Visitation hotel project moves forward, as first condo units prepare to open

Sep. 19—The Visitation Academy hotel project in downtown Frederick is very much a work in progress.

Saws and hammers create a steady clamor. Construction workers fill the halls and stairwells that, in less than a year, are expected to be filled with hotel guests.

But in the front of the building on East Second Street that formerly housed a Catholic girls' school, two sample rooms look ready to take in guests right away.

The beds have sheets and pillows, coffee makers are on the desks, and vintage photos showing the building's history are assembled in displays on the wall.

The rest of the boutique hotel affiliated with the Marriott chain is expected to be ready for guests in June. It already has its first wedding scheduled for later that month, the project's developer, Jim O'Hare, said as he walked the halls on Monday.

Nearby, workers were on the roof of the part of the building facing Chapel Alley, ripping out sections damaged by a fire in April that caused about $4 million in damage.

Seeing the fire damage was "disheartening," but it was mostly limited to the attic and upper level of the building, although water damage from extinguishing the fire caused some damage to lower levels of the section, O'Hare said.

"We're lucky that the building was built the way it was," O'Hare said of the structure's ability to withstand the fire.

But while he awaits the opening of the hotel portion of the project, O'Hare also has his sights set on a more immediate step in the property's transformation.

The 10 condominiums in the first of three new buildings on the property have all been sold, and the building is expected to be ready in October, O'Hare said.

Some of the units have had kitchen counters and other fixtures installed. Others need more work.

Another building with seven units has site plan and historic preservation approval from the city and should be ready in late 2024.

A third building with a still undetermined number of units has site plan approval, O'Hare said.

The project is approved for 33 total condominium units, but O'Hare said fewer condos are expected.

The all-girls Visitation Academy opened in 1846 and closed in June 2016, citing low enrollment.

The site was used as a hospital during the Civil War, and nuns lived on the property until 2005. About 110 of them are buried in a cemetery in the rear courtyard, which will be preserved as part of the project.

As part of the property's renovation, O'Hare said his team will refurbish the headstones for the nuns.

The building's former chapel will be converted to a restaurant, which O'Hare said is expected to be a locally sourced seafood restaurant and chophouse in a partnership with celebrity chef Bryan Voltaggio.

The model guest rooms have displays with pieces of china, an old button, and other artifacts uncovered as part of the site's excavation.

Unlike many hotels, each room will have distinctive shapes and layouts, created by the building's unique characteristics.

"We had to design around the historic fabric of the building that we're preserving," O'Hare said.

Follow Ryan Marshall on Twitter: @RMarshallFNP