ASHLAND — Thanksgiving came early for those gathered Wednesday just outside one of Ashland’s most iconic and historically meaningful buildings.
Ashland Mayor Matt Miller gave thanks to “the Lord above” for those involved in bringing life to the renovation of the Pump House building on Orange Street, which is slated for a $21.5 million transformation into a hotel.
Miller and community members gathered Wednesday with the developers and investors behind the project to officially break ground on a plan that has been in the works for years.
Developers vow to bring a Home2 Suites by Hilton hotel to the 68,000 square-foot site by July or August of 2027.
The construction phase begins in December, with interior demolition.
“Basically, everything you see in here … will be gutted,” said Kenny Leckrone, director of construction for Moment Construction.
Some of the historically significant pieces still inside, like an old — and heavy — safe will be preserved, however, said Jason Helsel, the construction firm’s superintendent.
The plan is to add to the existing structure by building about 30 feet out into the parking lot to make space for some of the hotel’s rooms. The team also plans on installing one additional elevator and rehabilitating the existing elevator.
Memories
The century-old building once housed the offices of Ashland’s largest manufacturer, F.E. Myers Pump Company. It also played host to Landolls Publishing and to an antiques store at one point.
F.E. Myers moved out of the structure in 1984, when it moved to another building on Ninth Street. Cloyd McNaull, an Ashland native, helped design that building.
McNaull, 94, worked in the F.E. Myers office building from 1955 to 1978 as an industrial engineer. His wife, Mary Ann, also worked in the building for 24 years as a data processor.
“It’s really a marvelous situation that Hilton would consider coming to Ashland, and in an old Myers building that was built in 1914. That it’ll be a part of that — pretty amazing,” he said.
A long road
Getting to the ground breaking ceremony was a long road.
The building switched public hands multiple times before Moment Development became interested. In fact, the structure is still technically owned by the City of Ashland, according to real estate records.
The city bought it from Ashland County commissioners in January 2023 for $300,000. Before that, the commissioners bought it for $146,000 in 2020.
Prior to that, in 2019, the Ashland County Land Reutilization Corporation bought it through a “deed in lieu of foreclosure” as a means to clear the back taxes owed by Pump House Ministries.
The non-profit organization operated out the building from 2003 to 2019, and tried to sell it in 2018. (Previous Ashland Source reporting estimate the back taxes at the time equating to $200,000.)
Fixing the old building proved to be too costly for county commissioners, who bought it hoping they could house offices inside. During their ownership, commissioners paid nearly $290,000 on utilities and other maintenance projects.
By the time Moment Development discovered the building through a chance-tour given by Miller, it was public knowledge that renovating it would cost more than $10 million.
But Ohm Patel, founder and principal owner of Moment Development, the Columbus firm behind the project, said he could “feel” the vision behind the Pump House District.
“To be able to walk into that building and feel it and see it, see a vision that Mayor Miller had for this building and actually put it together … it’s a privilege,” Patel said.
Financially, the project squeaked by.
“It got delayed for a couple of years just because we were trying to figure out how we were going to make the economics work,” Patel said.
Miller said a mix of out-of-state investors, and some from Ashland, helped give the project a green light.
The city was also involved.
In April 2024, the Ashland council agreed to approve the city’s most aggressive tax incentive for the company. The deal grants a 100% property tax abatement over 15 years. It means the property taxes will not be owed until approximately 2041 or 2042, depending on when the hotel becomes operational.
At the time, officials justified the move in part because of the promised $1.1 million yearly payroll. Developers expect the hotel to create up to 15 full-time positions and 10 part-time employees.
The deal, known as a Community Reinvestment Area agreement, does not apply to sales tax, bed tax and income tax, officials said at the time.
The agreement was also just one way to push the project forward, Miller said at the time.
A month after council ratified the CRA, it approved a reduction of the agreed upon sale price of the property from $400,000 to $1,000.
Just the beginning
The Pump House District is a nearly 12-acre geographic area of downtown Ashland. There are two main projects within that umbrella term.
One of them features 192 market-rate apartments, which began construction in September.
The other includes the renovation of the former Pump House office building at the intersection of East Fourth and Orange streets.
But the hotel and the apartments are just two developments slated for the area. Miller highlighted the county commissioners’ plans to construct a new $6 million administration building.
The plan, as it stands, is to build a new administrative building on vacant land at the intersection of Cottage and Fourth streets.
The owners of Dulci Sweets’ have expressed interest in transforming the former Pioneer National Latex building into a Willy Wonka-like 16,000 square-foot storefront.
Miller also highlighted the plans of Zach Bernhard of HSLD to bring a sports complex to 288 E. Fourth St., right next door to the former National Latex building.
Finally, the city hopes to construct a public transit headquarters at the corner of Third and Union streets.
But the mayor called this hotel project the “marquee” of the entire district.
“This is where the district got its name, because it was the Pump House,” he said.