Model Group, a Cincinnati firm that helped redevelop the Dayton Arcade, proposes to spend about $14.7 million renovating the Air City Garage at 27 S. Jefferson St., which is on the same block as the Centre City building and the Greater Dayton RTA transit center. The Sears building was awarded $2.53 million in historic preservation tax credits, while the garage has been approved for $2 million in credits.
The Sears building, located on the 5200 block of Salem Avenue, was once an anchor of the Salem Mall, which was the first fully enclosed shopping mall in the Dayton area. The 147,000-square-foot building was constructed in the 1960s.
The state earlier this year awarded about $1.8 million in Ohio Department of Development Brownfield and Remediation funding to help remove asbestos-containing materials and hazardous waste and complete some interior demolition at the former Sears department store. This funding will be given to the Montgomery County Land Bank.
The state said the redevelopment project seeks to transform the vacant building into a mixed-use community space that will include a food hall, a small-business incubator and the Funk Music Hall of Fame and Exhibition Center.
The Sears renovation project also received a $2 million Congressional earmark and Trotwood is helping with a Community Reinvestment Area tax abatement. The Sears store has been empty since 2014 and was purchased by the city of Trotwood at auction in 2019.
“This award is a powerful validation of Trotwood’s bold redevelopment strategy. It not only recognizes the significance of the Sears building, but it also unlocks the ability to leverage other critical funding — including federal Congressional Project Funding and Ohio Brownfield Remediation support — to deliver a high-quality, community-serving project," said Chad Downing, executive director of the Trotwood CIC. “Together, these resources allow us to keep space affordable for the small businesses and nonprofits that will power this facility, while ensuring the site becomes a long-term anchor for growth and access in our city.”
Downing said he also anticipates the Sears building project to receive $4 million or more in federal historic tax credits.
“These (credits) are not competitive and are awarded as long as we follow the requirements, which we plan to do and fit well within our scope and redevelopment plans,” Downing said.
“We are nearing the point of full funding to meet our objectives, but our goal continues to be leveraging sources to limit the amount of costs to be financed so that we can deliver leasing rates to our tenants that are supportive of their growth and allow for a highly sustainable facility,” he added.
Follow project updates by visiting www.trotwoodsears.com.
The Air City Garage is a next door to the vacant Centre City building, which Model Group proposes to renovate and turn into 220 new housing units. The 21-story building is across from the Dayton Arcade, which Model Group helped revitalize.
The Arcade complex’s nine interconnected buildings have been turned into housing, offices, classrooms, retail and restaurant spaces and other uses. Model Group says the renovated garage will be used by residents of the Centre City building and the Greater Dayton RTA. The garage also may appeal to concert-goers headed to the Levitt Pavilion Dayton, which is just south of the structure.
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