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ULI Cincinnati Receives a 2020 CLIMB Award
ULI Cincinnati is honored to receive a 2020 CLIMB Award and congratulates the other deserving recipients.
Preservation Awards 2020
November 21, 2020
Cincinnati Preservation Association (CPA) honored 11 local preservation projects for outstanding accomplishments. The awards were announced during CPA’s annual meeting which this year was held online on Sunday, November 15.
Included amongst the honorees were 9 of ULI Cincinnati’s 2020 Annual Sponsors: The Port, Bayer Becker, City of Cincinnati, LISC, Model Group, Cincinnati Development Fund, PNC Bank, Catalytic Fund of Northern Kentucky, and HGC Construction
Seven preservation projects were honored with the CPA Rehabilitation Award. One project was honored with an Adaptive Reuse Award, one with a Craftsmanship Award and one with an Education Award. The Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority was honored with a Special Merit Award for its work with two projects. Below are brief descriptions of the honorees.
Adaptive Reuse Award
Awarded to:
Kenton County Fiscal Court
&
Brandstetter Carroll Inc.
Turner Construction Company
THP Limited Inc.
Elevar Design Group
WSP
Kenton County Government Center: Covington’s iconic, castle-like Bavarian Brewery was founded in 1866 and brewed beer on West Twelfth Street for a hundred years. The National Register-listed brewery then was renovated as a multipurpose entertainment complex, but closed in 2006. The structure formerly containing Bavarian’s Brew and Mill Houses, built in 1911, was repurposed as part of the Kenton County Government Center, opening in 2019.
Rehabilitation Awards
Awarded to:
Price Hill Will
&
Bayer Becker
CDF/IFF
City of Cincinnati
City Studios Architecture
LISC
Model Group
The Port
Price Hill Masonic Lodge: A Neoclassical Revival icon, the lodge was built in 1912. Designed by Hannaford & Sons, the 21,000-square-foot temple was the home of the Price Hill Freemasons until 1989, when that group merged with a lodge in North Bend. The building then sat vacant for 30 years and suffered from neglect and vandalism. Renovation began in 2019 to transform the building into a community center, providing a new hub for Price Hill organizations.
Click here for a tour of the interior of this fantastic rehabilitation!
Awarded to:
Orleans Development
&
Vision Realty Group
Ashley Builders Group
Hub & Weber Architects
Orleans Development
Kent Lofts: A ten-million-dollar renovation using historic tax credits transformed a formerly vacant 20,000 square-foot factory into 66 living units, preserving the building’s industrial character and reflecting its history. The concrete and brick building was built in 1924 as National Colortype and was one of the largest in Bellevue.
Awarded to:
Madisonville Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation
&
City of Cincinnati
Cincinnati Development Fund
Dick Kazel, DDC Group
Jim Piriano
PNC Bank
Tom Winning, 1st National Bank of Germantown
The Metz Family
Dr. Charles Metz House: The imposing, mansard-roofed Metz House has been a neighborhood landmark since the mid-1800s. By the late 20th century, however, it was suffering from neglect. The Madisonville Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation (MCURC) worked to acquire and renovate it. The finished building houses space for small businesses while retaining its historic character.
Awarded to:
Neyer Holdings Corporation
&
Holland and Holland Plumbing
Kings Electric
Model Construction
New Republic Architecture
Applied Mech
Bayer Becker
CDF/IFF
Dalmation Fire Protection
Sixth Street Exchange: Formerly known as the Reakirt Building, this 52-unit, 10-story office tower built in 1923 is now known as the Sixth Street Exchange. Designed by Cincinnati architect Samuel S. Godley, the building is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and designated a Cincinnati Historic Landmark. The former office space has been renovated as micro-apartments with high-end contemporary design and finishes, varied floor plans and views of downtown.
Awarded to:
Orleans Development
&
Catalytic Fund of Northern Kentucky
Hub & Weber Architects
The Bradford Building: Located on Scott Boulevard in downtown Covington, the 15,000 square-foot Bradford Building apartments languished in vacancy for years. The Bradford has now been converted to five upscale condominiums with elegant staircases, high ceilings and large windows. The first-floor spaces are available for commercial tenants.
Want to see inside the Bradford Building? Check out this video.
Awarded to:
Jackson Investors 2019 LLC
&
Art Academy of Cincinnati, Joe Girandola, President
City Studios Architecture
Jackson Investors 2019 LLC
Rick Philips
Urban Sites, Developer
Urban Sites Construction
Mike Valencic
Jackson Lofts: This Over-the-Rhine rehabilitation project represents the successful collaboration between the Art Academy of Cincinnati, located across the street, and developer Urban Sites. It involved the rehabilitation of a five-story former industrial building, located at Twelfth and Jackson streets, as student lofts.
Awarded to:
Vision Hospitality Group
&
Campo Architects
HGC Construction
Kinley Hotel: Architects Elzner & Anderson designed this Commercial Style tower as office space in 1915. After years of decline, it has been thoughtfully adapted as Kinley Cincinnati Downtown, a Tribute Portfolio boutique hotel. The renovation preserved the building’s historic character while adding modern amenities. The interior uses a modern color palette of rich blues and warm golds and features a historical mural called “Allegro,” originally painted by award-winning artist Barron Krody for a series entitled Urban Walls: Cincinnati in 1971.
Want to see inside the Kinley Hotel? Check out this video.
Craftsmanship Award
Awarded to:
Scott T. Simpson and John Ruzsa
&
Craig Beachler
Danielle Bennignus
Daniel Castile
Ken Hughes
Suss Lofts Mural Restoration: Over-the-Rhine developers Craig Beachler and Scott T. Simpson were rewarded when they removed a dropped ceiling in a building they were renovating on Elm Street, only to find it covered with beautiful, late 19th century scenic murals. Some depicted pastoral scenes of rural Germany, while the others display stylized designs popular in the era. The murals were restored.
Education Award
Cincinnati Revealed: This year the Education award goes to Kevin McCormick for his extraordinary work with his Instagram at Cincinnati Revealed. McCormick has posted more than 1,700 photographs and stories of historic sites. His highly researched posts have attracted a following of almost 20,000 people. They often generate thoughtful discussions about architectural style, conditions or risks to historic buildings. And not infrequently comments of “I would love to live there.”
Special Merit Award
The Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority is being recognized for two stabilization projects.
Awarded to:
The Port
&
Structural Systems Repair Group
Advantage Group Engineers (Rubel House)
Rubel House Stabilization: Oscar T. Rubel commissioned architect Samuel Hannaford to design a Colonial Revival brick residence in North Avondale. The completed house remained in the Rubel family for more than forty years. The house was sold and sat vacant, slowly decaying. Suffering from masonry deterioration and porch collapse, the house, Hannaford’s only known example of the style, was at risk of demolition. North Avondale leaders saw the house’s potential, and the City and the Port intervened with emergency repairs and stabilization. The work went above and beyond mere repair work.
Awarded to:
The Port
&
Structural Systems Repair Group
1916 Freeman Avenue Stabilization: This Italianate brick townhouse in the Dayton Street Historic District was built for a German-American stained glass artisan and his family, who continued to live there after he passed away. By 2018, however, the façade of this handsome, but long-neglected, residence showed warning signs of masonry failure. Soon afterward, the upper-story brick was lying in the front yard, leaving the second story open to the elements. Fortunately the Port and Structural Systems Repair Group rose to the challenge of saving the house from demolition.