(January 2019, Plain Press)           On Wednesday December 12^th, the Ohio Development Services Agency awarded $36,057,985 in Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credits for the rehabilitation of 28 historic buildings. Ten of those historic buildings were in the Northeast Region and of those ten, three are in the area served by the Plain Press.

The awards will assist private developers in rehabilitating historic buildings. Developers are not issued the tax credit until project construction is complete and all program requirements are verified.

The Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit program is administered in partnership with the Ohio History Connection’s State Historic Preservation Office. The State Historic Preservation Office determines if a property qualifies as a historic building and if the rehabilitation plans comply with the U.S. Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation.

The three Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit recipients in the Plain Press service area are:

Astrup Company Building: 2937 West 25Street, Cleveland, 44113; Total Project Cost: $16,158,929; Total Tax Credit: $1,615,000. The Astrup Company Building is a former industrial complex in the Clark-Fulton neighborhood south of downtown Cleveland. The project combines the rehabilitation of the historic complex with construction of new residential buildings on a vacant lot. The historic buildings will be converted for community-focused and arts-based tenants including the Boys and Girls Club, Cleveland Museum of Art, dance, theater, and artist studios.New-construction housing will have dedicated affordable units as well as market-rate units.

   Belden Seymour:3805 Franklin Boulevard, Cleveland, 44113.  Total Project Cost: $2,221,700; Total Tax Credit: $222,000.  Built in 1874 in the Italianate Style, the Belden Seymour house was converted from single-family use to apartments. Now vacant, the building’s small apartments will be redeveloped into larger units. The tower, reduced in height during a previous renovation, will be restored to its original height.

   Rhodes Mansion: 2905 Franklin Boulevard, Cleveland, 44113. Total Project Cost: $13,062,715; Total Tax Credit: $1,373,109. The Rhodes Mansion, constructed in 1874, spent its first 40 years as a residence. However, from 1914 until recently, it was owned and used by Cuyahoga County as offices, a nursing home, and archives storage. Now vacant, the historic home, along with an annex built by the County, will be converted into 33 market-rate apartments. An additional nine townhouse units will be constructed on an adjacent vacant lot.