Building a 4-Star Future in New Haven

The building at 205 Church St. in New Haven has a new look and now the hunt is on for a new tenant. But not any tenant will do, it must have star quality -- 4 star quality.

The plan is to bring in a luxury hotel after the $25 million facelift is completed. It was announced during a Development Commission meeting on Wednesday.

“I think it reflects well that in a lousy real estate market in America, if you look at the city in last few months we're continuing to build,” Mayor John DeStefano, D, said.

Wachovia Bank will remain on the first floor. The main entrance to the hotel will be on Church Street and the lobby will be on the second floor. The building owner hopes to have the hotel operator in by next summer and to start booking rooms mid 2011.

“I think it will bring in some money and some jobs to the area and anything to build downtown up. I think it’s great,” Lynette Iamele, who works two jobs in New Haven and lives in West Haven, said.

The mayor is calling the hotel a new magnet for people to venture into this part of downtown,

“This is in a more quiet part of downtown, which is largely office buildings and I think the introduction of 24-hour use is kind of neat because it will put the same number of people on the streets as you see in the Broadway area and the Theatre District,” he said. 

But there’s always one issue when something new comes to downtown and that’s parking.

The Department of Economic Development says the plan is to build a garage a few blocks away on State and Wall streets.

Some argue that parking far away won’t be attractive to guests. Others, like Iamele see how it can work.

“Maybe if they incorporated something like a shuttle, that would be a great idea,” she said.
 

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