Inspections are underway at the old Hotel SeaGate in downtown Toledo, marking the next step in the long-anticipated construction of a brand new hotel.
However, it is still unclear when construction on the shell of the building will begin. It was expected to start at the end of this year, but Lucas County Commissioner Pete Gerken was non-committal on a time frame during a Tuesday interview with WTOL.
Gerken said an architect was hired and is currently designing the interior of the hotel.
Now, the construction company, Lathrop, just needs to give the thumbs-up to start building, which Gerken said will happen quite soon.
In order to meet the county's goal, it needs to be fast. Gerken said the county is banking on this Hyatt Place-Hyatt House hotel for events in the coming years and simply for the growth of the city as a whole.
"We need this hotel open in early 2021 for the Solheim Cup and to advance the cause of the Convention and Visitors Bureau," Gerken said. "We need a hotel. We need some more rooms downtown. This is an opportunity to do this, but at this point, we're still getting all the background work done."
Gerken promised the hotel would be open by January 2021.
The Hyatt Place-Hyatt House hybrid will have 200 rooms and is part of a greater expansion of the SeaGate Convention Centre.
MORE FROM WTOL: