Workers begin restoration work in Conneaut
By MARK TODDStaff Writer
mtodd@starbeacon.com
CONNEAUT - - Workers have begun breathing new life into one of Conneaut's showplaces.
Crews this week began the extensive restoration process at the Cleveland Hotel, a circa-1900 building at State Street and Cleveland Court in the city's downtown district. Security fence has been installed around most of the building, and several loads of trash have already been hauled out by a team of 18 workers, said Don Longwell, of Lighthouse Historic Development Inc., the hotel's owner.
Lighthouse, which specializes in revitalizing historic buildings, bought the hotel in 2005. "It's exciting," Longwell said Tuesday of the project's long-awaited start.
The priority is to prepare some of the five ground level storefronts for tenants, Longwell said. Snap Fitness, a franchise exercise center, will use two of the five retail facilities, he said. Work on the fitness center's new digs could be finished by early May, Longwell said.
"We'll use a little more of our resources to get (the businesses) in," he said.
Nova Star Real Estate, the company that serves as Lighthouse's liaison, will occupy a third room, leaving two units still available for lease, Longwell said.
Once the retail space is ready to go, workers will start transforming hotel rooms into condominiums. Six reservations have already been received, enough to launch the residential portion of the project, Longwell said.
Lighthouse plans to spend more than $3 million on the hotel's rebirth, officials have said. Technicians will help revive the original luster of the building, which opened around 1902. The lobby's famous woodwork will be restored, owners have said.
The Cleveland Hotel, once a renown stopping place for travelers, has sat vacant the past few years. Lighthouse acquired the brick building from the South Ridge Christian Church in Conneaut, which years ago used the hotel as a dormitory for students attending a local Christian college. The building also was the former home of WGOJ radio.
Star Beacon Print Edition: 1/24/2007
