Worcester Business Journal Special Editions

www.wbjournal.com March 17, 2014 • Worcester Business Journal 25 CitySquare developers approached Colwen about building a four-star hotel downtown, and Colwen, which owns the Renaissance Patriot Place in Foxborough, decided to bring that brand to Worcester. Stebbens said it took about a year to come up with a deal, and he's excited to bring a four-star hotel back to the down- town area. "We're very bullish on Worcester," said Stebbens, adding that Colwen has "deep roots" in the city; it owns the Marriott Residence Inn on Plantation Street, and the Courtyard by Marriott at Gateway Park. During and after the Great Recession, a number of area hotel companies have lost their brands, including the former Hampton Inn on Summer Street, which is now a Holiday Inn Express. This may lead former Hampton patrons to look outside Worcester on their next trips, Stebbens said, which is why a Hampton at Gateway is a good idea. But it's not just lodging needs that Colwen wants to meet. The amount of available meeting space in the city is lack- ing, and the Renaissance plans include space to accommodate up to 600 people, which Stebbens said will be the largest capacity among the city's hotels. For some events, no room at the inn The arrival of two new hotels, and a four-star hotel in particular, is something that has officials at Destination Wozrcester, an organization that pro- motes the city as a prime destination for events and conferences, excited. "To have that caliber hotel downtown would be tremendous for Worcester," said Connie Pion, director of Destination Worcester. When the Crowne Plaza closed, Pion said it became increasingly difficult for the city's hotels to accommodate guests attending large events at the DCU Center. There are 738 hotel rooms in Worcester now, Pion said, but a DCU event may require around 1,000 rooms, so hotels in neighboring communities end up picking up the slack. And the prospect of increased meeting space is "just huge," in terms of the impact to downtown businesses, Pion said. "It's pretty nice to be able to just walk out the door," Pion said. Marlborough, Westborough plans in the works Heading east, similar discussions are taking place in communities like Marlborough and Westborough. Each is working with developers on plans to develop new hotels, which will be par- ticularly beneficial for local businesses requiring lodging and meeting space on a regular basis. In Marlborough, there are a number of hotels, including the Embassy Suites, Best Western and Courtyard by Marriott, to name a few. But Tim Cummings, executive director of the Marlborough Economic Development Corp. (MEDC) said area businesses sometimes find it difficult to book meeting space, given all the corporate events that occur in the city. Cummings said the number of hotels is certainly a factor in a business's deci- sion to locate, so if a recent proposal to build a new, 153- room Hilton Garden Inn hotel goes through, Marlborough will become even more attractive to the increasing number of businesses inter- ested in locating in the city. And that's good for everybody. "(Hotel guests and meeting attendees) will spend money on food, retail," Cummings said. "Everyone wins at that point." Jim Robbins, Westborough's town planner, said there's a shortage of both rooms and meeting space in Westborough and surrounding towns, but also a need for more full-service hotels that offer business travelers the full spectrum of amenities, including upscale dining on site, plus conference space. Right now, Robbins said businesses in town tend to turn to the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Boston-Westborough for lodging needs, but the town could stand to gain a few more hotels. A proposal to build a Hampton Inn is pending, though it won't include the kind of business amenities Robbins referred to. "Business travelers want a nice hotel that they don't have to leave," Robbins said. "You don't generally get that, unless the hotel offers conference space." n >> M e e t i n G S & G o l f G u i D e Save The Date! American Red Cross 24th Annual Charity Golf Tournament Tee off for a great cause by joining us at this annual Red Cross event! Monday July 21, 2014 Mount Pleasant Country Club Boylston, MA For more information please contact Elizabeth Wambui at 508-595-3942 or Elizabeth.wambui@redcross.org • No Pre-Payment Penalties • No SBA Guarantee Fees • Origination Fees Waived Rate is effective as of 2/19/14 and is subject to change without notice. New business loans only. Maximum loan amount of $6 million per borrower. Other terms and conditions may apply. Offer may be withdrawn at any time without notice. Not all applicants will qualify for the advertised rate. 3.99% is a five-year fixed rate. Subject to underwriting approval. DAVID J. MCHUGH 508-490-6747 dmchugh@stmaryscu.org NMLS ID: 698783 SARAH A. DAY 508-490-6742 sday@stmaryscu.org NMLS ID: 1145126 ARMAND A. FERNANDEZ 508-490-6779 afernandez@stmaryscu.org NMLS ID: 1090536 CONTACT US TO LEARN MORE… 3. 99% COMMERCIAL LOAN RATES AS LOW AS FIXED APR Rooming up in Central Mass.: More hotels on the way >> Continued from Page 12 A four-star Renaissance by Marriott hotel being proposed for Worcester 's CitySquare development would be located on the site on the right side of this photo. P H O T O / R I C K s A I A

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