Two historic Downtown commercial buildings, along with Franklin Park Conservatory and the Great Southern Hotel and Theatre, are among the most recent Columbus recipients of more than $86 million in tax credits to help Ohio’s aging buildings flourish.
It’s the state’s 36th round of funding from the Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit program, projected to-date to leverage almost $11 billion in private development funding and federal tax credits directly through 742 projects to rehabilitate 997 historic buildings in 96 Ohio communities.
The most recent round includes 37 projects to help preserve 51 buildings, including these in Columbus:
Railroad Employees Building & Loan Co.
Address: 60 E. Broad St.Project Costs: $5.25 millionTax credit requests: $576,000.Description: The five-story Downtown building served the organization that provided loans to railroad employees seeking to build or purchase homes. The project includes adding commercial space onthe first floor and seven apartments on the upper floors.
Wyandotte Building
Address: 21 W. Broad St.Project Costs: $17.6 millionTax Credit Requests: $3.45 millionDescription: Built in 1898, this was Columbus’ first steel-frame skyscraper. The project will renovate the upper floors into office space while preserving the building’s historic character. The first floor will retain its commercial use.
Franklin Park Conservatory
Address: 1777 E. Broad St.Project Costs: $48.3 millionTax Credit Requests: $4.78 millionDescription: Completed in 1895, the Victorian glasshouse will be renovated to replace non-historic features with historically appropriate elements, adding accessibility improvements, upgrading mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems, and enhancing the outdoor terrace.
Great Southern Hotel and Theatre
Address: 310 S. High St.Project Cost: $29.5 millionTax credit requests: $2.9 million.Description: The 1896 building is one of Columbus’ few remaining 19th-century hotels. The repairs to windows, roof, exterior masonry, and updates to interior finishes and a new fire-suppressant system will help ensure the hotel continues serving guests for generations to come.
Other projects near central Ohio:
Downtown Forward – Mansfield Phase ILocation: Downtown Mansfield, including 14 buildings along North Diamond Street, North Main Street, East Temple Court and East 4th Street.Project Costs: $50.4 millionTax Credit Requests: $5 millionDescirption: Rehabilitation plans will retain first-floor commercial space while creating 102 residential units on upper floors, many of which have been vacant for decades.
Projects Elsewhere in Ohio: Akron, Alliance, Canton, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Hamilton, Marietta, Springfield, Toledo and Youngstown.
“These buildings honor the legacy of our communities and reflect the character that makes our state unique,” Gov. DeWine said in a prepared statement. “This program supports Ohio’s future by creating jobs, attracting new businesses, and revitalizing the areas that need it most.”
The Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit program is administered in partnership with the Ohio History Connection’s State Historic Preservation Office, which determines if a property qualifies as a historic building and that the rehabilitation plans comply with the U.S Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation.
Growth and development reporter Dean Narciso can be reached at dnarciso@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus landmarks awarded tax credits for historic preservation, upgrades
Reporting by Dean Narciso, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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By Dean Narciso, Columbus Dispatch | USA TODAY Network
