(MIDDLETOWN, OHIO, Sept. 26, 2014)-Middletown's historic Manchester Hotel has a new owner. Manchester Hotel LLC of Ohio finalized the closing on the hotel and the adjoining Snider Building on Sept. 25 and is already deep in the redevelopment process.
"We've defined our plans for the properties, which includes investing $10 million for redevelopment," said William Grau, a developer with Historic Urban Development LLC in Geneva, Ill., and a managing member of the new ownership group. The group's focus is the adaptive reuse of significant historic buildings and Grau plans to use his 30 years of experience in the construction, contracting and development industry to carefully bring the 92-year-old hotel back to life.
Plans include restoring the outside of the hotel to its original 1922 appearance. The Manchester will remain a hotel in its newest incarnation with an 8,000-square-foot banquet hall; and several thousand square feet of conference and meeting space. The facility will also include a full-service restaurant and bar. In all, the restored hotel is expected to employ 73 full- and part-time workers.
The group has already been making improvements to the site. "The hotel has been closed for more than three years and needed some immediate attention," said Grau. That attention included making repairs to the hotel's leaking roof and treating it for mold as well as addressing concerns about the structural integrity of the hotel's canopies. Developers requested a City inspection of the canopies that determined they were in poor condition structurally and causing ongoing damage to the building. The City recently approved the removal of the hotel's canopies to prevent further damage and to eliminate a potential safety hazard.
In June, the Ohio Historic Preservation Advisory Board unanimously approved the City's nomination of the hotel to the National Register of Historic Places. While not guaranteeing that the hotel will be accepted at the national level, the nomination enables the developer to submit an application for historic and new market tax credits on Sept. 30. If the hotel receives those credits, construction could start as soon as spring 2015 with a completion date of spring 2016.
"The Manchester is an important landmark for the City," said Denise Hamet, the City's director of economic development. "The redevelopment of this property is another key component for the continuing revitalization of our urban core."
