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Date: 12/18/2023
NORTHAMPTON — The construction a new 109-room hotel and three-story residential building on 115 Conz St. is still planned to move forward, but an amendment was made to the project’s already-approved special permit/site plan during the Planning Board’s Dec. 14 meeting.
The project, which is happening at the site of the former Daily Hampshire Gazette building, is expected to be completed in two phases, with the four-story hotel coming first and then a three-story residential building in front of the hotel closer to Conz Street coming second.
The board unanimously approved the special permit/major site plan for the project during their Sept. 28 meeting with three conditions that the owner — Mansour Ghalibaf — must follow, including the idea that the owner must begin work on the foundation of the residential building before a certificate of occupancy for the hotel is granted.
The Planning Board added that certificate of occupancy condition back in September to ensure that the residential building will be built once the hotel is finished.
But on Dec. 14, the Planning Board decided to remove that particular condition after Ghalibaf — who also owns Hotel Northampton and the nearby Fairfield Inn & Suites under his Rankin Holdings LLC — claimed that the bank that he is working with for the project would not support the project with that condition in place.
“The bank has to be satisfied with the project, and they weren’t happy with [the condition],” Ghalibaf said. “It makes them nervous because it is their investment.”
Carolyn Misch, the city’s director of Planning and Sustainability, said that even without the condition, the city could take other steps later on to ensure that the second portion of the project gets built.
“I think there is a risk that [the residential building] does not get developed, however, because of the location, because of the demand for housing, there are probably other tools down the road the city could engage with in order to get that to happen,” Misch said.
Because this is considered a vital economic piece for the city, the mayor’s office also advocated for the condition to be lifted since such a rule would “make it impossible” for Ghlaibaf to secure funding for the project.
This sentiment was expressed through a letter to the Planning Board from Alan Wolf, the mayor’s chief of staff, who also noted how this project will be a major economic driver for the city. In the letter, Wolf, who serves as the city’s economic development director, also argued that the project will greatly contribute to the employment landscape.
The Planning Board ultimately voted unanimously to remove the condition so the project can move forward with the bank’s help, citing Ghalibaf’s trustworthy reputation and the city’s firm support as major reasons for their decision.
The other two conditions of the permit, which requires additional electric vehicle chargers and the replacement of a section of a parking lot with low maintenance grass seed, remain intact.
Ghalibaf said during the meeting that the hotel portion of the project is expected to break ground late next summer, but no concrete date is set yet.
Readers can learn more about by visiting past coverage: http://archives.thereminder.com/localnews/northampton/northampton-planning-board-approves-permit-for-hot/.