Location: Cincinnati, OH
Construction Schedule: November 2018 – September 2020
Customer: Vision Hospitality Group [1]
Architect: Campo Architects [2]
The Kinley Hotel renovation is a nine-story hotel previously known as the Jewelers Exchange Building. The 62,000 SF structure was built in 1915 and served as an office building for years before being purchased by Vision Hospitality in 2017. HGC served as the general contractor on the complex renovation.
Learn more about another collaboration between HGC and Vision Hospitality Group [3]
The project converted the historic structure into a 94-room luxury hotel. The first floor features a highly anticipated restaurant, Khora, as well as a welcoming common area with a bar that doubles as a coffee bar in the morning and a liquor bar at night.
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As a historic building receiving historic tax credits, it was imperative that the team retain plaster walls, the original ceilings, and the crown in all guestrooms. The original first floor terrazzo flooring was restored. Additionally, the original wood windows were restored and then paired with more energy efficient storm windows on the interior.
Explore HGC’s historic preservation portfolio. [7]
Site work created interesting challenges. Original scope included replacing the topping slab of the sidewalk around the site. When crews determined there was not a structural slab under the existing topping slab, all in-place work had to be removed in order to pour new footers and add a separate steel structure. This then resulted in upgrading the entire elevated sidewalk to meet city code, which has changed over the years since the area last saw work. HGC worked closely with the Design Team and local utility companies to keep the project moving as efficiently as possible despite these changes. The team also provided a concrete pad and landscaping plots in the side lot, preparing it for a future patio space.
On the roof, the crew had to work around three existing cell repeaters and a central platform. Re-roofing required close coordination with the company in charge of the cell towers. The team had to move each tower individually, roof the newly exposed area, move the tower back, and then move on to the next area.
Check out what crews had to do for the roof on this historic restoration. [8]
The building has a lot of character, with alleys on two sides. This means it has windows on all four sides, along with an intriguing façade and “great bones.” Renovating the building required removing a non-functioning chimney, demolition on all nine floors, as well as taking out the original elevator shaft and installing a larger, more modern one in a completely different area. Once the old elevator shafts were removed, the space was infilled on every floor, and new window openings were cut in the east elevation to allow natural light in the spaces that would become added guestrooms. Installing the new elevator required cutting a new elevator shaft through the center of the building.
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This project was especially unique thanks to the collaboration of all four companies within the HGC Group of Companies [12]. Concrete repairs in the basement were handled by SSRG crew members. Stanton Millworks completed an extensive casework package that can be seen in the hospitality spaces and the fitness center. And Stewart Iron Works created historic molds and castings to recreate exterior ornamentation that required restoration, in addition to contributing to custom interior metalwork inside Khora.
Learn more about the Group of Companies. [12]
The hotel’s official ribbon cutting was held on Thursday, October 22, 2020. Local leaders celebrated this vibrant new business in the heart of the city. Read the story in the Cincinnati Business Courier’s. [13]