CINCINNATI -- The Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation has purchased the Metropole, a historic downtown Cincinnati landmark and intends to renovate it to its original purpose as a hotel.
3CDC intends to work with Louisville-based 21c Museum Hotels LLC to restore the building. The new Metropole Hotel, located at 609 Walnut Street, will feature 160 rooms, a contemporary art museum with more than 8,000 square feet of public exhibition space, a new restaurant, and a meeting space.
The total project cost is estimated at $48 million. Approximately 95 percent of the project’s cost will be funded privately through 21c Museum Hotels and 3CDC. A capital funding request will be made to the city for approximately 5 percent of the total project cost.
Based on current estimates, the project will create about 540 construction jobs and about 160 permanent employees with the opening of the hotel, restaurant and gallery.
“We’re very excited about the opportunity to bring a 21c Museum Hotel to Cincinnati to serve as this unique type of economic catalyst," said Steve Wilson, Founder and Chairman of 21c Museum Hotels. "And we look forward to creating a 21c Museum Hotel that reflects the unique character of the Queen City.”
The Metropole currently includes 230 housing units for low-income residents and is currently occupied by about 207 adults. Over the next year, a sensitive relocation process for Metropole residents will be underway managed by Brickstone Properties. During the relocation process, Brickstone will work one-on-one with each resident, giving special care and attention to tenants who are elderly or have special needs. Participation in the relocation program will insure that tenants monthly rent will not increase and all related moving expenses will be covered.
“The future restoration of this signature downtown building is very exciting and important news," said Steve Leeper, president and CEO of 3CDC."The highest priority right now is that the current residents are given the time and assistance they need to find new and improved housing. We are working with Brickstone and the city to insure that the relocation plan addresses the concerns and meets the needs of the residents and ultimately results in improved, higher quality living conditions.”
The Metropole, recently listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was built as a hotel 97 years ago. In the 1970s, it was converted from a hotel into apartments for low-income residents. Now it's being converted back into a hotel. The 21c team along with its Cincinnati partners will restore the building following federal standards for historic rehabilitation.
The restoration will compliment the major investments made by the Cincinnati community in recent years to redevelop Walnut Street. Other recent projects on the street include the reopening of the former Phoenix Café as the Righteous Room; Bootsy’s, produced by Jeff Ruby; and the upcoming renovation of the former Maisonette site on Sixth Street.
For more information on the renovation efforts of the Metropole, click
here.
