A market-rate housing is planned for the city of Toledo is an occasion to celebrate.
Thus, we cheer as we learn that the Colony Lofts apartment and retail complex, though somewhat scaled back, is moving into the construction phase.
The proposed Colony development is a 262-unit apartment building, Old Bag of Nails Pub, flower shop, and a clubhouse. The project will fill in 11 acres that has been bulldozed on Central Avenue, just west of Upton Avenue.
Developer Frank Kass, founder of Columbus-based Continental Real Estate Companies, told The Blade’s Mike Sigov that vertical construction will start in the spring, and “I think it will be the nicest apartment in the city.”
That this project is moving forward, with a repurposing of vacant land, is a testament to the economic vitality of Toledo and the quality of the community for which it is planned.
Mr. Kass and former ProMedica CEO Randy Oostra announced this project more than five years ago, along with the Marina Lofts and the Old Bag of Nails restaurant on Main Street next to the Maumee River. The restaurant on the Maumee River has quickly became a popular gathering place. The apartments filled up almost immediately — in the midst of a pandemic.
The entire complex is a giant improvement to the whole area, complementing the park amenities on either side: International Park, Glass City Metropark, and the National Museum of the Great Lakes.
That project was 360 units with the retail space for a cost of about $50 million.
The Colony project has a projected price tag of $45 million. It is expected to appeal to medical professionals and newly minted doctors doing their residency at nearby ProMedica Toledo Hospital.
ProMedica, which is struggling financially, is no longer the active real estate developer it was under Mr. Oostra. Thankfully, Mr. Kass has pressed ahead.
The city needs developers like Mr. Kass who think big and persist through the red tape and competing demands presented by a project like this.
The city did its part by allocating $700,000 to relocate a storm sewer by providing property tax abatement for 15 years. The Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority provided financing for part of the cost, which reduces the developer’s expenses.
All of this is appropriate to get big things done in an urban environment. If finished to the quality of the Marina Lofts or better, the new Colony will attract new market-rate apartment dwellers to the city and add luster to to the old Colony neighborhood.
First Published December 1, 2022, 5:00 a.m.
