CINCINNATI — Construction began Monday on the long-awaited renovation of the historic Lunken Airport Terminal into a boutique hotel, after years of delay.
The terminal is a Cincinnati icon that has been empty since the longtime Sky Galley restaurant closed in 2020.
The city-owned building was supposed to be revitalized years ago, but the Federal Aviation Administration rejected the first design as too tall. It forced developer Guy van Rooyen to reduce the project scale, from 55 hotel rooms down to 30, and prompted city officials to contribute a $2 million grant to finalize the new deal.
“I get numerous calls every day about people’s memories at the Sky Galley, or at Lunken Airport Days,” said Anthony Cadle, a division manager in the city of Cincinnati’s Department of Community and Economic Development. “It is certainly a cherished asset … people love this property.”
WATCH: We look at how the space will be transformed
On Monday, van Rooyen’s crews began their investigative demolition of the terminal building.
“Today is day one of construction. And the name of the game here is to peel back some of the layers of the building to relearn some of the history of it,” said Tyler Watkins, development director at The Salyers Group, which is leading the project, as crews cut 20 holes to expose the building’s original steel.
Crews will remove anything that isn’t load-bearing or historically significant in the coming weeks, such as the Cincinnati police substation located inside the terminal. Construction set to begin by June.
The Salyers Group transformed an old Coppin’s Department Store into Hotel Covington in 2016 and then added North by Hotel Covington and First District, a new café and gourmet market.
“Not only are we going to bring back a restaurant, but we’re going to revitalize this entire structure,” Cadle said. “The developer is known for Hotel Covington, which largely … put Covington on the map. It really highlighted how unique Covington was. We expect the exact same for the East End.”
The terminal will be transformed into a first-class hotel with space for weddings, ballrooms, a large restaurant and bar, outdoor patios and gardens, an in-ground pool with cabanas and valet parking.
“The design plan includes the historic renovation of the actual existing terminal building, and then on the northern side … is a two-story addition that will happen on the rear of it,” Cadle said. “That will also include a small tower that will pay homage to the existing air tower … both (towers) will be these unique two-story units.”
City Manager Sheryl Long signed the updated 50-year lease agreement for the $20.8 million project on Dec. 15. Annual rent is $1, and the developer will pay a 1% surcharge on gross revenues to support the operation of Lunken Airport, Cadle said.
“This week, we are beginning selective demolition where we can investigate what the electricity looks like, what the HVAC looks like, and what the plumbing condition is a little bit more intimately,” Cadle said. “From there, the developer will build out a more detailed development plan, and then we’ll start demo and start chugging through what that looks like.”
Cadle encouraged the developer to preserve and highlight the historic nature of the terminal, which was built in 1936 when Lunken was one of the largest municipal airports in the country.
“The Art Deco features are obviously going to be the highlight. They are going to be the belle of the ball of this rehab,” Cadle said. “Whether or not the airplane that hangs in the hangar or the Gruen clock comes back are all business decisions that the developer is going to have to explore.”
If these historic items, such as the murals that once hung in the terminal, are not used in the new hotel, then Cadle said the city will preserve them for future use or place them in a museum.
“If he chooses to use the Gruen clock, then we will celebrate that, and if he doesn’t, then we will carefully cherish that asset and preserve it,” Cadle said.
