Value City building could be revived

SANDUSKY — A development company set the table to turn a well-known downtown Sandusky building, where people bought furniture for decades, into a new mixed-use site featuring a major residential component. North Coast Design Build, based in the Cleveland area, recently submitted a proposal to transform the former Value City Furniture building, on East Market and Wayne streets, and reactivate it by offering 32 upper-floor apartment units. Depending on the individual unit, it'll present a mix between one and three bedrooms. Regarded as "market-rate apartments," people moving in there could expect to pay monthly rents ranging from anywhere between $1,500 and $2,500. The first floor, meanwhile, is intended for some sort of undetermined commercial/office use in a 14,000-square-foot street-level space. An estimated $20.7 million project, it does depend upon North Coast receiving state tax credits, roughly $3.4 million, to move forward. An announcement on the award should occur by mid-December. "We feel very optimistic that we will get that award," said Mike Cloud, a project engineer and president of North Coast Design Build. The project qualifies for state tax credits because this particular structure is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. If funding comes through, then the building will undergo a full historic restoration, ideally resembling its 1970s look, Cloud said. This would involve removing a facade reading Value City Furniture. There's also a possibility of North Coast acquiring two houses behind this building, which would get torn down to establish a dedicated parking area for tenants as well as landscaping opportunities. "This should really become an attractive building," Cloud said. "It's beautiful now, but we will bring it back to what it once was, which will be even better." If the tax credits come through before Jan. 1, then Cloud feels confident about completing this project by mid-2028. Cloud's team has undertaken many similar projects of this magnitude. Right now, his company has more than 600 units under construction or getting ready to break ground across Ohio. "We believe this will work here," Cloud said. "Sandusky has come a long way in the last 25 years. Whether it's residents in town or out-of-town people who boat here, we think people will want to live here." This project represents an important one for Sandusky, according to Matt Lasko, the Greater Sandusky Partnership's chief development officer. "The former Value City Furniture building is poised to be the next in a long line of major redevelopment projects in downtown Sandusky in the last decade," said Lasko, referencing other projects, like City Hall, wrapping around Columbus Avenue and East Washington Row; the Feick Building on East Market Street; and the Hogrefe Building on Columbus Avenue and Market Street. "The project will restore and celebrate the building's historical elements while bringing new residential and office space opportunities to the market," Lasko said. "The fact that the now-vacant building garnered quick interest from the private market reinforces the ongoing momentum happening downtown." What happened to Value City? After filing for bankruptcy in November 2025, American Signature — Value City's parent company — closed all 89 of its nationwide stores. An announcement for the local Value City store occurred in January, closing shortly thereafter. Both based in Columbus, Ohio, American Signature and Value City cited various economic factors — including high interest rates, inflation and a "severe housing market decline," according to bankruptcy filing documents — as reasons for its demise. American Signature was founded in 1948. Value City's roots, meanwhile, trace back to 1917. Value City, which began operating in downtown Sandusky nearly 40 years ago, represented just one of only a few commercial/large-scale businesses with a presence in the city's central business district. It was also the only furniture store in downtown. History lesson This building is officially known as the Commercial Building, according to Sandusky Library's history blog, which provided some history about this space: This commercial building was built by Sandusky contractor George W. Doerzbach in the spring of 1894. It originally was a 100-foot, square-brick structure. An article in the Sandusky Register of March 30, 1894, reported that the foundations of the building were blasted out of the stone bedrock. The stone that was blasted was then used in the basement and the first floor. Klotz and Kromer provided the engines that drove the elevator. A tin roof was put in by J. Mertz and Son, and the interior painting was done by Holland and Tebbutt. Total cost was $40,000. (That's about $1.5 million in today's dollars, adjusted for inflation.) The basement was leased to Engels and Krudwig, who pressed 400 tons of grapes in the fall of 1893, while the construction was still ongoing. In April 1894, the J.L. Hudson Store opened at this location after having previously done business in the Hubbard Block. The J.L. Hudson Co., which had its headquarters in Detroit, claimed that its store was the largest and finest in Erie County. The April 9, 1894, issue of the Register reported that, at Hudson's grand opening, Professor Theodore Taubert's orchestra provided musical entertainment, and potted plants and ferns decorated the store. Mr. J.L. Hudson himself arrived from Detroit to be present at the opening of his store's newest location. The store sold men's clothing and hats, women's apparel and dry goods. J.P. Hicks was the manager. Mr. Hudson died on July 5, 1912, and soon after, in the summer of 1913, articles in the Register announced that the Sandusky store would soon be closing. For a short time, John J. Healy operated a retail store at the site of the former J.L. Hudson store. Jacob H. Herman sold furniture and carpets here for many years, until the Bing Furniture moved into this site in the 1940s. In the 1980s, the building underwent a facelift, which included the addition of shutters over the upper-level windows and sandblasting of the exterior brick. Since 1987, Value City Furniture (had) been in business at the southeast corner of Market and Wayne streets in Sandusky.