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A Columbus hotel company is moving ahead with plans for a historic building in Athens

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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) —  A Columbus hotel company will move forward with its plans to convert the long-vacant historic Athens building into an extended-stay hotel with retail space after a year of waiting for renovation funding.

The 63 S. Court St. building was built in 1915 and is contaminated with asbestos.

Indus Development LLC was awarded a $431,920 grant from the Ohio Brownfield Remediation Fund in December to address the contamination.

The historic building at 63 S. Court St. in uptown Athens, directly across from Ohio University's Alumni Gateway, will be converted into an extended-stay hotel with retail on the bottom floor.
The historic building at 63 S. Court St. in uptown Athens, directly across from Ohio University’s Alumni Gateway, will be converted into an extended-stay hotel with retail on the bottom floor. [Ahmed Hamed | WOUB]
The cleanup, which will include the asbestos abatement and some interior demolition, should be completed by early August before students are back on campus, said Mollie Fitzgerald, executive director of the Athens County Economic Development Council.

“That’s the big thing we’re tackling with this particular pot of funding,” Fitzgerald said.

After the brownfield remediation is completed, Indus will begin renovations on the three-story brick building. The second and third floors will become an extended-stay hotel with 22 rooms. The first floor and basement will be open for retail space. No retailers have been secured as of now, said David Kozar, vice president and founding partner of Indus Hotels.

Due to the historic nature of the building, Indus is working in tandem with the Athens Historic Commission to determine what can and cannot be changed. Indus had their walkthrough of the building with the commission a few weeks ago to discuss those changes after they were approved for their historic tax credits in February.

“Certain things they are OK with and a lot of things they are not, so you’re limited, for sure,” Kozar said. “But what we have approved thus far is fine with us, and we will be able to move forward with the project.”

The building was a college bookstore for decades before it closed in 2019. It was originally a car dealership, and Kozar said the design of the hotel will reflect its automotive past.

“We’re going to do some cool things as a nod to the history of the building,” Kozar said. “Those things are still in process as well and what those will look like.”

The timeline for when the hotel will be completed has not yet been determined, Kozar said.