American Can Company Building

United States historic place


American Can Company Building
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Cincinnati Local Historic Landmark

Western side of the building
39°9′37″N 84°32′14″W / 39.16028°N 84.53722°W / 39.16028; -84.53722
Area	2.3 acres (0.93 ha)
Architect	C.G. Preis
Architectural style	Early Commercial
NRHP reference No.	07001092^[1]
Added to NRHP	October 17, 2007

The American Can Company Building, now known as the American Can Lofts, is a historic former factory in the Northside neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. Built in 1921,^[2] it is a concrete building with a concrete foundation;^[3] five stories tall, it has a total floor space of approximately 180,000 square feet (17,000 m²). Built by the American Can Company, the factory was used to manufacture can-making machines, rather than producing the cans itself;^[2] it remained in operation until closure in 1963. Two years later, it was reopened by the Cleveland Machine Company, which used its first floor for machining purposes; after their departure in 1978, it sat almost totally unused, with the only exceptions being small businesses such as T-shirt printers and warehouse operators.^[4]^: 11

In late 2005, a local redevelopment company purchased the American Can Company Building, using a $500,000 loan from the city's community development office. Expecting to have to pay another $800,000 to resolve longstanding environmental issues at the property,^[2] the company received a grant of $750,000 from the Clean Ohio Assistance Fund.^[4]^: 18 As this process was a significant component of a larger redevelopment project on the eastern portion of Northside, the American Can owners sought to renovate their property in a manner compatible with its historic nature.^[5]^: 1 In 2006, the building was assessed against the guidelines of the National Register of Historic Places, a federal historic preservation program, and found to be eligible for inclusion on the Register. Besides starting the National Register nomination process, the owners applied for the building to be designated a historic site by Cincinnati's city planning commission; such approval was granted in July 2007.^[5]^: 2 Three months later, the National Park Service added the building to the Register.^[1]

Redevelopment

The owners' ultimate goal was to convert the property into apartments and small shops.^[6] With renovations nearly complete, the building reopened as American Can Lofts in September, 2011.^[7]

References

^ ^a ^b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
^ ^a ^b ^c Baverman, Laura. American Can site target of two can-do developers, Cincinnati Business Courier, 2005-10-03. Accessed 2011-02-25.
^ American Can Company Building, Ohio Historical Society, 2007. Accessed 2011-02-25.
^ ^a ^b Yersavich, Amy, et al. American Can Building, Ohio EPA, n.d. Accessed 2011-02-25.
^ ^a ^b Minutes of the City Planning Commission, Cincinnati City Planning Commission, 2007-07-13. Accessed 2011-02-25.
^ London, John. Vice President Visits Northside for Stimulus Tour Archived 2011-07-18 at the Wayback Machine, WLWT, 2009-07-09. Accessed 2011-02-25.
^ Bernard-Kuhn, Lisa. "American Can Lofts Nearly Finished". Cincinnati.com. Retrieved 2011-10-24.