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    Downtown Office-to-Residential Conversion Awarded Historic Tax Credits

    A plan to convert a 26-story office tower Downtown into apartments was awarded Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credits today.

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    The development, which will transform the former Continental Centre at 150 E. Gay St., was the only Columbus development awarded credits this round (they are handed out twice a year). Last December, the Kroger Bakery redevelopment was the sole Columbus project to receive credits.

    Plans for the conversion, which were approved by the Downtown Commission earlier this year, call for a mix of studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments, along with retail on the first floor and a rooftop pool. At 336 units, the project will be one of the larger residential projects to come online Downtown in recent years.

    Toledo-based Welltower and the Bernstein Companies (based in Washington DC) bought the Continental Centre in early 2021. The building was constructed in 1972 to hold the headquarters of Ohio Bell Southwestern.

    Also receiving credits this round is a planned renovation of the former CSX Rail Depot in Delaware.

    See below for more information on the three central district projects receiving credits, as provided by the Ohio Development Services Agency and the Ohio History Connection’s State Historic Preservation Office:

    Ohio Bell Southwestern Headquarters Building (Columbus, Franklin)

    Total Project Cost: $89,011,195
    Total Tax Credit: $5,000,000
    Address: 150 E. Gay St.

    The Ohio Bell Southwestern HQ building in downtown Columbus was constructed to house offices for the company. The building continued use as office space until a few years ago. The vacant building will be reactivated as 336 studio, one, and two-bedroom apartments with commercial space on the first floor and mezzanine. The rehabilitation project will retain historic features such as original windows and quartzite wall cladding on the interior.

    Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati & Indianapolis Railroad Depot (Delaware, Delaware)

    Total Project Cost: $2,217,633
    Total Tax Credit: $243,000
    Address: 60 Lake St.

    The 1887 Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati & Indianapolis (CCC&I) Railroad depot is a brick building east of downtown Delaware. Last used as by the railroad in 1950, the depot has been vacant for a number of years. The building still retains many of its character defining features from its railroad days on the interior and exterior including doors and windows, beadboard walls and ceilings, and wood floors and trim as well as the configuration of spaces from its use as a depot. After rehabilitation, the building will house a bar, restaurant, and brewery operation.

    Wholesale Grocer (Marion, Marion)

    Total Project Cost: $1,414,435
    Total Tax Credit: $250,000
    Address: 172 S. Main St.

    Marion’s first historic tax credit project, the Wholesale Grocer building is located in their newly designated downtown historic district and overlooks Founder’s Park. Originally a warehouse, storefronts were added later, and apartments filled the second and third floors. After rehabilitation the building will house five apartments with a winery on the ground floor in addition to two other commercial spaces.

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    Brent Warren
    Brent Warrenhttps://columbusunderground.com/author/brent-warren
    Brent Warren is a staff reporter for Columbus Underground covering urban development, transportation, city planning, neighborhoods, and other related topics. He grew up in Grandview Heights, lives in the University District and studied City and Regional Planning at OSU.
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