Vision Realty Group President Matt Olliges said the hotel will be named The Well House Hotel, Tapestry Collection by Hilton.
Hamilton City Manager Joshua Smith said city officials “are thrilled” about Cincinnati-based Vision Realty Group bringing a Hilton downtown.
“Having a stable business base in our downtown is critical since it allows us to keep our general fund healthy. Having a Marriott and a Hilton downtown will make business travel easier,” he said. “The Anthony Wayne Hotel was constructed in the 1920s when Hamilton business leaders wanted a nice hotel for business travelers. Here we are 100 years later, converting it back to its original use, and for the same reason.”
The Anthony Wayne was originally built nearly 100 years ago to be a seven-story, 100-room hotel. It has been an apartment complex since the mid-1960s. The building is currently the Anthony Wayne Apartments, but tenants have been given several months’ notice to relocate.
Hamilton City Council voted Wednesday on a development agreement with Vision AWH LLC, the group formed to renovate the hotel and create a 2,700-square-foot yet-to-be-identified high-end restaurant at 10 South Monument St. The city plans to use tax increment financing funds, and provide a partially forgivable $3 million loan through the Hamilton Community Improvement Corporation.
Council is expected to vote on the transfer of $3 million to the Hamilton CIC at its July 13 meeting.
The developer also intends to use state historic tax credits to help with financing the project.
Construction on the hotel project is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2023 and be completed in about a year.
Vision Realty Group is the umbrella company of Vision AWH LLC, which is a partnership of Vision Realty and Lighthouse Hospitality Group, Inc., of St. Petersburg, Fla. Lighthouse Hospitality Group President Josh Baltes said he has seen “the stunning revitalization of Hamilton over the past few years and we wanted to be a part of this exciting transition.”
“Today’s travelers are seeking an authentic, unique experience and they understand that the Hilton name brings trust, confidence, and comfort,” Baltes said. “The Well House boutique hotel will deliver upon those expectations and will truly be a great asset to the entire community.”
In addition to the hotel, the redevelopment project will be home to a restaurant along High Street in the existing commercial space. A total of 5,000 square feet of rentable space in the hotel will also be available. The project will create a minimum of 30 new permanent jobs and more than 100 construction jobs during the redevelopment.
This hotel will be the first Tapestry Collection by Hilton in Ohio. Some of the closet Tapestry Collection properties are in Lexington, Ky., Knoxville, Tenn., Pigeon Forge, Tenn., and Morgantown, W.Va.
Olliges said the development team will now be focused on selecting a restaurateur for the project. The restaurant space will have interior access to the hotel lobby and exterior seating along High Street. There will be room for a bar, a full kitchen, and ample interior dining space while keeping the historic glass and stone exterior walls.
Olliges said he and Baltes “see Hamilton as a tremendous market for doing business and a destination for travelers. We are excited to announce The Well House Hotel, Tapestry Collection by Hilton, as we look forward to starting the project and to ultimately welcoming more people to Hamilton.”
This is the second project for Olliges. His company worked on the redevelopment of 205 Main St., which saw Billy Yanks move in on the ground floor, and he said all of the upstairs apartments are rented.
It is expected Realty AWH LLC will take ownership of the Anthony Wayne building by mid-September. The building is currently owned by Jeannie Hiatt, of California.
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