Last month, local dignitaries as well as representatives from Hilton Worldwide and Turner Construction celebrated the completion of the framework of the top floor of the 32-floor hotel rising at 100 Lakeside Avenue with a "Topping Out" ceremony. The tradition reportedly dates back 1,000 years and is intended to appease resident deities (Fresh Water will defer to the New York Times for a detailed accounting of the tradition). Attendees signed a construction beam, which was then embellished with an American Flag and a small tree before being hoisted into place.

Construction traditions notwithstanding, per Hilton Cleveland Downtown's general manager Teri Agosta, the hotel is slated to open in June 2016.

"The bottom line is we are on time and we will be ready for the Republican National Convention (RNC)," she says of the July 2016 event. She credits the punctuality on the decision last year to enclose the first six floors of the building to shield the area from the weather and keep construction going.

"That allowed us to really ... get ahead of it," says Agosta, adding that crews focused on the enclosed area when weather shut down work on the higher floors. "There were days when the wind was so cold you couldn't pour concrete. You couldn't run the crane."

The lower six floors make up the "Podium," which houses a glass-enclosed indoor pool, full service restaurant, lobby, fitness center, lounge, and 46,000 square feet of meeting space, which ranges from the spacious 21,000-square-foot Superior Ballroom to a cozy boardroom space of 520 square feet.

So should northeast Ohioans be worried about the fate of the opulent structure once the GOP's elephants lumber out of town? After all, Cuyahoga County taxpayers are funding the $272 million project via a complex finance package.

The unusual public/private relationship is outlined in a formal 15-year agreement that was approved by the Cuyahoga County Council in April 2014. Per the agreement, the county will pay Hilton to manage the hotel on an increasing scale of $639,000 to $1,231,000 per year, and expects in return revenues of $8 million per year for the first three years (additional payments, conditions and incentives apply).

Agosta says Hilton is up to the challenge.

"We literally have a group checking in the day after the RNC and then another group coming in after that," says Agosta, adding that there is "strong interest" for the rest of 2016.

"When we were afforded the opportunity through the county to manage this project, we were excited about it," she says. "We knew it was going to be a market leader and a real game changer here in Cleveland."

Regarding its business ideology, Hilton has a stake in the project as well.

"It's important for Hilton to have distribution in major cities," says Agosta. "We consider Cleveland to be a major growing city and we wanted to have a strong presence here."

Of the buzz going on at the intersection of East 9^th Street and Euclid, with the ongoing construction of the Kimpton Hotel and 300 rooms slated for the 925, Agosta says she welcomes the competition.

"We need the bandwidth for us to bring in these larger conventions, which we're capable of," she says. "We need more rooms. We welcome those hotels."

Thirty-seven of the Hilton's 600 units will be suites, four of which will be Rockefeller suites and the most luxurious in the hotel. They'll feature dining, sitting and sleeping areas amid 2,000 square feet. Additional themed suites are in the works.

Agosta estimates nightly rates for suites will range from $1,500 to $2,500 and $225 to $425 for standard rooms, adding that seasonal pricing will apply.

While Cleveland and her good citizens have fielded their fair share of derision, when asked about the most notable characteristic of the new Hilton, Agosta responds with comments that push that negativity even further into the past.

"No matter where you are in the building, you're going to have a great view. You'll see beautiful architecture from every angle of the hotel," she says, adding that Lake Erie figures prominently into the panorama.

"There are really just some magnificent views."