WKSU News: Six Cleveland buildings are among the state's historic tax credit winners

Wednesday, December 16, 2015 Six Cleveland buildings are among the state's historic tax credit winners The Huntington Bank building is considered the most significant by WKSU's KEVIN NIEDERMIER	Reporter Kevin Niedermier

Cleveland's Huntington Bank building received $25 million in historic tax credits for conversion into apartments and a hotel.

Courtesy of WKYC

Half-a-dozen Cleveland buildings are on the list of state historic tax credit winners announced today. One of the Downtown Cleveland recipients is the Huntington Bank building. WKSU’s Kevin Niedermier reports.

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Here's the list of seven Northeast Ohio projects that got the tax credits. Six are in Cleveland:

Huntington/Union Trust Company
925 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland
Cost: $270,345,574
Credit: $25,000,000
Built in 1924 by Chicago architects Graham, Anderson, Probst and White, its banking hall was once considered the largest in the world. Most of the building is vacant today. Its 1.4 million square feet are to be turned into a hotel, apartments, office and commercial and retail space. The hall will also host events.

Forest City Bank and Seymour Block
2513-2519 Detroit Avenue, Cleveland
Cost: $64,820,145
Credit: $2,000,000
The buildings at West 25th and Detroit Avenue will become apartments and office space with the Massimo da Milano restaurant staying.

Cleveland Athletic Club
1118 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland
Cost: $53,236,776
Tax Credit: $5,000,000
The club was built in 1911 with office and retail space and a swimming pool, gym, bowling alley, billiards and card rooms, dining rooms and overnight guest rooms. It’s been vacant since 2008 and is to be rehabbed into 175 apartments and a restaurant

Variety Theater
11801-11825 Lorain Avenue, Cleveland
Cost : $14,715,556
Credit : $1,456,985
The theater and retail/residential complex was built in 1927 in Cleveland's Westown Neighborhood and is on the National Register of Historic Places. It closed in the 1980s and is vacant. It’s to be turned into a restaurant and entertainment venue with upgraded apartment and retail space.

Ogilvie Block
127 and 129 East 5th Street, East Liverpool
Cost: $8,626,057
Credit: $1,565,314
It was once the largest retailer downtown, but Ogilvie went out of business in the ‘80s, and the building has been vacant after other tneants moved out. The New Castle School of Trades wants to move in its vocational programs.

Heyse Apartments
1702 West 28th Street, Cleveland
Cost: $5,298,750
Credit: $572,000
Built in Ohio City in 1897, the apartment building was turned into office space in the 1980s, but has been vacant for the last decade. It it’s to be rehabbed back into apartments.

Lake Shore Bank and Public Library
5410 St. Clair Avenue and 1368 East 55th Street, Cleveland
Cost: $1,727,488
Credit: $249,999
The former library has been vacant, after being converted into a neighborhood center. It’s to become a restaurant and office space.

A Florida development group wants to spend $270 million converting the Huntington Building into apartments, a hotel and retail space. That project was awarded $25 million in credits.

Terry Schwarz is director of Kent State University’s Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative. She says historic tax credits are responsible for much of the renovation in downtowns nationwide. And she says of the six structures on Cleveland’s latest list, the Huntington is the most significant.

“That building has been under-utilized for some time. And with the growing residential demand for the core city, it’s such a great opportunity to bring more people and contribute to the downtown revival.”

Downtown’s Cleveland Athletic Club is also geting a credit to help with its conversion into apartments. The old Goodyear Tire and Rubber headquarters in Akron missed out on a tax credit. Developers want to convert that building to mixed use.