CINCINNATI -- The property owners seeking to knock down the historic Dennison Hotel building won a victory Friday.
Cincinnati's Board of Zoning Appeals voted to overturn a decision from the Historic Conservation Board that had blocked a demolition permit.
Columbia REI, LLC owns the property at the corner of Main and Seventh streets Downtown. They want to redevelop the site with a mixed-use development.
The company released the following statement after the board's vote Friday:
"We are obviously pleased with today's vote of the Cincinnati ZBA, which allows the planning for the eventual redevelopment of the Dennison Hotel site to move forward. We knew all along that our plans for the property and our arguments in favor of redeveloping the site would prevail. We thank the ZBA for making the right decision regarding the future of the Dennison Hotel property."
But several groups want to see the Dennison building restored.
"In Cincinnati, our historic urban fabric is what makes us who we are," Derek Bauman said. "People don't come here to see our parking lots. We have movies being announced almost weekly, and they come here because of the fabric and nature of our city."
