Cincinnati Begins Construction of Reimagined Convention Center District and More MidAmerica News

 

Illinois

Fairmont Chicago, Millennium Park, a hotel situated in the heart of the Windy City, completed a renovation of its Millennium Room. Designed to “elevate the experience of every event it hosts,” the 5,000-square-foot Millennium Room is one of the hotel’s meeting spaces that altogether total 63,000 square feet. 

Fairmont Chicago’s reimagined Millennium Room has flexible layout options and increased natural light. The lobby-level space provides a city backdrop for up to 450 guests reception-style. Additional spaces include the 16,100-square-foot Imperial Ballroom, with space for up to 2,000, and the 3,050-square-foot Crystal Ballroom, a six-sided room designed like a crystal that can accommodate 225 guests.

The 686-room Fairmont Chicago also features a private lounge on the 15th floor that is exclusive for Fairmont Gold guests, with breakfast, afternoon refreshments and early evening canapes as well as concierge services available to assist in creating personal itineraries, spa appointments or dining reservations. 

Indiana

Indianapolis’s newest hotel, InterContinental Hotel, is set to open this fall. The property will be housed inside the historic Illinois Building, which was built in 1926 and abandoned in 2002. When the property was listed as one of the state’s 10 most-endangered landmarks, mixed-use development company Keystone decided to take over and transform the building into the InterContinental Hotel. 

The property, which is positioned right off the iconic Monument Circle, will bring 170 guest rooms to the epicenter of Indy as well as 5,000 square feet of function space, including a 2,500-square-foot ballroom and executive boardroom for 16 guests.

The first floor includes retail with Hyde Park Steakhouse and Giordano’s, while the remaining upper floors will house bars and two additional restaurants. The property’s rooftop bar will be the first of its kind in the city and offer unobstructed views of Lady Victory, sitting above the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in the circle.  

[Related: Major Renovations Debut in Chicago, Detroit and Wisconsin]

Michigan

Following a two-year, $40 million renovation, The Inn at Stonecliffe reopened this summer on Mackinac Island and was named one of TIME’s World’s Greatest Places of 2024, which highlights 100 destinations to visit and stay. 

The boutique property sits above Lake Huron on the island’s West Bluff and was originally a 1904 estate built for a Chicago meatpacking magnate, according to TIME, before becoming a hotel in the 1970s. 

Renovations to The Inn at Stonecliffe included new common spaces, modern guest rooms and three new private cottages, as well as new on-property dining concepts The Straits, The Backyard and Horsey’s Pub.

A total of 16 guest rooms in The Inn at Stonecliffe’s Tudor mansion were completely renovated and preserved original moldings, stained-glass windows, fireplaces and more, and 32 renovated guest rooms are available in the Summer House. 

The Inn at Stonecliffe’s three new private cottages each feature three bedrooms and serve as an ideal space for small group accommodations. The remodel also introduced a new event venue, the Sunset Pavilion, an expansive lawn with firepits and games, an apple orchard and more.

[Related: The Historic Hotel Cleveland's Renovation and Developments in Chicago]

Ohio

The highly anticipated $240 million transformation of the Cincinnati Convention Center began in July and is expected to be completed by December 2025, with bookings already underway for 2026 and beyond.

The new state-of-the-art Duke Energy Convention Center (DECC) will feature a dramatic facade and an exhibition hall that will flow into the new Elm Street Plaza, an outdoor area connected to a programmable park space.

The reimagined downtown Cincinnati Convention District project will also include the subsequent construction of a planned 800-room convention headquarters hotel.

Additional highlights of the multimillion-dollar revitalization effort include energy-efficient exhibit and meeting spaces with sustainable technology, revitalized ballrooms, a sunlit prefunction area and a rooftop terrace.

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