Paresi Study: Penn's Beach Hotel

The condo building perched above the Promenade was once a popular hotel for visitors to the waterfront city.

A city that focuses heavily on tourism could use a hotel—or three—according to the Paresi Design Studio's 1997 study. The study called for three waterfront hotel/conference centers. The southernmost was recommended for what was once Penn's Beach Marina, just north of the .

The hotel never happened, though. Instead, a condo community was built. is one of 's newer residential communities along the .

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This is the fifth post in a series of articles refreshing the visions of the Paresi Design Studio's "Urban Design and Waterfront Study," which was completed in February 1997.

The hotel in the Paresi Study resembles very closely the layout of the condos and the marina at

The study called for making Havre de Grace a destination through the hotels, citing other communities that built enormous hotel structures.

The Penn's Beach hotel in the study was set for 150-250 rooms, with a 1,000-seat conference center, a destination cafe/restaurant and a marina with a waterfront walkway.

The hotel won't happen at this site. But not to worry—the study proposed hotels on two other sites upriver. We'll feature those next week.

TELL US: What do you think of the proposed hotel at Penn's Beach? Would it have been better for the city than Heron Harbor? Where else would you consider a successful hotel location in Havre de Grace? Leave a comment.