CENTRE CITY BUILDING TEAM HAD PROGRESS REPORT DUE
A group that wants to redevelop a high-rise office building in a prominent part of downtown Dayton had until the end of Friday to provide evidence to the state it is making progress on the project.
The new owner of the Centre City building, 40 S. Main St., was awarded $5 million in state historic preservation tax credits in December 2016.
The ownership group Centre City Partners at the time said it would spend about $46 million to transform the 21-story building into market-rate apartments, ground-floor commercial space and other amenities.
But groups that have been awarded state historic tax credits are required to provide to the state “sufficient evidence of reviewable progress” about their projects 18 months after their applications are approved.
The Ohio Development Services Agency earlier this month sent amessage to the developers saying they had until Friday to provide proof of ownership or leaseholder interest and evidence they’ve secured financing for the project.
Failure to provide that information could result in the state rescinding the tax credits.
The Fire Blocks in downtown Dayton also faced a similar deadline after failing to get to work on its rehab project.
Centre City Partners was incorporated by Virginia-based First Developers LLC. The developers are members of American Investor Immigration Funds LLC, based in Virginia.
American Investor Immigration Funds specializes in utilizing a federal investment program that puts foreign investors on the fast track to getting a green card if they fund U.S. business ventures that create jobs.
In 2017, the vice president of the group told this news outlet they had secured about $6.5 million in funding through the federal program for the building’s rehab.
Dayton development officials and leaders have said the Centre City building is in an important part of the city, because it is just across the street from the Levitt Pavilion Dayton.
The new state-of-the-art music venue is under construction and begins hosting concerts next month.
Located in the heart of downtown, the Centre City building’s redevelopment also was supposed to build momentum, given it is also right across Main Street fromthe Dayton Arcade.
City officials and development officials envision turning South Main Street into a thriving area with retail, pubs, eateries, sidewalk cafes and attractive streetscapes, reminiscent of Chicago’s ‘Magnificent Mile’ — North Michigan Avenue.