A plan for a community development corporation to buy and renovate a historic former Cincinnati school building is on hold.
The Desales Community Urban Development Corporation announced July 20 a purchase agreement it had entered into earlier this month with Kingsley + Co. to buy the Hoffman School building had been cancelled.
For more than 100 years, the ornate, Jacobethan revival-style Hoffman School has looked out over Victory Parkway from its perch near the border of Walnut Hills, East Walnut Hills and Evanston.
Famed Cincinnati architects Hannaford and Sons built the Cincinnati public school facility in 1922. It's now vacant, and despite its historic significance, its days seemed numbered.
Owners Kingsley + Company planned to demolish the building to make way for roughly 300 units of new housing, citing the prohibitive costs of preserving the structure. In 2023, Cincinnati City Council narrowly voted against granting the building local historic designation.
That seemed to seal the building's fate. But the Desales Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation announced it entered into a purchase agreement for the Hoffman property, which is at 3060 Durrell Avenue and 3059 Woodburn Avenue, and wants to use East Walnut Hills' TIF money for that purchase.
"This agreement represents a highly positive, collaborative outcome that highlights Kingsley + Co.’s and DCDC’s commitment to prioritizing the best interests of the City of Cincinnati and the local Evanston and East Walnut Hills neighborhoods," a joint statement released by Kingsley and DCDC said.
The East Walnut Hills Assembly was set to meet to discuss the plan and possibly vote on seeking permission from Cincinnati City Council to use the TIF money July 22 at 7 p.m. in the Desales School cafeteria. It is unclear if that meeting is cancelled.
"With the termination of the purchase agreement, DCDC will not pursue a request to the City of Cincinnati for East Walnut Hills Tax Increment Funding (TIF) for the purchase," a statement from DCDC reads. "DCDC remains open to working with the owner of the Hoffman School property on new negotiations for the property in the future. DCDC also remains committed to pursuing opportunities with multiple current and potential partners to serve the best interests of East Walnut Hills and the neighboring communities of Evanston, O’Bryonville, and Walnut Hills."
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