It’s always great to see an abandoned structure rehabilitated and put to productive use, rather than be demolished or picked apart by scrappers as so often happens in the United States. The Elberon is a good example of reuse.

 

Located at 3414 West 8th Street at the corner of West 8th Street and Elberon Avenue in the Price Hill neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio, the Elberon’s building permit was secured in March 1905 and was soon completed after for $55,000. The apartment complex once housed a grocery store and pharmacy in its first floor retail storefronts. It later became low-income apartments in the 1970s before becoming Section 8.

 

 

 

The Model Group, in partnership with the non-profit community development corporation Price Hill Will, purchased the Elberon in 2010 which had been abandoned for over a decade. After the securement of finances through city, state and federal sources, along with private financing, work began on converting the four-story building into 37 one- and two-bedroom units for senior citizens.

 

Ground was broken on February 23, 2011 and the refreshed Elberon was opened to the public on April 12, 2012. It is a gold certified LEED structure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glances at the common spaces.

 

 

 

 

 

A view of some of the units.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Further Reading

a. The Elberon: http://urbanup.net/cities/ohio/cincinnati-ohio/price-hill/the-elberon/

Thanks for these photos. I am thrilled that this unique building was so wonderfully restored.

Great job!

Great shots! and amazing building.

Well Done!!!

Awesome! Thanks for the photos, Sherman!

Holy sh!t.  I didn't realize this project was over.  I'm very happy to see such a great building rehabbed that isn't in a "popular" neighborhood to move to. 

Wow, that looks fantastic! I was just thinking about this project the other day and was going to ask if anyone could post pictures.

If anyone is interested, I am up for scheduling a tour with a group of folks from here before it all fills up. They are more than happy to show it off.

Sorry to be the contrarian, but I find this very disappointing. While the exterior appears to be a wonderful restoration, the interior seems to have been gutted, denuded, stripped of all character. I'm sure this place had loads of finely crafted woodwork 100 years ago. Where is it now? Carted away. I've got a real problem with LEED certification. How can it be gold certified if it made so little use of the materials already there? How much energy was expended ripping out and carting away the old woodwork and walls and plaster? How much energy was used manufacturing, shipping and installing all the new, characterless materials? And why is it a single-use building? I don't understand why senior citizen residential facilities so seldom include retail for the residents who are limited in their mobility. It would seem that including a pharmacy is a no brainer in a senior center. Don't get me wrong: I'm glad the beautiful shell of the structure was saved rather than razed. I just dislike the sterility of the interior.

There wasn't much to be saved inside. It had been converted from what was very nice apartments to lower incomed housing, and then Section 8 before being abandoned. It was literally filled with trash in many of the rooms, and what was salvaged is what was saved. A few units have fireplaces, the staircases have some original tile and railing, but that was all that was left from years of abuse.

 

That said, it may be a bit generic on the inside, but it is for senior citizens and it is an affordable housing unit. Section 8 vouchers are accepted, but the residents must be 55+ older and must fit within income requirements. The units are I think $450+/month, if I recall correctly.

 

This was the third developer for the property. The first two tried and failed to obtain financing and support for higher-end condominiums.

Thanks for clarifying. Sounds like they did what they could with what they had.

Yeah, I wasn't blown away by the interior either. The exterior sells it for me, but inside... meh. I think I'm just used to the upscale units in OTR more than anything else.