ASHLAND — The Columbus-based company behind the $21.5 million renovation of the Pump House building is ready to break ground and city officials will host a ceremony Wednesday to celebrate the milestone.
The City of Ashland and Ashland Area Economic Development plan to host a groundbreaking ceremony at the 400 Orange St. building. It starts at 2 p.m.
“We are so excited to see this long-awaited project begin, and I am so thankful for Moment
Development’s decision to invest in Ashland’s new Pump House District,” Ashland Mayor Matt Miller said in a press release.
“This historic building actually served as the office headquarters to the F.E. Myers Pump Co. for many years, and it is the very building where the entire district gets its name. This new one-of-kind hotel will play an invaluable role in our downtown’s future,” he said.
Moment Development, a Columbus developer, joined forces with Home2 Suites by Hilton to renovate the 68,000 square-foot, four-story building. Plans call for a 93-room hotel, marketplace, conference room and guest laundry area.
Plans submitted with the city show the property will also have 98 parking spaces and five handicap-accessible spaces.
Incentives
Renovating a century-old building to fit modern standards has proved costly. Miller said in May that estimates for the project “have been coming in higher than anticipated.”
To keep the prospect alive, the city agreed to sell the building to Pump House Hospitality LLC for $1,000. The sale price represented a deep discount from the original agreed upon price of $400,000.
At the time, Miller said the new sale price was important in keeping the company’s commitment to the project.
The discount came just one month after Ashland City Council agreed on approving the city’s most aggressive tax incentive for the company. The agreement grants a 100% property tax abatement over 15 years.
The deal means property taxes will not be owed until approximately 2041, assuming the hotel is operational in 2026.
A brief history
The century-old building once housed the offices of Ashland’s largest manufacturer, F.E. Myers Pump Company.
Pump House Ministries received the Orange Street building in 2003, when Jim Landoll and Marty Myers gave the non-profit a 14-acre industrial complex that included all the former F.E. Myers and Landoll buildings.
In July 2018, Pump House Ministries put the property up for sale. In 2019, the Ashland County Land Reutilization Corporation, also known as the Ashland land bank, acquired the property through a “deed in lieu of foreclosure” as a means to clear the back taxes owed. (Previous Ashland Source reporting estimate the back taxes at the time equating to $200,000.)
In September 2020, the Ashland County Board of Commissioners bought the facility for $146,000, intending to use the building to house county offices. That plan fell through when commissioners discovered the nearly $14 million price tag associated with renovating it.
From September 2020 to May 2022, the commissioners paid a total of nearly $290,000 on the vacant building. Expenses included utilities and various maintenance costs.
In January 2023, the city agreed to pay $300,000 for the building. The plan has been to attract investors to redevelop the structure.
