It’s expected to take anywhere between 12 and 15 months to complete the renovation project, which includes a four-story addition where most of the rooms will be located. It’ll be part of the Marriott Tribute brand.
“This hotel is going to be very, very unique,” he said. “What’s more unique than some of the other projects going on is that we’re building and molding this design, and everything really about it, around Hamilton. The history of Hamilton, the culture that’s currently in Hamilton. Everything about this hotel will scream Hamilton.”
And that will be the building block to give guests and locals a premier experience about the history and “a different feel” in the city.
Whenever work begins, it will start immediately, both interior and exterior work, to construct the nearly 160-room hotel, with most of the rooms in the new addition on the east side of the building.
“You’ll start seeing activity right away,” Kamal said, adding that while they’ll start nearly everything at once, there will be some phasing of the project that is expected to open sometime in 2026. But the addition will be one of the first projects to start.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
“We’re not just coming in and trying to put up another hotel,” Kamal said. “We really are trying to make this shine as something the whole city.”
The Municipal Hotel was awarded a $6 million in Ohio historic tax credits for $61.6 million renovation project of the art deco limestone structure designed by famed local architect Fredrick Mueller. The 1935-built building will require major rehabilitation, including the demolition of the non-historic 1969 addition at the east end of the building. The facility was the base of city operations until the mid-2000s when the Hamilton administration relocated to One Renaissance Center at 345 High St.
On the backside of the building is local brewery Municipal Brew Works, which will remain in operations at the hotel that also has plans for a speakeasy and rooftop bar.
Hamilton Executive Director of Development Aaron Hufford previously said this Marriott-brand project “marks a pivotal milestone in the transformation of one of the most iconic buildings in Hamilton” as the investment will be able to preserve another “historic, architectural gem for future generations.”
The Municipal Hotel would be the fourth hotel project out of potentially six total in Hamilton in the next few years. A dual Hilton hotel project is planned for the corner of North MLK Boulevard and High Street and another hotel is planned at the former Cohen Recycling site now owned by Crawford Hoying.
Kamal said it’s “absolutely” an exciting time for the city.
“I think this further validates what Hamilton city has been planning for so long, and has been saying for so long for the need of additional hospitality in the city,” he said. “Unfortunately, with COVID, things took a little bit of a stall with our project, we’ve been involved with this since early 2021. We knew then there was a need and that need has only increased since then.”
In addition to the Well House Hotel, Hamilton already has the Warehouse Hotel at Spooky Nook Sports Champion Mill on North B Street and the Courtyard by Marriott across the street from soon-to-be Municipal Hotel. Crawford Hoying purchased the Courtyard earlier this year, which is separate from its $150 million-minimum investment at the former Cohen Recycling site.
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