The City of Erlanger is trying to bring offices to Commonwealth Avenue using a new incentive program.
Commonwealth Avenue is an east/west corridor that connects Dixie Highway to Interstate 75 and Donaldson Road, which provides a direct link to the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.
The city is encouraging businesses to transform residential homes in Commonwealth Avenue into office spaces through a grant program that includes a zoning change and eliminates the residential requirement for the property.
Bob McNichol, a financial advisor for the Skylight Financial Group, purchased a home on the main thoroughfare before the incentive program was launched. To fulfill the residential requirement, McNichol’s son lived on the second floor of the building while the office was stationed downstairs. Under this new program, though, the residential requirement is gone.
That alone, McNichol said, makes this program more attractive.
“Commonwealth Avenue has so much to offer a business. It is centrally located, very convenient and I can envision it becoming the flagship street in Erlanger, a corridor lined with offices for lawyers, title companies, financial planning firms and other professional services,” he said.
Erlanger Councilmember Rebecca Reckers said Commonwealth Avenue has “outstanding potential” and the CAP program will help shift the area into a more commercial zone.
The CAP incentive is available to certain qualified businesses located in the residential to office conversion zone and the mixed-use zone to promote job creation and capital improvements in the Commonwealth Avenue area.
Businesses may request reimbursement of up to 50% of their capital improvement expenses up to $40,000, with a $20,000 maximum reimbursement, associated with the conversion of a structure from residential to commercial or for the construction of a new commercial building.
Expenses eligible for the reimbursement include visible exterior improvements such as signs, parking lots, exterior lighting and walkways. Fixed interior improvements such as removal or replacement of walls, flooring, cabinets, bathroom and break room fixtures are also eligible.