Redevelopment plan for Manchester hotel in Middletown, OH taking shape

Ed Richter | Journal-News, Hamilton, Ohio | June 8, 2015 2:55pm

Middletown City Manager Doug Adkins shared information from a recently completed feasibility study with City Council, along with other details provided by William Grau, the Illinois developer who owns the building.

The 93-year-old Manchester Inn hotel on Manchester Avenue has been closed for nearly four years. Since acquiring the hotel, Grau and his ownership group have made repairs to the building's leaking roof, treated it for mold and removed several metal awnings to prevent water damage to the structure.

Plans for the Manchester include renovating it back into a hotel with a restaurant, banquet facilities and office space.

The former hotel has been nominated to be included on the National Register of Historic Places. Grau is finalizing the hotel design with the Ohio State Historical Preservation Office to allow changes that would include expanding pre-function area outside of the ballroom with the option to partition the ballroom into three event spaces at the request of the hotel management company he will be partnering with.

A new second floor design will take up space planned for rooms and will require rooms to be added to the first floor to maintain the 70-room/suite count. To accommodate that change, five large rooms/suites will be added to the first floor that were formerly offices along with two large executive offices, according to Grau's update.

Grau also said the hotel's kitchen would be gutted during the demolition, and he is hoping to repurpose some of the equipment in another downtown building. Grau indicated that he is working with the state and an elevator company to ensure elevator compliance for the Manchester. According to the update, they have went through the building and are determining options and preparing bids to lower and seal or bring the hotel's three elevators into compliance.

As for other matters, Grau has also told the city that both buildings are being rechecked and re-secured at least monthly and a roofing contractor has been hired to make additional roof repairs to the Manchester and Snider buildings. In addition, Duke Energy has already switched out the meters at the Snider Building and is scheduled to do the same at the Manchester, according to the update.

In addition, Grau said in the update that he is also working with Patriot and Verizon to obtain permission from the State Historic Preservation Office to install cell towers on the roof of the Manchester as well as redesigning a shed to match the hotel's brick to be placed in the Manchester's courtyard.

The update also said Grau has contracted with a mowing and landscaping company to cut the grass and keep the landscaping up as well as seeking bids for tree trimming/removal as part of the streetscaping plan.

The city, who acquired the hotel, was asking $325,000 for the Manchester, but accepted Grau's $1 offer in 2014.

Adkins said Grau and the management group are also making efforts to plan for green renovation and are seeking a green 504 loan for this financing. The developers say they would be working Access Financial who has expressed interest and has the financial capacity for the project. In addition, Grau's update said he is also working with tax credit syndicators to secure New Markets Tax Credits allocations and New Market and Historic Tax Credit purchasers.

Grau also plans to submit an Ohio Historic Tax Credit application for the hotel project that is due on Sept. 31.

The Manchester Inn is an interesting project.  You have a historically significant hotel in disrepair that didn’t make it in a former life as a hotel.  So the question becomes, what do we do with it to preserve the history but make it viable?  Our best answer was to effectively donate it to a developer with a vision.  The only other option for the City was to demolish the structure and clear the land.  If there was a chance to save and repurpose the hotel, it made sense to us to make every effort to try.

Mr. Grau is working with a hotel management group on developing the Manchester Inn as a hotel site.  The first step in that process is to develop a business plan and feasibility study to determine what combination of rooms, renovations, etc., could be viable long term.

The plans for the hotel include a $12.7 million renovation and a $6.4 million investment in the Snider building next door to transform it into a 30 bbl Microbrewery with taproom.

Part of the feasibility of the project rests with attractive financing.  Mr. Grau is reviewing options including historic tax credits, new market tax credits and loan options for green construction techniques.  Part of the process to apply for and receive historic tax credits requires that the building plans be approved by the Ohio State Historical Preservation Office.   Mr. Grau has been working with this group for several months to get to an agreed renovation that is both viable and retains the historical aspects of the building.

While the financing and design phases move forward, Mr. Grau is working with Otis and the State to gain compliance with existing elevators.  A roofing contractor has made additional repairs on the roof to keep the water out of the building.  Duke has changed the meters out in planning for renovations.  A mowing contractor has been hired to keep the grounds clean during the summer growing season.

This is a project that will take months to plan, to obtain the best financing, and to design in a way that preserves the buildings while creating a viable, sustainable business moving forward.  It’s worth the wait to see if we can get a viable, useful hotel that can stay in business downtown.  To those who are frustrated… please be patient.  It’s a marathon, not a sprint.  We are moving forward.