Old Mansion in Ohio City to Be Revived as Apartments

Stan Bullard, Crain's

Plans by Dalad Group of Independence to restore the Cook-Bousfield mansion, a relic from Franklin Boulevard's past as a wealthy neighborhood, as well as two early 20th-century apartment buildings in Ohio City to new rental residential use are starting to firm up.

The mansion at 3105 Franklin is slated to become seven units, and the adjoining apartment buildings 31 units, in the proposed $10 million project. The project will seek federal historic tax credit approval. It already has received an allocation of Ohio State Historic Preservation Tax Credits.

The Cleveland Landmarks Commission, at its meeting on Thursday, Aug. 26, gave approval to conceptual designs of the plan, with several members saying they can't wait to get a look at final plans.

Andrew Iarussi, Dalad president of construction and development, said in an interview on Friday, Aug. 27, that the developer hopes to bring the project back as soon as next month to seek final approvals by Landmarks and the Cleveland City Planning Commission.

Contingent on closing financing for the project, construction may begin in early 2022. However, Iarussi said, some heavy lifting already is underway, as Dalad has crews cleaning up the interior of the buildings.

That included removing corridors that had been added to connect the buildings over the years. In its last iteration, the property was Vantage Place, a residential assisted-living center for people with mental illness that closed in 2019 after changes in federal programs that funded it made continued operation a losing proposition.

"It's in tough shape," is the way Iarussi described the condition of the property to the Landmarks Commission. "Several windows in the buildings have been bricked-in. We'll reopen them."

About half the crown molding in rooms inside the Victorian-era mansion will have to be repaired or replaced, he said. The plans call for repairing brick and stone exteriors of the building.

Adrienne Bailey, a commission member, asked if the plans call for retaining multiple chimneys on the buildings. All the chimneys won't be needed for the redo.

Iarussi said they will, as they contribute to the historic character of the properties.

Removing most of the connectors between the buildings also increases the amount of green space the nearly 1-acre site will provide. Dalad plans a main courtyard and several green spaces on the site.

That explains the tentative name of the complex: "Franklin Yards."

Bob Strickland, a commission member, remarked, "This is a fantastic project. It's a wonderful assembly of buildings in a great neighborhood."

Dalad hopes to be able to offer rents for middle-income working people, lower than new luxury apartment buildings constructed nearby. That is adding another wrinkle to the proposed financing plan. Iarussi said Dalad is looking for an additional funding source that would allow it to subsidize rents, perhaps with a city loan, he said, without going for federal low-income housing tax credits. For instance, a two-bedroom suite might have a market rent of $2,000 monthly, but the developer hopes to find support to lower the cost.

Iarussi said Dalad is not pursuing a mid-priced rent range because it is worried about an oversupply of new apartments in the neighborhood.

"That's from the feedback of the neighborhood," Iarussi said, as well as city officials and Ohio City Inc., the local development corporation.

It's the second historic adaptive reuse for Dalad in Ohio City. Last year, it completed Tinnerman Lofts, which converted a century-old factory to apartments near Fulton Road and Lorain Avenue, in addition to multiple projects downtown.