The City of Delaware is planning to transfer control of nearly one acre of land for construction of a hotel on Spring Street in its downtown area, close to Ohio Wesleyan University.
The proposed Hotel Wesleyan, planned by Westwood Collective, is on Spring Street between South Franklin and South Sandusky streets. The land is now mostly used as surface parking.
This would be the first hotel in the core of walkable downtown
Delaware.
“The City of Delaware views this project as a critical opportunity to deliver long-needed downtown lodging and a high-quality mixed-use development that will serve the community for decades,” the request for proposals states.
The city issued a request for proposals for a hotel consisting of approximately 100 rooms and
280 parking spaces, then selected Westwood Collective as the developer.
The ordinance that City Council placed on first reading Sept. 14 conveys the property to the Community Improvement Corporation of Delaware County, which will handle transferring the property to the developer. That’s because of how state law is structured around municipal property transfers, Nic Langford, the city’s economic development director, explained in an interview with The Dispatch after the meeting.
The CIC will then handle the sale of the building, which will likely be below market rate. Without the CIC managing the sale, the city would have to put the land up for auction, Langford said.
The agreement includes deadlines for the project. If the developer does not get a building permit within two years – or has not mostly completed the project within five years – the city has a right to reacquire the property.
Andy Warnock, founder and CEO of Westwood Collective, is originally from Delaware and attended Ohio Wesleyan, according to documents he shared with the city. Warnock has been in real estate for two decades, including work in historic downtowns in central Ohio, such as Hilliard and London.
“This is not a one-off project for the Westwood Collective; this is a keystone asset that will set the bar for all infill redevelopment in the city’s core. Frankly, we want Hotel Wesleyan to serve as a template for all future opportunities in Delaware’s downtown,” Warnock wrote in the bid documents.
The hotel could be branded either Marriott Tribute or Hilton Tapestry Collection, according to documents submitted to the city. The hotel would be linked to the university not just in name, but also through fundraising, programming, athletics and as a community space.
Two retail tenants have already expressed interest in space on the ground floor: Playa Bowls and Bishop’s Brew, a student-run coffee shop.
This could be the first phase of a broader development project on Spring Street, depending on seller interest and city support, that could include more mixed-use development and residential.
The total project cost could “push towards $50 million very quickly,” according to the bid document submitted to the city. Alumni investments would also be part of the funding structure.
There’s also a two-story parking structure included in the proposal. The board of Ohio Wesleyan is considering donating land for this, Langford told the City Council at the meeting.
Anna Lynn Winfrey is a reporter for the Columbus Dispatch. She can be reached at awinfrey@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Hotel could be coming to downtown Delaware near Ohio Wesleyan campus
