CINCINNATI — The Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority approved $59 million bond package to finance the acquisition and demolition of the Millennium Hotel, according to a Port spokesperson.
The Convention Facilities Authority will vote whether to approve the bond issuance on Jan. 24, and The Port is set to close on the Millennium sale on Feb. 14.
The blighted downtown hotel closed its doors on Dec. 31, about a month after The Port entered a sale agreementin which the Hamilton County Commission paid $1.3 million to redevelop the blighted downtown hotel.
The county gave the funds to The Port on Oct. 4 and The Port sent the money to the hotel's owner, a Singapore-based investment group.
The developer signed purchasing rights over to The Port, and The Port will eventually purchase the 872-room hotel for $36 million. The county needed to send the $1.3 million as a sort of deposit.
Commissioner Denise Driehaus previously said the Millennium is an investment. If the Millennium were converted into a well-maintained, upscale hotel — one that’s not, as Mayor John Cranley described the current model, “a terrible place to stay” — it could attract more out-of-town visitors and boost business in the area.
Commissioner Stephanie Summerow Dumas called it a "black hole" and the worst deal she’d seen since joining the commission.
