A nearly empty 1925 office tower in downtown Cincinnati is on track to become apartments, with a rare mix of affordable and market-rate units in the heart of the business district.
Cincinnati City Council voted unanimously Wednesday, Oct. 14, to approve $2.9 million from the Downtown/Over-the-Rhine East TIF fund for Urban Sites' conversion of 530 Walnut Street, WVXU reported. The 10-story building, commonly called the Atlas Building, was once home to Atlas Bank.
The $22.8 million project will create 67 apartments and commercial space, including longtime ground-floor tenant Urbana Coffee. The project has also secured $5 million in competitive Ohio Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits.
What the city documents show
The city's legislation and its supporting documents fill in the details. According to the administration's transmittal, the building is 93% vacant. Its only tenants are Urbana Cafe on the ground floor and Donovan Electric, which leases 3,166 square feet on the second floor.
The project outline breaks down the $22.8 million budget this way:
- About $14.4 million in hard construction costs.
- $2.2 million in acquisition.
- About $4.8 million in design and soft costs.
Private financing of about $7.4 million and roughly $11.4 million in developer equity cover most of it. The city's $2.9 million goes only toward hard construction costs on the residential side. The outline also lists a 15-year commercial property tax abatement among the project's other incentives.
Plans call for about 63,000 square feet of residential space in studio and one-bedroom apartments, with a fitness room and in-unit laundry. The city's summary lists about 12,000 square feet of commercial space, though the ordinance itself describes about 3,150 square feet.
Under the funding agreement, 12 apartments will be set aside for households earning up to 60% of area median income and 22 for households earning up to 80%. That's 34 of the 67 units, or about half. WVXU reported that works out to rents affordable for a single person earning about $46,200 to $61,550 a year. The rest will rent at market rates. The city's outline says a typical one-bedroom there would be affordable to households earning about $92,000 to $112,000. For comparison, the 2026 median family income for the Cincinnati metro is $109,900.
The building will be renovated to state and federal historic preservation standards. City documents say the developer plans to use both state and federal historic tax credits.
Who's building it
The city's transmittal describes Urban Sites as both "Developer and Contractor." It calls the company a development, property management and construction services firm with more than 25 years of experience, best known for its work in Over-the-Rhine and along the historic Woodburn Corridor in East Walnut Hills. An affiliate, 530 Walnut LLC, will own and run the property.
The funding agreement sets a firm schedule. The developer has to get building permits and start construction within six months of the agreement's effective date, and finish, with certificates of occupancy, within 24 months. The city can grant extensions of up to 12 months. The project outline estimates 108 construction positions with about $6.6 million in construction payroll.
"The goal of the project is to bring mixed-income housing to the Central Business District, a vibrant urban area that is lacking attainable, mixed-income options for the community," the city administration's packet says. The administration asked council to pass it as an emergency ordinance, saying the project would not proceed without the city's support.
As WVXU has noted, non-market-rate housing in the central business district is rare.
Why it matters for Contractors
Office-to-residential conversions are some of the most complicated jobs in commercial construction, and this one adds historic tax credit standards on top. Turning a 1925 office tower into 67 apartments means new plumbing risers, electrical distribution, HVAC for each unit, demising walls, fire protection and in-unit laundry, all done to historic preservation rules. Urban Sites is handling construction itself, so subcontractors in mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection, drywall, flooring, millwork and historic window and masonry restoration should contact the company directly. With 108 estimated construction positions and a 24-month deadline, this is a solid downtown job over the next two years. If it works, it could be a model for other empty office buildings in the city.