Homecoming 2014 won’t be the only celebration in the fall.
The Ohio University Inn & Conference Center, 331 Richland Ave. will have its 50th birthday.
“Our business volume tends to mirror the activity of the university,” said Ralph Mordocco, general manager of the OU Inn. “When the university has a lot going on, we have a lot going on.”
The inn, a $1.5 million project, was built by John Galbreath, an OU graduate and Board of Trustees member who funded the Galbreath Chapel.
He thought the inn would help the university grow economically, according to documents in the Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections.
Galbreath built the inn on six acres of land where an apartment complex and homes used to sit, according to the archives.
The OU Foundation, purchased the inn for $2.75 million in 1986 to build a conference center. The foundation is an “institutionally related, nonprofit, tax exempt, organization, and is the repository for all private gifts to Ohio University through annual giving programs, capital and special campaigns, and planned or deferred gifts such as bequests and trusts,” said Katie Quaranta, an OU spokeswoman.
The OU Foundation was established in 1945 by OU’s 14th president, John Baker, and serves as a fundraising arm for OU.
The foundation makes a varying profit off of the inn. The foundation considers those funds “unrestricted” and they’re used to support university initiatives, said Jennifer Bowie, executive director of Development, Advancement
Communication and Marketing, said in an email.
The OU Foundation owns the establishment, but day-to-day operations are managed by Winegardner and Hammons, Inc., a hotel management and development company.
Over the years, the building has undergone several changes — from offering about 90 rooms to nearly 140. Most recently, the inn has been redesigned to a “transitional” style, Mordocco said, who is employed with Winegardner.
A Starbucks kiosk has also been added in to the area designated for eating options. The inn has a restaurant, Cutler’s Restaurant and a bar, Bunch of Grapes Tavern.
The inn employs students, but an exact count wasn’t available. The venue also offers internships, though no students currently hold the positions.
The inn has comparable nightly rates to other area hotels, which typically fluctuate when the university holds big events.
Sometimes guests’ rooms are compensated, but it depends on each case when the university covers it, similar to policies in place at other public universities in Ohio.
Kent State University recently opened the Kent State University Hotel and Conference Center right outside of its campus.
“Now that we have the… conference center, we have another option (for guests),” said Emily Vincent, director of media relations at Kent State.
Ohio State University has a similar on-campus facility in the Blackwell Inn and Conference Center, which it does not own, said Jim Lynch, OSU director of media relations.
With the anniversary of its opening coinciding with OU’s Homecoming 2014 in October, Mordocco says that the inn has big plans to celebrate the milestone.
“We are going … over and above what we normally do,” he said.
@Dinaivey
db794812@ohiou.edu
Standard Rates
For a room with two beds mid-week
$139.95 at the OU Inn, 331 Richland Ave.
$139 at the Holiday Inn, 555 E. State St.
$129 at the Hampton Inn, 986 E. State St.
$79 at the Baymont Inn and Suites, 20 Home St.
*rates change with university
events and weekends
This story appeared in print under the headline "OU Inn to celebrate 50th."
