$40 Million Conversion of Suburban Offices to Apartments Planned

EXCLUSIVE: $40 million conversion of suburban offices to apartments planned bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2021/06/17/suburban-office-conversion-to-apartments.html

Enlarge 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 Jun 17, 2021, 11:31am EDT A pair of local real estate developers plan to convert two Greater Cincinnati suburban office buildings into a mix of apartments and townhomes.

Vandercar Holdings LLC and WP Land Co. LLC received unanimous approval last month from Springdale City Council for a zone change for the properties at 134 and 144 Merchant St. to convert the buildings to residential use, as well as unanimous approval for the preliminary development plan for the properties. Rob Smyjunas, CEO of Vandercar Holdings, said the conversion of the roughly 96,000-square-foot office buildings to residential is expected to be a total investment of $35 million to $40 million.

Smyjunas said he was attracted to the properties because they are on a beautiful site and the bones of the buildings are good. But with a high level of office vacancy in that submarket, he wanted to change the use for the buildings.

“We looked at it and said, ‘can we reinvent these buildings into new and modern residential apartments,’” Smyjunas told me.

Vandercar has the two office buildings under contract. The plan is to convert the existing office buildings into about 131 one- and two-bedroom apartments.

Enlarge The as-of-yet unnamed development will include green space and a walkable layout, with the townhome garages located in alleys.

Vandercar Holdings/Elevar Design Group The apartments would have large floor plans, many with in-unit work-at-home or den spaces.

Amenities in the apartments would include granite counters, stainless steel appliances, fitness facilities, a clubroom, and outdoor grilling and gathering areas. The buildings will include under-building parking spaces.

Smyjunas also said there are plans for a rooftop amenity area for residents to enjoy.

“The city council and the administration, along with the mayor, sees this project and others can enhance not only more business growth, but the quality of life in Springdale,” Smyjunas said.

He said Springdale has not seen new luxury apartment construction in more than 30 years.

Steve Dragon, director of development for Vandercar, is leading on the conversion portion of the project. WP Land Co. will lead the development of a new 97-unit townhome community that would be built on surplus parking areas on the 11-acre site. The townhomes will be three-story, three-bedroom floor plans in two- to five-unit buildings. Each townhome will provide a two-car garage.

The development will have a walkable layout with alley-loaded buildings and a variety of green spaces located along a pedestrian network of sidewalks and walking paths.

Enlarge The redevelopment will include 97 new townhomes built on portions of the properties surface parking lots.

Vandercar Holdings/Elevar Design Group While it is early to discuss anticipated rental ranges, Dragon told Springdale city council the monthly rent for apartments is expected to be about $1,100 for one-bedroom apartments, between $1,350 and $1,400 for two-bedroom apartments and in the $1,800 range.

Elevar Design Group has been working on the designs for the redevelopment of 134 and 144 Merchant St. Manning Contracting LLC has been selected as the general contractor for both components of the project. At this point, the developers are out for financing and are currently evaluating proposals.

Smyjunas said the plan is to start redevelopment of the project in September 2021. Dragon estimates it will take about two years to complete the project.