A downward trajectory was unmistakable by the 1960s, although the Arcade remained at least somewhat active in the 1980s. Its doors closed — permanently, it was feared — on Jan. 31, 1991.
Today, nearly a decade of development work — including millions in loans, grants and other forms of financing — has launched the complex’s nine buildings into a new era.
Construction began in earnest on the northern section of the complex last year. That part of the Arcade is being turned into a hotel and a retail marketplace.
“Holly Days at the Arcade Presented by AES Ohio and Dayton Daily News” returns this week to the Arcade and downtown Dayton.
It’s a chance to see again how far the Arcade complex, with its more than 100 tenants, has come.
“It’s a constant flow, as I’m watching an event getting ready for tonight,” Dave Williams, vice president of development with Cross Street Partners, said in a new interview. “It’s constant activity.”
Credit: Jim Noelker
Credit: Jim Noelker
The holiday event, organized by Friends of the Dayton Arcade and Cross Street Partners, features shopping from more than 50 vendors, food, live entertainment and much more from 3 to 8 p.m. Wednesday through Friday.
Cross Street Partners was an integral member of the development group that took control of the complex in 2019 with a capital stack of almost $100 million.
“I think everybody was ready for it,” Williams said. “We had to make a decision a decade ago. A decade ago was when we decided, are we going to save it or are we going to tear it down?”
“Nearly every square inch” of the complex’s approximately 500,000 square feet has since been (or is being) developed.
Now, the development team’s goal is to have the north end of the arcade — the latest and final phase of development — open for tenants in the first quarter of 2025, when Williams hopes to see a 92-plus-room Hilton Garden Inn “putting heads in beds,” or close to it.
It has been a long journey. Developers began eyeing the Central Hotel Group for north side tenancy a few years ago.
Beyond the hotel, the arcade’s north side is slated to see a mix of office, retail, events and restaurant elements. Slated there at this point: A salon, as well as an unnamed vendor with a history in the Arcade from the 1980s that Williams said “everyone will recognize,” and a baker from Hamilton.
“It really creates a pretty unique scenario, probably not duplicated anywhere in the state,” Williams said. “It goes with the grandeur of the space.”
“A great finish for an amazing project,” is how he put it.
Overseeing the development day-to-day, Williams said he doesn’t have time to step back and appreciate how far the project has come.
But he knows others do that.
“Our goal has always been, how do you keep the tenants doing well, how do you keep the properties looking good, how do you continue to keep the experience something that is not only anticipated but also meets the expectations of the community,” Williams said.
What will change is access to the arcade, which is mainly an office space and events venue now. “When we open up the retail on the north end, I think it will feel like a lot more like the 1980s (arcade) that people remember.”
An ongoing lawsuit has become part the arcade’s most recent chapter.
In a Montgomery County Common Pleas Court suit, RLR Investments LLC claimed the redevelopment of the Arcade led to improper closure and elimination of a walkway connecting an office building the company owns to a parking garage.
RLR owns the Fifth Third Center building at 1 S. Main St. and the Fifth Third Center parking garage, which sit on the same block as the Arcade.
“We’re still not done with the litigation with our neighbors, which is disappointing because we’ve done everything we can to try to facilitate and accommodate,” Williams said. “It’s just seems to be an ongoing effort on their side, which is very disappointing.”
A message seeking comment was sent to two attorneys for RLR.
According to the case docket, a status conference on the case is set for March 4, 2025.
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