The 9

Developer: Geis Companies
Owner: Geis Properties LLC
Location: Cleveland

Geis Properties LLC received the 2015 Historic Development that Best Exemplifies Major Community Impact award for redeveloping three historic structures into a mixed-use facility in Cleveland. The development, The 9, provides mixed-use residential, retail, theater, dining, grocery and hotel space. 

The 9 consists of three historic structures spanning two city blocks in the heart of downtown Cleveland. The site includes the Cleveland Trust Tower, a 29-story, 400,000-square-foot brutalist office tower designed by Marcel Breuer as the headquarters for Cleveland Trust in 1971; the Cleveland Trust Rotunda, a 38,000-square-foot historic structure built in 1905 with a stained glass dome above a main floor and two mezzanine levels; and the 1010 Euclid Building, a 14-story, 120,000-square-foot office building built in 1910. Eric Brubaker, director of acquisitions at state tax credit investor Foss and Company Inc., said that at the time of development, the complex was vacant and dilapidated. 

Today, The 9 includes the Marriott Autograph Collection Hotel, 194 luxury rental apartments, a 30,000-square-foot Heinen's grocery store, restaurants, nightclubs, an indoor dog park, a 5,000-square-foot ballroom and 10,000 square feet of commercial office space. Brubaker says Heinen's is one of few full-service supermarkets in downtown Cleveland.

Brubaker also said that since opening, The 9 has had a positive effect on the local community. The development served as a major catalyst for other community developments in the surrounding area, including the renovation of 500,000 square feet of previously vacant buildings in a three-block radius, with several more developments planned in the near future. Brubaker says the development as also created 300 hospitality, food and beverage jobs. Additionally, The 9 employs green building and sustainability initiatives throughout the complex, including adopting a zero-waste recycling program, as well as using an Omega HRP water source heat pump.

"Impressive project in all respects: [the] major endeavor …  nicely restored and remodeled beautiful/classic structures … It created affordable and market-rate housing … [as well as[ a needed food store … construction jobs and … permanent jobs and related tax revenues, all with [an] impressive public/private capital stack, including federal and state HTC." – Michael Saad, Squires Sanders

Schmidt Artist Lofts

Developer: Dominium
Owner: Dominium
Location: St Paul, Minn.

Dominium received honorable mention for the 2015 Historic Development that Best Exemplifies Major Community Impact for using historic tax credits to transform a historic brewery into an affordable residential community for local artists in St. Paul, Minn. Schmidt Artist Lofts offers 260 low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) apartment units, with 234 of the units at 60 percent of the area median income (AMI) and 26 units at 50 percent of AMI.

Amanda Parsons, marketing coordinator at property owner Dominium, said Schmidt Artist Lofts has helped preserve the diverse and vibrant artistic community of St. Paul. Parsons said the development offers high-quality living and work space designed specifically for artist disciplines, including yoga/Pilates, dance, paint, pottery, play/performance and sound and media. The studios incorporate additional features such as state-of-the-art kilns, advanced acoustics, lighting capabilities, Wi-Fi, projectors and the latest in sound recording/mixing equipment. Schmidt Artist Lofts also includes common areas, such as a community center, lounge area and rooftop deck to facilitate networking among the artists.

"While offering housing to 260 people, the rehab seems to have revitalized the adjacent neighborhood and has brought the community into the project with its activities such as the farmer's market. Any rehab to 11 acres has to have major impact." – John Panno, Bank of America Merrill Lynch