Closed downtown Dayton hotel sells for $1 million

A limited liability company tied to HDDA, of Atlanta, paid that amount for the former hotel at 11 S. Ludlow, across from Dayton city government offices at Ludlow and Third Street.

Last year, new owners proposed spending about $23 million to rehab the property into 103 new apartments.

Credit: CHRIS STEWART / STAFF FILE

Credit: CHRIS STEWART / STAFF FILE

A classified advertisement for the sheriff’s sale last May said the property had been appraised at $1.5 million and could not sell for less than two-thirds of that amount.

That hotel site has a bit of a history. What was the Dayton Grand Hotel closed in 2016 as it underwent what at the time were thought would be renovations.

The hotel is located across Ludlow from the Dayton Arcade, which is in the midst of a multi-year redevelopment, a stark contrast to the hotel’s struggles.

In 2020, the auction company Ten-X listed the former 12-story hotel as having 184 guest rooms, space for a restaurant and lounge, an indoor pool, a fitness center, a business center and 5,925 square feet of meeting and event space.

“The property presents investors with the opportunity to acquire a well-located, highly visible, full-service vacant hotel fully unencumbered by brand and management,” Ten-X said in late 2020. “A new owner has complete flexibility in terms of renovating and rebranding with a new hotel franchise, or considering alternative uses for the building such as multi-family.”

Recent years have not been kind to this site. In 2015, hotel officials announced they were undergoing $3 million to $5 million in renovations, with plans to rebuild the pool, re-open its restaurant and convert to a Double Tree by Hilton.

The hotel did not rebrand, however, and struggled.

Developer Simon Burgess, a partner with Revive Living Developments LLC, declined to comment Tuesday. Atlanta management firm HDDA and Revive each have a 50% ownership stake in the property, the companies said last year.

HDDA filed a complaint for foreclosure on the property in July 2020 against HC Dayton LLC, of Indianapolis, in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court.