This historic site will become the Howard Johnson Grand Rapids Hotel.  Scheduled to open in May 2,000, the Howard Johnson will have 100 rooms including 10 with special amenities that cater to business travelers.  The lobby floor will boast a restaurant, meeting space and a state-of-the-art fitness center.

The Milner Building was built at the turn of the century and is located in the Heartside Historic District.  Originally the Crathmore Hotel, it consists of two separate structures located directly across from the railroad station.  The corner building, a wood frame edifice, had 4 stories and the building next to it, constructed about 10 years later, was 5 stories high and was the first fireproof hotel in the city.  In time, the top 3 stories of the corner building were removed and two were added on to the building next to it, making it 7 stories high.  The hotel has been vacant since the 1980�s.

Hostmark Hospitality Group has been retained to manage the property.  Hostmark Hospitality Group is the largest privately held third-party hospitality management and development firm in the country, operating more than 41 hotels and resorts worldwide.

Founded in 1965, Hostmark is a full service management firm providing sales and marketing, human resources, food and beverage operations, accounting, finance, information systems, construction, design, development support and consulting services to full-service and limited-service hotels, resorts and conference centers in the United States, Canada and the Middle East.