16 area projects receive total of $11 million in Ohio historic tax credits


In late December, 34 Ohio projects were awarded $285.3 million through the 2015 Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credits program, resulting in 55 buildings in 13 cities undergoing renovations to create apartments, offices, retail storefronts and restaurant space.
 
Sixteen proposed Cincinnati projects received a total of about $11 million in state historic tax credits.
 
Brighton
Fromm Building, 286 W. McMicken Ave.
Total cost: $682,394
Tax credit: $108,500
Built in 1865, the Fromm Building was renovated in the early 1930s to house doctor’s offices. Renovation plans include several residential units, with the first-floor unit designed as a live-work space.
 
Downtown
Union Central Life Annex, 309 Vine St.
Total cost: $75,541,592
Tax credit: $5 million
Built in 1928, the now-vacant building originally housed offices. Village Green will renovate it into 294 market-rate apartments, a first-floor grocery store and a rooftop restaurant. There will also be space for a business incubator and offices.
 
Over-the-Rhine
100 W. Elder St.
Total cost: $1,587,987
Tax credit: $220,000
Located across the street from Findlay Market, it once housed apartments and first-floor commercial space. Vacant since the early 2000s, it will be rehabbed into first-floor retail/restaurant space with offices on the upper floors.
 
205 W. McMicken Ave.
Total cost: $375,000
Tax credit: $37,000
Built in the 1870s, it has housed barbers, conductors, shoemakers, bartenders, plasterers and other laborers. It’s been vacant for over 20 years, and OTR Adopt’s rehab plans include first-floor commercial space and one three-bedroom apartment above.
 
1737 Elm St.
Total cost: $1,200,047
Tax credit: $233,799
The two buildings were built in the mid- and late-1800s and will be renovated into small market-rate apartments and first-floor retail.
 
1737 Vine St.
Total cost: $1,316,634
Tax credit: $185,000
The three-story building has been vacant for more than a decade. Plans include seven market-rate units and restaurant space.
 
1814 Race St.
Total cost: $1,983,366
Tax credit: $217,000
Model Group plans to convert the building, which is also across the street from Findlay Market, into five apartments and first-floor commercial space on the front side.
 
Kauffman Building, 1725 Vine St.
Total cost: $2,775,353
Tax credit: $249,999
Built in 1863 to house brewery workers, the Kauffman Building has been vacant since the 1990s. It will be renovated into first-floor commercial space with six apartments above. A new addition will yield six more apartments and parking.
 
Ophthalmic Hospital, 208-214 W. 12th St.
Total cost: $7,366,150
Tax credit: $732,950
The now vacant medical facility will be rehabbed by 3CDC into a boutique hotel with 20 guest rooms, a bar and a restaurant on the first floor.
 
Rutemueller Building, 527 E. 13th St.
Total cost: $1,137,569
Tax credit: $113,500
The former grocery store and tenement apartments will be upgraded into modern living spaces with seven market-rate apartments and first-floor live/work spaces.
 
Schmitthenner Building, 1527 Elm St.
Total cost: $671,870
Tax credit: $82,750
The four-story building will become seven market-rate apartments with one retail storefront.
 
Northside
3936 Spring Grove Ave.
Total cost: $504,843
Tax credit: $71,608
It’s been vacant since the 1980s, and renovations will yield two market-rate apartments upstairs and a bar on the first floor.
 
Pendleton
515 E. 12th St.
Total cost: $1,579,851
Tax credit: $195,000
Part of a larger project, Model Group plans to renovate the building into six market-rate apartments.
 
Broadway Square II, 1126-1211 Broadway, 405-414 E. 12th St., 331 E. 13th St.
Total cost: $13,133,245
Tax credit: $1.3 million
Model Group will renovate the 10 historic buildings into retail space and 37 residential units.
 
Walnut Hills
Central Trust Company East Hills Branch, 1535 Madison Road
Total cost: $1,259,939
Tax credit: $196,007
Built in 1926, it was used as a bank until the 1960s. South Block Properties plans to rehab the building into restaurant space.
 
Paramount Square, 900-921 E. McMillan St., 2436-2454 Gilbert Ave., 2363 St. James St.
Total cost: $20,093,697
Tax credit: $1,999,000
The Walnut Hills Redevelopment Foundation and Model Group will renovate six historic and two non-historic buildings into 15 commercial spaces and 44 market-rate apartments.
 
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Caitlin Koenig is a Cincinnati transplant and 2012 grad of the School of Journalism at the University of Missouri. She's the department editor for Soapbox Media and currently lives in Northside with her husband, Andrew, and their three furry children. Follow Caitlin on Twitter at @caite_13.