Camp Washington warehouse lofts go green

New green lofts in the newly ordained warehouse district of Spring Grove are open for business.Conveniently located at the edge of downtown in a quiet industrial area. Tommy’s Lofts, developed by Woody Jee, are environmentally friendly ‘green’ apartments.  Jee claims to be the first developer in Cincinnati to transform an old industrial warehouse into green lofts. “The concept is new to Cincinnati. I am really excited about doing this and being the first one, but at the same time, it has been difficult.” Jee said.Inspiration for Jee came from Cleveland’s warehouse district now fully developed into a vibrant neighborhood on the riverfront and conveniently located near downtown with housing, shop, and restaurants. Renovating and reusing vacant space of the warehouse was not the only ‘green’ part of Jee’s development plan. Jee started with the foundation, keeping solid brick and concrete walls along with the large wood beams. Jee also reused everything from the original building including the metal doors, frames, fiberglass insulation, and wood from the ceiling for the trim in each of the units. A water retention pond adjacent to the development recyles water for the apartment complex.”I have a dumpster but I rarely call Rumpke because I constantly recycle and have very little waste.” Jee said. He takes the empty cardboard boxes from appliances to a cardboard recycling center, takes the unused metal to a junkyard on Green Street.  The 18-unit apartment complex all contain Energy Star stainless steel appliances, high efficiency heating and air conditioning equipment, energy star rated windows, and fluorescent lighting.Jee thinks the complex will attract tenants in their mid-twenties and mid-thirties. “Younger people are more green conscious and want to get away from suburb living. There are a lot of events going on downtown Cincinnati that are interesting to mid twenties and mid thirties type of people.” Jee noted.  The apartments are available for rent beginning in November.Writer: Lisa EnsmingerPhotography by Scott Beseler