RELATED: Arcade project seeks to blend past and future

The development partnership between Cross Street Partners and Miller-Valentine Group has submitted a letter of intent to the state to seek $5 million in tax credits to rehab parts of the iconic downtown complex.

Developers propose renovating the multi-building arcade in phases, starting primarily with affordable housing geared toward artists and creative types.

The partners have a more than $70 million plan for revitalizing the seven interconnected buildings.

RELATED: Dayton Arcade gets $20 million boost

The arcade is one of about 68 projects across Ohio whose developers notified the state they intend to file for tax credits, making them eligible to complete the full application. The deadline to apply is March 31, and some eligible projects may not complete an application.

The arcade developers last year requested $5 million for the same project. The project scored just a few points less than it needed to make the cut for an allocation.

The owners of the Centre City building, located on South Main Street in downtown Dayton, asked for and received $5 million in credits for an adaptive-reuse housing project.

The arcade will not have any local competition from other projects in its general credit request, except possibly from a potential hotel rehab project in Middletown.

But projects in Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus and other cities will be eligible to seek tens of millions of dollars in incentives. The competition could be stiff.

The initial artist housing phases of the arcade project already have been awarded $20 million in low-income housing tax credits.