Posted: 6:46 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2014
Middletown council votes to sell Manchester Inn

City council voted tonight to sell the Manchester Inn & Conference Center to a developer that the city hopes will return the downtown property to a “vibrant destination.”

Council voted to allow the city to enter into a development agreement with Manchester LP, headed by William E. Grau from Coldwell Banker. Grau said he will perform a feasibility study within two months to determine the best use of the Manchester.

Grau offered to purchase the Manchester for $1 and said he plans to invest $10 million into the property via loans and tax credits. Grau must apply for historic tax credits by July, which is a “very aggressive” timetable, said Denise Hamet, the city’s economic development director.

Grau said he hopes to begin construction by October 2014, and have it completed within 12 months.

Grau, who appeared on Skype, said he hopes to make the Manchester “everything it can be.”

The 91-year-old hotel was purchased by the city in 2011 for $175,000 and officials were asking for a sale price of $325,000.

The other proposal was submitted by Historic Middletown Developers LLC, which includes a five-person development team.

   Posted: 7:00 a.m. Monday, Jan. 27, 2014

Years from now, historians may call the next week the most important time in the city’s history.

Two of the city’s biggest attractions — the Manchester Inn & Conference Center, which has been closed for three years, and Weatherwax Golf Course — are for sale, and their futures are in the hands of potential buyers and City Council.

The city, strapped for money, owns both businesses, the downtown hotel and the 36-hole golf course in Madison Twp., both of which have operated in the red for years. Middletown hopes to reduce its budget and plans to eliminate 22 positions from public safety before 2015.

Selling Weatherwax could be the answer, city officials have said. The course is operating at a $150,000 deficit, which doesn’t include the $250,000 annual debt payment for past improvements, said City Manager Judy Gilleland.

City council is expected to discuss and possibly decide the fate of one, or both businesses, at its next meeting, Feb. 4.

Les Landen, the city’s law director, called this “a very busy” time for city staff and council.

Middletown received two offers from investors to purchase the Manchester Inn for $1, while the city was asking $325,000 for the 91-year-old hotel that it purchased in March 2011 for $175,000. The city also forgave about $150,000 in debt as part of a bundle of downtown properties purchased when it appeared Cincinnati State Technical and Community College was going to use the Manchester for culinary and hospitality programs as part of its Middletown branch campus.

Both of the investment groups, Historic Middletown Developers LLC, which includes a five-person development team, and Manchester LP, headed by William E. Grau from Coldwell Banker, said it would cost about $10 million to renovate the hotel.

Doug Adkins, director of community revitalization, told council that the proposals were similar: Both said they’d repair the leaking roof and remove the mold.

Grau disagreed with Adkins’ assessment. He said his proposal has a construction start date within six months and a completion date within 18 months, while the other plan has a start date of two years and completion in four years.

Also, he said, his proposal is for commercial multi-family apartments with office, coffee shop/micro brewery and hopefully culinary space and the other one is for a boutique hotel with a banquet center.

Both of the groups said for the project to be successful, state and federal funding would have to be secured to renovate the hotel that includes 78 guest rooms, meeting spaces, one of the area’s largest ballrooms and a large commercial kitchen.

The city extended the deadline two weeks for those interested in bidding on Weatherwax after two potential vendors submitted a “significant number” of questions in the final days, said Cindy Strayer, the city’s purchasing agent.

Deadline is 11 a.m. Wednesday, and after reviewing them with staff, city council is expected to discuss the future of the golf course on Feb. 4.

Strayer said the city was contacted by Howard Jackson from MiddCities in Cincinnati and Roland Lutz from Riverside Athletic Club in Hamilton and Forest Hills Sportsplex in Middletown.

City council has several options, and needs to act quickly. If the city decides to retain Weatherwax, chemicals need to be purchased and applied in the next few weeks for the course to be ready for the golf season. If Weatherwax is sold, the order can be cancelled, Strayer said.