Paul Bass Photo
The new owner of the downtown Courtyard Marriott received a get-to-know you message from neighbors — an attempt to stop him from renewing his hotel’s liquor license.
The new owner, Noble Investment Group, purchased the Whalley Avenue Marriott a little over a month ago.
The transaction has put on hold the Marriott’s plans to build a second hotel, a longer-term-stay Residence Inn, behind the Whalley hotel, at the corner of Elm and Howe. Noble Executive Vice-President Ben Brunt told the Independent Monday that his team is “studying” the idea before deciding whether to revive that plan and seek neighborhood and city approvals.
For now, Brunt said, Noble is focusing in making “a significant multi-million-dollar” renovation of the 207-room Whalley Avenue hotel.
As the new owner, Noble (through the company it hired to manage the Whalley Marriott, Interstate Hotels and Resorts), needs to receive approval from the state consumer protection department’s Liquor Control Division to keep selling booze. It filed an application to do so.
The commission subsequently received letters from neighbors opposing the application, on grounds that the new owners haven’t met with them to explain any expansion plans.
As a result, the commission has launched an investigation (and has sealed the public file), according to spokeswoman Claudette Carveth.
Aliyya Swaby Photo
Douglass, Florita Gillespie, and Curlena MacDonald at a management team meeting where the hotel project took a drubbing.
The letters were signed by leaders of the Dwight Community Management Team, Dwight Alder Frank Douglass and others.
Douglass said the opponents are seeking “respect.”
“They [the new owners] should come to the management team and let them know what their plans are: How big is it going to be? We don’t know if they’re going to expand it, put a nightclub in,” Douglass said.
“We’ve tried” to meet with Douglass and others, said Brunt (pictured). “But they were unavailable. We’ll hopefully be back in the market in short order and have meetings.”
Brunt attempted to hold meetings during a recent visit here from Atlanta.
Douglass said he received only a day’s notice, so the meeting couldn’t take place. “I have a job. I have to support my family. I can’t just take off because somebody drops their hat in town and says, ‘Let’s talk.’ It’s all about respect.”
Robert Sullivan, of the Interstate Hotels management company, said the Marriott has a provisional license that allows it to continue dispensing liquor pending resolution of the application process. He said no changes in use are envisioned for the Marriott, only cosmetic improvements like “paint, wallpaper.”
“The facility is a Courtyard. It’s been a Courtyard forever. It’s going to stay a Courtyard. That’s the only plan we know of,” Sullivan said.
A rendition of the previous Residence Inn.
The “respect” complaint refrains a complaint the neighborhood had about the Marriott’s previous owners, who sought to build the 115-room six-story Residence Inn at Elm and Howe (on a lot housing the Brick Oven Pizza restaurant). Neighbors succeeded in blocking the proposal at the zoning board and City Plan Commission after they said the owners failed to meet with them first before seeking public approval.
Technically, Newport Hotel Group owns that property. It had planned to build the hotel there for the previous Marriott owners. Now the firm needs to wait to see what the new owner decides.
Noble has retained local zoning attorney James Segaloff to represent the firm before city agencies in the event of a resubmission.
If the decision is to try again, expect to see some neighborhood meetings.
The Dwight Community Management Team, Frank Douglass, and Scott Marks should be ashamed of themselves. They're using the new hotel owner's attempt to renew their liquor license as a hostage in negotiations about an expansion plan which may or may not even happen.
The Community Management Team has already shown that they care more about their "not in my backyard" mentality of caring more about how fast traffic is than creating local jobs in the area, and this is just the next step in total disregard for taxpaying businesses in the area. Not sure if they've noticed, but there aren't a ton of high profile businesses over there on Whalley.
Maybe they should actually wait until the expansion plans are released, if at all, before they start making demands and holding a liquor license hostage. Otherwise, they just look petty.