Terrace Plaza Hotel’s new owner wants an emergency city loan

The Indiana developer who just bought downtown Cincinnati’s Terrace Plaza Hotel is asking the city for a $2.9 million emergency loan to stop the historic building from crumbling.

The list of building code violations there is extensive but one of the most urgent fixes includes securing the 74year-old structure’s brick facade, given the hazard it poses to pedestrian safety. In 2018, a chunk of debris fell off the exterior and struck a car and this summer, a window fell out.

CityleaderstoldTheEnquirerthey’re likely to provide help, noting the new developer didn’t cause any of the problems and that the building, which sits a block off Fountain Square, is in a key spot for downtown’s vibrancy.

The former modernist icon is now considered to have “deteriorated to the point that it is unfit for habitation,” according a spokesperson for city manager Sheryl Long. The city filed a public nuisance claim against the building’s former owner in 2019.

Stabilizing the roof, removing the deteriorating air-handling unit on top of the roof and replacing the building’s standpipe system, which stops fires from breaking out, are also top priorities. Right now, a “fire watch” is place until the public safety systems are operable again. This includes video surveillance and on-site personnel.

Safety concerns partially a city responsibility

The developer, Birkla Investment Group, already installed fencing around theperimeteroftheTerracePlazaHotel, and has blocked off lanes closest to the building on Sixth and Race Streets.

Addressing these safety concerns is partially the responsibility of the city, according to the developer’s representative Doug Moormann, vice president of Development Strategies Group Moorman said that they are working withthebuildingsdepartmentonaplan to quickly tackle a dozen of the structure’s top issues before moving forward with any plans for redevelopment.

That’s why Anthony Birkla, now owner of the 60,000-square-foot building at 15 W. Sixth St., asked the city for an emergency loan request of up to $2.9 million of district Tax Increment Financing (TIF) funds to finance these repairs. In those districts, new money collectedfrompropertytaxesissetasidein a specific fund for economic development projects.

Total repairs could cost $6 million

The total cost of these repairs at the Terrace Plaza Hotel is estimated to be around $6 million which is a number determined by contractor Turner Construction and Birkla’s in-house construction management team. Birkla will pay the remaining costs out of pocket, according to Moormann

This is a partnership that we’ve created between city and developer to help moreimmediatelyaddressandalleviate these problems,” Moormann told The Enquirer. “It’s not anything new to city