Until spring 2016, Newport Intermediate School on Fourth Street in Newport housed 450 students in grades 3-5. Thanks to a redevelopment project by
CRG Residential, the school will now be home to new tenants.
The building was constructed in 1939 as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s public works project. It was purchased for $2.6 million in June 2015, and is being redeveloped into Academy on Fourth apartments. Many original pieces from inside the school will be saved for historical purposes, and one of the outside walls will remain.
CRG's Vice President of Development David George is very excited for the project to begin and believes it will add great value to the Newport area.
“We are excited about the opportunity to be part of the Newport community,” he says. “CRG Residential and our development partner, Barrett & Stokely, have developed several properties in the Cincinnati region. However, this will be our first project in the Newport market.”
The current layout of the project includes 200 market-rate apartments, as well as commercial space on the ground floor, along Monmouth Street. Each unit will include granite counters, stainless steel appliances and the same finishes as other new residential projects in the Cincinnati region.
Other features for the project are being worked out by the company as well. Underground parking, an interior exercise facility and a common area that will look out onto a large, central courtyard are in the works, as well as a pool and other gathering areas.
The redevelopment design is currently in the works, according to Joe Langebartels, vice president of construction for CRG. Groundbreaking and building demolition will occur this spring, and construction will last about a year and a half.
In January, the Newport City Commission agreed to issue up to $32 million in industrial revenue bonds to assist CRG with the project, alongside what CRG has already allotted in its budget.
In selling the property, Newport schools will have the capability to not only purchase updated technology but also pay tribute to a historic school and district. According to George, this high-end development will do that and more.
“Our project will also include several rehabilitation measures to the historic Southgate School, which is immediately east of our project site,” he says. “This will include upgrades to their façade.” That building will be part of an ongoing project as it is converted into a museum.
CRG, based in Carmel, Ind., plans for the 200 units in the four-story apartment complex to be available for rent in late 2018. Other notable CRG projects in Cincinnati include the renovation of One Lytle Place and the redevelopment of the Alumni Lofts.
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.