COMPLETED: Hampton Inn East Hartford

[MadVlad]

This has nothing to do with an inferiority complex and everything to do with common sense. Your statement about East Hartford is untrue, everything built within walking distance of downtown should be 8 stories and up. Common sense. The prudent use of space is one of the biggest letdowns of this area, nobody seems to be able to figure out what the proper height of things should be. You don't put tiny buildings in areas that are dense urban areas.

[The Voice of Reason]

Getting close to done.

I noticed thet they are using brick as part of the fasade.

[The Voice of Reason]

I wanted to add some details here.

The yellow verticle features are still raw foam and are being covered with brick. The entire lower level looks to be brick as well.

The grey areas are spray on cement over top of the foam. this looks like it still needs to be painted

the white areas are foam yet to be sprayed with cement.

if you look at the 2nd to last picture you can see the brick pretty clearly covering the ground floor and behind the scaffolding they are putting the bricks up the yellow stripes.

all in all I think it will be a decent generic hotel. if you look at the standard Hampton Inn pictures I posted earlier in this thread you can clearly tell we are getting a highler quality version.

and the fact that this one has a pool and the other nicities clearly make it a decent addition to the convention district.

[mikel]

Too tall, it should've been 4 stories or less.

[MadVlad]

That thing is way out of place, a ten story building was needed there...

[The Voice of Reason]

Too tall, it should've been 4 stories or less.

[beerbeer]

It's 120 rooms, that should be welcome. It also increases the density on he East Hartford side of the river which is also a good thing.

[The Voice of Reason]

Now I like trees and grass quite a bit, but this development turned

This

into this

not only did it turn empty land into a usefull hotel, but it also saved most of the trees on the site

[zimbu1228]

That thing is way out of place, a ten story building was needed there...

[MadVlad]

1000% agree...

[The Voice of Reason]

[HartfordTycoon]

This is coming along nicely.

Hartford Courant

The number of guests staying at Hartford-area hotels slid sharply in the first four months of 2009 compared with last year, as the recession takes a toll on business and leisure travel.

But the developer of a 121-room, limited service hotel under construction at Founders Plaza in East Hartford still likes what he sees: a five-minute walk to downtown Hartford on a pedestrian bridge and plenty of nearby parking for guests. The hotel would also be a cheaper alternative to most downtown hotels.

"When we started planning this project, we didn't know what the economy was going to be in three years," said Gregg Sapere, a partner in First Merchants Group in East Windsor. "Now, we're not looking at the next year but the next five years, the next 10 years."

The $16 million Hampton Inn & Suites, expected to open in November, could carve a lucrative niche in the Hartford market as most of the hotels in the city's center, or even the nearby Sheraton in East Hartford, are more expensive, local hospitality industry experts said.

[The Voice of Reason]

looks like they were there taking pics a day or two before I did my last drive through.

I like the pic you posted from the article. I definately thought about asking for access to the office building in order to get a shot like that.

[The Voice of Reason]

LOGO went up about a week ago. nothing will change on the outside from now on so that is likely the end of pictures from me. who knows though one this place opens.

looking at the last couple of pictures, you can see the scale of the building. 2 more floors would go a long way on the asthetics here, but we have beaten that horse far too long.

I do like how the side that faces the road kind of attempts to loom approachable. (picture 2-3) it makes me think the cafe will be open to the public

[The Voice of Reason]

lets make this official.....

COMPLETED!

the lights are on, the signage is up and lit, there are cars in the parking lot. this be-otch is OPEN FOR BUSINESS!

anyhow, I have an anticdote...

driving into downtown some night in the last week or two and my wife says, thats a nice place.

me: wha?

the new hotel there, the hampton inn, its right on the river front park. thats sweet.

so since my lovely wife has no interest in this kind of thing i say that her reaction is likely the same as much of greater hartfords. there is a budget hotel literally a hundered or 2 feet away from the riverfront park. she thought it was great, so thats cool

[MadVlad]

Hey look, they moved a piece of the Berlin Turnpike to the East Hartford Riverfront!!

[The Voice of Reason]

while your statement is mildly amusing, its also completely wrong. whens the last time you were on the Berlin turnpike.

there is not a single hotel like this on the entire road.. there are hundreds of little sketchy motels, that completely baffle me, and there is one modern hotel being built, but thats only 3 stories tall.

besides there is a big difference it what happened in East hartford, because they took a surface parking lot for an office tower and put a hotel in it. to me that is exactly what we need more of around here.

[zimbu1228]

while your statement is mildly amusing, its also completely wrong. whens the last time you were on the Berlin turnpike.

there is not a single hotel like this on the entire road.. there are hundreds of little sketchy motels, that completely baffle me, and there is one modern hotel being built, but thats only 3 stories tall.

besides there is a big difference it what happened in East hartford, because they took a surface parking lot for an office tower and put a hotel in it. to me that is exactly what we need more of around here.

[MadVlad]

VoR, I'm on the Berlin Turnpike every single day. If you drove past the town of Wethersfield once in a blue moon, you'd know that there are currently three hotels exactly like that, two in Meriden, one in Berlin, and one being built in Newington (which, like you said is only 3 stories... compared to 5, oh yeah, big difference).

[HartfordTycoon]

It is what it is. A new tax paying business and hotel within walking distance to DT Hartford. Could it be more urban? Of course. However, the very fact that new development is happening increases the chances for future and more urban appropriate development happening there in the future since the available developable land has now been decreased by whatever size this development is. You don't get urban style development until the large subarban sized developable plots are used up. Especially in a market like ours where demand aint exactly high.

[The Voice of Reason]

Meridan its true I dont go down to, but that part of the pike is more like Highway 15, and not really what comes to mind when someone says the Berlin turnpike.

I now live on Maple Street Wethersfield, so yeah I drive thru it.

My point is still the same and should not have been taken so personally. The development in E.Hartford is a FAR FRY from what we see on the Berlin Turnpike. It is, as a building, a lot like the hotels that dot highway exits around the country, but unlike them, was not a pristine forect, or a farmers field. It was a flat parking lot next to an office tower. there is still a flat parking lot, and still an office tower, but there is also now a 25 million dollar hotel sitting there hosting conventioners, and others at a more affordable price than many other places. and like HT says paying taxes, and filling a hole its...

[The Voice of Reason]

=LookupCode$0@113;ArticleType]http://www.hartfordbusiness.com/article_list.php?RF_ITEM[]=LookupCode$0@113;ArticleType

The 121-room Hampton Inn and Suites Hotels, next door to Founders Plaza in East Hartford, officially opens for business Friday.Mayor Melody Curry and other local dignitaries are scheduled to join officials from the $16 million hotel's owner, First Merchants Group of East Windsor, in dedicating the property at 8:30 a.m

so I guess, now its official.

this project is completed.

[MadVlad]

Maybe Melody can arrange for the new UFL team to be called the East Hartford Hamptons...