Developer outlines plans for hotel on Route 138

There appears to be no end in sight to the recent hotel boom in Canton, with a Hilton Garden Inn slated to join the existing Homewood Suites on Royall Street and now a Best Western apparently in the works on Route 138.

While the former hotel has obtained all of the necessary approvals and is nearing the construction phase, the latter is still merely a concept at this point. What it does have, however, is a site already selected, a motivated developer and a willing hotel operator, not to mention the enthusiastic support of at least one high-ranking town official.

A Best Western Plus extended stay hotel could be coming to Route 138 in Canton.

As noted by attorney Paul Schneiders at the June 9 zoning board meeting, his clients, Ronen and Nir Drory of Titanium Group LLC, already have a firm agreement in place with Best Western Hotels and Resorts to locate a hotel on the property if they can secure town approval.

The site in question, located at 925 Turnpike Street behind Prestige Car Wash & Gas, consists of roughly 4.5 acres and has been the subject of numerous development proposals over the years, including a multi-purpose “sports bubble” that was approved by the ZBA in 2011 but never built. The latest plans call for the construction of a four-story, 20,000-square-foot hotel with 100 total rooms, most likely Best Western’s extended stay Plus brand. Titanium is also proposing to build a car dealership with associated repair garage and collision center on the southerly side of the property.

Schneiders said the project meets nearly all of the dimensional requirements under the zoning bylaw, with the exception of total lot size for the hotel, which requires a minimum of 10 acres in a limited industrial district. The Turnpike Street site has roughly half that figure and would therefore need a variance; however, Schneiders said the site compares favorably with Canton’s other two hotels, which garnered town meeting approval via the hotel overlay bylaw despite lot sizes of 2.27 and 3.15 acres, respectively.

“Homewood Suites has 95 units,” he said. “Hilton Garden Inn will have 138 units and the Best Western would have 100 units. In short, town boards have approved a hotel similar in size and one larger in size than the proposed Best Western with considerably less land and less than a third of the land required under [the bylaw].”

Schneiders said the only other zoning relief that his client may be seeking is for building height, as the bylaw permits a maximum of 40 feet and the current plans call for a 50-foot structure. By comparison, he said, the soon-to-be constructed Hilton Garden Inn was unanimously approved at last year’s town meeting with a building height of 48 feet.

In exchange for the requested zoning relief, Schneiders said the town would gain a modern and fully appointed extended stay lodging option operated by an award-winning hotel brand. Furthermore, he said the hotel would generate a “substantial amount of tax revenue” — roughly $550,000 per year between real estate and hotel taxes — with a minimal impact on town services.

Selectman John Connolly, who spoke on behalf of the project at the June 9 ZBA meeting, also cited the added tax revenue as a “huge factor,” especially with the combination of meals and rooms taxes that a hotel would generate.

Speaking as one member of the board, Connolly said a Best Western in that location would be “nothing but a homerun for the town of Canton” and offered his full support …

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Posted by Jay Turner on Jun 23 2016. Filed under Business. Both comments and pings are currently closed.