Port selects Turner Construction, D.E. Foxx and Jostin to oversee Millennium Hotel redevelopment

Port selects Turner Construction, D.E. Foxx and Jostin to oversee former Millennium Hotel redevelopment bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2020/09/25/port-awards-contracts-for-millennium-hotel.html

By Tom Demeropolis – Senior Staff Reporter, Cincinnati Business Courier 11 minutes ago The Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority has awarded key contracts for the upcoming demolition and expected redevelopment of the former Millennium Hotel in downtown Cincinnati.

The Port selected Turner Construction Co. as the construction management company for the demolition of the region’s former largest hotel. Turner Construction will partner with D.E. Foxx & Associates, a Cincinnati-based minority-owned construction management firm and one of the largest minority-owned companies in the region, to oversee the demolition.

The Port awarded the contract for the actual demolition of the 350-foot former hotel at 35 W. Fifth St. to O’Rourke Wrecking Co., a women’s business enterprise. O’Rourke has committed $1.6 million in minority spend.

In addition, Turner Construction will partner with Jostin Construction and D.E. Foxx on the anticipated redevelopment of the property.

Laura Brunner, president and CEO of the Port, said the organization’s goal for this project has been to build a more diverse workforce and stronger minority-owned businesses.

David Spaulding, vice president and general manager of Turner Construction, said the Port moving forward with the demolition and planned redevelopment of the site shows the steps organizations are taking to keep Cincinnati moving forward, even as the coronavirus pandemic has hindered the economy. He said Turner Construction’s depth of experience both in building in downtown environments and working on convention center hotels made them the right choice for this project.

“This is going to be complex demolition because of the site and location,” Spaulding told me.

Turner Construction is currently building a convention center hotel expansion in Columbus; it built the existing convention center hotel in Columbus and Cleveland; and is working on a convention center hotel in Toledo.

Spaulding also said Turner Construction is fortunate to have “great” minority business partners on the Millennium project.

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“It shows the commitment of Turner and the Port that we are building groups around us,” Spaulding said.

Liza Smitherman, vice president of professional development at Jostin Construction, said it is exciting not just to be part of physically building the Cincinnati region but to improve inclusivity and diversity in the region.

“Especially in 2020, where we are dealing with so much, the pandemic, social and racial unrest, it says a lot about our region and our city,” Smitherman said.

She said she hopes the collaborative model the Port, Turner Construction and Jostin have done before can be modeled by others across the country.

The Port Board had unanimously approved a resolution allowing Brunner to negotiate with a Turner Construction to demolish the former Millennium Hotel and build whatever replaces it in February. At the time, Brunner said she intended to sign a contract with Turner Construction for the potentially massive, region changing project.

The first phase of the former Millennium Hotel project will include demolition of the 872room, two tower building, which is expected to begin in the next two months and take a year to complete. The demolition will be a combination of mechanical demolition and possibly controlled implosion.

The next phase will involve interviews with engineering and architecture firms to join Queensgate-based Elevar Design Group, the largest minority-owned design firm in the city.

About 90% of the total spend on the future development at the site will be spent on work performed by subcontractors. All of the subcontract work will be bid to local and regional companies, including minority-owned, women-owned or small business enterprises.

Jostin Construction is a minority business enterprise and is currently partnering with Turner Construction on the FC Cincinnati stadium project. Jostin also has worked closely with Turner Construction on 84.51 Centre and Great American Tower at Queen City Square.

D.E. Foxx, founded in 1983, has been named supplier of the year on numerous occasions by major corporations, including Procter & Gamble Co. Its clients have includes Fortune 1000 companies from a variety of industries.

Turner Construction is the region’s largest general contractor, according to Business Courier research, with 2019 local billings of $419.7 million.

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