Graybach just purchased 2406, 2408, 2410, and 2416 Central Parkway under the subsidiary 2416 Central Parkway LLC.

 

They're moving their office from Stark Street to there to get some more space.

 

Nice. I really think there's a good deal of potential on Central Parkway for businesses with how close it is to the core and the highway, the bikeway, Brighton historic district, and the frequent traffic of folks going downtown from Northside, College Hill, etc.

EXCLUSIVE: Historic Fourth Street building to be redeveloped

Mar 30, 2015, 2:05pm EDT

Tom Demeropolis Senior Staff Reporter- Cincinnati Business Courier

 

 

Another historic building along Fourth Street in downtown Cincinnati is going to be redeveloped.

 

Warm Realty + Development, the new commercial real estate development arm of JDL Warm Construction LLC, plans to redevelop the 134-year-old building at 223 W. Fourth St. Jake Warm, president of Warm Realty + Development, said the redevelopment plan hasn’t been finalized yet, but one plan he’s looking at would turn the 25,000-square-foot building into high-end condominiums.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2015/03/30/exclusive-historic-fourth-street-building-to-be.html

Great news!

 

I wonder if the moderators would be interested in splitting some of the Random Development News & Info to new headlines?

 

So maybe we could have a Cincinnati: 4th Street Historic District Development or Cincinnati: Fountain Square District Development?

 

That way, when more news comes online we can just track back to that thread and have it more contained rather than being spread over the Random Development thread?

EXCLUSIVE: Historic Fourth Street building to be redeveloped

Mar 30, 2015, 2:05pm EDT

Tom Demeropolis Senior Staff Reporter- Cincinnati Business Courier

 

 

Another historic building along Fourth Street in downtown Cincinnati is going to be redeveloped.

 

Warm Realty + Development, the new commercial real estate development arm of JDL Warm Construction LLC, plans to redevelop the 134-year-old building at 223 W. Fourth St. Jake Warm, president of Warm Realty + Development, said the redevelopment plan hasn’t been finalized yet, but one plan he’s looking at would turn the 25,000-square-foot building into high-end condominiums.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2015/03/30/exclusive-historic-fourth-street-building-to-be.html

 

Yet another awesome building that was previously criminally underutilized, lets hope this comes to fruition!

The backside (facing McFarland) of this building is really beautiful, and I'm excited that they plan on opening the bricked up windows along the east facade (facing Egan Alley). But I don't like their idea to remove the windows on 4th Street and build a new exterior wall, to create patio space. The adjacent building at 4th and Plum did the same, and it looks crummy. The building has a great rooftop that would make for wonderful outdoor space. Or the fire escapes on McFarland could be replaced with cantilevered balconies.

EXCLUSIVE: Jeweler buys downtown building for expansion

Apr 2, 2015, 6:32am EDT

Tom Demeropolis Senior Staff Reporter- Cincinnati Business Courier

 

 

Richter & Phillips Co., which has been in downtown Cincinnati for nearly 120 years, is moving.

 

Right across the street.

 

Rick Fehr, one of the co-owners of the family-owned jewelry store, said the business is moving across Main Street from the Gwynne Building to 601 Main St.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2015/04/02/exclusive-jeweler-buys-downtown-building-for.html

That is good news.  This location will be much better used as a high class Jewelry store in an ever evolving cosmopolitan downtown Cincinnati.  I believe they will find as well that putting apartments on the top 2 floors will work well since they won't have to worry about parking for the residents since the Streetcar stop is right outside their door step.

I agree this is a fantastic use for the building. The club scene just never made sense for that corner. Curious how Richter & Phillips will handle parking for their suburban customers. Their radio ads always mentioned free parking in the surface lot behind the Gwynne Building.

This is so much better a use than the "we were in frats and sororities but graduated years ago but haven't let go of that part of our lives because we have nothing going for us" club that currently resides there.

This is so much better a use than the "we were in frats and sororities but graduated years ago but haven't let go of that part of our lives because we have nothing going for us" club that currently resides there.

 

601 was a mostly black club, not some bro hangout.

Really? Because that's not what I personally saw in any of its iterations. In fact they had a sign stating they'd cater frat parties for awhile on the window closest to Igby's. And the crowd hanging out outside suggested otherwise.

The Wiz regularly held events there. Only time I was there was for a birthday party, and I was decidedly in the minority being a white guy.  But regardless of who the club catered to, Richter and Phillips will be a better use of the space, if for no other reason than being a much more stable and long term business.  I wonder what will move into their old space across the street.

 

601 was a mostly black club, not some bro hangout.

 

40 years ago this sentence would be very confusing.

The Wiz regularly held events there. Only time I was there was for a birthday party, and I was decidedly in the minority being a white guy.  But regardless of who the club catered to, Richter and Phillips will be a better use of the space, if for no other reason than being a much more stable and long term business.  I wonder what will move into their old space across the street.

 

The Gwynn building was owned by its tenants for several decades and I believe they are in the process of selling the building if they haven't already.  Perhaps Richter & Philips is buying 601 with the proceeds from the sale of their share of the Gwynn building. 

The Gwynn building was owned by its tenants for several decades and I believe they are in the process of selling the building if they haven't already.  Perhaps Richter & Philips is buying 601 with the proceeds from the sale of their share of the Gwynn building.

 

that was confirmed in the Business Courier article: http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2015/04/02/exclusive-jeweler-buys-downtown-building-for.html

Richter & Phillips was one of the owners of the Gwynne along with other tenants in the building, which was purchased by a group of local investors led by Patrick Gates in December for $4.3 million. The Fehr family purchased 601 Main St. on March 19 from Alamin Family Investments LP for more than $1.2 million.

There is major demolition already happening in the interior of 601 Main.

EXCLUSIVE: New office development planned near Oakley Station

Apr 20, 2015, 12:54pm EDT

Tom Demeropolis Senior Staff Reporter- Cincinnati Business Courier

 

Two Cincinnati developers are planning a new office project near Oakley Station.

 

The city of Cincinnati owns a 3-acre piece of land less than a half-mile from Oakley Station, a 74-acre mixed-used development in Oakley. Developers Vandercar Holdings LLC and Al Neyer plan to buy the vacant land, a remnant piece of land from the Kennedy Connector project, for the fair market value of $530,000. They plan to combine this piece of land with an adjacent 1.4-acre parcel to build two new office buildings.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2015/04/20/exclusive-new-office-development-planned-near.html

I thought there had been plans for a vet there or something but figured it fell through. Will be glad to see stuff coming in on the kennedy connector.

Below is a list of all applications (with the name of the project, and the credit request amount) for the State of Ohio historic tax credit program from Cincinnati for the upcoming round. The deadline to submit was March 31st and the winners of the credits will be announced by June 30th I believe.

 

 

Merchants Building     Cincinnati $982,295

Alameda Apartments Cincinnati $249,999

Warner Brothers Pictures Building Cincinnati $184,000

Rutemueller Building Cincinnati $188,000

Reid-Longworth  Building Cincinnati $950,789

1500 Race Storefront Cincinnati $188,763

512 East 12th Street Cincinnati $76,800

Ophthalmic Hospital Cincinnati $732,950

1527 Elm Street Cincinnati $131,739

Union Central Life Annex Cincinnati $5,000,000

Baldwin Piano Company Cincinnati $4,840,000

Trevarren Flats II Cincinnati $702,691

Central Trust Company East Hills Branch Cincinnati $196,007

1737 Elm Street Cincinnati $223,187

Abington Flats Cincinnati $482,999

308-316 Main Street Cincinnati $1,782,000

West 7th and Race Apartments Cincinnati $1,450,000

Broadway Square II       Cincinnati $1,468,210

Market Square at Findlay Market A Cincinnati $249,999

Market Square at Findlay Market B Cincinnati $249,999

Market Square at Findlay Market C Cincinnati $249,999

Mulberry Hill Cincinnati $375,000

1737 Vine Street Cincinnati $35,000

 

 

 

^One typo: 1737 Vine is requesting $235k in credits.

That would be great if these can all get some help.  I don't see why the State doesn't award most of them if they have a good plan put together.  Sure, they forfeit some tax revenue but in the end, they receive it back by creating bustling cities and re-use of existing infrastructure, job creation, etc.

^ Because the state has a set pot of money. 

 

Say $20 million.  And $50 million in applications come in.  So that's why the state can't award all of them.  Ideally, The legislature would increase the total amount.

Thank you.  Right, I guess I should have said why don't they increase the pot, it seems it really works.

I would love to see a big increase as well, but on the other hand I am also glad this program hasn't become politicized and targeted in the legislature like everything else. 

Wow Cincinnati is well represented. They got 54 applications this round and we've got 23 of them.

I would love to see a big increase as well, but on the other hand I am also glad this program hasn't become politicized and targeted in the legislature like everything else. 

 

THIS IS KEY.  These pretty much exclusively help Cities.  West Chester doesn't have any historic buildings... So it's a good thing they haven't gone after them.

Hey ya'll... This may be speculating just a bit, but I was browsing through some of the liquor license applications (https://www.comapps.ohio.gov/reports/newproc.txt) because I'm a nerd and found an application by Bru Burger Bar, which looks like it may take part or all of the old Cadilac Jack's, among other names.  http://www.bruburgerbar.com/

 

I'm trying to find the right address on Google Maps, but struggling a bit. Here is the address that is listed on the application.  41 E 6TH ST

CINCINNATI OH  45202.

 

Can anyone confirm?

 

 

Interesting. That space has sparked many a discussion on these forums, and almost everyone agreed it's just too big of a space to function properly. I wonder if this will have any more success than the former occupants.

The Bru Burger site makes it look like their locations tend to be smaller, which hopefully means they're going to divide the old Cadillac Ranch space... which just tended to be too large and couldn't draw a big enough crowd.

I would agree. It looks like they operate Moreline Lager House too, so my thought is that they'll divide the space, probably taking the corner piece and hope for some retail of some sort that goes in there.

Speaking of retail along that stretch, Murray Brothers Candy Store closed sometime in February.  :cry:

I have to say as a general obervation, while its great to see so much contsruction and development, our city is really starting to look like crap and I think some of the shabiness is unnecessary. While ripping up the streets over the last few months is understandable related to the streetcar and associated work, it seems they have been ripping up our roads for the last few years.  If you look at essentially any street in CBD or OTR, they are in horrible conditionand most sidewalks do too.  The exercise of repaving has been sloppy done and it seems thee has been no thought of asthetics whatsoever. To me, it just seems like  streets and sidewalks are just getting blown out on so many unrelated projects i.e. not  anywhere near new construction or the streetcar. This has been going on for 4 or 5 years now.  Please tell me there is some master paving plan in 2017 that will fix the mess our city is becoming.  It seems excessive. 

 

Every street that is being disturbed by streetcar construction will be repaved from curb to curb once construction is complete. The entire lengths of Elm, Race, and 12th Streets in OTR will be repaved this fall. They also seem to be doing a decent job of repairing the sidewalks. Near each streetcar stop, the entire sidewalk is being redone.

 

I don't know what the long-term plan is for streetscaping in the CBD. Much of the older tile sidewalks look very outdated.

 

Nearly the entire lengths of Elm and Race in OTR have now been repaved. 12th Street (Elm to Main) will be repaved starting next week. Allegedly, Walnut Street in the CBD will be repaved before the All Star Game.

 

Additionally, Race between 5th & 6th in the CBD is now being repaved because of Dunnhumby work being finished.

The owner of 299 E. Sixth, the Duttenhoffer building, formerly a P&G office, has applied for historic designation in order to apply for state historic tax credits with the hopes of converting the building into a boutique hotel.

 

So many hotels!!! Why not more apartments?

Yeah I'm hoping this doesn't become another hotel and we start getting some larger residential conversions.

The Duttenhoffer Building was built in 1916 for the Val Duttenhofer Sons Company, a shoe manufacturer: http://urbanup.net/cities/ohio/cincinnati-ohio/downtown/duttenhofer-building/

Loft-style apartments coming Downtown on Race Street

 

Edgewood-based Ashley Commercial Group expects to begin work this summer to redevelop the underutilized Merchants Building at 32 W. Sixth St. to feature 62 apartments and retail space.

Unfortunately it sounds like it will happen only if they are given state historic tax credits this round.

Unfortunately it sounds like it will happen only if they are given state historic tax credits this round.

 

They did the Federal Reserve building with historic tax credits, so I'm sure they put together a good application... but it sounds like they're willing/ready to do this project even if they don't get the state historic tax credits. The location and building seem like a no-brainer, so I really hope they move forward with this project regardless of whether they get the State credits. 

But... But... where will I PARK?

Unfortunately it sounds like it will happen only if they are given state historic tax credits this round.

 

They did the Federal Reserve building with historic tax credits, so I'm sure they put together a good application... but it sounds like they're willing/ready to do this project even if they don't get the state historic tax credits. The location and building seem like a no-brainer, so I really hope they move forward with this project regardless of whether they get the State credits.

 

I hope you are right. That is a great location with Dun Humby (84.51) right across the street.  But bank financing may be dependent upon them securing the tax credits. Or they could off set that with their own equity if they do not get the credits but may be too much of a risk in their eyes to use a lot of their own cash.

I wonder why Western & Southern Financial Group sold the building? They originally came out and said they were going to do the apartments there.

Eagle Realty looking to raise cash for their planned Lytle Park projects? We know last year they announced the sale of minority shares in Queen City Square.

^That's what I'm thinking as well. I think it's no secret they're gearing up for some major projects around Lytle Park and appeared to be liquidating as much as possible to raise funds for those projects. Based on the timeline they've stated they want to take around Lytle it's not surprising. They seem to be interested in starting a handful of projects over the next couple of years.

That is what I was thinking but 10 million for the total project doesn't seem like a lot of money for a company of their size. I'm sure they have a pretty good idea of what they plan on doing in lytle park and have known for a few years what that plan is. Why would they announce they were doing the apartments less then a year ago and then just sell the building? what changed?

 

When can a company expect to see a positive return on an apartment project of this size?

When can a company expect to see a positive return on an apartment project of this size?

Well if you have the numbers then you can do the math.  Typically it's in the 8-15 year range with a very strong project closer to 5 and a bad project out at 20 years.  There is a whole world of investors who buy 15 year-old complexes with either the intent to ride them into the ground or to renovate and rebrand.  There is all kinds of jargon exclusive to this investment world and a lot of people make more money on old properties that they barely maintain as opposed to glamorous new construction. 

 

In a super-hot market, developers will tend to do condos since they can presell an entire project before the first tenant moves in.  That's what happened 10 years ago in insane markets like Miami and Toronto where tons of dirty overseas money sought a safe haven in American and Canadian real estate. 

 

 

If this is a 10 million dollar project, this would be the math:

 

$10,000,000.00 / 62 apartments = $161,290.32 avg. per apartment / 15 years = $10,752.69 / 12 months per year = $896.06 or $900.00.

 

$900.00 average per unit over 15 years and they will re-coup costs.  In all reality they will also have retail but that may end up paying for the interest off the bank loans and the maintenance of the apartments.  The bank will set how much they want to make on the loan and the investors then will decide if it is a 15 year investment or if the market is ready for $900 per month rent rates.

 

If they get a $1,000,000.00 tax break, to save writing out all the math, it would be closer to $810.00 per month over 15 years to re-coup their investment which they may feel is a lot more feasible to fully rent out and even go higher at $900.00 to make their investment back quicker, or about 13.5 years.

If this is a 10 million dollar project, this would be the math:

 

$10,000,000.00 / 62 apartments = $161,290.32 avg. per apartment / 15 years = $10,752.69 / 12 months per year = $896.06 or $900.00.

 

$900.00 average per unit over 15 years and they will re-coup costs.  In all reality they will also have retail but that may end up paying for the interest off the bank loans and the maintenance of the apartments.  The bank will set how much they want to make on the loan and the investors then will decide if it is a 15 year investment or if the market is ready for $900 per month rent rates.

 

If they get a $1,000,000.00 tax break, to save writing out all the math, it would be closer to $810.00 per month over 15 years to re-coup their investment which they may feel is a lot more feasible to fully rent out and even go higher at $900.00 to make their investment back quicker, or about 13.5 years.

 

When renting apartments an investor (and/or a lender) assumes 10 months of occupancy per year per unit.  This contingency accounts for rent that is not collected, slow turnovers (i.e. tenant signs lease and pays deposit but never moves in and then there's a 2-3 month delay in getting another tenant), some repairs, etc.   

 

There is also the fee to the management company which varies depending on the characteristics of the building and the scale of the management agreed to.  That fee is somewhere in the neighborhood of $1,000/yr per unit. 

 

 

If this is a 10 million dollar project, this would be the math:

 

$10,000,000.00 / 62 apartments = $161,290.32 avg. per apartment / 15 years = $10,752.69 / 12 months per year = $896.06 or $900.00.

 

$900.00 average per unit over 15 years and they will re-coup costs.  In all reality they will also have retail but that may end up paying for the interest off the bank loans and the maintenance of the apartments.  The bank will set how much they want to make on the loan and the investors then will decide if it is a 15 year investment or if the market is ready for $900 per month rent rates.

 

If they get a $1,000,000.00 tax break, to save writing out all the math, it would be closer to $810.00 per month over 15 years to re-coup their investment which they may feel is a lot more feasible to fully rent out and even go higher at $900.00 to make their investment back quicker, or about 13.5 years.

 

When renting apartments an investor (and/or a lender) assumes 10 months of occupancy per year per unit.  This contingency accounts for rent that is not collected, slow turnovers (i.e. tenant signs lease and pays deposit but never moves in and then there's a 2-3 month delay in getting another tenant), some repairs, etc.   

 

There is also the fee to the management company which varies depending on the characteristics of the building and the scale of the management agreed to.  That fee is somewhere in the neighborhood of $1,000/yr per unit.

 

So basically, if this apartment was feasible without tax credits, the rent will have to be high.  Otherwise it is a risk that you won't be able to raise rents higher on the margin year over year, and not get the return you are looking for.  What does the Banks rent for?  Those are up in the $1,200 - $1,400 range for one bedroom aren't they?

Yeah when it opened I remember the cheapest apartment at The Banks being around $950/mo.  There were some renting for over $2,000/mo.  I had a coworker who took over his aunt's lease in one of the $2,400 units but was only paying her half of the rent so his aunt was eating $1,200/mo. 

 

Commercial lending works a lot differently than conventional mortgage lending.  You can get a conventional 30-year loan w/20%~ down for up to 4 units but above 5 units it's a commercial loan.  Commercial loans usually require a higher down payment and the term is usually shorter, usually around 20 years. 

 

The big advantage of large multi-family buildings (say a 20-unit apartment) versus buying 20 houses is that the repairs are usually much lower by volume (i.e. a new roof on a 20-unit building might cost as much as 5 home roofs) and the landscaping costs of a single apartment building are also much lower than that of 20 individual homes.  But the advantage of building a portfolio of single-family homes is that you can diversify across neighborhoods and housing types (just like diversifying a stock portfolio) and also you can sell them off one-by-one if need be, whereas you can't sell off part of a 20-unit apartment building.  Except you actually can if you own a share of a multifamily building as part of an investment organized by a hedge fund or simply a group of fellow small-time investors.