“We appreciate the service and loyalty to everyone affected by this closure and will work to assist those associates in job relocation at other Commonwealth hotels throughout the portfolio,” said Brian Fry, president of Commonwealth Hotels. “We are also assisting in relocating future guest reservations.”
The city of Dayton and the Downtown Dayton Partnership say they were notified on Friday that the hotel would temporarily close for renovations on Oct. 31, but they said they do not have more information to share.
Local community leaders have worked with the hotel’s ownership group for more than a year to develop a strategy to “reposition” the property, said Sandy Gudorf, president of the Downtown Dayton Partnership
“We have asked the hotel ownership group for specific, detailed plans regarding the hotel renovations and their future plans for the hotel,” Gudorf said. “We know that this hotel is critically important to the convention center redevelopment and to downtown, and will work collectively to develop a viable and sustainable plan for the hotel.”
A company called LW Dayton V LLC, with a mailing address of Delray Beach, Florida, purchased the hotel property last year for about $13.1 million, according to Montgomery County auditor real estate records.
The Radisson, which was formerly the Crowne Plaza Dayton, opened in the mid-1970s and is one of only two hotels in downtown, though a few others are under development.
The 13-story hotel, which has about 200 rooms, rebranded as the Radisson last year, following its sale.
A group called Veteran Services USA last year announced it purchased the hotel and other similar properties across the nation with plans to create mixed-use buildings that included hotel space and housing for aging veterans.
Lockwood Asset Management, based in Delray Beach, was described as a developer and project partner. Lockwood and Veteran Services USA did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Monday.
Some people who had booked rooms in the hotel for special events like weddings have been told they will need to find other accommodations since the hotel is going to close.
The Dayton Convention & Visitors Bureau is working with groups that have booked rooms at the Radisson and will try to determine how future business will be affected, said Gudorf.
“Once we received this (closure) notice, a request went to the ownership group for a meeting with the principals, and that meeting is still pending,” she said. “We do not have any further details to share at this point.”
Dayton City Manager Shelley Dickstein issued an identical statement about the closure.
Some local community leaders were critical of the plan to create veteran housing at the property, saying a hotel is needed at that location, across from the convention center.
The convention center is undergoing about $31 million worth of renovations that seek to boost interest in the facility and attract more events to it.
A study of the convention center and the market concluded the facility needs hundreds of quality hotel rooms nearby to help attract special events.
The Radisson’s closure will leave downtown with only one hotel — the Fairfield Inn & Suites, which opened in the Water Street District in 2018.
Downtown also used to have the Dayton Grand Hotel, at the corner of Third and Ludlow streets, but that closed in late 2016.
Credit: JIM NOELER
Credit: JIM NOELER
The owners said the Grand Hotel would reopen after undergoing millions of dollars in renovations, but that did not happen.
Several more downtown hotels are under construction, including The AC Hotel Dayton, located just south of Day Air Ballpark, and the Hotel Ardent, part of the tapestry collection by Hilton, just north of the Schuster Center on North Main Street.
The Ardent will have about 120 rooms, while the AC will have about 134.
The developers of the Dayton Arcade also are working to bring a 91-room hotel to he northern part of the nine-building complex.
Jacquelyn Powell, president and CEO of the Dayton Convention & Visitors Bureau, said she was very surprised and disappointed to hear the news about the closure and that it would take place so suddenly.
The bureau immediately reached out to clients and event organizers to help them find alternative accommodations, she said.
“We are very concerned about the hotel’s closure but are optimistic that there will be a high-quality, convention-centric property in this space in the near future that will ensure the future success of the Dayton Convention Center as it undergoes a $40 million renovation,” she said. “This combination along with the additional hotel product coming to downtown Dayton will help to ensure future positive tourism and convention impacts to our region.”
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