Group begins search for team to develop hotel near Dayton Convention Center

DAYTON — The plan for a convention hotel adjacent to the Dayton Convention Center advanced Wednesday with the Montgomery County Convention Facilities Authority launching the search for a development team to produce the project.

>> RELATED: Big plans in motion to bring hotel to Dayton Convention Center.

The MCCFA is asking developers to submit preliminary project proposals and pre-qualification through an RFQ process, with the support of HP&D Advisory, a seasoned hotel consultant group. A hotel is planned in conjunction with the $40 million to $45 million convention center renovation project, which aims to bring more people to Dayton and encourage them to stay longer.

The project calls for a full-service, national branded hotel with approximately 200 guestrooms, according to the MCCFA’s request released Wednesday. It will also include a restaurant, and retail/civic/entertainment spaces adjacent to the Oregon Garage -- also known as the Transportation Garage.

The site for the proposed hotel is immediately across South Jefferson Street from the convention center, bounded by Stone Street to the south, East Fifth to the north and the existing Oregon District parking deck to the east. The MCCFA controls the 0.4 acre site, according to the request.

The MCCFA in 2023 partnered with Meyers+Associates Architecture (Dayton AC Marriott and Fairfield Inn project architects) to conduct a study of the city plaza feasibility to determine whether the desired number of guestrooms and elements typically associated with a full-service hotel could be practically developed on the site.

That work “determined the site itself offers ideal dimensions for the hotel,” the MCCFA said in the request.

The MCCFA’s plan is to vet the submissions and “select the team which provides the highest assurance of delivering a quality hotel product in a timely manner and for a commensurate request of public financial participation,” according to the request.

In other news related to the proposed hotel adjacent to the convention center, the MCCFA said:

* In 2024, the 118-room Hotel Ardent is to open at 137 N. Main St. with guest reservations starting in October. The three-star property is part of the Hilton’s Tapestry Collection.

* In 2025, the Hilton Garden Inn Dayton Downtown, a 94-room property in the Third Street Arcade building that is to be part of a larger mixed-use commercial revitalization project, is to come online.

Developers interested in the convention center hotel project have until July 30 to respond. The MCCFA plans to name a team by late August.

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