UD and Concord will jointly own the property on UD’s campus at River Park Drive and South Patterson Boulevard, and Concord will operate the hotel and oversee a renovation still in the planning stages, according to a UD spokeswoman.
Concord previously teamed with UD to take over and upgrade the Courtyard Dayton-University of Dayton hotel near UD Arena that was sold earlier this year. The Dayton Marriott will undergo a similar makeover and remain a full-service Marriott hotel.
“The University has been a trusted, valued partner, and I am certain that this asset will be a strong addition to both of our portfolios,” said Mark Laport, president of Concord.
UD officials, city leaders and Dayton development officials celebrated the redevelopment of the Dayton Marriott, which sits in the middle of the UD’s expanded campus and has hosted thousands of families, alumni, athletic teams and academic conference participants through the years.
“This is an excellent investment for our future, because it ensures university control of a crucial piece of land for our campus and also helps diversify the university’s investments, which support the core mission of the university,” said Tom Burkhardt, UD’s vice president for finance and administrative services.
Jeff Hoagland, president and CEO of the Dayton Development Coalition, said the hotel upgrade will be key to supporting projects already completed or underway, including the multi-million dollar GE Aviation EPISCenter and the Emerson Innovation Center.
“I think it was crucial that whoever bought the hotel kept it as a flagship hotel because of the business development that’s occurring in that area,” Hoagland said. “To have a quality, state-of-the-art hotel, slash, meeting and entertaining place is important for those businesses. And I think it shows great vision and leadership by the university to take on such a large investment in addition to the investments they’ve taken on in the past.”
The property will be held in the university’s investment portfolio and will not be considered a university facility, according to a UD release.
The renovation will include complete guest room and guest bath upgrades as well as reconfiguration of the existing lobby and restaurant space into a Marriott great room with flexible space for business, recreation and social activities. Renovations will also extend to the ballroom, meeting rooms and fitness center.
“This is great news for the city of Dayton,” said Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley. “The hotel has always been an important asset to Dayton, hosting visitors and members of the UD family alike. A first-rate hotel is crucial to support the high-tech economic development that is quickly growing in our southern corridor.”
The Dayton Marriott was built in 1982 and renovated in 2008. It includes 399 guest rooms with nine suites, 13,600-square-feet of meeting space, a full-service restaurant and bar as well as a health club and indoor/outdoor pool.
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