CINCINNATI — Longworth Hall will likely have new owners before ground is broken on the Brent Spence Bridge project.
A letter of intent, dated Oct. 10, lays out the plans for the state of Ohio to purchase the property from its current owners, through the Ohio Department of Transportation.
The sale is slated to cost the state $25 million for the entire property and the building that sits on it, according to the letter.
A letter of intent is not a binding contract, but it is an official announcement that states an intended agreement between the two parties involved.
Matt Bruning, spokesperson for ODOT, said tenants already renting space within Longworth Hall have already been offered relocation assistance.
The letter says that, from the time the letter of intent was executed, the current owners of Longworth Hall cannot enter into any new leases or rental agreements for the property.
The letter also says a portion of Longworth Hall will need to be demolished to make way for the planned changes to the riverfront when the Brent Spence Bridge project launches.
"Purchaser has previously identified the portions of the Longworth Hall building that must be removed for the Brent Spence Bridge project; and purchaser's agents are working with tenants occupying units in that portion of the building on relocation," reads the letter.
Bruning said ODOT's plans are to remove 200 feet from the eastern end of the building, then close the wall back up with bricks taken from the demolition.
"We also plan to make some improvements to the structure to ensure it is around for decades to come," Bruning wrote in an email.
The letter of intent also says units 3E and 4E within the building are already vacant and will be used by ODOT as a "project management office" during the execution of the Brent Spence Bridge project, the letter says.
Longworth Hall has stood on the site since 1904, when it was originally a warehouse for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, according to the building's website. It's currently on the National Register of Historic Places and was reported to be the longest structure of its type in the world when it was built.
The Brent Spence Bridge project details are still currently in flux, with no certain design or plan having been released yet; the full cost of the project has also not yet been determined, but it's been estimated at around $3.6 billion.
In January, President Joe Biden stood on the banks of the Ohio River in Covington, Ky. to announce the funding that would allow improvements on the Brent Spence corridor to begin.
After years of debate, the project finally received $1.635 billion in funding from the federal Infrastructure Law, signed by Biden on Nov. 15, 2021.
In July, state officials announced the companies that will be at the helm of the Brent Spence Bridge redesign will be Kokosing and The Walsh Group. However, what specific kind of design the Brent Spence Bridge's planned companion bridge will embody is not yet known.
Bridge Forward, an activist group that focuses on the Brent Spence Bridge corridor, has put forward three potential alternative design plans, with varying amounts of acreage freed up in downtown Cincinnati.
However, arguments against Bridge Forward's designs have focused on whether the organization's vision for the project will come at a much higher cost. Officials said their plan could cost $100 million more than current concepts and cause more traffic congestion.
You can read the full letter of intent from the state below:
LOI Longworth Signed by WCPO 9 News on Scribd
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