An Arooga’s Grille House & Sports Bar franchise received Planning Board approval to be built adjacent to the Home2Suites on East Milton Avenue near Paterson Street and Routes 1/9.
Tag Archives: Home2 Suites by Hilton
Restaurant sought for Routes 1/9 hotel
Owners of a Routes 1&9 hotel that received approval to also build a free-standing restaurant more than a decade ago have lined up a franchise with plans to build an eatery.
New Home2 hotel set to open by next month
Almost two years after breaking ground and some five years after originally getting approval, a new extended stay hotel just off Routes 1/9 is expected to open in the next several weeks.
Construction delays pushed back the opening by some six months, according to a person answering the phone at the forthcoming 92-unit Home2.
Home2 Suites by Hilton is an extended stay brand of Hilton and the corporate website indicates a Nov. 15 availability.
The four-story facility will be located at 667 E. Milton Ave., adjacent to an existing 74-room Best Western on Paterson Street.
The 4.4-acre property has changed hands over the years and the application has come before the Planning Board a number of times for amendments and such.
Plans were approved for a Sleep Inn but the property then changed hands in June 2008 and a plan came about to bring in Candlewood Suites.
In December 2009, the Planning Board approved an amendment to a previous plan, at which time members were informed that the hotel would be a Homes2 Suites and not a Candlewood Suites.
Meanwhile, the Kings Inn motel has been undergoing extensive renovations and could be forthcoming as well.
Home2 Suites coming along on Route 1
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| View from East Milton Avenue |
A new extended stay hotel is taking shape off Routes 1 and 9, with signage recently going up for the Home2 Suites by Hilton.
Frame of new hotel rises along Routes 1&9
The skeleton of a new hotel that broke ground earlier this year is beginning to take shape along Routes 1&9 near Lennington Street.
New hotel finally breaks ground off Routes 1/9
A new hotel just off Routes 1&9 finally broke ground last month.
A four-story, 93-unit Candlewood Suites gained approval from the Planning Board in March 2009, which was later changed to become a Home2 Suites by Hilton extended stay hotel. Originally, the plan was to construct a Sleep Inn just off Routes 1&9 at the corner of East Milton Avenue and Lennington Street.
The vacant 4.4-acre site was acquired in June 2008 for $2.35 million and currently pays about $6,000 in property taxes as two parcels (Block 338, Lots 3.01 and 3.02).
The city continues to see increased revenues from the local hotel tax enacted almost a decade ago. About $55,000 was realized in the transitional year 2011 budget, covering July to October 2011. Pro-rated, that would be about $110,000, compared to $103,000 in Fiscal Year 2011, $99,000 in 2010, $58,000 in 2009 and $36,000 in 2008, according to municipal budget documents.
The state imposes a 5-percent hotel tax and municipalities are allowed to impose an additional levy of their own of as much as 3 percent. The hotel tax was created during the McGreevey administration in 2003 and Rahway enacted the local tax effective Nov. 1, 2003.
Home2 Suites instead of Candlewood Suites
For at least the third time in about five years, a new hotel brand is line for the corner of East Milton Avenue near Lennington Street and Routes 1/9. Home2 Suites by Hilton will replace Candlewood Suites, a Holiday Inn brand, as the extended stay hotel planned for the site. The Planning Board on Tuesday night approved an amendment to a previous preliminary and final site plan that was granted in the spring.
Home2 Suites by Hilton is a mid-tier, extended stay brand by Hilton hotels, launched in January 2008. A representative of Hilton told the Planning Board that Home2 Suites is a higher-end brand than previously was approved and has higher rates and deeper market penetration. About 55 have been approved nationwide and another 50 are expected in the next year if the economy gets better, he said.
There were few changes to the site plan that gained approval in March, according to Christopher Armstrong, attorney for applicant Family Hospitality Inc. The primary difference is an indoor pool, a requirement of Hilton, he added. The previous site plan called for a 93-unit, four-story structure and prior to that the plan was to build a Sleep Inn.
While the Planning Board approved the plans Tuesday night, city planning officials still must approve specifics, including exterior colors and materials, among other things.