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Committee advances Atrium Tower redevelopment plan that would convert office tower to 200 rental units using capped TIF rebates
Summary
Council heard an administration presentation on a redevelopment of the Atrium 1 and Atrium 2 buildings at 201 East 4th Street that would create 200 rental units and rely on private-project TIFs with capped annual service-payment rebates (up to $1.3M and $1.7M) tied to the two buildings; developer plans exceed $100 million in investment and staff described rents tied to roughly 60–120% AMI.
The Budget & Finance Committee heard a presentation from city development staff and advanced an ordinance to execute a development agreement to convert Atrium 1 (201 East Fourth Street) into about 200 rental residential units.
Director Carter told the committee the two Atrium buildings share a common owner and the proposed support package uses private‑project TIF structure that leverages service‑payment rebates from Atrium 2 to support construction at Atrium 1. The developer plans just over $100 million in total redevelopment and the city discussed two capped, annual rebate amounts: up to $1.3 million for Atrium 1 and up to $1.7 million for Atrium 2, for a combined maximum annual rebate of up to $3.0 million depending on annual service‑payment receipts.
Carter described preliminary unit mix and affordability targets: 200 units including studios, one‑ and two‑bedrooms with rents preliminarily estimated between roughly $1,600 for studios and $2,600 for two‑bedrooms, aligned to about 60–120 percent of area median income (AMI). The development team also proposed a 30 percent small business enterprise (SBE) goal for procurement on the project and outlined a CPS pilot payment structure totaling more than $31 million over the term referenced by staff to support Cincinnati Public Schools.
Council members praised the conversion of downtown office space to housing and noted the city has completed roughly 1,100 office conversions in recent years; members asked for clarification about cap mechanics and the rebate example, and staff explained that the cap limits the annual rebate amount and that actual annual rebates can be lower than the cap depending on service payments collected.
The chair put the ordinance on for passage.
What’s next: The ordinance was advanced by the committee and will be placed on the council agenda for further consideration; staff noted the project remains subject to state approvals and final agreement terms.
