State approves financial aid for Downtown high-rise and Delaware train depot projects
A Downtown high-rise renovation and the redevelopment of a Delaware train station received state financial aid this week, allowing the projects to move forward.
The projects were among 29 developments in 16 counties approved for Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credits on Wednesday.
“Historic tax credits create value for communities by attracting investment that would not make sense otherwise,” said Lt. Gov. Jon Husted in a news release announcing the approvals.
“Almost every legacy city in Ohio has a great old building that they wish someone would revitalize because it’s important to the community’s history and future — Historic Tax Credits make this hope a reality.”
Office high-rise to switch to homes
An $89 million plan to convert the 26-story Continental Centre at 150 E. Gay St. from offices to apartments was approved for $5 million in tax credits.
Under the plan, the Downtown building would be transformed into 336 apartments with a rooftop lounge and lower-level restaurants and commercial space.
The building's owners — The Bernstein Companies of Washington, D.C., and Welltower, of Toledo — made the decision to convert the building after COVID knocked the wind out of the Downtown office market.
"The office market is in a lull; it was in a way struggling pre-COVID and COVID just accelerated or exacerbated it," Phil Aftuck, director of real estate development for The Bernstein Companies, told The Dispatch earlier this month.
The high-rise, which was built in 1972 as the headquarters for Ohio Bell Southwestern's headquarters, would be the second Downtown high-rise converted to apartments, following the current conversion of the PNC tower on E. Broad Street.
Aftuck said developers hope to start work on the project this year.
All aboard for Delaware depot
A $2.2-million plan to convert the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati & Indianapolis Railroad Depot in Delaware into a restaurant and brewery was approved for $243,000 in state tax credits.
The depot, located at Lake Street and East Central Avenue, dates to 1887 and was last used as a train station in 1950.
The developer, RiverWest Partners, plans to renovate the main floor, along with a second floor and lower floor. In total, the building is about 7,000 square feet.
The depot renovation is designed to complement RiverWest's multi-part Mill on Flax redevelopment of a Civil-War-era factory on Flax Street in Delaware and property surrounding it.
"The tax credits are a big part of our visioning for the project," said Brennen Palma, a partner in RiverWest Partners. "Our goal is to begin as soon as possible, at least the exterior work."
Palma said a restaurant and brewery tenant planned for the space recently fell through, so he and his partners are looking for another tenant or two.
Developers receive the historic tax credits when the projects are complete. Together, the projects approved this week are expected to leverage approximately $564 million in private investments.
“Once restored, these sites are often crown jewels for communities,” Lydia Mihalik, director of the Ohio Department of Development, said in a news release. “We are proud to be part of the transformation and preservation of these unique spaces that will remain in our communities for years to come.”
jweiker@dispatch.com
@JimWeiker
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Delaware train station, Columbus high-rise projects get Ohio funding
