Hartford City Council advances Hilton Hotel conversion plan as union workers balk at deal

Hartford’s City Council on Monday advanced plans for converting portions of the downtown Hilton Hotel into apartments to one of its committees as unionized hotel workers pushed back against the proposal.

“If the Council approves the plan as it currently stands then most of us will lose our jobs forever,” Kim Davis, a Hartford resident and 30-year employee at the hotel, told council members. 

Randy Salvatore – developer of the ongoing “Downtown North” project – has partnered with the owners of the financially struggling hotel in a plan to convert more than half of the rooms into apartments. The Waterford Group, which owns the struggling hotel, plans to renovate the remaining rooms. 

The deal depends on the City Council signing off on a restructuring of a land lease for the hotel grounds and millions of additional city and state assistance. The City Council would have to sign off on the terms of the deal.

Proponents of the deal say it is the only thing that will keep the hotel from failing, leaving the city devoid of hotel capacity needed to support the Connecticut Convention Center and XL Center. They also warn a failed hotel would fall into city hands, becoming a drain on city finances.

Salvatore says it would also be a black eye for a city that had been seeing growing development momentum. He worries about the impact on his nearby project, recently redubbed “North Crossing,” which aims to create about 1,000 apartments, along with a grocery store and new retail spaces near Dunkin’ Donuts Park.

Members of the Local 217 — UNITE HERE union have lobbied members of the council to slow down the approval process  to ensure hotel workers are considered. The hotel once employed 150, but is down to 98 workers amid the pandemic, with another 32 on a recall list as jobs become available, according to the union. 

“This deal requires about $11 million in public money,” said Ian Dunn, communications director for the union. “It is antithetical to commit that amount of public money and to put out city residents from jobs and risk their homes.”

The council, on Monday, agreed to forward the proposal to its Operations, Management, Budget & Government Accountability Committee and set a Dec. 20 public hearing.