CLEVELAND — A planned residential overhaul of Rhodes Tower at Cleveland State University and a mixed-use makeover of the former Medical Mutual headquarters in Downtown Cleveland gained momentum Wednesday, winning key incentives for historic preservation.
Those projects topped the list of 14 local properties that landed valuable state tax credits in a competition that takes place twice a year. Governor Mike DeWine’s office and the Ohio Department of Development announced $56 million in statewide awards - $24.5 million of which will flow to Northeast Ohio.
Rhodes Tower won $5 million in tax credits for CSU’s roughly $90 million plan to turn the aging office and classroom building into student housing. The 21-story tower opened in 1971 and is a centerpiece of the campus. But it’s heavily vacant and needs major repairs.
The project recently won a $6.6 million brownfield grant from the state for asbestos removal and interior demolition. Redevelopment plans presented to the university’s board of trustees show a refurbished library and other shared spaces on the lower levels, where a two-story glass addition will create a new entrance to the building off of Chester Avenue.
A few blocks away, the Rose Building – emptied out by Medical Mutual in the wake of the pandemic – also won $5 million in state historic tax credits. That’s the maximum award available through the popular state program, which helps developers attract investors and offset the costs of tricky restoration projects.
The 10-story Rose Building and its six-story annex are set to become a Tribute hotel, a boutique flag that’s part of the Marriott family of brands. The project, at East Ninth Street and Prospect Avenue, will also include high-end, Tribute-branded apartments, which will offer concierge services, housekeeping and access to hotel amenities.
A summary of the state tax credit application, provided to News 5 in response to a public records request, says developer Spark GHC and Cleveland Construction expect to fill the complex with 154 apartments and 123 hotel rooms. They’re also carving out space for retail and restaurants, including a bar on the Rose Building’s ground floor.
Spark GHC and Cleveland Construction announced in June that they’d struck a deal to buy and redevelop the Rose Building. The property hasn’t changed hands yet.
Medical Mutual occupied the complex from 1947 to 2023. The insurer is now based in Brooklyn, at the former American Greetings Corp. headquarters off Tiedeman Road.
The other local tax-credit winners are:
The historic Akron YWCA at the corner of High and Bowery streets. The 10-story building is vacant. Welty Development plans to revamp it to 114 apartments while turning the old swimming pool into a unique gathering space for residents.
The project won state historic tax credits last year, but the developer went back to the Ohio Department of Development this fall with a larger request because of escalating costs. The new award is $4.2 million.
The Samsel Building in Cleveland. This historic warehouse complex on Old River Road on the east bank of the Flats will become about 100 apartments, with a rooftop pool deck and an event space downstairs. It won almost $2.7 million in tax credits.
Samsel Supply Co., a maritime supply business that has occupied the building for decades, announced in September that it’s shutting down. The family behind Samsel sold the building to Cleveland-based real estate company GBX Group in 2021.
GBX has spent the last few years working with potential partners to make a project happen. The lead developer is RHM Real Estate Group, based in Lyndhurst.
“We could not be more excited for what’s the come,” John Joyce, RHM’s founder and CEO, said in a written statement Wednesday.
The Samsel redevelopment is part of a bigger plan to revive Old River Road with a mix of historic preservation, new construction and reimagined public spaces.
“Adding 100 apartment units … will bring vibrancy and around-the-clock residents that will fuel existing and planned restaurants, hospitality, nightlife and entertainment venues in the district,” Drew Sparacia, GBX’s CEO, said in a written statement.
The project won a $1.1 million state brownfield grant in November.
The Homeier-Universal Motor Co. Building in Akron. This empty warehouse at 816 E. Market St. is slated to become a food hall, a project being shepherded by the Well CDC, a nonprofit community development corporation. It won a $2 million tax credit award.
The Herald and Powell Buildings in Barberton. These interconnected buildings on Tuscarawas Avenue, at the edge of downtown Barberton, are vacant and deteriorating. They’ll be revived with 21 apartments upstairs and commercial space on the first floor.
The project, led by Coon Restoration, won $1.9 million in tax credits.
The old Cedar Branch YMCA in Cleveland. Developer James Sosan expects to turn this blighted former YMCA into a project called African Town Plaza, with apartments, office space and areas dedicated to arts, culture and events.
The building, at Cedar Avenue and East 75th Street in the city’s Fairfax neighborhood, once housed the first local YMCA branch that accepted Black patrons. It has been vacant for more than a decade. The state awarded $1.7 million in tax credits to the redevelopment.
Kerns Hall in Cleveland. This three-story building, at 2604 Garden Ave., will house a restaurant, with the potential for new apartments and townhomes next door. The details about the upper-floor uses are redacted in the project summary that the state provided to News 5 in response to a public records request.
The building, which dates to 1890, once contained a hardware store and was used as a meeting and social space for the National Protective Legion, a group of Masons.
The project won $596,903 in tax credits.
Broadview Savings & Loan Co. in Cleveland. This former bank, at 4221 Pearl Road, is set to become apartments. The roughly $5 million project won $373,000 in tax credits.
Columbia Savings & Loan Co. in Cleveland. This historic building in Slavic Village, at 5601 Broadway Ave., will be renovated for a local coffee shop and an architecture firm’s offices. It’s part of a series of projects in the area that Veda Development is planning.
The three-story building won $250,000 in tax credits.
The Vitrolite Building in Cleveland. The state also awarded $250,000 in tax credits to this partially restored building in the Ohio City neighborhood at 2915 Detroit Ave.
The historic showroom for the Vitrolite Company, a glass manufacturer, is partially occupied by Harness Cycle, Soul Yoga and a restaurant called Patron Saint. The basement and back section of the second floor are empty and will be primed for tenants.
The project is being led by emerging developers Anne Hartnett and Andria Loczi.
The E.F. Hauserman Administration Building in Cuyahoga Heights. This former office and research building was once home to a major manufacturer of movable interior walls and ceiling systems. It is partially occupied by Integrity Energy and will be renovated for ongoing use as offices, according to a summary of the tax credit application.
The project won $250,000 in tax credits.
South Brooklyn Savings & Loan Co. in Cleveland. This is another bank-to-housing conversion on Pearl Road. The redevelopment will include eight apartments, according to a summary of the tax credit application. The state awarded $180,000 in credits for the work.
The ES Tripp House in Wellington. This historic Lorain County home, once divided into seven tiny apartments, will be renovated and reconfigured as two larger apartments. The oldest section of the house dates to 1848, according to a summary of the tax credit application. The project won $103,000 in tax credits.
Property owners don’t receive the tax credits until their projects are complete. The state announced credits for 37 projects Wednesday during a news conference in Cincinnati.
“By preserving our historic buildings, we’re retaining the unique identity of Ohio’s communities,” DeWine said in a subsequent news release. “Through the tax credit program, we’re ensuring that future generations can experience the character and stories that shaped our state in the spaces where they happened.”
