The Kaufman House in Zelienople is accepting sponsorships for parts of the historic hotel, which is being renovated.

Zelienople residents and businesses will now have a chance to “own” a piece of history by investing in the renovation of the Kaufman House.

The Butler County Tourism and Convention Bureau kicked off the Kaufman House Community Connection Campaign at the Zelienople Council meeting Monday night at the borough building on West New Castle Street.

The campaign offers residents and businesses an opportunity to invest in the Kaufman House restoration project by sponsoring certain areas of the historic hotel, which was built in 1902. The bar, the elevator, the cigar room, the library, and 17 of the guest rooms will all be up for grabs.

Jack Cohen, president of the Butler County Tourism Foundation, explained at the meeting that the idea for a fundraising campaign came about when he was approached by Joseph Roman, son of longtime Zelienople resident Joseph M. “Red” Roman II. Roman asked if he could contribute to the restoration project in honor of his father, who moved to the area in 1937, and later moved his family and machine shop to Zelienople in the 1960s.

Roman suggested buying guests’ first 200 meals in the hotel’s new restaurant. But Cohen said he thought the gesture should have a lasting legacy in the hotel and suggested sponsoring a room.

Room number one will be called the Roman Room, and will be decorated with Roman’s inventions, tools, and photos of him and his family at his Zelienople shop.

Through the campaign, businesses can sponsor the hotel’s bar for $10,000. The sponsor will then have naming rights on the bar, company name and logo on the Kaufman House website and on the restaurant menu, and promotional items, and will have priority reservations status for bar events and hotel rooms.

The elevator sponsorship will be available for $10,000, and will include naming rights on the elevator, a company name and logo on the Kaufman House website and on the restaurant menu, and will have priority reservations status for hotel rooms.

The cigar room sponsorship will be available for $10,000, and will include naming rights on the cigar room, a company name and logo on the Kaufman House website and on the restaurant menu, and promotional items, and will have priority reservations status for cigar room events and hotel rooms.

Guest rooms will be available to sponsor for $5,000. The sponsorship will also include naming rights to each room, a company name and logo on the Kaufman House website and on the restaurant menu, and will have priority reservations status of that particular room. There are 18 rooms total.

There also will be guest room key card sponsorships available for $5,000. Each key card will include company name and logo on the key card, a company logo on the Kaufman House website and on the restaurant menu, and will have priority reservations status for hotel rooms.

Butler County Tourism Foundation purchased the Kaufman House in December 2015. Once completed in the first quarter of 2017, the Kaufman House will operate as a restaurant and lounge, coffee shop, and boutique hotel. Construction is to begin next month.

The project is part of the borough’s revitalization project. A municipal parking lot, also part of the revitalization project, is planned behind the building for 111 parking spaces.

Zelienople is to receive a $3 million Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grant from the state for the borough’s Main Street revitalization project, which includes funding for the Kaufman House. Cohen said the tourism bureau is currently waiting on Gov. Tom Wolf to sign off on the funding.

The hotel portion of the project is expected to cost between $2.3 million and $2.5 million. The restoration will include electric, plumbing, air conditioning, interior and exterior work, along with restoration to 18 rooms, which are about 12 fewer than before. The hotel portion has not been used since the 1970s; a kitchen fire in 2011 closed the entire building.

Butler County Community College will provide internship opportunities at the Kaufman House to culinary arts and hospitality management students.

Cohen said the tourism bureau is eager to get the restoration project under construction.