CINCINNATI — Cities all across Ohio are receiving state-funding for demolition projects. It’s all in hopes of revitalizes communities.
The Carrousel Inn & Suites and Drake Motel in Cincinnati’s Roselawn neighborhood are both on the list to be demolished. These two buildings have been vacant and boarded up for years. But last year the Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority bought the property to help bring new jobs to the area. And now it’s getting $17 million in order to demolish this building and 56 others.
These buildings weren’t always vacant. Residents and business owners alike said the Carrousel was the place to be in the 1960s and 1970s. They say there were parties and special events that brought people in town.
But one business owner says the hotel began to close in the 1980s and 1990s, now all you see are boarded buildings. These two hotels are among dozens of demolition projects in Hamilton County that are being funded by the state.
Once demolished, The Port plans to create industrial buildings for manufacturing to bring in high-paying jobs to the community.
“It needed to go. It was old and outdated and that would be the best thing to happen for it,” said Jesse Whitfield, owner of The Dukesters Restaurant & Catering. “There’s no reason for it to sit there and wait for a developer to come in and do something. I was glad to hear they’re going to tear it all down.”
