The project will transform the long-vacant Centre City Building and the structurally compromised Air City Garage into an active mixed-use development anchored by housing, ground-floor retail, and structured parking. Within the Centre City Building, former office space is being converted into a mix of market-rate and affordable housing, bringing new residential activity to the upper floors while introducing street-level retail spaces that reestablish an active presence along Main Street. 

The adjacent garage will be fully rehabilitated to restore its structural integrity and continue serving as a central parking resource, supporting residents, the Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority, retail tenants, and the surrounding downtown. Together, the improvements reposition two underutilized properties as connected assets that support daily activity, small business presence, and residential life in downtown Dayton. 

This work is part of a larger redevelopment effort on the block that will also introduce new affordable housing options and build on the success of the Dayton Arcade, located directly across Main Street. 

The updated Cleveland Athletic Club came to life with a vision for adaptive reuse that retained many of the iconic features of the original club, including the 50-meter pool where Weissmueller swam, and reimagined it for a 21st-century community.

The historically sensitive adaptive reuse of this Cleveland icon converted the Club into thirteen floors of one- and two-bedroom residential units, one floor of office space and one level of ground floor retail.

By encouraging residents to experience Cleveland as a true live work play city, the project is encouraging local economic development and community-building right in the heart of downtown.

This catalytic, mixed-use project features 92 mixed-income apartments, office space for local businesses, and over 39,000 square feet of storefront and commercial space, much of which was pre-leased prior to closing. The buildings are connected and have access to an adjacent parking structure owned by the city. Among the new tenants of the Bowery project is a local fresh food grocer and café that occupies 8,400 square feet of space.

The Akron Civic Theater, known as the “Jewel on Main Street” also played a significant role in the redevelopment. They leased 7,127 square feet of space from the development for a new box office, offices, space for small community events, and additional theatre space for small-scale performances.

In an effort to continue the activation of Akron’s Main Street, the City of Akron also used a portion of the development to create an indoor promenade connecting Main Street to the Lock 4 Park on the canal level behind the Bowery. The promenade features pop up retail spaces and community events and encourages pedestrians to take advantage of the scenic canal, which has also seen recent revitalization.

The Model Group, one of the most experienced developers in Cincinnati, led the transformation efforts of these historic scattered buildings into connective services that help nurture new businesses, grow the housing stock, and further revitalize the nearby Findlay Market. These transformations become the catalysts for or the continued momentum of broader neighborhood revitalization strategies.

The Model Group began acquiring the scattered historic properties over a two year period starting in 2014 with a vision of a vibrant, mixed-use, and mixed-income Market District anchored by Findlay Market, Ohio’s oldest continually operated public market.

Today, the Jobs Café project has created a mixture of  nearly 70 mixed-income residential units, as well as an expansion on the greater Jobs Café at Findlay Market project, a social enterprise restaurant concept that provides job training and placement for restaurant industry positions.

Several of the restored storefronts are leased back to graduates of the existing Findlay Kitchen incubator program at below-market rates, so small businesses can grow to scale and maintain their own street-facing storefronts.

The rehabilitation of the 70,000 square foot Park Synagogue transforms a former single congregation house of worship into a multitenant arts, education, and community campus while preserving its most significant historic spaces. The restored building will host Oberlin College’s satellite arts program, Park Arts performance and event spaces, and Colorful Minds Studio, expanding access to education, cultural programming, and community services. The sanctuary and chapel are preserved for religious observance and lifecycle events, maintaining continuity with the building’s original purpose. The vision for the project reimagines and extends Eric Mendelsohn’s original center for education and community, building on the congregation’s legacy of social engagement by opening the site to broader public use while preserving a place for Jewish life. Rehabilitation work prioritizes long-term sustainability, including a geothermal heating and cooling system and major improvements to the building envelope to improve energy performance.

More than a century after it first opened its doors, the 250,000 square foot space in downtown Cleveland is giving young artists, designers, filmmakers, photographers, and coders a unique, adaptable space to hone their crafts, while helping to revitalize an entire Cleveland neighborhood. In 2015, the revived and expanded Center opened its doors with revamped galleries, additional classrooms accommodating CIA’s variety of aesthetic disciplines, a new library, a large atrium connecting the old and new wings, and individual creative studios for each student.

The new Center projects student art on large screens outside the complex, allowing the neighborhood to enjoy some of the innovative and dramatic creations by CIA students. It also boasts the Peter B. Lewis Theater, a state of-the-art 4K cinema complex to house CIA’s long-running and nationally recognized Cinematheque theater, which shows beloved classics, arthouse favorites, and new programming to students and members of the public alike.

The Mercantile and Formica buildings in downtown Cincinnati are set to undergo a remarkable transformation that will breathe new life into these historic landmarks. Upon completion, the mixed-use community will be rebranded as “The Historic Mercantile Building,” with the residential component as “Merc & Mica,” featuring 156 luxury rental apartments and over 76,000 square feet of commercial space. This exciting development will showcase the distinct eras of each building while catering to the modern, urban lifestyle.

Completed in 2024, the Findlay Parkside project substantially rehabilitated nine historic, low-rise buildings around the iconic Findlay Market, creating mixed-income apartments, new retail and restaurant spaces, a fresh food distributor and more.

The project was developed by The Model Group, a Cincinnati-based integrated property development, architecture, construction, and management company. The Findlay Parkside project exemplifies the importance of historic preservation, sustainable development, and social impact in urban communities. By creating a vibrant mixed-use space that supports affordable housing, small businesses, and local enterprises, the project will make a significant contribution to the ongoing revitalization of the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood.

Once completed, the historic Emery Theater will be transformed into a premier 1,500-seat theater that will feature performances for children of all ages and backgrounds. The scope of the project includes the complete revitalization of the historic space to serve as the new MainStage home of TCT.

These programs have changed and expanded over the decades, and with the rehabilitation of the Emery, TCT’s purpose will continue to grow in the very place it got its start. This historic theater was built to be unlike anything else, and thanks to restoration efforts, its legacy will flourish for years to come.