Business & Tech
Beds Being Made for Vernon Hotel Projects
Designs for an extended stay brand on Kelly Road and renovations to its neighbor are progressing, the owner said.
Plans to make a corner of Kelly Road hotel central in Vernon are moving along.
With a couple of new twists.
Plans for an extended stay hotel on a parcel that occupies 355, 359 and 361 Kelly Road - land in-between the Free Spirit Cafe and the Tri-City Plaza shopping center - were endorsed by the Planning and Zoning Commission last week. Owner Victor Antico has changed the brand slightly, but he said on Wednesday that he envisions the project getting under way late this year and then going full-tilt in the first quarter of next year.
Meanwhile, he is about to give his property across the street on Kelly Road - the Holiday Inn Express - a major makeover.
In November, a section on the right-hand side of the Holiday Inn Express will be demolished and replaced with an indoor pool with four rooms above it, he said. The other existing rooms at the hotel will be renovated with a completely new look inside. The two double beds will be replaced with queen-size beds, he said.
Antico originally proposed a Candlewod Suites hotel for the extended stay project, but has since decided to go with Home2Suites, a Hilton brand. His plans still call for about 70 rooms, he said on Wednesday.
He said Home2Suites would serve as an option in between single-room hotels and the often-pricey larger extended stay hotels.
The extended stay project has been granted a tax abatement locally, as long as ground is broken by Oct. 16, 2014 and the project is completed by Oct. 16, 2017. The abatement is limited to a national chain extended stay hotel.
The tax break is on the increased tax value on the property relative to the project, which amounts to about $75,000, town records indicate.
The particulars of the abatement for the increased value are:
• A 100 percent reduction for the first year.
• A 75 percent reduction for the second and third years.
• A 50 percent reduction for the fourth and fifth years.
• A 25 percent reduction years 6 and 7.
The property returns to the full assessment for the eighth year and beyond.
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