Hotel marks new era in city
Ground broken for 89-room hotel downtown
CHESTER » After nearly 10 years of discussion, the Candlewood Suites Hotel in downtown Chester is officially a go.
At a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday afternoon, Drake Nakaishi, the executive director of the Chester Economic Development Authority, was joined by Mayor Thaddeus Kirkland, developer Sam Patel, members of Chester City Council and others with golden shovels in hand to establish the site of Chester’s newest hotel at Fourth and Welsh Streets.
Right next to City Hall and areas downtown on the Avenue of the States, the Candlewood Suites, an 89-room all-suite hotel is designed “for the extended stay business travelers on short or long-term assignment.”
“This has been a longterm project and we’re thankful that we’re able to make this happy and bring some new revitalization into the city of Chester,” Nakaishi said.
In 2008, the Best Western, the city’s first new hotel in 35 years, opened thanks to a $40 million initiative between Widener University and Crozer Keystone to build on the tax-exempt Keystone Opportunity Zone.
The cost to build the Candlewood Suites project is estimated to cost $6 million.
Patel, who has been working on the project for 10 years, purchasing the plot of land from the Chester Water Authority and the Redevelopment Authority of the city of Chester that rests between Route 291 and East Fourth Street, and Welsh and Crosby streets to the east and west.
“We started in 2007 with the city (trying to make this happen),” Patel said. “We will create jobs here and help the city.”
Kirkland is hopeful the hotel will draw more than visitors to Harrah’s Casino.
“We’re hoping to not only get the casino crowd and the soccer stadium, but also Chester is a historic community and we’re trying to focus on the history of Chester,” Kirkland said. “Right across the street is Ethel Waters Park, little further down is the marker where William Penn landed, we have the oldest courthouse in the county, Martin Luther King Jr. living in seminary.”
“So, it’s also about recognizing the rich history in this community and encouraging folks to come and want to know more than the real Chester.”
Candlewood Suites is part of the IHG Hotel Group, which also operates Holiday Inn and InterContinental. The hotel will stand four stories and face Route 291, stretching from Welsh Street to Crosby Street with the parking lot acting as a buffer between the highway and structure.
Kirkland said the modestly sized 89-room hotel will perfectly accommodate the volume of guests they expect to visit Chester.