January 15, 2016 - In a three-page submission to Norwood's Building Department, Scott Call requested a "zoning review" for his plan to convert Norwood Baptist Church into a condominium project. In a written statement to WCPO, Call said he "acted like a rental agent" and property manager for the church while living in a single-family home behind the church. Some condo buyers thought he owned the place because he had access to all buildings on the site. Pastor Roger Sheldon said: "He was renting one of our properties and because we had a contract initially for him to buy the property we gave him a room inside the church to set up as an office."
April 11, 2016 - Call's first local legal troubles began when Cincinnati police cited him for failing to control his 2004 Cadillac SRX, leading to an auto accident on Montana Ave. In 2018, Richard Dukes filed a personal injury lawsuit over the incident. Dukes alleged he was Call's Uber passenger when Call went left of center, striking an oncoming vehicle. The case is now in mediation.
July 21, 2016 - Norwood police opened an investigation that led to a felony bad check charge against Call. Norwood resident Ruth Neace said Call refunded her investment in "an upcoming project called Legacy Lofts on Courtland" with a $5,000 check that bounced. The charge was later dismissed because prosecutors deemed it a civil matter, said Norwood Lt. Ron Murphy. In October, Call signed an affidavit of indigency so his public defender could be paid $150 for his work on the case.
December, 2016 - Two months after his indigency filing, Call said he signed a purchase contract for Allison Elementary School. The two-building complex was offered at an auction by Norwood City Schools in June, 2016, with bids starting at $875,000. School officials did not return calls seeking comment. The purchase agreement made Legacy Lofts a 4-acre development site with room for up to 130 condominiums.
August 2, 2017 - In his first public hearing on Legacy Lofts, Call told the Norwood Planning Commission that he expected to close on the purchase of Allison Elementary and Norwood Baptist Church by the end of September. "We also own 2030 and 2034 Weyer," he said. The single-family homes could later be demolished for an additional condo structure, he added. Hamilton County property records show Call never owned the homes. Norwood Baptist Church owned them at the time.
September 6, 2017 - In a meeting of the Norwood Planning Commission, Mayor Tom Williams pressed Call on whether he had the financing to build Legacy Lofts. “We have actually commitments to finish the first phase, which is build out Allison, which is the old school, completely finish all the site work,” Call said. “Doing all the interior infrastructure of the building, putting in the elevators, public safety and then putting in the units, the 27 units. We actually have funding committed to finish that.” In a statement to WCPO, Call said he "made an agreement” in September, 2017 “with a sole private investor to fund the first $1,000,000 and guarantee the bank loan." He declined to name the investor.
October, 2016 - Fifth Third Bank employee Kalen Miller said he deposited $5,000 to reserve a two-bedroom unit at Legacy Lofts, but asked for his money back five months later when no construction took place. Miller said Call later agreed to pay 10 percent interest on his original deposit. Miller sued in July and won a $5,500 judgment in September, 2018.
November, 2017 - Norwood approved Planned Unit Development zoning for the four-acre Legacy Lofts site, endorsing Call's 55-page plan for 112 condo units. Six days after that Nov. 14 vote, Call claims his financing plan "totally unraveled" when when the son of his private investor told a city official “they had bought me out” and “would look to do rental” units instead of condos. “The town hall was outraged,” Call wrote to WCPO. “I was told if I went ahead with this lender, they would cancel the PUD and block (the) redevelopment.” Norwood Mayor Tom Williams said the city simply reminded Call that he was approved for a condo development, not apartments.
January 31, 2018 - Call’s purchase agreement on Allison Elementary School expired after Norwood City Schools declined to extend the contract. In a Feb. 3 email on this topic, Norwood President of Council Donna Laake told Councilman James Bonsall the threat of an apartment development on that site was a factor in the school board’s decision not to extend the purchase agreement. “The board rightly considered apartments as a business vs. condos as being residences,” she wrote. Bonsall replied: “I’m very pleased.” Call said Norwood’s reaction to his investor “could be ground(s) to sue Norwood but I do not have deep enough pockets to sue the city.” Call said his purchase contract with Norwood Baptist Church expired at the end of March, effectively leaving him with no property to redevelop.
May, 2018 - Call incorporated a new company in North Carolina on May 16. A few weeks later, he told Legacy Lofts customer Courtney Hausfeld he hadn't given up on the project. "It’s still all tied up," he wrote to Hausfeld in a May 30 email. "I don't have a firm start date yet so I will start processing the cancellation of your reservation." Hausfeld sued Call in August and won a default judgment against him in September. But she still hasn’t been able to collect any of her $5,000 deposit.
June 20, 2018 - Call signed two promissory notes pledging a combined $21,000 in payments to Monica Brown, Tyler Neanover and Ashley Kenser from The Legacy Lofts on Courtland LLC. Brown said she negotiated both deals on behalf of her son, Erik Saleh, and Kenser, a family friend. Brown received the first of three scheduled payments of $3,500 each from those promissory notes but no other payments have been made. She filed a lawsuit against Call on Feb. 6.
November 27, 2018 - Kathleen Slone and Chad Koester sued Call in Hamilton County Municipal Court claiming they were still owed $3,250 from a $5,000 deposit to reserve a condo at Legacy Lofts. They canceled the agreement April 6, 2018 and later received a $1,750 refund.
January 15, 2019 - Alex Finkelstein and Daniel West filed a small claims complaint against Call alleging they were still owed $5,000 for a Legacy Lofts condo deposit. “We requested a refund in July of 2018 and sent several follow-up emails, to no avail,” they wrote in the complaint.