Evanston Business District Revitalization, Business Retention & Affordable Housing
The Bridge by 8K is the 2024 Preservation Loan Fund recipient! The $8.4 million dollar project will result in the rehabilitation of three vacant and blighted historic buildings located at 3604 – 3608 Montgomery, 3570 Montgomery and 1740 Brewster. The project includes 27 new affordable apartments with five commercial spaces and 12 parking spaces.
8K is a development, construction, and property management firm in Cincinnati whose mission is to build stronger neighborhoods. With 15 employees this project will include their 100th unit!
For this project, 8K immediately engaged with the community to learn more about their vision and needs. Affordable housing was the community’s top priority.
Every unit in project will be considered affordable or workforce housing at 60-80% AMI (Area Median Income). In other words, in 2021 for a single person in Greater Cincinnati, 60% AMI was $35,868 with up to $896 a month in rent and utilities, and 80% AMI was $47,850 with up to $1,196 a month in rent and utilities considered affordable. You can learn more about what affordable housing means in the WXVU article here.
“We care about affordable housing. We care about community. We care about historic preservation.
We care about business vitality. This single project allows us to contribute to all of the above.”
-Michael Chewning, 8K Principal
A New Historic District
8K obtained the buildings from The Port in 2021 and were recipients of the Preservation Loan from Cincinnati Preservation in 2024. Receiving the Preservation Loan Fund provided a collateral enhancement with the lender that allowed them to borrow just enough money to make the project economically viable.
In partnership with The Port, 8K created the Evanston Historic District allowing state and federal capital for the project which was a critical part of the funding.
The official local Historic District status, will help promote further preservation in the three-block stretch and continue to restore the business district. This area has experienced a lot of disinvestment despite the pride and passion for from the neighborhood.
“We use our hands, hearts and expertise to develop housing solutions where more people can live comfortably and functional spaces where businesses can flourish, ultimately resulting in neighborhoods that fully realize the tangible, positive change of collaborative real estate development.” -8K
Why preserve?
Chewning notes, “Preservation defines the character of our city. We love the history of our beautiful and unique city, and we want to keep making investments that strengthen our historical identity.”
He continues, “Prior to this project, the Perkins Building at Clarion Ave and Montgomery Road was slated for demolition. The other properties would have likely seen further disinvestment and continued to deteriorate and business districts would continue to lose their historic fabric. You can’t build these types of buildings anymore. The economics simply don’t work.
Without Historic Preservation, projects like this are much more economically challenging.”
Project Partners:
The Port, Cincinnati Development Fund, City of Cincinnati, Walnut Hills Redevelopment Foundation, Ohio Development Services Agency, LISC, Cincinnati Preservation