CINCINNATI — The Duke Energy Convention Center district's future hotel will be a Marriott, developer Portman Holdings announced Tuesday.
The Marriott Hotel will be built just south of the Duke Energy Convention Center when it's done. It's expected to have roughly 700 rooms, more than 62,000 square feet of state-of-the-art meeting space, a 17,445 square-foot events terrace and upscale amenities tailored toward the needs of group, business and recreational travelers.
It will also have multiple ballrooms, ground-floor retail and an outdoor terrace that will overlook 5th Street.
"It is expected to be one of the largest and most significant hotel developments in the region," reads the announcement.
The hotel will connect to the convention center by a skybridge, Portman Holdings says.
Until now, Portman Holdings has not announced the name and flag of the new hotel, nor would it say which existing property it planned to purchase.
“Portman Holdings is under contract to purchase a prominent, well positioned downtown hotel and is on schedule to close in June 2025,” said a 21-page presentation to city council from Portman and the Cincinnati Center City Development Corp., or 3CDC.
The hotel is being developed through a public-private partnership, with financial support coming from the City of Cincinnati, Hamilton County and the state of Ohio. The announcement from Portman Holdings says both the city and county were briefed on this project in June and "expressed their support for moving forward."
Early sitework has begun already, according to Portman Holdings, and full-scale construction is expected to begin in late 2025. The hotel is expected to open its doors to guests in 2028.
"Officially naming Marriott Hotels as the brand for the convention headquarters hotel is a significant step forward in our overall effort to reimagine the convention district," said Katie Westbrook, senior vice president of development for 3CDC. "We're grateful to Mayor Aftab Pureval, Cincinnati City Council, the Hamilton County Commissioners, the administrations of the city and county and all other project partners for helping us get to this point, and we look forward to our continued collaboration to bring this project to fruition."
The hotel will be one part of the convention district being created, which includes the $264 million renovations being made to the Duke Energy Convention Center and the improvements around the Elm Street Plaza. Portman Holdings' announcement says the plaza will serve as an outdoor space for the convention center and feature public programming.
The 780-space Convention Center Garage, purchased by 3CDC in 2023, will be the primary parking garage for the new Marriott Hotel, general convention business and other downtown visitors, the announcement says. The garage is currently also undergoing a renovation to the tune of $12 million, but is still open through that process.
The full convention district is slated to be a $828 million endeavor, according to 3CDC:
- $536 million will go toward the creation of the convention headquarters hotel
- $264 million is being put into the renovations at the Duke Energy Convention Center
- $28 million in total is going toward the purchase and renovation of the Whex Garage
3CDC estimates the Duke Energy Convention Center renovation will be completed by the end of this year, just as the hotel should be starting construction.
