The Delco, located across from Day Air Ballpark, will have 160 luxury apartment units, nearly 500 parking spaces, roughly 80,000 square feet of office space and 18,000 square feet of retail and restaurant uses, said Jessica Rexer, executive vice president of marketing and communications with Crawford Hoying, a Dublin-based developer.
“We are incredibly excited to bring The Delco to Water Street District and downtown Dayton,” Rexner told the Dayton Daily News last week. “The building will feature numerous high-end amenities including a rooftop that will feature a pool, lounge area, and an area for outdoor games — all available to residents living there.”
Josiah Huber, managing director with DiPerna Advisors, told trustees at their meeting Monday that in today’s environment, the office and commercial segments of the project are proving to be a “challenge.”
A project like this requires certain incentives to get off the ground, Huber said.
“Based on current market conditions — where labor costs are, where interest rates are — the incentive need has grown over the past few months,” he said. “Which is part of the reason we’re here today, looking at this bridge financing.”
The market rate housing part of the project is very “bankable,” Huber said, adding: “The real challenge is commercial and the office. It’s class A office space, that they do not have an anchor tenant for yet. They’re out marketing the space.
“But it’s a somewhat ambitious endeavor, given the environment,” Huber also said. “That’s really been the financing challenge ... the commercial and office component.”
Lenders are watching rising interest rates. And while employers are returning employees to offices, many are still relying on a “hybrid” work model, where many employees split time between offices and remote work locations. So some employers may not need the same amount of office space as they did before the pandemic.
A message seeking comment was left with a representative of Crawford Hoying. Huber said the developer has approached JobsOhio and CityWide for possible incentives and support for the project.
With that said, Crawford continues to stay on track as part of construction of the massive building, he said.
“The $6 million will buy them a couple of extra months that are needed here before they think they’ll hear back from the state of Ohio and from JobsOhio,” Huber said.
About the Author
