Astrup Company Building

Public Education & Awareness Award

The former Astrup Company Building was originally used to make and store sails for the flourishing Great Lakes shipping trade. Willliam Astrup, a Danish immigrant, began the business in 1876 and the company continued operations, after transitioning from sails to awnings and tents, until 2007, spending 125 of those years in this 1919 structure.

The recent renovation project converted the mostly vacant industrial warehouse building into a lively campus that now serves over a hundred daily users, providing art and dance education, live theater, and human support services to the surrounding community.

The rehabilitation project included the removal of hazardous materials, stabilization of the building's shell, creation of core lobby and circulation spaces, completion of separate interior tenant build-outs, and many site improvements.

Character defining features that were preserved, repaired, or replicated included decorative masonry elements on the building's West 25th Street facade, replacement of steel sash windows with aluminum replica windows, and 17,000 square feet of new wood block flooring in lobby and circulation areas where contaminated original flooring had to be removed.

Listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2018, the project utilized state and federal tax credits, as well as other financing tools and loans. Importantly, the development team was able to secure a Vacant Property Initiative loan from the City of Cleveland that aided with the build-out of non-profit tenant spaces, which was especially helpful to them during the pandemic.

The project has become a catalyst for the rebirth of the Clark-Fulton neighborhood, which is overcoming decades of disinvestment to build a fresh identity based on the arts, culture, and youth activity. Please join me in recognizing this impactful rehabilitation project.