NEWS

Apartments, ‘stacker parking’ planned for former Sheraton

Posted 5/4/22

By JOHN HOWELL

 

What’s to happen to hotels when it’s time to upgrade them and their owners decide it’s time to sell? And what’s to happen when those new owners …

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NEWS

Apartments, ‘stacker parking’ planned for former Sheraton

Posted

By JOHN HOWELL

 

What’s to happen to hotels when it’s time to upgrade them and their owners decide it’s time to sell? And what’s to happen when those new owners choose to change the use of those hotels but there isn’t sufficient parking to meet buildings codes for the new use?

GoodHomes Co. based in New York has answers for both questions.

GoodHomes has gained Zoning Board of Review approval to convert the former Sheraton Hotel  that was built in 1972 on Post Road overlooking the airport into single and double room apartments renting for $850 to $1,100 a month on one-year leases. The 5-story hotel has 207 guestrooms with parking for 203. Initially because of the requirement of 1:1 parking spaces per apartment unit, which the board granted a variance for 1:1.2 space per room, GoodHomes was ready to move ahead with 181 apartments.

The plan calls for the retention of the indoor swimming pool, gym as well as 5,200 square foot cafeteria/coffee bar.  That left 32,000 square feet to be renovated into apartments once sufficient parking to meet the code was obtained.

Now GoodHomes has found the parking to renovate all 207 guestrooms into 203 one-unit studio and four two-bedroom apartments plus parking for an additional 64 cars.

To achieve the added parking, cars will be stacked like cord wood on top of each other.

While this is new to Warwick, GoodHomes team member David Mitchell says it is a common practice in urban areas where space is at a premium. The car stacker system planned would be in the rear of the building overlooking the airport. Vehicles would be driven onto the stacker and then slipped into place above the car below it. Mitchell said someone on staff would be available to stack or retrieve the cars around the clock.

Where to put cars would seem to be one of the lesser problems Mitchell is facing. With shortages of materials and labor as well as higher prices, Mitchell has had to recalculate project cost projections. On Friday he was unable to give cost projections, saying he was still working on the “build out.” But apparently the market hasn’t deterred the GoodHomes goal to convert 50,000 hospitality rooms into apartments. In the past two years, Mitchell said the company has converted 20 hotels into about 4,000 apartments as far west as Texas.

Mitchell puts GoodHomes in the middle to lower tier rental market serving people in the range of making $35,000 to $90,000 annually. He characterized renters as being younger professionals, government workers, in law enforcement and manufacturing as well as some students. He said most do not have families. Pets are allowed.  He said a big plus to the conversion of hotels into apartments is the amenities including pools, gyms and meeting rooms that become available to tenant use.

“Warwick has been terrific,” Mitchell said of the cooperation he has received. He sees the development as a step in solving the housing crisis.

“There’s a huge shortage of rentals in that range (of cost),” he said. Mitchell is hopeful of commencing renovations shortly and having them completed in nine months to a year.

The hotel made the news in February 2021 when the city was preparing to list it on a tax sale for nonpayment of about $850,000 in back taxes. Centreville Bank, mortgage holder on the property – then the Wyndham Hotel - owned by Jay Patel, stepped in to work out agreement to pay the taxes thereby averting its tax sale.

parking, stacker parking

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