After going on the market over a year ago, a sale is pending for Powel Crosley, Jr.'s Pinecroft estate in Mount Airy. The buyers plan to build a boutique hotel on the 19-acre property.
"Our vision is to restore The Pinecroft into a boutique hotel and event destination that celebrates both its architectural beauty and its deep connection to Cincinnati’s history," real estate developer Reshma Vadlamudi tells WVXU. "We want it to be a space where the community can gather, celebrate, and experience a piece of local heritage in a thoughtful, modern way."
Plans for "The Crosley Hotel" list 32 rooms, including 10 cottages, a farm-to-table style restaurant, spa services, wellness spaces, and an event center. Phase 1 would include 13 guest rooms, later expanding to 32. It would employ 30-50 hospitality and wellness staff, Vadlamudi says.
Construction and preservation costs are estimated at $7.5 million to $8.5 million. Renovations and construction is slated to take about three years, though portions could open in about a year, according to The Crosley Hotel spokesperson Lynn Schwarber, a real estate agent with Comey & Shepherd who is representing Vadlamudi and partner, Kris Sunkara.
"There's currently a tent out back where they host weddings. We want to replace that with a permanent structure — that could be a ballroom — so you could have weddings year-round," says Schwarber.
The property is currently owned by Cincinnati Preservation and is operated as an event venue by DelightMore (formerly Funky's Catering). The Crosley Hotel website indicates it will operate a year-round events space suitable for weddings, corporate events, and private celebrations.
The city's zoning hearing examiner held a public hearing Tuesday on the necessary zoning changes. A decision is expected in a few weeks.
Purchase controversy
Vadlamudi and Sunkara want to build a small restaurant with a rooftop bar. This idea has drawn the most concern from community members and neighbors.
Madi's House, a non-residential mental health facility started by Julie and Steve Raliegh after the death of their daughter, operates next door to Pinecroft. It opened in 2020 and moved to a house on the former Mercy Health property in 2021.
An attorney representing Madi's House says they're concerned about alcohol being so close to facilities that work with people with substance abuse problems. Many volunteers and board members spoke at Tuesday's hearing opposing the project.
"I live directly across the street in a subdivision opposite the Crosley estate," says Vincent Thomas Costello, a volunteer at Madi's House. "I find it very disturbing to know that this hotel will provide liquor that may be available as people walk around the grounds. I'm also concerned that there may be use of marijuana which could be easily smelled or accessed by the residents of Madi's House as well."
"There's been a lot of concern about the rooftop bar, but it's really going to be just an elegant little bar, nothing rowdy," Schwarber says. "This will be more of a high-end boutique that's going to appeal to a classy crowd."
Vadlamudi says the rooftop bar would hold 70-75 people.
Vadlamudi notes DelightMore has had a liquor license and served alcohol on the property for the past 12 years.
Neighbors also questioned why Cincinnati Preservation didn't accept an offer by Madi's House to buy the Crosley estate. Johnson told the zoning examiner Madi's House offered $1.7 million. She said Cincinnati Preservation responded with a counter offer, but didn't hear back. Ultimately she said, the offer was rejected because the agency didn't think Madi's House, a nonprofit, would be able to afford the necessary repairs and annual upkeep on the historic home.
Pincecroft was placed on the National Register of Historic Places Dec. 17, 2008.
Cincinnati Preservation President Beth Johnson says the proposed sale includes keeping preservation easements in place that protect the property's historic elements. Those were part of the deal with Mercy Health, which previously owned the property.
"We do have draft preservation easements that were submitted as part of the zoning hearing (Tuesday) that we've worked on with Kris and Reshma and their plans and their architects that would preserve the integrity of the architecture of the house on the exterior as well as the interior, while allowing for changes on the property that would be in keeping with the property and contextually sensitive, to make sure that then the uses could happen on the property," says Johnson. "The historic preservation architectural easements are actually the strongest form of protection on any property because they are privately held."
Cincinnati Preservation would continue to hold those preservation easements.
Johnson says similar properties across the country have shown to be successful when transitioning to the proposed boutique hotel-style model. DelightMore operates using a seasonal outdoor tent, meaning it can only host events from roughly April through October. Johnson says that model alone isn't generating enough revenue.
Schwarber didn't disclose the sale price, but said it was around $2 million. It's listed for sale online at $2.4 million.
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