By the numbers
1922: Formal inauguration of the Hotel Manchester on Nov. 3.
1960: In October, John F. Kennedy stays at the Manchester Inn while campaigning for president.
750: The capacity of the ballroom, which would make it the largest venue to hold events in the city.
500-plus: The annual attendance of the Pigskin-Roundball Spectacular forced to move out of the city since its inception in 1990.
89: The number of Charity Balls held at the Manchester Inn. The event has been held at the Pendleton Art Center the past two years.
$250,000: The amount of insurance money the later Perry Thatcher and former owner of the Manchester Inn reinvested in the hotel after a pipe burst in 2009 severely damaging the ballroom and kitchen.
2011: On Jan. 3, the Manchester Inn unceremoniously closes when a piece of paper is posted to the door saying its closed.
The historic Manchester Inn & Conference Center has received “a lot of interest” from potential buyers — including one from Florida — since it was listed Monday for $325,000, according to city officials and the realtor handling the property.
The 91-year-old, 74-room hotel, which counts former President John F. Kennedy among its guests, has been shuttered for almost two years now. The city, which bought the hotel in March 2011 from the estate of the late Perry Thatcher for $175,000, had been “soft marketing” the building for about a year with no serious offers.
But now that officials have decided to give the hotel more market exposure, City Manager Judy Gilleland said she anticipates “a great deal of interest in the first three months of the listing.” She said she believes the Manchester can return to its former glory as a restaurant, conference center and hotel.
“That certainly is one real possibility,” Gilleland said. “There are many different combinations that would work very well for the building in the community.”
A successful sale and redevelopment of the Manchester could help the city recoup the money it spent and the $150,000 in unpaid loans and debts it forgave to obtain the hotel. It would also represent a big win for ongoing efforts to redevelop downtown Middletown into an arts, entertainment and education center.
Local commercial real estate agent Lenny Robinson said he’s rooting for someone to come along and bring the Manchester “back to life.” But Robinson acknowledged it would be a hefty investment for whoever buys it.
“You don’t know what’s behind the walls,” Robinson said, noting that’s the No. 1 problem with buildings as old as the Manchester. “Every time you touch something, it’s going to cost you money. It becomes a question of dollars, of economic justification.”
Some city estimates say it could take between $8 million and $20 million to redevelop the Manchester Inn.
“It’s really going to come down to economics,” Robinson said. “The old adage in real estate is, it’s not how much it costs, it’s how much will it make. What will be the return on investment and where will it come from?
Gilleland said the mechanical systems and the Manchester’s other features are in relatively good shape. But she conceeded Robinson’s point that there are always surprises with historic building renovations.
Still, cities such as Hamilton have had success in redeveloping old historic hotels, Gilleland said. The city manager said she has been conversing with Hamilton officials who were involved in converting the former Hamiltonian hotel — a former riverside landmark — into a Courtyard by Marriott.
Gilleland said she believes a similar transformation can take place for the Manchester, if the city can land the ideal developer who is savvy working with historic tax credits, restoring historic buildings and working through some complex financing. She said the downtown can support a small hotel because “the historic nature of the hotel makes it unique.
“The fact that it is in a downtown area that is seeing a revival makes it interesting,” Gilleland said. “And there is some market for hotel rooms in our downtown area.”
One big hurdle could be the hotel’s distance from Interstate 75, the city’s front door, Robinson said. Being five to seven miles from the interstate, from other retail activity in the East End, diminishes the draw, he said.
He also questioned whether at this point, there is enough downtown revitalization to draw people there. Robinson said he wouldn’t want to see it happen, but if there isn’t someone to invest in the building, “it may be better off if it were to be taken down for the land.
“That’s the unfortunate part of what may happen, but a necessary part,” he said.
Patrick Kay, Downtown Middletown Inc. executive director, said his group, with the aid of a grant from the Middletown Community Foundation, is working to establish a historic district downtown that would encompass the Manchester and qualify it for the state’s historic tax credits.
Kay said that would give a potential developer the tools needed to make a redevelopment project succeed.
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