The developers at CASTO are no stranger to historic restoration projects. They’ve converted everything from old shoe factories to abandoned schools into modern apartment buildings — but their next renovation challenge is unique, because it takes them out of the Columbus market and into Cincinnati.
Representatives at CASTO announced today that they’ve partnered with Cincinnati‐based Neyer Properties to redevelop The Baldwin, a 12-story factory in the Walnut Hills neighborhood that was originally constructed as a piano-making production facility. The building was constructed in the 1920s, and once fully renovated, will contain 190 one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments.
“CASTO has been part of the Cincinnati market for a long time on the retail side; so to expand into that market on the multifamily side was a logical progression for us,” stated Brent Sobczak, CASTO’s Director of Multifamily Development. “This particular project presented itself last fall and was very similar from a development standpoint to The Julian. That project gave us a lot of insight into the restoration and redevelopment process required for a historic building, and based on its success, The Baldwin project was very intriguing.”
Sobczak said that Cincinnati and Columbus have both similarities and uniquenesses when it comes to their residential apartment markets. Both cities have a lot of development activity in their Downtown areas and urban neighborhoods, but Cincinnati has a larger supply of historic buildings that present more opportunities for future redevelopment projects.
“Our primary focus is and continues to be Columbus,” said Sobczak. “However, we will continue to expand our footprint in Cincinnati as opportunities arise.”
Construction at The Baldwin is expected to start this week, with a completion planned for Spring 2017.
For more information, visit www.thebaldwin.com.
Photos provided by CASTO.