ms consultants, inc. was hired to provide full architectural, civil and structural engineering services for the 12-story Stambaugh building historic renovation in Central Square, Downtown Youngstown, Ohio. The renovation transforms the historic structure into a Doubletree by Hilton Hotel.

The original building was designed in the neoclassical revival style by Albert Kahn in 1907 as an eight-story building for the Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company, who occupied the top five floors.

The lower three floors and basement were home to Euwer’s Department Store. Euwer’s featured 25 departments, a mahogany soda fountain, a novelty telephone system, and a large “Euwer’s” sign atop the building.

Shortly after in 1914, the building was expanded to its 12-story structure due to the necessity of more office space. Tenants came and went over the years, including the Standard Slag Company and Bessemer Limestone.

In 1983, the Stambaugh was sold to the H.L. Libby Corporation and the office tower went under a restoration. The restoration uncovered the original terrazzo floors, the marble walls and stairs were shined, mail chutes were now prominent again, and original window sashes were restored to their original appearance.

Unfortunately, by the time the 2000s came around, the Stambaugh was mostly vacant and no longer in its original condition. In 2012, the building was purchased to be restored and transformed into a complete destination in downtown Youngstown. Eventually housing a hotel, retail, meeting spaces, a restaurant, and more.

The Stambaugh Building was 106 years old when the project started and mostly vacant with little to no utilities active. Demolition and abatement took roughly six months before the design team could discover how well the building had stood the test of time. Luckily, other than some minor unforeseen conditions and issues, the design team was thrilled with what they found. Relics of Youngstown history came to light for the first time in many decades.

Due to its unique character and structure, bay sizes and structure were never uniform. This created an interesting and challenging task when trying to lay out “uniform” hotel rooms. Based on Hilton’s Design and Construction standards, we developed 47 different room types from suites to king rooms. Although it was a challenging review process, Hilton was happy to welcome to building to their DoubleTree brand.

The new Doubletree by Hilton Hotel includes:

• 125 guest rooms and suites
• Restaurant
• 1^st floor retail spaces
• Second-floor lobby
• Meeting spaces
• Future rooftop bar

Like its former use, the renovated Stambaugh building will host multiple businesses. 

Bistro 1907, one of the hotel’s restaurants, is an American bistro. Local chef and owner Mark Canzonetta describes the food as American with a global influence and local ingredients. The upscale restaurants serves breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a special Sunday brunch. Bistro 1907 will also provide catering to the Palladian Ball banquet room on the top floor of the hotel that overlooks downtown Youngstown.

While the name Bistro 1907 pays homage to the history of the Stambaugh Building, the restaurant itself is anything but outdated. ms consultants designed the restaurant to have a modern feel with a Parisian twist. 

The building received state and federal historic tax credits, therefore any renovations needed to comply with the Secretary of Interior Standards. This process is monitored closely by the State Historic Preservation Office along with the National Parks Service because the building is located on the historic registrar. The building has some beautiful details in which the design team was left to work with. Marble-lined wainscot corridors and terrazzo flooring, heavy white oak trim from floor to ceiling and a pure white terra cotta façade. As the building was laid out as an office building, some of the corridor treatment became a challenge but left the historic character to continue to tell the story.

Design started in 2015 with construction beginning in August 2016.

The DoubleTree by Hilton Youngstown Downtown officially opened in May 2018.