Peoples Bank and Trust, StartUp Hutch, NetWork Kansas and Hutchinson Community Foundation approved a $1.19 million loan for the Hoke Building project. Pictured, back row from left, are Jackson Swearer and Dave Dukart, StartUp Hutch; Mark Davenport; and Aubrey Abbott Patterson, Hutchinson Community Foundation. Front row from left are Dell Marie Shanahan Swearer, Hutchinson Community Foundation; Phoebe Davenport; Judy Cole; and Michelle Inskeep, Peoples Bank and Trust.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Four area entities are teaming up to help the new owners of the Hoke Building get their renovation project off the ground.
Hutchinson Community Foundation, Peoples Bank and Trust, StartUp Hutch, NetWork Kansas and HCF will contribute a combined $1,190,000 construction loan package to the renovation of the 111-year-old building at 25 E. 1st Ave. Plans are to renovate the building into a 24-room boutique hotel. The owners, Mark and Phoebe Davenport, also recently purchased and refurbished the Hutchinson Plaza Towers.
“We are thrilled to partner with these investors in the development of a boutique hotel in the historic Hoke Building in downtown Hutch,” Phoebe Davenport said. “Our shared vision of a vibrant, thriving downtown Hutch is resulting in a beautiful collaboration!”
The Hoke has housed several tenants over the years, among them the Hutchinson Board of Trade and the Great American Life Insurance Co. The last first-floor tenant left in 2010 and the Hoke’s upper floors have sat vacant since the 1960s. Period wood moldings, tin ceilings and checkered floor tiles remain in the building listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
“Many community partners have been working together for some time now to identify ways to build on the resources our community already has. This impact investment supports entrepreneurs, a thriving downtown and the preservation of a historic building,”Aubrey Abbott Patterson, Hutchinson Community Foundation president and CEO, said. “We’re proud to play a part in encouraging the Davenports’ vision and plan for a boutique hotel, which will spur economic development and more investment in our city center.”
The Davenports have also filed for CDBG grant money to help with some of the structural issues with the building including a new roof, repairs to the front of the building, new storefront doors and windows and installing a fire suppression system.
The grant application was approved by the Hutchinson City Council during Tuesday's meeting. The total cost of that part of the project is $397,000. The CDBG grant is for $245,000.
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