$23 million boutique hotel across from TQL Stadium denied key approval

Read the full article featured in Cincinnati Business Courier here.

The developer of a boutique hotel planned across the street from TQL Stadium did not receive a key approval to move the project forward last week.

Moment Development, in a joint venture with Downtown Property Management Inc., aims to build a boutique hotel at the corner of Central Parkway and Magnolia Street in Over-the-Rhine. On April 25, Cincinnati’s Historic Conservation Board voted 3-2 against a certificate of appropriateness for new construction of a building at 1416 Central Parkway that would incorporate an existing historic building at 1420 and 1430 Central Parkway.

Ohm Patel, founder of Moment Development, said even after this vote, he plans to continue working to move the hotel project forward. The boutique hotel would be an investment of at least $23 million.

Patel said he is looking at revising the plan for the hotel, appealing the board’s decision or a combination of both.

“This doesn’t end our campaign to get something done here,” Patel told me. “There are no hotels in the OTR market. It’s a need.”

It’s been a long road since the project was first announced about a year ago. In July 2021, the Historic Conservation Board denied the certificate of appropriateness for the demolition of 1416 Central Parkway and the new construction at 1416-1430 Central Parkway, but approved the demolition of an addition at 1430 Central Parkway and zoning relief for an outdoor eating and drinking area that was 50% larger than the permitted indoor area and an outdoor entertainment area.

In October 2021, the Zoning Board of Appeals overturned the Historic Conservation Board decision on the certificate of appropriateness for the demolition of 1416 Central Parkway and it was approved.

Moment Development and its partners proposed building an in-fill building with three-stories at the street line with a setback fourth story. The building would be mostly brick with arched openings on the first floor. The project also would include the rehabilitation of 1420 Central Parkway, including facade changes with a fourth-floor access hallway. The garage door would be removed for a recessed entrance in the large first floor opening. The infill at 1424 and 1430 Central Parkway would take the place of the two one-story structures. It would be one, three-story structure with two distinct facade treatments, and a fourth story set back.

A skyway would connect the building to 1420 Central Parkway over the alley at the second, third and fourth levels. Plus, the building would have a roof deck. Finally, at 216-222 Magnolia St., the developers plan to take this parking lot and build a three-story building with a fourth floor set back on the rear half of the building toward Central Parkway.

In its comments to the Historic Conservation Board, staff said it was supportive of the design and “feels that the design substantially conforms to the Historic Conservation District Guidelines.”

Patel said when the project first went to the board, it was denied because of the design, especially because of the massing on Magnolia Street. In the revised design, the team eliminated 50 feet of set-back space on the fourth floor and removed four hotel rooms.

“We were willing to do that because we wanted to respond to their guidance,” Patel said.

Moment Development and Downtown Property Management are working with Luminaut as the architect for the planned hotel. In the end, the new requests for certificates of appropriateness were denied without comment, Patel said.

“We’re forging ahead,” he said.

He said this area needs a luxury hotel product across from TQL Stadium. Patel said the city has invested a lot of money into the stadium and the city is looking at investing $20 million to make Central Parkway the city’s own version of Paris’ Avenue des Champs-Elysees or Boston’s Commonwealth Avenue.

“We feel like our investment is in support of the city’s investment,” Patel said. “I’m just trying to light a match to get commercial development in a major commercial-zoned area to flourish.”