Queensgate hotel to become senior living facility, first in neighborhood
Throughout its 60 years in Queensgate, the building that now houses the Quality Inn and Suites has been home to several different hotel chains, cocktail lounges and dance clubs ‒ including one of the hottest discos of its era.
Now, the structure at 800 W. Eighth St. will become a senior living facility − the first major housing project in industrial Queensgate's recent history.
Central Cincinnati LLC, a subsidiary of Michigan-based group Kiwi Hospitality, bought the 12-story property in 2018 and plans to rezone the 1.2-acre site ahead of its conversion. The global development and management company has a track record of acquiring similarly-sized hotels across the United States. Alongside senior-care group Kauhale Health, Kiwi is currently working to convert a 12-story Clarion Hotel in Sharonville into 131 units of housing for aging tenants over 75 years old.Kiwi couldn't be reached for more details on the yet-to-be-named project or the construction timeline.
The many lives of 800 W. Eighth St. in Queensgate
Before its final years as a Quality Inn and Suites, 800 W. Eighth St. was managed by three national hotel brands.
First, it was the Holiday Inn, built in 1964. Restaurant Top O' the Inn and Den of the Little Foxes opened on its top floor, boasting sweeping views of the Northern Kentucky Riverfront, Downtown and the hills of Cincinnati.
That space turned into one of the city's hottest disco-era clubs, Lucy's in the Sky Nite Club, managed by Jeff Ruby in the 1970s and '80s. From 2003 to 2008, the whole building operated as a Ramada Inn.
Why a senior living facility is a big deal for Queensgate
For six decades, the urban basin's industrial sliver of Queensgate has been a hub of business, logistics and manufacturing. But West Eighth Street, alongside West Sixth to the south, has always served as a connector to the more residential-heavy neighborhoods of Lower Price Hill and Price Hill. The farther north in Queensgate, the denser the CSX Railyard becomes.
In an Enquirer article earlier this year, some city leaders, local business owners and experts in development explained that this southern pocket of Queensgate (below West Eighth Street) could be one of the best and only places to create new housing: It's close and semi-walkable to downtown Cincinnati, there's more room geographically since Queensgate narrows as it inches towards Camp Washington and West Eighth Street holds the area's only food options.
To many, Queensgate's future development hinges on the plans the city makes now ahead of the Brent Spence Bridge project and its impact on the Interstate 75 corridor. That's where this assisted senior living facility comes in. If rezoned for housing, one of the neighborhood's most recognizable buildings from the highway could spark more amenities nearby for its future residents, such as coffee shops, convenience stores or a library. It could also encourage other residential developers to take a chance on Queensgate.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: An old Quality Inn hotel in Cincinnati gets new life as senior housing
