Ohio Historic Tax Credits Awarded

Today, the Ohio Department of Development awarded millions in state historic tax credits for building rehabilitations for Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Hayesville, Kent, Lancaster, Mount Vernon and Toledo. Below is the full listing.

Five Cincinnati-area projects received more than $10.5 million of that share. It is expected that there will be $52.5 million in private investment.

• 1405-07 Republic Street in Over-the-Rhine received $751,362 for a $3,405,702 rehabilitation. The five-story building was built in 1897 and will be converted into 13 affordable apartments and student housing. The project is being undertaken by Over-the-Rhine Community Housing.
• 1500-06 Elm Street  in Over-the-Rhine (Google Streetview) received $643,601 for a $3,557,880 restoration. The building, which has been vacant for decades, will be converted into 15 apartments and amenity space.
• Artspace Hamilton at 222 High Street received $2,332,373 millon for a $10,209,024 rehabilitation of the Mehrum and Lindley Buildings. The facade will be restored and 42 apartments will be constructed, along with first-level retail. The buildings were connected in the 1920s for the Strauss Clothing Company. In the 1970s, the buildings became home to the Hamilton Center and were given a facade cover.
• Central Parkway YMCA (pictured right), at 1105 Elm Street and Central Parkway, received $5 million in tax credits for a $27,131,432 rehabilitation project. President William Howard Taft laid the cornerstone of the YMCA in 1917. The upper six floors are currently vacant and will be converted into 60 senior apartments. YMCA offices will be consolidated, and a wellness center will be built. The apartments are being managed by Model Management. 132 jobs are expected to be created throughout this process.
• St. Paulus Church, at 1429 Race Street in Over-the-Rhine, received $1,854,667 for a $8,227,124 million restoration that will create a restaurant and entertainment facility, along with first-level retail. 77 jobs are expected to be created throughout this process. The church was abandoned in the 1980s, and was given emergency repairs to the roof and masonry walls in 2011 to prevent the collapse of the structure.

For Cleveland,

For Columbus,

• 620-30 East Broad received $313,145 for a $2,203,539 development. Constructed as private mansions, the buildings were converted into office space in the 1920s for the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation that later spawned Nationwide Insurance. New commercial tenants will occupy the structures, creating 25 permanent jobs.
• Franklinton Post Office, at 72 South Gift Street, was constructed from logs in 1807 and was one of the first public buildings in what is now Columbus. It was later enlarged and covered in clapboard siding, and was used as a residence until the 1950s. The vacant building will be restored at a cost of $640,000, $125,000 of which is a tax credit, for a local history museum that will celebrate the City of Columbus’ bicentennial celebration. Ten jobs will be created.
• Grant Commons, at 305-397 East 11th Avenue and 1499-1502 North 5th Street, received $2,966,686 for a $12,609,992 project for the rehabilitation of 23 duplexes and rowhouses. The buildings were built in the 1920s and are located in the New Indianola Historic District. Acquired by Community Properties of Ohio, the buildings were originally marked for demolition but will now serve as market-rate apartments through a partnership with Wagenbrenner Development.
• LeVeque Tower, at 50 West Broad Street in downtown, received $5 million for a $27,600,000 development to rehabilitate the half-used tower into high-end apartments in the tower and office space at the base. The iconic building was once home to the American Insurance Union (AIU), and was built in 1927 as the AIU Citadel. The development will create 254 jobs.
• Yankee Trader Building, at 463 North High Street, was constructed as a furniture store for the Parish family. It was used for more than four decades by Yankee Trader, a novelty and costume shop that was vacated in 2010. The $3,895,700 rehabilitation project, supported with $664,900 in tax credits, will add a fast-casual hamburger restaurant on the ground floor, office space for Triad Architects on the second floor, and 12 high-end apartments on the upper three floors. More than 70 jobs will be created.

For Dayton,

• The Rubenstein Building and Marietta Flats, at 1112-30 and 1146-48 West Third Street, are located in the West Third Street Historic District within the Wright Dunbar neighborhood. Both buildings are planned for reuse through a partnership between the non-profit Wright Dunbar Inc. and Wright State University. Marietta Flats will house Wright State’s Children’s Diagnostic and Therapeutic Innovation Center, employing 14. The Rubenstein Building, historically known as the Walters Block, will be rehabilitated for the University’s Memory Center for Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease, creating 17 jobs. The $11 million project received $1,862,500 in tax credits.

For Hayesville,

• The Vermillion Institute was chartered by the Ohio General Assembly in 1845, and operated as a Presbyterian college until 1870 when it became a preparatory academy to the College of Wooster. This lasted until 1889, and since then the building has seen a variety of reuses, including serving as Hayesville’s high school. The building will be rehabilitated in a $1,239,800 project with $234,400 in tax credits to support educational and tourism functions. This project is the first in Hayesville and Ashland County to use the Historic Preservation Tax Credit.

For Kent,

• Franklin Hotel, at 176 East Main Street, received $955,750 for a $5,848,164 project to restore Kent’s tallest building that was built in 1920. It was later converted into retail and apartments, but has been abandoned for more than a decade. The project will rehabilitate the building into a restaurant, two offices and apartments, creating 95 jobs. This is the first project in Kent and Portage County to use the Historic Preservation Tax Credit program.

For Lancaster,

• Bodenheimer-Mayer House, at 204 North Columbus Street, received $71,000 for a $343,500 restoration. Constructed in 1835, the two-story brick house in downtown Lancaster was most recently used as office space but has been empty for four years. The first floor, after rehabilitation, will house retail while the upper floor will contain two apartments. This is the first project in Lancaster and Fairfield County to use the Historic Preservation Tax Credit program.

For Mount Vernon,

• Woodward Opera House and Cooper Building, at 107 South Main Street, is America’s oldest authentic 19th century theater. Constructed in 1851, the building has been underutilized for decades and the $28,500,000 rehabilitation project, supported with $4,655,324 in tax credits, will restore and equip the theater with 500 seat and serve as an operations center for the Knox Partnership for Arts and Culture with commercial office and retail space. The adjoining Cooper Building will be rehabilitated as an annex in order to improve access to the theater.

For Toledo,

• Fiberglas Tower, at 200 North St. Clair Street, was completed in 1969 by the Owens-Corning Corporation. The 28-story Mid-Century office tower was built as part of the Riverview Urban Renewal Project but was vacated in 1996. $5 million in tax credits were awarded to the $47,149,758 project to rehabilitate the skyscraper into a Courtyard by Mariott hotel, offices and 70 apartments, creating 376 jobs.