“We don’t have that many pre-World War II properties left in Springfield, and this building is on a core block and is 50,000 square feet,” said John Landess, executive director of the Turner Foundation, which is overseeing the project. “We wanted to save some of our history.”
The approximately $32 million project couples preservation with modernization. It’s the first in the nation to combine newly built modular housing with historical renovation. The Wren Building, once a department store, has been vacant since the late 1980s and is on the National Register of Historic Places.
It’s also the first large-scale apartment development project in downtown Springfield.
“I’ve had people tell me for years that if we build something downtown that has an elevator, I’d like to move in,” Landess said, adding that his experience indicates the commercial space also will be a hot commodity. “We always have people looking for business space downtown.”
Ground currently is being dug for a basement garage that will be located beneath the multi-use development. Apartments will range in size from 450 square feet to more than 1,000 square feet. Rental rates, while still being finalized, likely will range from $1,100 to $2,300. Some amenities, such as a gathering area and workout facility, also will be included.
Adding market-rate housing is key to revitalizing downtown Springfield, Landess said.
“You have to have people living downtown to bring it to life,” he said. “New retail and restaurants going in does nothing but add to the viability of all businesses downtown.”
City leaders looked to such Ohio cities as Hamilton, Canton and Dayton as models. Data from those and other cities, like Columbus, supports the strength of downtown housing.
The downtown residential population in Columbus continues to grow, according to the State of Downtown Columbus Year-End 2024 report, which says, “(With) 1,475 units under construction, it shows no signs of slowing down. Apartment occupancy remains high at 94.5%, allowing downtown apartments to command higher rents.”
The same is true in Springfield’s other neighboring city, with the Downtown Dayton Partnership reporting its downtown housing options “consistently have been more than 90% occupied” for the past several years, with more options regularly being added to the market.
“The developers have worked through the tier one and tier two cities,” Landess said. “Now they’re looking at tier three cities like Springfield.”
The Turner Foundation is working with Connect Real Estate in Columbus, which is the contractor for the project.
The modular portion of the building, made of rolled steel, will be constructed at the company’s manufacturing facility in Columbus. Once complete, it will be brought to the site in Springfield.
“When a unit leaves our facility, it’s been fully inspected by the state of Ohio, so it’s just a matter of putting it in place and finishing where the utilities are being hooked into the unit,” said Bob Lamb, executive vice president of development for Connect Real Estate.
Advantages of modular housing include better quality control, no exposure to the environment and speed, Lamb said. While a similar project traditionally constructed with wood frame would take up to two years to complete, modular construction allows for completion in approximately 14 months.
Between Connect’s manufacturing site and the historical renovation, the project will create more than 200 jobs, Lamb said, adding all the company’s subcontractors are based in Ohio. The company has completed almost 20 historical renovation projects in Columbus alone.
The Wren Building redevelopment also is moving forward now after it received $4.5 million in historic preservation tax credits in March 2023 from the state, along with funding through Ohio’s Transformational Mixed-Use Development Program.
Yet it took a real team approach to get this long-awaited project over the finish line, Landess said.
Support came from the Springfield City Commission, Greater Springfield Partnership, springForward, Ohio Department of Development, Jobs Ohio and the Dayton Development Coalition.
“Without the support of each of these people and organizations, we truly would not have been able to finalize our capital stack,” Landess said.
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