The 102-room hotel within Carriage City Plaza will lose its corporate flag next month and the condominium association will consider whether to convert the hotel space into another 68 residential units.
Hotel Indigo will be removed from the InterContinental Hotel Group (IHG) system on Sept. 15, a corporate spokesperson confirmed but referred any other inquires to the property owner. Hotel employees were informed of the closing about two weeks ago, according to a source. Meanwhile, the condo association overseeing Carriage City Plaza will consider converting the existing hotel space, excluding the restaurant, and second-floor commercial space into 68 residential units and common areas. The association will meet Sept. 12 at 7 p.m. in the second-floor meeting room of Carriage City Plaza.
Asked last week about plans to convert the hotel space into residences, Joe LoMonaco of Amalgamated Bank, New York City-based LV Holdings, which oversees 80 E. Milton Ave., LLC, declined to comment before presenting the plans to homeowners. 80 East Milton Ave., LLC, is the entity that acquired Carriage City Plaza in foreclosure in 2011. It’s unclear whether the condo board’s vote is a foregone conclusion considering that 80 East Milton Ave., LLC, controls almost 80 percent of the 222 units at Carriage City Plaza. Only 62 units (about 28 percent) were sold as individual condos after construction was completed in 2008.
Redevelopment Agency Secretary and Department of Community Development Senior Planner Cynthia Solomon said Redevelopment Agency officials are expected to meet with LoMonaco ahead of the agency’s Sept. 4 meeting.
It’s unclear which side terminated the relationship but I’d heard that the hotel enjoyed solid occupancy rates and there had been talk in the past that it might convert into an extended-stay brand.
A legal notice advertising the condo association’s board meeting said the proposed change is not anticipated to affect common expenses but will “result in 24/7 concierge/security services” for residents. “These proposed changes are an exciting development for Skyview at Carriage City Plaza and will eliminate the stresses and burdens imposed by transient hotel clientele.” The Aug. 13 notice also notes that the potential conversion of the hotel “should not be discussed with hotel staff or guests at this time.”
The condo association also will vote on converting the top floor into more residential units, a proposal that already has been endorsed by the Planning Board and Redevelopment Agency. The 17th floor would increase from 13 units to 20 units while also adding a gym, business center and club room for use by residents. The new units on the 17th floor would boost the total residential units in the building from 222 to 229. Should the plan to add 68 units in the existing hotel space be approved, it would bring the total number of units to 297.
Any major changes to the property like this likely would require approval from the Redevelopment Agency, City Council and Planning Board. The Redevelopment Agency technically needed to approve the change from for-sale condos to leasing apartments, while the Planning Board needed approval for converting the top floor space into more apartments, after changes were presented to the Redevelopment Agency last October.
With the Super Bowl coming up, this is a terrible move (for the planned conversion)