A prominent Dayton developer has purchased three Oregon District properties.
The deals will create additional commercial space and newly renovated apartments in the bustling commercial and residential neighborhood.
Woodard Development has purchased the Johnston Building (513, 515, 517-523 E. Fifth Street); Schaefer Building (601-613 E. Fifth Street); and former United Business Service (411-417, 419-421, 505 S. Jefferson Street).
Woodard will bring new investment to the two mixed-use buildings and a vacant warehouse, all of which were built in the early 1900s.
Home to Corner Kitchen, the Schaefer Building is a three-story mixed-use development that also houses Press Coffee, Heart Mercantile, Luna Gifts & Botanicals and Puff Apothecary on the first floor.
The three-story Johnston Building has Clash Dayton boutique as its commercial tenant. Combined, both buildings have 24 apartments on the second and third floors.
“They are very iconic buildings within the Oregon District and we want to be good stewards of them and continue a good lineup of tenants,” said Jason Woodard, principal, Woodard Development.
Woodard acquired the Johnston and Schaefer buildings this past December in a deal with Midtown Development Corp. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“We acquired it at a fair market price,” Woodard said.
Woodard Development, a full-service commercial real estate development firm, has been behind over a dozen residential and commercial projects around downtown Dayton.
Woodard said all the apartments are fully occupied and will be renovated as they naturally turnover to bring consistency across the units. He said some tenants have lived in the building over 20 years.
Former owner Tom Tornatore had maintained ongoing renovations during his more than three decades of ownership.
“The acquisition was spurred from having a relationship with Tom; he was ready to get out of day-to-day management,” Woodard said. “The beauty of it is we don’t have to do a whole lot. We have some of the best retail names in Press, Luna, Corner, Heart, Clash.”