Proposal Would Scrap Half Of Hartford Hotel For Condos

HARTFORD, CT — A developer has plans to convert half the rooms at the downtown Hartford Hilton hotel into condos, according to The Hartford Business Journal. The Capital Region Development Authority’s Housing and Neighborhood Committee approved a proposal earlier this month to renovate the lower 166 rooms, then convert upper floors into condominium units.

The Waterford Group, owners of the hotel, would handle the room renovations. A separate developer, Randy Salvatore of RMS Companies, would handle the conversion of 147 rooms into apartments, The Hartford Business Journal reported.

However, the proposal has come under attack from unions, who say that the publicly financed project would hurt workers. The employees, represented by local 217 UNITE HERE, said the majority of workers will be laid off if the proposal goes through.

"If the (city) Council approves the plan as it currently stands then most of us will lose our jobs forever," Kim Davis, a banquet server at the Hilton, said in a statement. "More than half of us have worked here for more than fifteen years. I’ve been working at this hotel for thirty years, even before it was the Hilton, and I need to work a few more years before I retire. I’ve been able to put my child through college because of my job."

Yolanda Rivera, a housekeeper at the Hilton, said in a statement: "Because of this job, I make $20 an hour as a housekeeper. I’ve been able to buy my house in Hartford, I’ve been able to raise my family in Hartford. We need our jobs. My coworkers are like my family, and I really want to keep it that way."

Another Hilton hotel in Hartford, Homewood Suites, announced in 2020 that it would close permanently due to uncertainty surrounding the pandemic.

See related: Coronavirus Hartford: Hotel Will Permanently Close: Report