Brookes Building

History

The Brookes Building was constructed in 1898 ³ and housed Foutts Market on the first floor ² and the Carroll Council No. 509 of the Knights of Columbus on the top floor. ³Rinehart Clothier opened in 1902 on the first floor, ² followed by the Bon-Ton in 1904 and later Robins & Sant. ³ The Ohio Valley Business College located on the 3rd floor after a fire destroyed their former location, the Reed Building, in February 1905. ^{2 4}

The East Liverpool Community Partnership for Revitalization (ELCPR) began pursuing a developer in 2013 for a residential project that would encompass the Brookes Building and several others along Market Street. ⁶After several proposals were heard, the Miller-Valentine Group was selected as the lead developer. Initial plans included restoring the Brookes Building into apartments but it was not found to be economically feasible. ⁹ Miller-Valentine instead proposed Market Street Lofts which would consist of 45 below-market apartments ⁶ targeted to those earning 60% of the county’s average median income of $34,000. ¹¹It would cost $10 million to build.

Miller-Valentine requested $2.2 million in federal housing tax credits and was awarded the full amount in June 2015. ⁶A certificate of appropriateness was approved on November 2 by the Design Review Board, which granted approval for demolition of the buildings. ⁷ A certificate of appropriateness for the actual construction of the new lofts was granted on December 17. ⁸ On the same day, Miller-Valentine secured $1.5 million in a loan through the Housing Development Loan program via the Ohio Housing Finance Agency. ¹²

Demolition of the Brookes Building for Market Street Lofts began on July 12. ¹⁰