Cincinnati Office-to-Apartments Conversion Underway

$40 million suburban Cincinnati office-to-apartments conversion underway bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2022/02/01/merchant-street-redevelopment.html

The office buildings at 134 and 144 Merchant St. in Springdale are planned to be converted to apartments as part of a $40 million redevelopment plan.

Vandercar Holdings/Elevar Design Group

By Tom Demeropolis – Senior staff reporter, Cincinnati Business Courier Feb 1, 2022, 12:41pm EST The first large-scale conversion of suburban office buildings into apartments in Greater Cincinnati is underway.

Local real estate developers are working to convert 134 and 144 Merchant St. in Springdale into 127 apartments, as well as build an additional 97 townhomes on a portion of the buildings’ parking lots. The total investment for the project is expected to be about $40 million.

Vandercar Holdings LLC is the lead developer for the project, along with WP Land Co. LLC and NorthPointe Group. Their limited liability company, Trinity Square Holdings LLC, purchased the property in the middle of December for more than $1.15 million, according to property records.

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Steve Dragon, director of development at Vandercar Holdings, said interior demolition is underway and site work has started on the redevelopment project.

“Our hope is that it puts this property, which has been vacant for nearly a decade, back into productive use and helps stabilize the nearby office projects as well,” Dragon told me.

Trez Capital, a private real estate lender, funded a more than $37.3 million construction loan for the Merchant Street project. Brett Forman, executive managing director in the eastern U.S. for Trez Capital, and Scott Mehlman, vice president of origination, originated the loan for the developers.

“Demand for multifamily in suburban Cincinnati is strong, while the office market has been sluggish,” Forman said in a news release. “This redevelopment will add much-needed multifamily product to the area and enhance the broader community and tax base.”

The Warren County Port Authority also is investing about $8 million into the project. The city of Springdale has been a key partner on the redevelopment project.

“We would not have been able to do this without their support,” Dragon said.

The development will provide new residential options, which Springdale has not seen much of over the last 30 years, Dragon said.

“This will continue to help Springdale transition from its previous economic base to a richer mix of uses in the city,” he said. “We hope this project can be a catalyst to bring more redevelopment opportunity to the area, as well as stabilize the existing product that’s already there.”

The apartments will have large floor plans, many with in-unit work-at-home or den spaces.

Amenities in the apartments will include granite counters, stainless steel appliances, fitness facilities, a clubroom, and outdoor grilling and gathering areas. The buildings will include under-building parking spaces. There also are plans for a rooftop amenity area for residents to enjoy.

While the conversion of downtown office towers to apartments has been going on in Cincinnati for years, and continues today, this project is unique because it is the first conversion of office space to apartments at this scale.

Forman said he expects to additional office-to-apartment conversions as older office buildings become obsolete.

Manning Contracting LLC is handling all portions of the project’s construction. Elevar Design Group has been working on the designs for the redevelopment of 134 and 144 Merchant St.

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Trez Capital provides short-term debt and equity financing typically between six and 36 months in term, up to $100 million in loan value. The company was on pace to originate about $2 billion in loans by the end of 2021.

At this point, the project still does not have a finalized name. Dragon said the plan is to have some of the first townhome units available for lease by mid-summer of this year, in July or August. The first apartments in the redeveloped office buildings are expected to be available in the first quarter of 2023, with continued build-out through the rest of that year.

The entire project is expected to be finished by the end of 2023.

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