The AC Hotel Dayton and The Foundry hosted an official ribbon cutting last night at their property at at 124 Madison Street. In front of a crowd of Dayton VIP’s and media, the principal’s behind getting this deal done each had a chance to address the crowd. That group included:
- Liam Brown, Group President, United States and Canada, Marriott Hotels International
- Lance Shaner, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Shaner Hotel Group
- Plato Ghinos, President, Shaner Hotel Group
- Brent Crawford, Principal and Founder, Crawford Hoying
Located in the heart of Dayton’s vibrant Water Street District, the 134-room AC Hotel Dayton is the area’s new hotel with modern, European-style elegance. In speaking with Brent Crawford he shared with us that currently the Dayton hotel is ranked #2 in the AC chain. Since opening in mid-March they’ve been booked solid, occasionally having a Thursday or Sunday opening.
Brent Crawford shared with us that he got involved in development projects in Dayton through Jason Woodard, and he admitted he hadn’t been in Dayton in a long time. “I was aware of what was happening in the market place, and the challenges the city was facing with corporate offices leaving downtown. But we kind of fell in love with the area and the bones of the buildings, recognized that The Delco building, at 512,000 sq ft needed a lot of work. Massive amounts of renovation and rehab and you have to have the courage, the knowledge and experience to pull it off. We were willing to take that risk.
We just finished the Summit on Monument, and we’re committed to Dayton. We’re $250 million into development here and we think so much more is possible. It feels good to us to change something as opposed to just building a building that could fit anywhere. It really has an economic impact in the city and it’s catalytic to the rest of the city. My developer friends are starting to look at Dayton. I tell them there’s opportunity here. We encourage them to bring more growth to Dayton.”
The Foundry, a new rooftop restaurant and bar, opened at the end of June and echoes the modern, European-style elegance of the hotel. With views form the rooftop terrace of Day Air Ballpark, it has already become a popular spot for happy hour. With a menu full of artisanal cocktails and local craft beers and great food from Executive Chef David Belknap. More info here.
