Cincinnati staffers are recommending the city's Historic Conservation Board reject an application to tear down the former Dennison Hotel on Main Street in Downtown.
The building's current owner, Columbus REI, LLC, wanted to demolish it saying "due to an economic hardship claim that the reuse of the building cannot create an economic return on investment."
The owner had proposed a new development, but the site would be vacant while that plan is finalized.
The city staff report disagreed with the economic hardship claim.
"The applicant has not provided credible evidence that they cannot reuse the building nor can a reasonable economic return be gained from the use of all or part of the building proposed for demolition at 716-718 Main Street," the report stated.
Opponents to the demolition had said the former hotel building should be preserved because of its location in a historic district.
The Historic Conservation Board will consider the recommendation at its meeting Monday afternoon at City Hall in what's expected to be a well-attended public hearing.
The board has to give its okay to raze the building otherwise the city cannot issue a demolition permit for the project.
The building was built in 1892 for an ironworks company. Later the eight-story building became the Dennison Hotel. It is located in the city's Main Street Historic District.
