K&D Group has shelled out $5.13 million to grab the long vacant Rockefeller Building at West Sixth Street and Superior Avenue, with plans to turn the 17 story 1905 landmark into roughly 275 apartments. The developer says it will knock down the adjacent, long empty parking garage and eventually put up a new 500 space structure topped with a rooftop deck and swimming pool for tenants.
K&D steps in
The company confirmed it is under contract and racing through a quick due diligence period as it tries to rescue the building after years of neglect, according to Cleveland Magazine. Local brokers say the pending deal covers nearly two acres behind the tower, plus an existing parking footprint that could grow if the old garage comes down.
Scope, timeline and price tag
Doug Price, K&D’s CEO, told reporters the conversion will be a massive lift that could take three to five years and cost roughly $100 million. “It’s … gonna be a labor of love to bring it back to life,” Price said, adding that the project will almost certainly need a mix of federal and state historic tax credits along with local incentives to make the numbers work, according to News 5 Cleveland.
State cleanup money already awarded
The Ohio Brownfield Remediation Program has already stepped in with $7,325,218 for asbestos abatement, interior demolition, and site cleanup at the Rockefeller Building, according to an announcement from Rep. Darnell Brewer’s office. The Cuyahoga Land Bank listed the Rockefeller award as part of roughly $40.4 million the state directed to the county for downtown remediation work.
A Gilded Age tower in trouble
The Rockefeller Building went up between 1903 and 1905 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, according to the Library of Congress. A recent News 5 tour found broken glass, stripped mechanical systems, and gutted elevator shafts inside the tower, and contractors say thieves have picked off ornate metal and fixtures over the years. “It’s crazy to think, the amount of metal and things that came out of this building,” Geis Construction president Bob Fridrich told News 5 Cleveland.
Next steps for downtown
K&D plans to temporarily close the pitted lot behind the building while tearing down the crumbling garage, then reopen an expanded temporary lot to restore dozens of public spaces in the area, a footprint Cleveland brokers say could yield roughly 120 to 170 stalls. The company will then mothball the tower while it lines up tax credits, property tax abatement, and other public tools that local officials say are likely needed for a conversion of this size, according to Cleveland Magazine.
If K&D can stitch together the public and private financing, the project would stabilize a visibly deteriorating downtown landmark while adding housing and public parking to a neighborhood that has already seen rapid change in recent years.
