Hotel proposal for Federal Hill having design revised

THE DEVELOPER OF A BEST WESTERN GLO hotel set to be built along Interstate 95 on Federal Hill is revising this proposed design to take into account neighborhood input. The new plan is expected to come before the Providence City Plan Commission this spring. / COURTESY SARCHI GROUP
THE DEVELOPER OF A BEST WESTERN GLO hotel set to be built along Interstate 95 on Federal Hill is revising this proposed design to take into account neighborhood input. The new plan is expected to come before the Providence City Plan Commission this spring. / COURTESY SARCHI GROUP

PROVIDENCE – A proposal for construction of a Best Western Glo, a mid-priced hotel aimed at millennials and business travelers, is being revised and will come back before the Providence City Plan Commission this spring.

The hotel project would be developed over a parking lot at 322 Washington St., across from the Providence public safety headquarters. The preliminary design, initially submitted last year, calls for six stories and 76 guest rooms, with an adjacent parking lot and deck.

The design and traffic circulation initially put forward would place the entrance on Lyman Street, rather than Washington Street. The site faces an access road alongside Interstate 95, and the hotel is oriented to face highway travelers.

The design revision is coming after neighborhood advocates, among others, had questioned the architectural appropriateness of the initial plan. In an October letter, the West Broadway Neighborhood Association leaders said the proposed architecture did not fit Providence, or its specific location.

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“Given the prominence of the site, both in terms of geographic height and significance as a gateway to our community, our neighborhood and the city as a whole have the expectation that a project at this location will contribute architecturally and complement the surroundings, both built and natural. Unfortunately, your design does not do this,” said Kari Lang, executive director of the West Broadway association, and Amahl Harik, chair of its community development committee.

The neighborhood association recommended the developer hire a local architect, adjust the design to fit the urban location, not the highway, and reconsider the street frontage on Washington, among other suggestions.

Developer Jay Patel, of Sarchi Group, in Weymouth, Mass., said in a brief phone interview Wednesday that the hotel design is being revised and would be resubmitted.

The hotel is a brand concept of Best Western, which is aimed at a mid-priced market, and what the hotel company describes as “hip travelers” who want small, modern and highly efficient rooms. A video on the Best Western Glo website described the typical hotel as having 250-square-foot rooms with efficient layouts.

The hotels need a modest footprint requirement, according to Best Western, as little as 9,770 square feet.

The exterior would feature an illuminated blue band, containing the hotel name, and facing the highway, which the company described as “a glowing beacon that catches the eye.”

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