$29M Shuler-Benninghofen redevelopment plan goes to Hamilton City Council for consideration

Yahoo

23-05-2025

May 23—The first hurdle for the redevelopment of the former Shuler & Benninghofen Woolen Mill is cleared after the Hamilton Planning Commission has recommended a $29 million mixed-use project.
Bloomfield/Schon, the Cincinnati-based developer of the project, is planning to convert the former mill, that is mostly vacant, into a 125-unit apartment complex with 7,000 square feet of commercial space.
"We've been working on this with the city for about 3 years now, trying to find a way to renovate this building and try to enhance the neighborhood as much as possible, and help it not be the anchor weighing this part of this neighborhood down," said Ken Schon, partner at Bloomfield/Schon.
Schon and his team unveiled last month its redevelopment plans to the Lindenwald community. Schon said in April they were close to completing its capital stack in order to start the redevelopment project. Among the secured financing is $3.5 million in Ohio historic tax credits.
With Planning Commission's recommendation last week, the preliminary and final joint plan development proposal will now go before Hamilton City Council for consideration, which would include a presentation and public hearing on the plan.
Most of the apartments (91) are to be one-bedroom units. Of the remaining, 17 would have two bedrooms, 16 are planned to be studios and one would have three bedrooms. None of the spaces would be permitted to be used as short-term rentals.
Additionally, there would be 247 total parking spaces, while just more than 200 would be required to accommodate the residents. There would be 14 spaces needed for 7,000 square feet of commercial space.
While most of the parking will be for the development, some of the parking spaces will be for the anticipated new businesses that would open along Pleasant Avenue.
"There are about 15 to 20 spaces left over for business owners across the street and potential new businesses," Schon said. "It's a park along Pleasant Avenue for the public and some of the parking, closer to Pleasant Avenue would be used for business owners. It's partly for the all the neighborhood, not just our use alone."
While it will add traffic to the residential streets in this area of Lindenwald — close to 200 new tenants have the potential to live at the former mill — Hamilton Director of Engineering Allen Messer doesn't anticipate a problem, though "it's something we'll continue to look at."
"It will add traffic. It seems like a lot of traffic, but it's less than the minimum threshold that we would require a traffic study," he said. "A gas station, for example, would generate more traffic than this entire thing (development) because it's primarily residential."
Traffic would increase on Belle and Symmes avenues as the development would close Williams Avenue's access to Pleasant Avenue (U.S. 127). The project includes using the former gas station and former bowling alley properties across on Williams Avenue, and requires vacating a portion of the street.
Schon said they plan to start construction this fall, either late in the third quarter or early in the fourth quarter.
"I know there are a lot of things still up in the air, but we'll be working with the zoning and planning folks."