"This is definitely revitalizing the neighborhood," Dharshi Dupee, senior vice president of Corcoran Jennison, tells GlobeSt.com. The firm has teamed up with the Crosstown project to develop the hotel at the site, a Hampton Inn and Suite. It will be located one and a half blocks from the new Best Western. "The Boston market is hungry for a limited service hotel product, priced in the limited service category but with full service amenities like retail stores and a restaurant."

According to Dupee, this neighborhood is exactly where her company wants to be. "If you go up and down Albany Street, there is a billion dollars of investment going into this area," she points out.

WNW Hospitality Management was not available for comment, but executives with the New York-based company are quoted as saying that the 92-room hotel has a ready-made market in Boston Medical Center, which is nearby, and Boston University's BioSquare project, an office and research space currently under development. The hotel will cater to doctors, researchers and executives visiting these centers. Because it is located in a Federal Empowerment Zone, WNW Hospitality was able to obtain $8 million dollars in tax-exempt financing.

The BioSquare project is another boost for this area, although the porject has been moving along slowly. The plan for the project, which was got underway six years ago, called for 1.1 million sf and a hotel in its first ten years of development. The project now has two buildings at 340,000 sf each with a third smaller building planned.

Across from BioSquare is the Crosstown project, a $125-million project on a six-acre parcel. Plans for Crosstown include 45,000 sf of retail, a 1,250-car garage and 250,000 sf of office space in addition to a 175-room hotel.

Instant Insights /

New Hotel Points to Neighborhood's Revitalization

Related Stories

Recommended For You