After several failed attempts, the long-time owner of a 13-acre property on Silas Deane Highway in Rocky Hill is again attempting to develop the vacant land with a $10 million hotel and restaurant.
Real estate developer Ron Lyman, operating as Sam Center LLC/REL Inc., has asked the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission for a special permit and site plan approval to allow construction of a four-story, 126-room hotel and 5,660-square-foot restaurant on the east side of Silas Deane Highway adjacent to the Interstate 91 northbound on-ramp at interchange 24. An address for the land was not immediately available Wednesday.
Lyman has owned the 12.91-acre property for approximately 20 years, and has proposed several unsuccessful developments there over that time, town records show.
But Lyman’s latest proposal will preserve a large portion of the property, zoned for commercial use, as open space, an attorney representing Lyman wrote in a letter to the town’s Economic Development Commission.
Meantime, Lyman already has commitments from Woodsprings Suites Hotel and LongHorn Steakhouse restaurant to develop two proposed buildings on-site.
The $10 million price tag for the Woodsprings Suites Hotel includes costs for construction, fixtures and furniture, the letter said. Once operational, the hotel would generate estimated revenues of about $2.4 million, and employ 11 full-time workers and some part-time employees.
The LongHorn Steakhouse, employing up to 70 workers, would be built at a cost of approximately $855,000.
Real estate taxes payable to the town for both buildings have not yet been determined, town records show.
If approved, it’s not yet clear when construction may begin or when the hotel and restaurant would open.
The town’s zoning commission will field public comments at a special meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 25 in the town hall at 761 Old Main St. Members may choose to vote on Lyman’s special permit and site plan application following the public hearing portion of the meeting, according to town planner Kim Ricci.
In July, the town’s Economic Development Commission endorsed the proposal contingent on certain barriers, either through landscaping or a “wall of substantial height,” being added around the development to offer privacy to residents at the Sutton Place Apartments and on Marshall Road, town records show.
“It is a value added development, not only for the subject property, but for the Silas Deane Highway corridor,” Larry deBear, chair of the Economic Development Commission, wrote in a letter to the zoning board.
“…the proposal will provide an opportunity to attract more visitors to the Silas Deane Highway corridor, will increase both the real and personal property grand list and will provide both new permanent jobs and temporary construction/trade jobs,” he continued.
The Woodsprings Suites Hotel would add to Rocky Hill’s, and Greater Hartford’s, growing hospitality industry.
In June 2018, Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton debuted a 90-room hotel at 685 Cromwell Ave.
