American Can Company Revitalization

Everyday I pass the shell of what was once the American Can Company building. It is an enormous space - probably 6 stories, if not more and wall to ceiling windows (or at least, at one time windows). It could be an awesome space for lofts, galleries, etc and thankfully there are some builders out there that saw the opportunity for development and bought the building. Per the Business Courier, "The $22 million mixed-use pro­ject would bring 96 apartments and 30,000 square feet of commercial space to the empty shell near the corner of Hamilton Avenue and Blue Rock Road. The building once housed a factory that made machines that made aluminum cans. It’s been mostly vacant since the 1950s. "

Give Back Cincinnati did a neighborhood immersion in Northside a few months ago, and got a tour of this building. It needs some environmental remediation - there's some chemicals that have leached into the floor/surrounding soil - but the structure is still solid and very much the kind of layout that would appeal to a wide variety of buyers. Soapbox Cincy wrote an article about Veep Joe Biden's visit there this week, and i think there is a good amount of inertia behind this project to get it off the ground. If I'm in the market when these lofts get finished, i might be a buyer myself!

More info can be found:
http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/related_content.html?topic=American%20Can

Vice President Joe Biden highlights importance of stimulus with American Can Factory rehab project
Soapbox, 7/14/2009 Writer: Randy Simes
http://www.soapboxmedia.com
The prominent American Can Factory sits along the Interstate 75 corridor and towers over its surrounding environs. The behemoth has been recently gutted in preparation for an envisioned rehabilitation project.

The $22 million project would inject 96 new apartments and 30,000 square feet of commercial space into the eclectic Northside neighborhood. The rehabilitation would also rid the area of a vacant building that has for some time held the promise of not much more.

So far the developers of the project, Bloomfield, Schon & Partners, have collected hundreds of thousands of dollars in the form of loans and grants from the city and state alike, and millions more from various tax credits.

The developers and city have been hopeful that federal stimulus dollars to the tune of $1.6 million could be used to help jump start the project and the estimated 200 to 300 construction jobs and 35 to 45 permanent jobs that would come with the project.

Vice President Joe Biden came to Cincinnati and spoke outside of the American Can Factory in Northside to highlight the importance of the stimulus and how it can positively impact projects such as this.

Vice President Biden spoke to the crowd of several hundred gathered at the site to hear about the $4 billion the tri-state region and Ohio are projected to receive from the stimulus package. He emphasized that time and patience are needed before the economic impacts of the federal money would be felt.

The $1.6 million infusion for the American Can Factory project will help get the project moving once more as a tentative commitment from a lender had been reached pending the approval of the stimulus loan.

In addition to the hundreds of new residents the project will house, rumors have been circulating that Cincinnati's favorite restauranteur, chef Jean-Robert de Cavel and current Chef In Residence at the Midwest Culinary Institute might have an interest in the space.

With this announcement city leaders and project developers are hopeful that the project can begin immediately with construction starting before the end of this summer.