Worcester Business Journal

www.wbjournal.com March 30, 2015 • Worcester Business Journal 9 W ith three new hotels under development in and around downtown, Worcester is on track to boost its hotel room capacity about 50 percent by 2017. The projects will diversify the city's hotel offerings, giving Worcester its first 4-star hotel since 2010, as well as a long- term-stay facility that will serve Central Massachusetts companies doing busi- ness globally. Taken together, these hotels will add about 360 rooms, boosting the numbers to the level Worcester had before it lost the downtown Crowne Plaza in 2010. While Worcester would still be far behind nearby cities Providence, Hartford and Springfield, the projects will help the city close the gap. The added rooms will also open up the city to more events whose organiz- ers had dismissed Worcester due to a lack of hotel rooms, according to Sandy Dunn, general manager of the DCU Center. "We are selling not only a venue or a facility, but room blocks and room nights," added Christina Andreoli, exec- utive director of Destination Worcester, which helps promote tourism in and around the city. "A lot of our conven- tions and meetings we bring in are upwards of 2,500 people … the addition of new hotels would be a boon." Events that do come to the area are often forced to seek additional rooms in surrounding communities, said Dunn, who calls these missed opportunities. Each person attending an event in the city spends, on average, $96, according to a study by Holy Cross Professor Victor Matheson that was commissioned by Destination Worcester, while the same person who stays overnight spends, on average, $215. Developer Colwen Management is working on two of the projects: a 100- room Hampton Inn at Gateway Park and a 150-room Renaissance by Marriot at CitySquare, the 4-star hotel. Construction on the Hampton Inn expe- rienced delays due to an unexpected electrical line running through the site, according to Worcester's chief develop- ment officer, Michael Traynor. But the project is still on schedule for comple- tion in the late winter of 2016, he added. Construction of an underground parking garage that will serve as the foundation of the Renaissance by Marriot is expected to be completed in October. Hotel construction should begin in January with a spring 2017 opening, according to Traynor. This hotel will raise the level of amenities available in the city, making it more attractive to a higher echelon of busi- nesses and conventions, Dunn said. Washington Square target: Sept. construction start Meanwhile, construction of the long- term-stay hotel in Washington Square, announced in November by developer First Bristol Corp., should begin before September, according to Dennis Murphy, a spokesman for First Bristol. The hotel will have at least 110 rooms and target contractors and executives who work at companies throughout Central Massachusetts, according to Tim Murray, president and CEO of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce. Final plans for the hotel have been submitted to the city, Traynor said. The design meets the city's expectations, with an "urban" architecture that will blend the new, nearby developments downtown with the iconic Union Station on the other side of the square. "It's exactly what we asked them to do," Traynor said. "It was very important to make sure we had something that was 803$&45&3t8&45:"3.065)t'3".*/()".t.*-'03% Accounting and Tax Services | Business Consulting Services | Business Transition / Exit Planning Financial Services and Retirement Planning It's Tough to See !ings Clearly !ese Days Knowledge, experience, and expertise to help you see more clearly. S&G's best practice business solutions provide greater profitability today and greater business value tomorrow. $BMM3POBME.BTJFMMPBU UPTFUVQBOPPCMJHBUJPONFFUJOH Services Delivered with Fanatical Customer Focus... Guaranteed! tXXXTHMMQDPN B O S T O N BU S I N E S S J O U R N A L L A R GE ST A C C OU NT I N G F I R M DS # 44 B O S T O N BU S I N E S S J O U R N A L L A R G E ST AC C O U NT I N G F I R M S # 44 More hotel rooms lift Worcester's downtown area hopes BY SAM BONACCI Worcester Business Journal Staff Writer Hotel rooms Even with the three hotels in the works for the downtown area, Worcester will have fewer rooms than Springfield after its $800 million casino project is completed. * Springfield is scheduled to get another 250 rooms as part of the casino development. Sources: Sandy Dunn, DCU Center; Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau; Greater Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau Providence ....................2,295 Hartford ........................1,800 Springfield ..................... 947* Worcester ........................ 745 >> Continued on Page 27

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