"There are few people who could have envisioned what he's been able to do, and he's always delivered for us," said Jason Hughes, vice president of commercial lending at Park National Bank. "We have the full project, and we're very confident in Dave."

Although he's still waiting for key approvals from the state of Kentucky, Imboden already has spent more than two years and $20 million prepping the site. About $4 million went to engineering studies required by the Corps of Engineers and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. To move the project out of the flood plain, Imboden must dump nearly 1 million cubic yards of dirt on the site, which should raise it more than a dozen feet.

"I've never known anyone who has climbed the hurdles he has to get a project done," said Imboden's long-time friend and former business partner, Jerry Imbus. "When he gets his teeth into something, he makes sure he keeps it moving; and when he says he's going to do something, he does it."

Condo with a view

From the rooftop patio of his three-story riverfront condo in Waterfront East, Imboden has a full view of his 142-acre mega-project in Dayton.

"I stared at that site for 10 years before I went over and asked about it," Imboden recalled. "I remember thinking, 'What a pretty nice green, hill. I bet that will never change' "

But in November 2005, Imboden sealed a deal with the city of Dayton for development rights to the property and quietly began working to get federal approvals.

"Everyone told me that I was crazy to think FEMA would work with me, especially since this was right after Katrina," Imboden said.

The bold efforts came as no surprise to long-time friend Joe Deters, the Hamilton County prosecutor.

"His energy level is unbelievable when he locks on to a project," said Deters, who worked alongside Imboden 30 years ago as a football coach at Shroder Junior High School in Madisonville. "David has had more progress with that piece of property than we've had in 25 years in Cincinnati."

Imboden credited the city of Dayton for keeping the project alive.

"The minute I approached them, their arms were open, and they said, 'What can we do to help you create some tax revenue for us?'" he said. "All you have to do is look at Northern Kentucky and see the development that's going on. You can't even prune a tree in Cincinnati so you can have a better view."

Imboden also is quick to admit he has an axe to grind in Cincinnati.

He said his frustrations reached an all-time high with the city's Department of Community Development and Planning in 2006 after several failed attempts to move forward on a $35 million riverfront condo project.

Imboden, who said the city was unwilling to negotiate over the price of abandoned public streets needed to make the project viable, has since called off the development.

"I've been doing this for 20 years," he said. "The faces change, but the problems are the same. That's why I have all my land for sale over here. Even my condo."

The director of the city's development department, Michael Cervay, said he was surprised to hear the Imboden had pulled out of the condo project.

"I told him that we were willing to work with him," Cervay said. "It's not that the people in city are more difficult, it's that our regulations are more difficult because we're a built environment and there's a lot of issues that you have to deal with here that you don't have out in a green field."

Meanwhile, Dayton city officials say Manhattan Harbour is expected to at least double the city's property tax base of $220 million.

"This is going to completely change this community," said Dayton Mayor Kenneth Rankle. "We struggle constantly with trying to maintain police cars and streets and our schools. This will enable us to improve every aspect of our city."

Boulevard comes first

Key to making Manhattan Harbour a reality is Kentucky's approval for a $60 million tax-increment financing plan, or TIF. The tool allows communities to use increases in property tax revenues generated from new development to go toward certain costs for the project.

TIF funds are expected to help pay for a $30 million boulevard planned for Manhattan Harbour.

"So far, everyone loves the project, but they want to see that road go in first," Imboden said. "Everything is hinging on this Kentucky TIF to be approved."

By September, he expects to have a decision from Kentucky's Tax Increment Financing Commission.

If the TIF is approved, work could begin immediately on the six-month process of hauling dirt to the site to move it out of the flood plain. By early next year road work could begin, along with construction on a 20-story condominium tower and a high-end retirement center, Imboden said.

He declined to name the owner behind the retirement center.

Deters said Imboden has always kept his deals close to his vest.

"Dave, in my mind, is probably one of the top five people who if they tell you something, you can take it to the bank," he said. "His uniqueness lies in his follow through. He understands his reputation is at risk in every one of his projects and he has a great deal of pride in that fact."

An upgraded Marina

While Imboden waits on word of his TIF application, he's working to bring other builders on board to help construct the hundreds of flats, townhomes, condos, estate homes and apartments planned for the project.

Home prices in Manhattan Harbour - which is named after a former beach in Dayton - are expected to start in the low $200,000-range and exceed $2 million. The majority of the units will be priced at or below $400,000, Imboden said.

Commercial and retail spaces will likely come on line after the majority of the housing is built and sold, he said. Full build-out is expected to take up to 10 years.

For now, Imboden said he's making improvements to the marina, which was formerly named Watertown Marina and Yacht Club.

Imboden bought it last year from attorney and businessman Lanny Holbrook for a bargain $5 million, he said.

"In 1988 it cost $13 million to build it," he said. "I've always felt like, if I didn't get control of the marina, this project wouldn't be half of what it could be."

By next summer Imboden said he plans to upgrade the marina's restaurant services and menus with sushi offerings and catering.

And as the development builds out, he said he plans to offer rentals for boats and WaveRunners, as well a ferry service back and forth to downtown Cincinnati.

"This is going to draw people from all around," he said. "Maybe it's a girls' weekend for a trip to the spa, or a guys' weekend to catch a game and a boat ride. This is going to be the place to be."

Getting it done

Since buying his first house when he was 20, Imboden said he's been addicted to investment property and development.

"I love the art of a deal," he said. "It's exciting to buy something. Fix it up. Sell it, and see how you created value out something that had been nothing."

Even in the face of a sagging economy, Imboden remains optimistic that his massive deal will float. "The economy is always moving up and down, and I think the market is going to turn," he said, adding that it will be at least two years before any of the condos are available.

For massive projects like Manhattan Harbour, "timing is everything" said Mike Sullivan, a senior vice president with the Cincinnati office of Colliers Turley Martin Tucker, a real estate services firm.

"A lot of deals are either taking extremely long to get done or aren't getting done at all because of the lending climate," he said. "I think you're looking well into 2009 before things start to shake out, but even with that said, there are too many smart people whose livelihoods depend on getting deals done, and they're going to figure it out."