After years of vacancy and stalled redevelopment plans, several office buildings in downtown Cincinnati are due for an interior renovation that will meet the needs of the hotel industry.
Here’s an update from the Enquirer on several office-to-hotel conversions downtown.
Kimpton Hotel in the Traction Building
The long-planned hotel project in Downtown’s historic Traction Building has moved a step further. Tennessee-based Parkes Development Group announced it has secured a much-needed construction loan for the $93 million project at 432 Walnut Street.
The plan calls for converting the 11,000-square-foot office building that served as the headquarters of the Traction Co., the company that built Cincinnati’s streetcar system in the 19th century, into a boutique luxury hotel. There will also be three restaurants and bars, including a rooftop bar, a grand ballroom and more meeting space. Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, a division of IHG Hotels & Resorts, will operate everything.
Parkes has been working on this project in the heart of downtown in the Fountain District for several years. The company acquired the 15-story building in 2018 and applied for and received several tax breaks over the past few years. Just as work was set to begin in 2020, the pandemic struck.
Official construction is scheduled to begin this fall, with the opening planned for spring 2026.
More: Top projects in the city center to keep an eye on These developments shape the future of downtown Cincinnati
Boutique hotel on the corner of Fourth and Race
A boarded-up Beaux-Arts building on the corner of Fourth and Race Streets once housed a Frisch’s on the ground floor. The vacant mixed-use office building, also known as the George F. Otte Carpet Co. Building, was converted to a hotel.
An affiliate of New York-based hotel developer Blue Suede Hospitality purchased the 33 W. Fourth St. property in July for $1.9 million, county property records show. The company owns a number of boutique apartment hotels in several cities, including Memphis, Ann Arbor, Michigan, Charlottesville, Virginia, and Miami.
This isn’t the first time the 5,000-square-foot building has been eyed for redevelopment. In 2017, a developer attempted to get tax breaks on the property to convert it into more office space and retail.
One to watch: The Gwynne Building
The proposal to transform the historic Gwynne Building at 602 Main Street into the newest property in the Pendry hotel chain may stall.
However, The Enquirer confirmed to HGC Construction that work was still underway at the site. The representative for the owner, JLL, did not immediately return calls.
The building is the former headquarters of Procter & Gamble.
