Signature Associates

Ostrich Towne continues to draw interest despite difficulties

Posted By: Toledo Blade on December 5, 2025.  For more information, please click here to read the source article.

There are no actual ostriches in Ostrich Towne. Nor are there cranes, doves, eagles, or swans, though there are alleyways in Toledo’s Vistula neighborhood named after those birds.

But there is a technology company that uses artificial intelligence to fortify security systems. There is a barbecue restaurant where customers can get Duroc St. Louis spare ribs and deep-fried deviled eggs. There is an outdoor music and dining area. There are apartments that command substantial rents and a view of the Maumee River and the Toledo skyline.

Ostrich Towne is a major redevelopment of a section of Vistula — an area some people still associate with danger and dysfunction. But the place has changed a lot since 1988, when prostitution, crime, and drug trafficking were rife.

Today, the area is home to a colorful mural depicting the development’s signature flightless birds. There is a sculpture of an ostrich feather and an overhead light system that projects patterns onto the concrete below.

“We have not had anything — I mean nothing — that is a reportable offense there,” said Joe Nachtrab, the founder and driving force behind Ostrich Towne. “There was a homeless person begging one time, but she was harmless and left.”

Tierra DeAniello, the owner of Dreams of Tomorrow Learning Academy on Summit Street, not only has watched the Ostrich Towne area improve but has contributed to that improvement by refurbishing the day care’s exterior.

“I enjoy the updates that are happening in the area,” she said. “I see more families out here, walking their dogs, jogging, or pushing strollers.”

She credits Toledo Pickle, located across Summit Street from Ostrich Towne, with spurring some of those changes.

Those changes are ongoing, with a new healthy snack and protein shake outlet called the Power Bar slated to have its grand opening on Saturday.

“I see [Ostrich Towne] as a catalyst for the neighborhood for residents and investors alike,” said Toledo City Councilman Vanice Williams, who represents the district.

Ms. Williams rejected the notion that the development would bring about gentrification that would eventually push longtime residents out of the Vistula neighborhood.

“I don’t think it’s gentrification,” she said. “You have to start somewhere. Neighborhoods thrive when they are mixed-income. Development is coming because of Ostrich Towne and the Metroparks.”

A local developer sees an opportunity

Mr. Nachtrab recalls taking his three sons to Vistula to the CYO basketball court that was part of the Westminster Church on Locust Street. Today, that church is packed with racks of computers that power the AI systems of Nemsys, a company that provides cybersecurity, perimeter security, and web services.

“A couple years ago, I realized that there are a lot of nice entertainment areas in Toledo, but they’re either inside or out on the street,” Mr. Nachtrab said. “I saw Ostrich Lane as a place where we could have a cool, safe outside environment.”

Mr. Nachtrab began the redevelopment project in 2018, but things got dicey during the pandemic.

“We got killed by COVID,” Mr. Nachtrab said, “but fortunately, we had no debt. We applied for state and federal tax credits, but if we’d had debt, we’d be out of business.”

The Ostrich Lane alleyway is now a DORA — a designated outdoor refreshment area — where people can eat and drink. Tenants in the buildings that line the alley include Molly’s Irish Pub and Riverside BBQ. More are to come.

But the abrupt recent closure of Avestruz Tapas & Tequila and the June, 2024 closure of the Golden Hind Wine Bar, both coming after a year or less of operations, are cautionary reminders that the area can be a challenging one for businesses.

“If we get tenants who know how to operate, the area will thrive,” Mr. Nachtrab said. “[Avestruz] had good sales and great traffic — I have the sales reports. But it was mismanaged. It should not have gone under.”

When word reached Mr. Nachtrab that the servers and cooks at Avestruz were not going to receive their final paychecks after the restaurant shut down, he stepped forward and generously offered to cover their wages.

Mr. Nachtrab said the other Ostrich Towne business that went under, the Golden Hind Wine Bar, was undercapitalized from the start. It paid just one month’s rent and then got behind on its Small Business Association loan, he said. The bar was in business less than a year.

The renovation of the 19th-century Ostrich Towne buildings includes the creation of new residential apartment units with rooftop platforms overlooking the Maumee River. They are renting for about $1,700 a month.

“I got the impression that the residents were welcoming investment in their neighborhood,” Mr. Nachtrab said. “They have been crazy supportive. There have been some neighbors who have made some complaints about noise, but we’re trying to manage that.”

On the evening of Nov. 20, Molly’s Irish Pub, one of the first tenants at Ostrich Towne, was packed to capacity as it hosted a three-piece band from Ireland. Nearby, Riverside Barbecue seemed to be doing a brisk business in both dining-in and take-out, although the premises’ enormous interior was only about a quarter full.

An AI startup finds a home

The landmark Ostrich Towne building that can be seen from many blocks away is the Westminster Presbyterian Church. The high-Victorian gothic structure was completed in 1873. St. John’s Catholic College acquired it in 1909 and changed its name to Westminster Hall. The nave was turned into a gymnasium for Catholic Church CYO programs.

Eventually, the building fell into disrepair and stood vacant.

The building was then acquired by Nemsys, a technology company headquartered in Toledo since 1999.

“It’s great having our business in a church,” said Brandon Ruiz, the company’s CEO. “The aesthetics are absolutely stunning. But there are challenges with heating and cooling in a building with a high ceiling. Space is an issue, but we’ve done a good job of managing that. And we have a big data center in the basement.”

Mr. Ruiz says that every so often, people who came to the building decades ago to play basketball come by to see how the space has been revitalized. The building is the professional home to 26 workers.

The AI-driven security systems Nemsys produces are used at the Ostrich Towne development.

“The whole campus is AI-powered with lots of different lenses,” Mr. Ruiz said. “We could put something like ‘six-year-old boy in a yellow shirt’ into the system, and the AI would locate him if he was anywhere at the premises.”

The company also gives the Toledo Police Department access to its cameras.

Mr. Nachtrab says there are plans to illuminate the spire of the old church, making it a beacon he hopes will attract people to the area.

Mr. Ruiz says he has not heard of any backlash to the Ostrich Towne development.

Looking ahead, Mr. Nachtrab sees Ostrich Towne as part of a mixed-income neighborhood and as a rising tide that will help lift people out of poverty.

“Antipoverty is about education and a family unit,” Mr. Nachtrab said. “Going forward, we need to focus on quality housing in Ostrich Towne for middle-income, working-age people. Vistula was the first neighborhood in Toledo. We need residential build-up for the town to survive.”