DOWNTOWN — PNC Bank, Coffee Emporium and Simply Grand restaurant have signed long-term leases for space at The Great American Tower at Queen City Square on Fourth Street.

The businesses are scheduled to begin opening in the first three months of next year, said Eagle Realty Group, the real estate investment firm and subsidiary of Western & Southern Financial Group. Eagle Realty developed the new 41-story office tower that officially opened to tenants in January.

It’s the tallest skyscraper in the region.

The tower’s office space is more than 90 percent leased, but the recent deals mark the first retail tenants to sign on. Another 14,000 square feet of retail space remains available.

“Western & Southern and Eagle have a very grand vision for this part of town,” said Kathleen Norris, a retail real estate agent with Brandt Retail Group who oversaw the transactions for Eagle.

The leases not only provide “a range of very high quality amenities for the building’s tenants, but they help build up this part of downtown as a thriving diverse district that includes not only office, but residential and retail options,” Norris said.

PNC Bank will be leasing space in the tower’s promenade, just inside the entry rotunda at the corner of Fourth and Sycamore streets.

Coffee Emporium will be adjacent to the bank and is under construction in the promenade. The retailer also has space in the lobby of 303 Broadway, which is connected to the tower and also owned and managed by Eagle.

By spring 2012 Simply Grand expects to open an 80-seat restaurant at the corner of Third and Sycamore, with entrances from Third Street and directly from the Queen City Square lobby.

The sandwich, salad and soup restaurant is a new concept by Shaheen Kazemi, operator of the nearby Burrito Joe’s on Fourth Street. In addition to lunch offerings, Eagle said the fast-casual restaurant also will offer a breakfast menu and carry out meals.

Norris said Simply Grand will be part of a lineup of options at Great American Tower that will be “genuine additions” to downtown’s restaurant scene.

Eagle Realty Group said it’s negotiating with prospective tenants for two more restaurant spaces: A 4,400-square-foot space on Fourth Street at the front of the tower and a 7,500-square-foot space overlooking Third Street, the stadiums and Cincinnati’s riverfront. The larger space likely will include private dining rooms and cater to a range of downtown corporate clients. The smaller space could include two levels and outdoor dining, Eagle has said.

“These are two spectacular locations, and each has a completely different feel,” Norris said. “These restaurants are not purely going to serve the tower’s tenants, but will be genuine additions to downtown. They’re not going to duplicate anything that is already in this market.”

At 665 feet, Great American Tower is Cincinnati’s largest office tower. Combined with the adjacent 303 Broadway tower, the two buildings make up Queen City Square. Tenants include Great American Insurance Co., Great American Financial Resources, Frost Brown Todd, JPMorgan, Key Bank, Fort Washington Investment Advisors, Inc. and Analytic Partners.

Three retail tenants have signed long-term leases for space at Queen City Square. PNC Bank, Coffee Emporium and Simply Grand are scheduled to open during the first quarter of 2012.

“We are very pleased to have PNC as the retail bank in the newest, largest and most prominent office tower in downtown Cincinnati. Simply Grand and Coffee Emporium will further enhance the food and beverage choices available to thousands of area workers,” Mario San Marco, president of Eagle Realty Group, said in a news release. Eagle Realty is the real estate investment and property management subsidiary of Western and Southern Financial Group.

PNC Bank’s space is inside the entry rotunda at the corner of Fourth and Sycamore streets. Coffee Emporium, which already operates a shop in the lobby of 303 Broadway at Queen City Square, will open another location in the middle of the promenade. Simply Grand, a sandwich, salad and soup restaurant by the operator of Burrito Joes, will be an 80-seat restaurant at the corner of Third and Sycamore streets.

Eagle Realty is negotiating with several other tenants for the remaining retail spaces. Kathleen Norris, director of Brandt Retail Group’s Urban Focus division, has represented the project for these leases.