The owners of the Terrace Plaza Hotel say they have big plans for the building. JNY Capital says it will renovate the downtown structure from top to bottom. Spokesperson Robin Miller says a design preview should be released April 8.
"There is a mixed-use plan for the property that will include a variety of things, some repurposed, but in keeping with the general use of the property," she says.
The Terrace Plaza has been mostly vacant for about a decade, and earlier this month Cincinnati filed a nuisance suit against the owners. Miller says the owners have already made some "critical safety repairs."
"The owner has met with the city to identify a list of issues that the city was most concerned about, and all but a few of them were addressed prior to the city filing its recent lawsuit," she says.
The Cincinnati Historic Conservation Board recommended landmark designation status for the hotel in February. If council approves, renovations would have to abide by preservation methods in order to qualify for historic tax credits. The hotel is already listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Terrace Plaza opened in 1948 and was the first hotel to have a television in every room, and the first to have a fully automated elevator.
Miller says the original architecture firm, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, will work on the design, along with the company that helped restore Union Terminal, GBBN.
