‘Paramount’ looms large in W. Hills
The Walnut Hills Redevelopment Foundation closed a deal last week to acquire the Paramount Building at 900 E. McMillan St. for $750,000. The group bought the property from the Morris Investment Group with help from the city of Cincinnati and Cincinnati Development Fund, said Thea Munchel, director of development of the Walnut Hills Redevelopment Foundation.
The group is now working with Cincinnati Development Fund and LISC Greater Cincinnati to identify how it can raise money to complete a full building renovation. Munchel said the renovation of the building’s office and retail space could cost at least $3 million and federal and state historic preservation tax credits and New Markets Tax Credits are being sought to support the project.
The three-story building has two floors of commercial space and a third-floor space as part of the building’s rotunda. The building, which the Wurlitzer family developed and previously owned, has been at the corner of Gilbert Avenue and McMillan Street for more than 80 years. The Paramount theater operated for three decades before it closed in the 1960s and was replaced by a pharmacy that’s now CVS.
“It’s extremely important that building come back online in a positive way,” said Kathryne Gardette, president of the Walnut Hills Area Council. “The community has been working for years to find a way for that building to come online with the previous owner.”
The Paramount renovation is part of its larger effort to reboot and redevelop properties along McMillan Street. By year’s end, about $10 million of investment into property on McMillan will have been completed, Munchel said. The city has been acquiring property along McMillan in the last couple years to support future development efforts.
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This article was written by Bowdeya Tweh and published by the Cincinnati Enquirer on October 8, 2015. The article and all accompanying images are property of the Cincinnati Enquirer.