By: Valencia Bruno
In 1902, The arcade building was built by Frank M. Andrews. It was created to be a marketplace for the people of downtown Dayton. The great flood happened, and the building was destroyed. There have been attempts to revive the arcade, but it couldn’t be kept afloat, and eventually, it was shut down indefinitely. In the 70s and 80s, the use of the property resembled a mall. Their last try at the arcade came in 1993 by holding an event called the Holly Day, but it did not draw enough interest. The idea was scrapped. In 2007 they tried again to bring back the arcade and construction began in 2019. They are now constructing the second building and creating a Hilton Garden Inn.
There are several buildings, one was created as apartments for the students of UD, Sinclair and artists. They will also be used as housing for people with low incomes. This is part of phase one that they had built. Also a part of phase one is reconstructing the subway, which is called the tank. The tank has art inside the building which will be open to the public when they are done with construction.
The second phase is where they are constructing the Hilton Garden Inn, and the Giving Building. “The second part was all part of the original master plan it was all about funding and why it's happening in phases.” said Shannan for the arcade. Their goal is to create a corridor that connects to the 3rd and 4th floor. It will lead to the first floor of the arcade, where there will be shops, and will also connect to the lobby of the Hilton Garden Inn.
Their plan for phase two is going well and there are further phases being developed at the moment. So far, they've done the McCrory building, which is called the hub building, the Lizzy building, and the commercial building, for apartments. The Rotunda is for events such as weddings and birthday parties. As for now, there are only three buildings under development.
Including all five of its buildings, the arcade is half a million square feet in total. This is a big project for them, and they are all enjoying the process of building the arcade. They cannot wait until the tank and Hilton are open and functioning. The Hilton Garden Inn will not be open until 2025.
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