Repurposing old buildings to house a sustainable future
Look around and you’ll see plenty of vacant buildings. Can they be turned into housing? Adaptive reuse, as it’s known, is on the rebound and estimates say ninety-percent of real estate development in the next decade will involve adaptive reuse, or repurposing buildings for something other than their intended use. Most cases involve offices or hotels but factories, warehouses, malls, and schools are also undergoing transformations.
Adaptive reuse is on the rise
According to the international real estate brokerage firm CBRE, office to apartment conversions are on track to more than double nationally from 2023 to 2024, with Cincinnati remaining number two in the U.S.
“Specifically, Cincinnati is ideal for this because we have a lot of older buildings here. Something else that is conducive to this is that we have a lot of tax credit funds,” according to CBRE Senior Associate Marianne Taylor.
You can get more information about turning offices into apartments in this Brick by Brick episode.
Hotel conversions are also big for adaptive reuse, making up one-third of all new converted multifamily units, according to RentCafe.
Factories
A RentCafe analysis of Yardi Matrix data for Brick by Brick shows repurposing factories to apartments, created 25,000 units nationally from 2013-2023. In the Greater Cincinnati region, factories created more than 400 apartments in just three years.
The Delco, a former Delco factory and Mendelson’s Liquidation Outlet warehouse, is preparing to open dozens of new apartments in Dayton, across from the Dayton Dragon’s ballpark in the Water Street District. Brick by Brick’s Emiko Moore took a tour.
In 2020, RentCafe looked at the most popular conversions since the 1950s.
Factory 52
The United States Playing Card Co. closed its Norwood plant after more than 100 years and it’s been reimagined as an entertainment destination. The 20-acre site now includes another 13-acres with the addition of a plant next door. The factory’s former neighbor, Multi-Color, closed in 2023.
Brandon Rinear lives there. “I really like the area because of how they rebuilt everything around the factory. It’s kind of a bit of history in a way.”
Jacinta Roberson also calls Factory 52 home. She was out walking her dog. “It’s definitely cool. I think it’s nice now because on Sundays they have the game and all the breweries, and the restaurants and they have the dog park.”
The 300 apartments, shops, restaurants, and green space is preparing to expand.
PLK Developer Nick Lingenfelter told Brick by Brick, “We’re incredibly excited to enter the next chapter of Factory 52’s transformation, continuing to create a dynamic hub in Norwood.”
Plans call for an additional 400 apartments, a hotel, additional retail and a dedicated event lawn.
Malls
The global real estate company JLL reported in 2022 there were 1,150 malls in the U.S. and that number is headed down, with some saying as low as 150 malls by 2032.
Eleven hundred fifty malls sounds way too high to Carl Goertemoeller. For years he worked for what is now the mall ownership company, Simon Property Group, and then oversaw Macy’s real estate. Now as Executive Director of the UC Real Estate Center, he says, “We’re working our way toward 400-600 vibrant, active centers with high occupancy, strong foot traffic, etc.”
He does not consider Eastgate, Northgate and Tri-County Malls viable. Goertemoeller has been keeping track of their development plans and says part of the problem is there are so many owners, and they all have a seat at the table. This all takes time.
“You really haven’t seen wrecking balls starting to swing really at any of these locations just yet and that’s a function of the sheer amount of time it takes to bring a development plan to fruition,” he says.
It must make financial sense. Capital One Shopping reports 16-percent of empty malls reopen as mixed-use centers, 8-percent become warehouses, 7-percent become residential housing and 5-percent are distribution centers. Four percent are turned into community colleges or health facilities. And 25-percent of vacant malls reopen for other purposes.
Tri-County Mall
For years developers have been trying to decide what to do with Springdale’s Tri-County Mall. The latest plan is to knock it all down except for the two original parking garages and sell 22 separate parcels. The Cincinnati Enquirer reports Texas-based AV Acquisition will serve as the master developer for the 75-acre mixed-use project.
On its website, City Center Springdale says the project will include plus or minus 2,600 multifamily housing units in up to 20 residential buildings.
The Enquirer reports it could cost an estimated $8.9M to demolish the 1.3 million-square-foot-structure.
Next steps include approval from the city and allowing the community to review the plans.
Northgate Mall
There’s a growing amount of vacant space at Northgate Mall where Xscape Theatres has permanently closed. The largest stores have shut down, including Macy’s in 2020 and Sears which Colerain Township bought.
In September 2023 Administrator Jeff Weckbach said, “After that, we’ll have some decisions to make and sort of short-term vs long-term operating of the building. We’re going to continue to work with the owner of the existing mall and we’re going to work to kind of make the vision that’s been outlined a reality for the community.”
That could include a civic space, retail, multi-family and single-family homes.
Weckbach hopes this Sears deal spurs the next phase of the Northgate Mall development or leads to a “reinvigoration in that area.”
Eastgate Mall
There is a growing interest in communities trying to control development at area malls.
Union Township trustees in Clermont County hired a master planner, McGill Smith Punshon (MSP), to figure out the most economically viable option for the property while also giving the owners a seat at the table and listening to community ideas.
The 25-page master plan, called “Envision Eastgate,” has no certain time horizon, as reported by the Business Courier.
Trustee Michael Logue wants to set the bar high and told WVXU he envisions an entertainment district. “I could see ice hockey as a strong demand in Cincinnati. If you get enough sheets of ice, you could have tournaments. But you don’t just want to be stuck on one aspect. Something that opens up more broad for convention-type space, concert type-space.”
The Hull Property Group has acquired the middle — or “guts” — of Eastgate Mall and is now one of a dozen owners of the entire property. Kroger bought Sears and is building a Marketplace there.
Hull sued Kroger, claiming “existing covenants keep Kroger from demolishing the building.” A trial is set for June 17, 2025.
Forest Fair Mall
The owners of Forest Fair Mall want to turn it into an industrial park and retail complex, according to WCPO, but Butler County’s land bank doesn’t see a benefit to demolishing the structure on the 90-acre site and is refusing to pay for tearing it down.
“If there’s not going to be a benefit for Butler County and Butler County taxpayers, then I think there are options on the table, which may include directing the money to other projects in the county,” Butler County Treasurer Michael McNamara told WCPO. McNamara is also Chair of the Butler County land bank.
Since 2010 Forest Fair has changed hands at least four times.
Towne Mall
The City of Middletown paid $10M for Towne Mall this summer, as the Journal-News reports, “with an eye on having control of the redevelopment of the land leaders called a ‘critical gateway to the city.’”
Middletown has been negotiating with the mall’s owners for two years to buy it. The plan is to tear it down to make it shovel ready. The city hopes a nearby development, Renaissance Pointe will make the property more lucrative.
Malls turned into housing?
It’s unclear how much housing will be added locally to former mall properties and much of it isn’t conversion, but demolition. According to Carl Goertemoeller, “There are multiple projects (nationally) where the introduction of housing has been a huge success. It can happen. It can work. At the end of the day it’s got to make financial sense.”
Goertemoeller points to more metropolitan areas, suburban LA-Santa Ana where An Orange County Mall is being turned into thousands of new homes and senior housing. And Chicago’s old Orchard Mall includes apartments.
Goertemoeller says he has mixed emotions about whether a municipality should be in the real estate business, as in the case of Union Township in Clermont County, Colerain Township and Middletown.
Schools
Three percent of 2024 adaptive reuse projects nationally are schools.
Longfellow School
Excitement is building for a school transformation in Dayton. The former Longfellow school is seven connected buildings, built in the late 1800s. Developer Tim Forbess is turning them into housing. He says it’s nothing he could have ever built and wanted to preserve it.
“The ceilings in the 1882 building are almost 18 feet and with the copper tin ceilings and with 12-foot windows you just don’t find that grand type of construction and it really is so worthy to be bold enough to take these adaptive reuse projects and make them work,” he says.
Plans call for 126 units on the four-acre plot, which is in Dayton’s historic Grafton Hill neighborhood, across from Gem City Market. Forbess is still working out the financing. The market rate senior housing is quote “not exclusive but intentionally welcoming of LGBTQ individuals.”
Windsor Elementary and Bloom School
In a separate project in 2017, The Port of Greater Cincinnati worked with the city and the Walnut Hills Redevelopment Foundation to renovate the historic Windsor Elementary School. Built in 1888, it is now 41 market-rate apartments. The Port also plans to redevelop Bloom School in the West End. It’s near the office of developer Kai Lewars and he’s dreamed of the possibilities.
“They even have the original gym, pool, things of that sort that in today’s modern world could be very accommodating to a high-end spa, recreation, workout facility. The classrooms could be turned into condos or Airbnb, apartments (edit) even a restaurant. They have a nice upper terrace.”
But the middle housing developer says he hasn’t done any adaptive reuse projects yet and isn’t planning on it anytime soon.
A Bowling Alley?
There are some quirky adaptive reuse projects, including one in the Cincinnati suburb of College Hill. Brick by Brick’s Hernz Laguerre Jr. visited a former bowling alley that has been turned into apartments.
Limitations
Limitations for adaptive reuse largely relate to expense. Developers keep telling Brick by Brick it must make economic sense. However, with higher interest rates, the rising cost of materials and additional cost of borrowing money there are an increasing number of adaptive reuse projects where it does make sense to convert one thing to another.
Another limitation is whether the building can be transformed into something else. Will the physical structure work and will it pass EPA housing standards?
A group of architects from the international firm BDP created a list of the Top 10 Challenges of Adaptive Reuse:
- Environmental Design
- Implementing Technology
- Inclusive Design
- Culture and Fit Out
- Commercial Viability
- Planning Considerations
- Urban Regeneration
- Change of Use
- Heritage + Conservation
10. Protecting Acoustic Heritage
Results
Adaptive reuse projects are up 18-percent from 2022 to 2023 and much of it involves housing. In 2023 Cincinnati was number two nationally in the cities with the most converted apartments.
Downtown there are 11 building conversions underway, seven are offices and four are hotels. Four other projects are coming online, all downtown, according to CBRE.
In Dayton, The Delco is just one of several conversions around the ballpark. More are expected.
Of 135 mall redevelopments nationally, 54-percent include housing.
Empty schools are getting a second look. Longfellow is underway in Dayton and The Port is looking for developers for Bloom School in Cincinnati.
Looking ahead
The economic climate is good for conversion and there is plenty of space to do it, including an estimated one-billion square feet of obsolete retail in the U.S. And this doesn’t even take in the number of vacant factories, schools and warehouses.
Making areas more adaptive reuse friendly helps.
Forbes reports, “States such as Connecticut, Montana, Rhode Island, Oregon, Florida and Wisconsin have passed or are considering changes in laws to encourage adaptive reuse. New York has taken legislative steps to encourage more adaptive reuse.”
Ohio’s Governor has announced a building revitalization program, providing $67.3 million for the redevelopment of more than 1,000 properties within the state, including funds for demolition or possible conversion.
Adaptive reuse is becoming more common. The construction company Skanska is singing its praises. Sustainability Director Tolga Tutar says, “Adaptive reuse is almost always a better choice, but sometimes it’s technically not achievable. But I think renovating existing buildings as much as possible to make them more energy efficient so that they have lower operational carbon emissions will be the way to go.” Because “When you demolish a building and build a new one, then you release embedded carbon emissions to the atmosphere.”
Some estimates say reusing existing buildings can save up to 40-percent of emissions. And that’s important because nearly two-thirds of buildings that exist today will still exist in 2050, according to Gensler, a global architecture firm.
What do you think about converting offices, hotels, factories, warehouses, schools and malls as a solution to our current rental rates and housing supply shortage? We want to build community around context and solutions in our cities. Your feedback is very important to the effort, as we continue to dig deeper into the responses to some of our most pressing social issues, including the housing crisis. Click on the green button below to take a short survey to help reinforce and refine our work. Thank you.
Ann Thompson – Host, Producer
Over the last thirty years in Cincinnati, Ann Thompson has brought a wealth of knowledge and expertise to her reporting. She has reported and anchored for WVXU, WKRC, WCKY, WHIO-TV and Metro Networks and freelanced for NPR, CBS and ABC Radio. Her work has been recognized by the Associated Press and she has won awards from the Association of Women in Communications and the Alliance for Women in Media. She is a former News Director and Operations Manager. Ann has reported from India, Japan, South Korea, Germany and Belgium as part of fellowships. Ann thinks of the Brick by Brick project as “journalism for good.” She serves as host and producer. Ann lives in Anderson Township with her husband Scott. They have two boys. Jake graduated from the Air Force Academy in 2022 and Kurt attends West Point.
