Former SCPA building to become apartments with added parking

Core Redevelopment announced that the former School for Creative & Performing Arts, located at 1310 Sycamore St. in Over-the-Rhine/Pendleton, will be converted into apartments that should be ready by Spring 2016. Core bought the building at a Cincinnati Public Schools auction for $1.3 million in late 2012 and plans to begin the renovation process in June.
 
The 107-year-old building was originally built as Woodward High School, which was the first public school west of the Alleghenies. In 1976, SCPA started to take control of parts of the building and a year later had control of the entire building. The school moved to its current location on Central Parkway in 2010.
 
Originally there were plans to bring a hotel to the former school, but that project fell through and Core Redevelopment will now create an apartment complex.
 
The $23 million redevelopment, called Alumni Lofts, includes creating 148 one- and two-bedroom apartments as well as a few studios, which will range from 700 to 1,700 square feet and cost $700-1,500 per month. All of the units will include granite countertops, stainless steel appliances and contemporary lighting. Apartments on the fifth floor will be two stories with lofts.

The redevelopment of the SCPA building is a historic preservation project, which means that Core Redevelopment will be sensitive to the building's historic elements, says Michael Cox, a developer for the Indianapolis-based company. Different aspects of the building will be preserved, including the school's original slate blackboards, cabinets, hallway tile, marble columns and Rookwood fountains. Core also plans to rehabilitate all of the existing hardwood floors.

"We love old buildings, and we love converting them into something new," Cox says. "We're taking a building with architectural and historical significance and putting it back into service. We hope it will become a focal point in the neighborhood and be a draw for OTR and Pendleton."

To date, Core Redevelopment has created between 10,000 and 12,000 apartments and done three historic renovations in Indianapolis. This is Core's first project in Cincinnati, and the company will also work on the rehabilitation of the Windsor School in Walnut Hills beginning this summer.
 
Alumni Lofts plans include removing almost all of the existing pavement in front of the building’s main entrance along 13th Street as well as creating a two-level 196-space parking structure at the back of the five-story building for residents. The small access lots on the east and west sides of the building will remain.

The finished project will also include a fitness center and outdoor courtyards, and the green space on the north side of the property will be maintained.