Onesto project gets tax credit

Tuesday, November 20, 2007By ED BALINT REPOSITORY STAFF WRITER

CANTON
The Onesto apartment project will receive a state tax credit, but the developer is still waiting for environmental officials to sign off on the asbestos removal at the 12-story building.

The Ohio Department of Development announced late last week that the downtown project is among 11 in the state approved for the Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit program.

Developer Steve Coon plans to convert the former Hotel Onesto building into upscale apartments. Housing is an integral part of revitalizing the downtown, Coon and city officials have said. Part of a two-year trial program, the tax credit is for 25 percent of qualifying rehabilitation expenses — $5.8 million of the estimated $6 million Onesto project, for an estimated tax credit of $1.45 million, according to the Department of Development.

The tax credit can be claimed against the building owner’s Ohio corporate franchise tax, personal income tax or dealer-in-intangible tax liability.

The Onesto project was selected out of 103 applicants for the tax-credit program. The 11 projects will invest more than a combined $147 million to rehabilitate historic buildings. Coon said he’s waiting for a “no further action” letter from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency before proceeding with renovations. epa review The letter will culminate an EPA review of the asbestos removal at the Onesto building at Second Street and Cleveland Avenue NW, which opened as a hotel in 1930 and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Asbestos was removed in 2006. A dispute ensued between the city and the contractor when the company submitted bills exceeding the original contract by nearly $1 million. The city hired the contractor because officials were administering a $900,000 state grant for the asbestos cleanup.

Coon and his partner in the private Onesto project, Dana Noel, also were not satisfied with the asbestos work. Earlier this year, the city settled the dispute with Ohio Technical Services of Columbus, agreeing to pay about $250,000 of the $900,000 cost overrun, bringing the asbestos-related price tag within the grant total. Margy Poorman, director of the city’s community and economic development department, said the city has been working diligently “for many, many months” and providing the necessary information to the EPA for the subsequent review. “Truly it’s in the EPA’s hands and we’re just waiting for the official last letter,” Poorman said, calling the Onesto plans “very exciting for the city.”

Mike Settles, Ohio EPA spokesman, said the EPA has not been holding up the project. Rather, the agency has been working through a detailed process, which upon completion, also grants the Onesto property owner a covenant not to sue, which “serves as a stamp of approval for work completed (asbestos removal) and releases (the owner) from liability for past releases of substances,” Settles said.

The “no further action” letter is expected to be finished in a “matter of weeks,” he said. The final part of the review pertains to the legal description of the property, Settles said. “It’s gone fairly well and we don’t envision any obstacles to getting this process completed,” he said.

Underground blaze darkens downtown

Akron buildings evacuated as crews put out fire in electric vault.
More outages possible today

By Jim Carney and Katie Byard Beacon Journal staff writers

Published on Wednesday, Nov 14, 2007

It took until evening for First-Energy Corp. to restore limited power to downtown Akron buildings left in the dark after an underground fire Tuesday afternoon blacked out much of the central business district.

The utility said its workers may need to shut off power to some sections of downtown again today to complete repairs.

The outage began about 3 p.m., when FirstEnergy shut off power to about 300 downtown customers — mostly businesses — because of a fire that was discovered about 1:20 p.m. in an underground electrical vault on South Main Street near Canal Park stadium.

Power was out to most customers on South Main, from Market Street to the north to Exchange Street to the south, until about 6 p.m. Power also was out in some areas east to Broadway.
The Akron Fire Department evacuated buildings near the stadium, and Akron police directed traffic at several intersections where signals were out.

The knocked-out traffic lights and the crush of workers leaving darkened offices made for traffic backups.
The fire department received a report of black smoke coming through a sidewalk grate near the stadium at 1:22 p.m., said spokesman John W. Gordon.

As a precaution, the department evacuated four nearby buildings, including the one housing Bricco restaurant.

FirstEnergy spokeswoman Ellen Raines said the utility shut off power Tuesday so workers could safely enter the vault and put outthe fire.

She said Tuesday night that the fire damaged two circuits. Limited power was restored to all the affected customers by shifting them to an undamaged circuit.
However, she said, that circuit cannot supply adequate power for those customers' daytime activities.
She said Tuesday night that she did not know how long it would take to repair the damaged circuits.
''When you lose two of three circuits serving an area, you have a significant repair job ahead of you,'' she said.

Raines said steam from the city's heating service may have triggered a short in FirstEnergy's system, causing the fire.
Akron Municipal Clerk of Courts Jim Laria sent half his staff — about 20 workers — home about an hour early because of the outage.

He planned to have a skeleton crew on duty to handle nighttime court business. ''We have manual systems where we can function,'' Laria said.
Laria said Municipal Court judges closed down early because of the outage. Workers in various offices, including the FirstEnergy and Chase office towers on South Main, were told to leave early as well. Also darkened were City Hall and most of the police station. Backup power supplied the city's emergency dispatch center.

''It's a nice day'' for a power outage, Amy Gargas, 23, assistant scientist in FirstEnergy's environmental department, said as she enjoyed the warm November weather outside the FirstEnergy building.

Karen Rose, 48, a paralegal, sat outside at Cascade Plaza, waiting for her husband to pick her up after the law firm where she works in the National City tower shut down early.
She said ''good Samaritans'' with flashlights helped escort workers through the dark underground parking deck.

''You think that you work in a modern office and don't realize how close to an emergency situation you are,'' Rose said. ''I'm going to bring in a flashlight and keep it in my desk.''
At the Beauty Lounge on Mill Street, hair stylists and a manicurist worked in the late afternoon light coming in the large front window.

Jen Michael, 28, of Akron, said about 3:30 p.m. that she had just cut a customer's hair.
''We'll see how that looks tomorrow,'' she said.

''Thank goodness we have natural light,'' said shop owner Rachel Flowers, 33.
John Peters, food and beverage director at the Radisson Hotel Akron City Centre, said guests in the 274-room hotel ''were keeping pretty calm. . . . We're still checking people in.''

He said people seemed more relaxed than during the 2003 blackout that hit eight states and part of Canada. He said people's nerves were still jangled back then from the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Jim Carney can be reached at 330-996-3576 or jcarney@thebeaconjournal.com. Katie Byard can be reached at 330-996-3781 or kbyard@thebeaconjournal.com. Beacon Journal staff writers Bill Lilley and David Giffels contributed to this report.

It took until evening for First-Energy Corp. to restore limited power to downtown Akron buildings left in the dark after an underground fire Tuesday afternoon blacked out much of the central business district.
The utility said its workers may need to shut off power to some sections of downtown again today to complete repairs.

The outage began about 3 p.m., when FirstEnergy shut off power to about 300 downtown customers — mostly businesses — because of a fire that was discovered about 1:20 p.m. in an underground electrical vault on South Main Street near Canal Park stadium.

Power was out to most customers on South Main, from Market Street to the north to Exchange Street to the south, until about 6 p.m. Power also was out in some areas east to Broadway.
The Akron Fire Department evacuated buildings near the stadium, and Akron police directed traffic at several intersections where signals were out.
The knocked-out traffic lights and the crush of workers leaving darkened offices made for traffic backups.

The fire department received a report of black smoke coming through a sidewalk grate near the stadium at 1:22 p.m., said spokesman John W. Gordon.

City condo conversion faces foreclosure - via Crains Cleveland

By STAN BULLARD3:06 pm, November 2, 2007

AmTrust Bank of Cleveland began foreclosure proceedings Oct. 19 in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court against a partnership formed by Ken Lurie of Rysar Properties and Keith Sutton of Sutton Builders that developed Painter’s Loft, a 20-unit condo at a former factory at 8205 Franklin Blvd., Cleveland.
AmTrust seeks to foreclose for $800,000 that it is owed.

Mr. Sutton said the two have more than $1 million of their own money in the project and blamed the foreclosure on the depressed housing market. The last of the 11 units sold transferred 13 months ago.
Mr. Lurie said he is disappointed the bank lost confidence in the duo’s ability to sell the remaining units.
“It’s not a failed project,” Mr. Lurie said. “It’ll be a success, but not for me. I’m in business to make a profit.”

The remaining units carry asking prices upwards of $189,000, said John Corral, a Howard Hanna Smythe Cramer sales agent who has the listing for Painter’s Loft.
Land records show the lower-priced units, in the $160,000 range, sold more quickly than the pricier condos.“It’s a sign of the times,” Mr. Sutton said. “I can’t tell you what my plans are. We’ve been trying to get this fixed for a long time. When you’re not selling houses, that’s the problem.” Trouble comes in threes Mr. Sutton noted Painter’s Loft is a separate venture from others that he is undertaking, a point Mr. Lurie echoes.“It’s not that the phone isn’t ringing,” Mr. Lurie said. “It’s difficult to get buyers approved, and we’re not talking about nonconforming (or poor credit) loans.”

Painter’s Loft was launched in 2004.
With the foreclosure action, Painter’s Loft becomes the third new-housing development in the middle of the city’s West Side to run into trouble.

The 189-unit West Tech Lofts apartment project by The Orlean Co. of Shaker Heights has gone through a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development default. A Philadelphia real estate company recently bought the $14 million loan on the project for $2.9 million.

Also undergoing a foreclosure action is the troubled Ashbury Townhomes project by Ameri-Con Homes at the former Joseph & Feiss Factory at West 53rd Street and Fenwick Avenue.

That $20-millon, 150-unit project stalled after the first six townhouses went up on the site after protracted delays.