Federal $5 Million Secured for Restoration of Fire-Damaged Hotel McArthur

The Vinton County Convention and Visitors Bureau announced roughly $5 million in new federal funding to support restoration of the fire-damaged Hotel McArthur in downtown McArthur, with the bureau saying the award was confirmed in late January and credited to Sen. Jon Husted. The funding is directed toward returning the 1839 building to hotel use and adding space for the visitors bureau and a visitors center inside the structure.

The project’s financing picture now includes a recommended $2.825 million award from the Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization program after notification from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Mineral Resources Management that the Vinton County Tourism Enhancement Project was recommended for AMLER funding. Project leaders are also expecting a state brownfield remediation grant this month to pay for debris cleanup from the July fire and any necessary structure stabilization. The VCCVB previously secured two state grants and saw a $100,000 allocation in the 2022-2024 state capital budget for engineering and architecture at the hotel.

The building suffered severe damage from a July fire and is Vinton County’s oldest building still in use, built in 1839. The VCCVB purchased the property according to its materials and is planning a $2.5 million renovation to remove later 1970s-1990s additions and restore the hotel to its 1840-1940 appearance. There are conflicting purchase records: the bureau’s site notes a December 2021 purchase, while county reporting shows the VCCVB bought the building in April for $275,000 and recently moved its office there.

Project plans include restoring historically accurate brick veneer and period lighting in place of modern stone veneer, preserving later-era features such as the 1940s neon Hotel McArthur sign and relocating it near a new guest swimming pool, and preserving key interior elements. “Some of the structure will have to be rebuilt, but the goal is to preserve key elements such as the front lobby’s wooden staircase,” said Tiffany Cline, visitors bureau vice president. Engineers have exposed problem brickwork by removing stone veneer and stucco so architects can assess feasibility of rebuilding the third floor and the original mansard roof that burned in the late 1800s.

Economic projections underpin the push for restoration. Caleb Appleman, executive director of the VCCVB, cited a feasibility study with Downstream Strategies that shows the project could attract thousands of new visitors and “generate $1.5 million in revenue annually,” with “$860,000 will have direct local economic impact in the form of wages and taxes from hotel operations.” The bureau’s materials also estimate the hotel would support 11 new jobs, and leased business space plus hotel operations would fund new VCCVB staff positions and tourism infrastructure projects.

Audie Games, president of the visitors bureau, said the group sought congressional support for the project last year and that the project’s architect is still developing a firm timeline; “ideally, construction will begin this summer.” Environmental assessments required by grant funding are scheduled for this spring, and bureaucratic steps remain for finalizing the AMLER award and the state brownfield grant before construction can proceed.