After months of delays, Downtown’s landmark Carew Tower has been sold.
Greg Power, who owns the iconic 49-story office-and-retail tower at 441 Vine St., first told a bankruptcy judge in March 2022 that he had entered into a purchase-and-sale agreement with a new owner that would resolve all the issues in the foreclosure lawsuit filed against him and his company, Carew Realty Inc., in October 2021.
Power was facing foreclosure for defaulting on a US$9.7 million loan, according to court documents, and owed hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid utility bills.
The sale of the office tower was originally set to close in April 2022 but Power asked Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Tom Heekin to extend the deadline for responding to a foreclosure lawsuit more than a half dozen times, including his last request for an extension through August 15 2022.
The property finally sold on August 18, 2022 for US$18 million to an affiliate of New York-based Veles Partners LLC, according to Hamilton County property records.
It’s not clear what’s next for the tower, which was once the tallest building west of the Alleghenies. Veles officials could not be reached for comment.
Workers began construction of the Carew Tower and the old Netherland Plaza Hotel, which is connected to the office tower, just before the Great Depression and completed it in 1930 at a cost of more than US$30 million.
For more on this story, go to Cincinnati.