CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Plans to transform the Huntington Building from offices to nearly 1,000 downtown apartments, a hotel and other uses have received a boost with a $15 million loan from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Once recognized as the second-largest office building in the world, the Millennia Companies plans to turn the 100-year-old structure into 864 apartments aimed at moderate and low income residents, plus create a 61-room boutique hotel, a high-end restaurant, offices, storefronts and event space.
The building, at 1.4 million square feet, is close to the size of a major shopping mall.
Frank T. Sinito, CEO of The Millennia, called the loan a “critical component” of the historic preservation of the building, located on the northeast corner of Euclid Avenue and East Ninth Street.
“This housing opportunity, located steps away from public transit, healthy food, and jobs, will meet a significant need,” Sinito said in a statement.
The loan technically will be made to the city of Cleveland for the project.
HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge, formerly a congresswoman representing the Cleveland area, said the loan would help “transform this historic space and bring much needed affordable housing and community amenities to the area.”
And Sen. Sherrod Brown said he the project is a good fit for downtown: “This investment continues downtown Cleveland’s revitalization and will create affordable housing so that Ohioans who work downtown whether it’s at Playhouse Square or Rocket Mortgage Field House or the Natural History Museum, can access housing close by.”
Last year, Millennia was awarded a $40 million tax credit from a program that was created to fund projects that have the potential to be major economic drivers.
The building dates back to construction in 1923-24, first known as the Union Trust Building, according to the Encylopedia of Cleveland History.
“Its only major addition since 1924 was seven stories added in 1961 to a part of the building that had been topped off at the 14th floor. The building’s chief architectural feature is the L-shaped three-story banking room, the largest in the country in 1924,” the encylopedia notes.
Megan Sims covers real estate for cleveland.com. See previous work at this link.
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