This story has been updated with more detail.
A $20.8 million remake of Lunken Airport’s terminal starts in earnest Thursday, May 14, with a groundbreaking event.
City officials and the project developer will stage the event for what they called the “transformative hotel and restaurant project” at 2:30 p.m.
Work actually began in mid-January, moving along an upgrade that’s been under discussion since the terminal’s Sky Galley restaurant closed in 2020 and the building itself closed two years later.
The city said Mayor Aftab Pureval, City Manager Sheryl Long and developer Guy van Rooyen, the CEO of Salyers Group/VR Group, will participate in the groundbreaking.
Work to wrap up by end of 2027
Under a contract with the city, van Rooyan’s company is scheduled to complete renovation of the 96-year-old East End icon by the end of 2027.
“We expect this to be a very high-end facility with luxury finishes to match that,” he told The Enquirer earlier this year.
Plans call for:
Van Rooyan also plans to keep but relocate two 16-foot painted murals that were installed in the terminal in 1937.
City to cover $2M of $20.8M in costs
The city of Cincinnati is contributing $2 million for construction costs.
The developer expects a $9.5 million total construction bill, and has allocated $4.2 million more for various fees and $2.5 million more for furniture, fixtures and equipment.
Construction activity kicked off Jan. 12.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Lunken Airport to break ground on ‘transformative’ renovation
Reporting by Patricia Gallagher Newberry, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
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