Land bank moves forward with Four Corners redevelopment but with new team
Posted By: Toledo Blade on September 17, 2025. For more information, please click here to read the source article.
The Lucas County Land Bank is moving forward with the redevelopment of the Four Corners project in downtown Toledo but with a new team.
The land bank’s board of directors unanimously has allowed the land bank to finalize predevelopment agreements and lease agreements for the Spitzer and Nicholas buildings with the RKP Group.
The authorization granted Wednesday does not allow the RKP Group to develop the buildings, but it allows the land bank to work with the company to position tax credits, work through the budget, and ask any questions it may have regarding the project, said David Mann, the land bank’s president and CEO.
Another resolution will be brought to the board at a later date to allow for the redevelopment and transfer of the properties.
In 2022, a request for proposal committee looked for interested developers for the Four Corners project.
The committee narrowed it down to Cincinnati-based Model Group and Toledo-based ARK Development, Toledo and Michigan-based firm the RKP Group, and Milwaukee-based J. Jeffers and Co.
In January, 2023, the board allowed the land bank to start negotiating a public-private partnership with the Model Group and ARK Development.
If the land bank couldn’t reach an agreement with the Model Group and ARK Development, the board allowed the land bank to negotiate an agreement with the RKP Group.
“The developer team this year let us know that they, for any number of reasons, are unable to proceed with the redevelopment of these buildings,” Mr. Mann said at Wednesday’s meeting. “We are grateful to them for everything they brought to the project and the investments that they made and the investments that we made together.”
The Blade reached out to the Model Group and ARK Development regarding the decision not to move forward, but neither company immediately responded to a request for comment.
Mr. Mann highlighted some of the accomplishments achieved under the Model Group and ARK Development in the past two years. Those include clarifying a vision for the future use of the buildings, including a mix of commercial and residential use. The predevelopment investment also generated the two large state historic tax credit awards. The Nicholas building was awarded $10 million in December, 2023, and the Spitzer building was awarded $9.6 million in June, 2024.
Mr. Mann said the land bank and the developers mutually agreed to allow their preferred right to redevelop the buildings to expire.
Other RKP Group projects include the Standart Lofts, the Berdan luxury lofts, and the Overmyer lofts.
Ahead of the vote, Mike Beazley encouraged his colleagues to support the transition.
“We all know that doing things like this is really hard … this is not an uncommon outcome from a first set of negotiations and looking at the development. I think it’s time to go to the next possible partner, and let’s see if they can make it work,” he said.
Through conversations with the RKP Group, the Spitzer building is slated to be developed first. It is believed that between 180 and 200 residential units can be built within the building. The Spitzer arcade is also planned to be restored.
The Nicholas building will be developed after, and it is believed that between 200 and 220 residential units can fit within the building. The additional space could be used for commercial use.
The RKP Group owns the Nasby building and is expected to redevelop it after the Spitzer and Nicholas buildings are completed.
The total project is estimated to cost $190 million. By the end of 2026, the land bank expects more than $15 million of public funding will be invested in the properties.
Mr. Mann laid out a tentative timeline with reconstruction on the Spitzer building to kick off in 2026. The Nicholas building would follow in 2027 through 2028. The Nasby building would follow in 2028 and 2029.
Mr. Mann emphasized the board members not to “put an enormous amount of weight on those dates.”
“Now that we’re in a place where the first one didn’t work out, it’s also possible that this one doesn’t work out,” Mr. Mann said. “But in lieu of deciding that we need to go back out to the world and find a partner who we don’t know today, it seems more prudent to work with a partner that was part of the RFP process and run that through its course.”
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