Two Columbus renovation projects — a Gay Street high-rise and the former Starling Middle School — received state tax breaks Tuesday.

The projects were among 29 approved for Ohio Preservation Historic Tax Credits. The credits are worth $5 million for the Gay Street building and $2 million for the Starling Middle School project.

“By rehabilitating these historic buildings today, we can preserve the heart of our communities for future generations of Ohioans,” said Gov. Mike DeWine in a news release announcing the credits. “Once restored, these sites will help renew local communities and create additional opportunities for Ohioans.”

The tax credits pave the way for the two Columbus redevelopments to move forward.

Continental Centre to become apartments

The Bernstein Cos., a Washington, D.C., real estate company, plans to convert the empty 26-story Continental Centre at 150 E. Gay St. into 409 apartments, with a mix of studios and one- and two-bedroom units, and develop commercial space on the ground floor and mezzanine.

The developers have submitted plans to add a pool and a terrace on the roof, with pergolas and artificial grass.

The company and Toledo-based Welltower together bought the 631,734-square-foot building in 2021 for $12 million, and Bernstein estimates the cost of the project at $107.7 million. The project also has been approved for $17 million in federal historic tax credits.

The tower was built in 1972 as the headquarters for Ohio Bell Southwestern. The renovation will retain historic features, such as original windows and quartzite wall cladding on the interior.

According to the tax credit application, a coworking company plans to lease 17,500 square feet of the mezzanine and ground floor, and a ghost kitchen will lease 5,500 square feet on the lower level, in addition to operating a café and coffee shop.

Starling Middle School to be redeveloped into affordable housing

Woda Cooper Development Inc., a Columbus-based affordable-housing developer, plans to convert the former Starling Middle School at 120 S. Central Ave. into 45 affordable housing units and build another 52 affordable apartments on the site.

The school, which was built as the original West High School in 1908, was added to the National Register of Historic Places and the Columbus Register of Historic Properties earlier this year. Woda bought the 58,500-square-foot three-story building in 2021 for $1.24 million from Columbus City Schools, which closed the school in 2014.

Woda estimates the project to cost at $29.2 million. The project includes removing a gymnasium constructed in 1955.

“Revitalizing these underutilized spaces creates new opportunities for Ohioans and the local neighborhood,” Lydia Mihalik, director of the Ohio Department of Development, said in a news release. “These are unique spaces in our communities, and once they are transformed, they will be catalysts for future economic development and growth.”

jweiker@dispatch.com

@JimWeiker

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: State approves tax breaks to redevelop high-rise and former school