ASHTABULA — City Council unanimously approved a 10-year, 75 percent tax abatement Monday night for the development of a 26-room hotel in the Ashtabula Harbor.
The four-story River Bend Hotel will be built at the corner of West Sixth Street and Goodwill Drive, behind the Bascule Bridge Grill.
Construction will begin in early spring, weather permitting, City Manager Jim Timonere said.
“The hotel is a go. A lot of good things are happening,” he said. “We are really excited about this project.”
The $5 million project will receive a $3.1 million loan from Erie Bank and will be further financed by public funds from the city and the county, as well as through funds from the Ashtabula County 503 Corporation.
Council Vice President Chris McClure estimated the city would gain $4,000 in bed tax annually.
A recent 480-person independent study of Ohio and the Pittsburgh area, conducted on behalf of the Ashtabula County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, showed Ashtabula was a growing attraction known for its wineries, lake recreation and covered bridges. However, of those polled, 67 percent cited a lack of attractive lodging options.
The hotel project is homegrown, proposed by Todd A. Canter, an Ashtabula native who now resides in Baltimore, Maryland. Canter was formerly Asia Pacific chief executive officer for LaSalle Investment Management Securities.
Canter said River Bend Hotel will offer an ideal setting for the city’s overnight guests, with access to 30 miles of shoreline on Lake Erie and proximity to Walnut Beach Park, Geneva-on-the-Lake and the area’s popular wineries, he said during a phone interview Monday morning.
The property will include a first-floor wine bar, a 500-square-foot conference room, a fitness center, two connecting family suites and a combined lobby and gathering space with fireplace. The second through fourth floors will have 24 upscale suites facing northeast, with sitting areas, eat-in kitchenettes and a panoramic view of Lake Erie.
On the rooftop, patrons can partake in a 1,200-square-foot wine bar serving drinks from local wineries and unobstructed views of the Ashtabula River as it bends under the lift bridge, Carver said.
Council President John Roskovics said he was excited about the hotel and hopes the rooftop wine bar will be open during the Wine and Walleye Festival’s fireworks display.
“It will definitely be the place to be for the best view of the fireworks,” he said.
Canter said River Bend Hotel was born out of a love for his boyhood home.
“I graduated from Edgewood High School. ... My mother and family still live there, and I’ve been a witness to Ashtabula Harbor’s amazing evolution over the last four decades from a major shipping and industrial center to a sought-after Great Lakes tourist destination,” he said.
“Our plan is to develop a new property that will accommodate and round-out the needs of tourists to Ashtabula. Our vision is a regionally-unique destination hotel that blends beautifully into the fabric of the neighborhood and provides a stepping-off point to recreation, covered bridge tours and winery expeditions.”
Upon returning to the United States after six years in Hong Kong, Canter said he approached Timonere about this desire to give back.
“The idea was conceived for an upscale hotel that would capitalize on growing tourism in the region and fill a much-needed lodging gap,” he said. “The city was a willing partner and made it easy to see the vision become a reality; it’s a true private and public partnership.”
Timonere reached out to local investors to pitch the idea and introduce them to Canter, who then formed a consortium to create and design the hotel.
The consortium is comprised of local business leaders Larry Laurello of Laurello Vineyards and Delta Railroad; Pete Huggins of Iten Industries and Chuck Borsukoff of JCI Contractors. Architectural design firm Stephen Berry has been chosen for the project and the hotel will be managed by a third-party hotel management firm, yet to be selected.
“Larry Laurello’s wine concept is to bridge the Harbor to Ashtabula County’s vineyards,” Canter said.
Timonere said hotel development is a significant milestone in Ashtabula history.
“We are seeing a rise in jobs and wages in our great county and, once completed, River Bend Hotel will undoubtedly be a huge shot in the arm for further economic advancement through tourism,” he said.
“Our study and available data indicate great demand for
a hotel property of this type, in this location.”
In 2017, tourism to Ashtabula County generated about $451 million in sales, up $17 million from 2013 and up almost $100 million since 2009. Local officials expect this trend to continue, Timonere said.
“People from around the region come to Ashtabula to enjoy a number of different recreational activities on beautiful Lake Erie, our historic and much-photographed covered bridges and, of course, our burgeoning wine country,” he said.
“We will be able to provide visitors with a piece of the puzzle that has until now largely been missing — upscale lodging where they can gather and enjoy the vista while also having immediate access to the many attractions greater Ashtabula County has to offer.”
City Council also approved Timonere’s request for an ordinance to submit an application to the state for a $167,500 economic development loan for River Bend Hotel.
This funding, which will be matched by the county, will be used to buy capital equipment and fixed assets, he said.
Council will vote on the ordinance at its next meeting, set for 7 p.m. Jan. 22.