Multi-Family | Historic Rehabilitation

The Reakirt Building

An award-winning adaptive reuse project for a landmark building in the Central Business District.

New Republic led the effort to designate the Reakirt Building as a local landmark and have it listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The project is an adaptive re-use of a twelve-story historic office building (1925) into fifty-two market rate apartments in the heart of the city. Amenities include the Sky Terrace, management offices, and a fitness room.

The goal with this project was to re-energize the vacant street edge along Sixth Street with vibrant new housing. By restoring the original character of the two-story storefront at the street level, the Reakirt Building now contributes to a lively streetscape. New Republic restored the building to a stable state after evaluating, correcting, and reversing multiple low-quality repairs and renovations from prior decades.

Location

Central Business District, Cincinnati OH

Status

Completed 2019

Client

Neyer Holdings

Retail SF

2,600

Size (APT #, ETC)

52 Units
Total SF: 46,800

Project Tags

Historic Tax Credit, Mixed-Use

Awards

AIA Ohio, Honorable Mention, 2022

CRANawards, Multi-Unit Housing Award, 2021

Cincinnati Preservation Association Award, 2019

The design team maximized the available square footage by driving density with smaller (320-705 SF), well-appointed units. To meet the Client’s request for a “luxury apartment feel,” New Republic’s design team selected finishes with a polished aesthetic, clean, neutral colors, and reflective surfaces to help bounce light, thus making the small units feel larger and more spacious. Maintaining the historic industrial windows was crucial for the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) and the design of the units. The large windows were replaced with aluminum windows, and careful planning was done to meet the Secretary of Interior Standards.

This project proved the marketability of micro units in the City of Cincinnati. The eight micro units in this project were the first to lease.