Commissioners said they approved $1.5 million to be proactive and help build cash reserves at the Hilton Garden Inn, which the county is a partial owner of.
TOLEDO, Ohio —
Lucas County commissioners are hoping that putting more money into a downtown hotel project now will pay off in the future.
Commissioners approved a total of $1.5 million from the county’s general fund to be set aside for the Hilton Garden Inn at the corner of Monroe and Summit streets. The commissioners agreed to put $500,000 toward helping boost the hotel’s cash reserves, and the other $1 million is to be set aside for any future projects or needs the hotel may have.
The county became a partial owner of the Hilton Garden Inn back in 2020, after investing $37.5 million to help renovate the former Park Inn Hotel. The county owns 20% of the project, while the majority owners are Continental Development Ventures and First Hospitality Group.
“This is ensuring our investment is alive and operating,” commissioner Pete Gerken said. “It will get utilized as it’s needed.”
The hotel had an air conditioning failure that drained its reserves this summer, and Gerken said that showed him that it could take one thing to go wrong and create a financial issue or cause the hotel to close for a couple of weeks. He said that is not an acceptable risk, which is why he supported the resolutions.
“I don’t want to risk that future by being shortsighted now,” Gerken said. “This is a cash investment that’s available. We may not have to put it all in, but boy, we better have a backstop ready to go in case we need it.”
All three commissioners voted for the $500,000, but commissioner Anita Lopez voted against setting aside the extra $1 million, citing reservations she had.
Commissioner Lisa Sobecki said she thinks this was “exactly the right investment” and that having an operating hotel and convention center is critical to bring more events to Toledo.
A third-party analysis of the two shows there’s still room for improvement. The analysis was done in September of last year by HVS Convention, Sports & Entertainment Facilities Consulting.
The analysis said the hotel has not met financial goals since opening, and the Glass City Center had lost more than 100 events between 2021 and July of 2024 due to issues like not having enough hotel rooms or a lack of client response. The analysis also mentioned the lack of flights at the Eugene F. Kranz Toledo Express Airport.
Gerken said there are already 29 events and conventions on the books through 2028, and the projections show a promising future. He said some of these include the Garmin Marathon and the Ohio Land Bank conference.
The money commissioners voted on Tuesday still has to be approved through the Lucas County Economic Development Corporation’s board.
The county initially took out $37.5 million in short-term bond anticipation notes for the hotel project, which have been rolled over each year since 2020. The county has paid $4.69 million in interest so far, and it is anticipated to pay another $1.7 million this year, according to a county spokesperson. The county has not paid any principal yet.
The county is set to renew the notes in October and the interest on the upcoming reissuance is anticipated to be 7%, costing the county roughly $2.6 million.
A county representative said there are talks set to happen in April of next year regarding hotel ownership.
Comments are closed.