Marriott planned along Route 372

P&Z application proposes 120-plus room hotel

CROMWELL — In what town officials say is yet another sign of a reinvigorated local economy, Marriott is proposing to build a new 120-plus room hotel in town.

The Planning and Zoning commission has received an application to build a Springhill Suites hotel in a 19,868-square-foot building in the Cobblestone Plaza on Berlin Road/Route 3. The commission has scheduled a public hearing on the application for Sept. 20, Town Planner Stuart Popper said.

The plaza, on the north side of busy Route 372, is home to a CVS at 60 Berlin Road and a Liberty Bank branch at 72 Berlin Road. If approved, Springhill Suites would be occupy 76 Berlin Road.

Marriott International, with headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland, describes itself as a “multinational hospitality company” with in excess of “6,700 hotels and 20 world-wide brands.”

In a “supplemental narrative” provided to the planner’s office, Marriott said the hotel would sit on a 4.1-acre parcel of land, and would include 123 rooms with 115 parking spaces. The site is located “in a highway business district, in which a hotel is listed as a use requiring a special permit approval.”

“This is another win for Cromwell as we continue to grow our economic development in town,” Mayor Enzo Faienza said by email. “I’m proud of all the efforts (going on) all around in making Cromwell businessfriendly. We are experiencing huge growth this is only going to get stronger.”

There are now four hotels in Cromwell, according to the assessor’s office. There is a possibility there could be another one in the offing in very short order.

Popper said owners of the Quality Inn at 111 Berlin Road have discussed filing “an amended concept plan” for a 3.89-acre parcel of land adjacent to the existing hotel, with an eye toward building a second hotel.

Meanwhile, construction is going forward on three other major projects in town, Popper said. They include the renovation of the former Xpect Discounts site at 45 Shunpike Road into a Shop Rite supermarket. The property owners, the Greenwich-based H.B. Nitkin Group, have said they have signed an agreement with the TJX Corp. to locate a Marshall’s store on the site as well.

In the Northern Tier Industrial Park, work is proceeding apace on the 403,000-square-foot warehouse building being built by Scannell Properties, Popper said. Even as the work continues, Scannell is working to sign a tenant for the building, Town Manager Anthony J. Salvatore said.

Finally, work is continuing at the TPC River Highlands to build the new 40,000-square-foot clubhouse. Club officials have promised the new facility will be ready for use for the 2019 Travelers Championship, Popper said.

File photo Cromwell officials hope a Mariott will be approved to begin building a hotel on Route 372, like this one in Stamford.