This town of 6,000 nestled in the northern portion of the Ohio River is set to take on Cincinnati’s riverfront attractions with a new condo development come Spring 2009. Spanning 146 acres of riverfront real estate, the Manhatton Harbour project is set to dwarf Cincinnati’s downtown river development by 800 percent.

Developer Terry Chan, president and CEO of C&M Inestment Group tells the Cincinnati Enquirer that he is considering self-financing the first 20-story high-rise condominium building to get development started on the nearly $1 billion project. The condos, to be called the Manhattan Flats, will begin selling at about $300,000 each.

"We want to make sure we come out of the gates running, but we also want to be responsible with our timing," said Chan.

Developers hope to lure a resort-style hotel through the luxurious plans of the development, which should begin phase one next year. In the long-haul, more than 1,900 condos, apartments and single-family homes will fill the project.

Plans have been in the making for some time. Even GQ Magazine ran a piece on the plans in its February 2008 edition. It quoted Dayton City Councilwoman Cathy Volter, saying it would “bring in families and that will bring in more kids to the picture … . What I’m hearing a lot people saying is that younger people, 20-to-30 year olds who move out of Dayton because there was no new housing stock, will be moving back home.”