Opening day set for Hogrefe Building

SANDUSKY — A vision five years in the making fully comes into focus on Saturday, March 19. Spouses Meghan and Rick Hogrefe circled this date on their calendars, coinciding with when they'll unveil the Hogrefe Building in downtown Sandusky to community members. "What I think is very exciting is that this building is a new page in history," Meghan said. She continued: "There is so much that the Hogrefe Building represents. To me, it represents economic development and the next wave of entrepreneurs building their own legacies in the downtown Sandusky historical footprint. I look at our tenants in the Hogrefe Building and the tenants in The Marketplace Downtown, and this is their time, and it's their legacy, too." Opening day celebration Rick previewed what attendees of the opening day celebration, on March 19, can expect: • The block party: "There will be music and entertainment from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. The block party will be from the end of the Hogrefe Building on Columbus Avenue to the corner of Columbus and Market Street and the end of the Marketplace to the same corner on Market. We are closing off the entire corner of Columbus and Market as well. The party zone is the area all along our building fronts on Columbus and Market. We will have acts on all day and finish with the Dave Matthews Tribute Band at 7 p.m. to 9 p.m." • The second stage: "We will also have a second venue in the Noble Court that will also have entertainment from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. at least." • The performers: "Musical acts include Paul Franks, Mark Wilkens, Steve Brownell, Ethan Hoffman, A string quartet with musicians from the Firelands Symphony Orchestra, Hooked Like Helen and a Dave Matthews tribute band." • The businesses: "All the Marketplace businesses will be opened for extended hours and will have specials." • The food and drinks: "We are going to have food carts/trucks and arts and crafts vendors. Drinks, beer and wine will be available at the new Noble Court and served in DORA (designated outdoor refreshment area) cups so legal to take anywhere downtown. We will have a beer cart near the main stage." • The weather: "The main stage will be outside. We will have tents and heat lamps to keep people warm if the weather is inclement. Please bring a chair. We will be selling blankets for those who forgot theirs." • The activities: "The Sandusky Children's Museum will have a science presentation for the children at 10 a.m. and at various times of the day." • The first-floor tour: "The first-floor hallway will be open to the public all day. It will be a nod to local history just like the Marketplace is. I am busy writing all the narratives now. We will display the artifacts we found as well as a lot of history we found surrounding those items. It connects directly to the Marketplace, so there will be plenty to see and do inside besides the music and vendors outside." • The upper-floors tour: "We are limiting the number of visitors to the second and third floors to just 500 people. We will have tenants in the building already and don't want to disturb them too much. We are selling tickets for $5 each with all proceeds going to the children's museum. The tours will be limited to 12 people each, one tour every 15 minutes from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. You will tour the Reminger Law Office and several of the apartments upstairs. We will also take you to the rooftop deck. I would get a ticket soon since a third of them are already gone. Only about 350 remain." • The tickets: "Tickets can be purchased through our Noble Axes online reservation system at nobleaxes.com/book-online." Breaking down the blueprint Rick and Meghan bought this property, formerly known as the Cooke Building, on Jan. 5, 2017. Since then, they've invested $12 million into the site. It breaks down with $8.5 million coming from their personal accounts and the rest covered by local and state government funding sources. The Hogrefe Building mirrors its predecessor, the Cooke Building, which fell into a dilapidated state and couldn't be saved due to decades of neglect from past owners. In an effort to honor history, Rick and Meghan aggressively pursued plans in recreating the Cooke Building's look. For instance, during the building process, crews replicated the former structure's shape and dimensions. The Hogrefe Building, totaling about 30,000 square feet, stands three stories tall and reaches 45 feet, just like the Cooke Building did. Within the structure, people can expect the Hogrefe Building to house a mixed-use site for retail, office and residential uses. It will also connect to the adjacent Marketplace at Cooke complex. Before the Hogrefes went forward with construction work, they obtained a special permit from Sandusky's government. Back then, and ever since, the administration continues to express its full support of this project. "The site of the Hogrefe Building is so important to our downtown, and the city committed to working with the Hogrefes in a public-private partnership to ensure that the new building will contribute to the vibrancy of downtown Sandusky for many decades, and centuries, to come," city manager Eric Wobser said. Who are the tenants Rick also spoke about who's occupying space in the Hogrefe Building: • Reminger Co. "has taken the entire second floor under a 10-year lease." • "We have already rented out four of the apartments and are in conversations regarding others. We have seven apartments left at this time." • "The commercial spaces are lagging, as always. We are now starting to have serious conversations. One potential deal fell through, recently — unfortunately, a victim of the continuing pandemic. H2 Property Management will have an office in the new building on the first floor. It seemed like the right place for our own office." Three commercial spaces remain, ranging between 1,000 square feet and 3,200 square feet. "All have storefronts on Columbus Avenue, and two of them connect directly to the Marketplace via the internal hallway," Rick said. "We are considering the first floor to be part of the Marketplace Downtown, actually, since it connects. We hope to fill the spaces with complementary businesses. We see both buildings acting as one downtown destination. The effect on the Marketplace itself is already apparent. All of the businesses are gearing up for the grand opening of the Hogrefe." Rick then revealed one fresh business aspect he's excited to show off. "One major new announcement is the opening of the Noble Court in March in time for the grand opening," he said. "We are opening doors from the courtyard in the Hogrefe Building to Noble Axes and to Noble Crafts in the basement next door. These doors will enable us to create an outdoor patio area where we will be able to serve alcohol. Think of walking around a corner in the downtown district and finding a hidden oasis of craft beer and music. We are very, very excited about this."