CLEVELAND — A vacant factory at the heart of Cleveland’s push to bring jobs back to the East Side. Another downtown Cleveland office tower is earmarked for a partial residential overhaul. The former Quaker Oats grain silos in Akron. And a cluster of long-vacant buildings in Massillon.
Those are a few of the Northeast Ohio properties poised for revival thanks to a round of competitive state historic tax credits awarded Wednesday. Thirteen projects in News 5’s coverage area collectively won $43.6 million in credits, which help developers fill financing gaps and attract investors to challenging preservation deals.
Across the state, the Ohio Department of Development pledged $86.2 million in tax credits to 37 historic rehabilitation projects this week. The department awards credits twice a year. Property owners don’t receive any money until their projects are complete.
In Cleveland, the Site Readiness for Good Jobs Fund is celebrating a big win, landing $2.56 million in credits to reimagine the old Wellman-Seaver-Morgan Co. complex at 7000 Central Ave. The property was the nonprofit site fund’s first major purchase in 2024 and is a linchpin for a public-private push to replace industrial blight with new businesses and jobs.
RELATED: Cleveland's site fund buys huge factory on the city's East Side
Built in 1901, the plant hammered out massive equipment for steel mills. Wellman-Seaver-Morgan also built the Hulett unloaders, which lifted iron ore off Lake Erie freighters. Now the building, long empty and filled with graffiti, is the centerpiece of an emerging plan for a new business district called the Midline, tracing railroad tracks across the East Side.
RELATED: Cleveland unveils major industrial revival push on the East Side. They're calling it the Midline.
Brad Whitehead, the site fund’s managing director, described the complex as “the crown jewel of the Midline and a key catalyst for the broader transformation of 350 acres along this historic corridor.” In a written statement, he said a redevelopment will preserve a key piece of the city’s industrial history and help revitalize the surrounding neighborhood.
The site fund’s tax credit application describes a roughly $26 million project that will prime the building for a new manufacturing use. The identity of that tenant was redacted by the state in a copy of the application obtained by News 5 through a public records request.
"We look forward to sharing additional announcements in the coming weeks as momentum continues to build around this important project and its role in the future of Cleveland’s growth,” Whitehead said.
The city of Cleveland launched the site fund in 2023, seeding the organization with $50 million in federal pandemic-recovery money. The Cleveland Foundation is managing an endowment for the fund, which has now raised $30 million from philanthropic and private sources.
The Wellman family — relatives of one of the founders of Wellman-Seaver-Morgan — recently donated $10 million to the initiative.
Here are the other Northeast Ohio projects that won state tax credits Wednesday:
Quaker Square, Akron
A group of local developers is working to turn the vacant Quaker Oats silos into a roughly 160-room hotel, apartments and public entertainment spaces. The old mill, which once employed more than 1,000 workers, has been sitting vacant for several years.
RELATED: Quaker Square renderings give peek into the future
The property has lived several lives, starting out as manufacturing, then evolving into a retail and office complex, followed by a hotel, followed by offices and dorm rooms for the University of Akron. The current owners bought the silos from the university last year.
The planned makeover is a roughly $40 million project, according to the group’s tax credit application. The state announced a $5 million tax credit for the deal.
First National Bank Tower, Akron
This 28-story office tower — the tallest building in downtown Akron — will become a mixed-use project, with 200 apartments and fresh commercial spaces. The building dates to 1931 and has housed a procession of banks over the years.
Huntington Bank owns the property but is poised to sell it to a local investor behind the redevelopment plans. The $68 million project won $4.55 million in tax credits.
1100 Superior Ave., Cleveland
A mixed-use overhaul of a downtown office building won $5 million in tax credits for a plan that involves filling vacant floors with 176 apartments.
The 21-story tower, once called the Diamond Shamrock Building, sits in the Erieview Historic District. An affiliate of New Hampshire-based Brady Sullivan Properties bought the building from a lender last year, after the previous landlord handed over the keys.
The redevelopment project has a potential price tag of $52 million, according to the state tax credit application.
Samsel Building, Cleveland
This historic maritime building in the Flats has been the subject of redevelopment talks for years. Now it’s poised to become apartments, with first-floor commercial space.
The oldest part of the complex dates to the late 1800s, with a warehouse expansion added in 1916 or 1917. Samsel Supply Co. occupied the complex for decades but closed in 2024. The owners of the maritime, construction and industrial supply business had already sold off the building, along with several other nearby properties along Old River Road.
The residential overhaul, a nearly $52 million project, won a $5 million tax credit.
Huron-Ninth, Cleveland
This $19.5 million project will restore two neighboring Gateway District buildings, filling the empty upper floors with apartments.
The Clevelander Bar & Grill occupies the first floor of one of the buildings at 834 Huron Road. The adjacent building, at 840-852 Huron Road, is empty. It served as office space for the Knights of Columbus until last year.
The project won almost $1.8 million in state tax credits.
Peter J. Peters Building, Cleveland
This modest structure, at 2621 Lorain Ave. in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood, was built in 1866. The original owner lived and worked there until 1887, running a boot and shoe business, according to a tax credit application submitted to the state.
Over the years, the property has housed offices, a restaurant and an art gallery.
Now a $2.1 million overhaul is in the works to spruce up the storefront, renovate three apartments upstairs and expand the building, with an addition on the back. The state awarded $400,000 in tax credits for the project.
Schaefer Wagon Co., Cleveland
A former wagon-manufacturing building will be transformed for an “arts-focused retail tenant,” according to the Ohio Department of Development. The property, at 4166-80 Lorain Ave., has been used by automotive businesses and manufacturers over the years.
The $4 million project won $400,000 in state tax credits.
Tudor Arms, Cleveland
This project will revamp underused spaces at the Tudor Arms Hotel, a DoubleTree hotel that opened in 2011 near University Circle.
The building started its life as a private club. It later morphed into a hotel, became a dorm for Case Western Reserve University and reemerged as a training hub and housing for the Cleveland Job Corps Center.
The upcoming renovations will add a handful of rooms and new amenity space to a vacant floor of the building and refresh the finishes throughout the hotel. The project won $3.35 million in tax credits.
Downtown Forward, Mansfield
A redevelopment plan for 14 historic buildings in downtown Mansfield will revive empty space as 102 apartments, with retail downstairs. The buildings, many of them on Main Street, once housed an Eagles lodge, a furniture store and manufacturing facilities.
RELATED: Housing development coming to Mansfield
The project is led by Windsor Development and the Richland County Foundation.
The $50 million project won a $5 million tax credit award.
Renkert Building, Canton
This empty Canton office tower has won — and lost — state historic tax credits in previous rounds. Now the state is moving forward with a nearly $9.8 million award for a long-planned project to convert the property into a 111-room hotel and restaurants.
The redevelopment has an estimated cost of $53 million.
IOOF Building, Alliance
A $1.15 million project will restore this building at 144 E. Main St., preparing it for retail and office tenants. The building dates to the early 1900s. It was constructed for the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, a fraternal society.
The renovation plans won $400,000 in tax credits.
REA Depot, Akron
A $3.2 million renovation will help this historic building at 120 E. Mill St. continue serving as a conference and banquet venue. The project won $400,000 in tax credits.
Michelle Jarboe is the business growth and development reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow her on X @MJarboe or email her at Michelle.Jarboe@wews.com.
