A fifth hotel project has secured a tentative agreement to develop on a former industrial site near Broadway at Chelsea’s border with Revere, according to City Manager Jay Ash, who announced the deal this week without disclosing the precise location.
“fblikebutton_button” Ash stated, “I can confirmed that a fifth hotel has a tentative agreement to be developed here. The Wyndham Hotel and Residence Inn are already open, the TownePlace Suites is under construction on Central Avenue, and the Holiday Inn will break ground if and when the snow melts. Hotel number five will build on the strength of Chelsea’s now emerged lodging market, providing more great jobs, tremendous tax growth and further momentum for even further community investment and revitalization down the road.”
Chelsea’s hotel development boom represents significant momentum for the city, particularly since the Wyndham arrived a little over 10 years ago. The subsequent projects have either recently opened or remain under active construction. Should the fifth hotel proceed, it would mark the fourth new hotel to arrive within a two-year span, cementing Chelsea’s position as an emerging lodging destination.
While Ash declined to pinpoint exactly where the fifth hotel would be situated, he confirmed it would occupy a former industrial parcel along the Revere border. The Broadway location would likely position the development as another iconic “Welcome to Chelsea” landmark, joining the hotel cluster near the Route 1 South exit and the TownePlace property across the Chelsea Street Bridge.
The four existing hotels are projected to generate over $500,000 annually in tax revenue and create 40 or more jobs. Ash envisions the fifth hotel contributing to approximately $50 million in capital improvements he has identified as urgent priorities, including replacing the Clark Avenue School and reconstructing Broadway significantly.
Ash elaborated on his fiscal philosophy: “We’re not going to borrow ourselves into fiscal troubles, and will, instead, be entrepreneurial in our approach to raise new dollars to support the continued rebuilding and growth of our city. In some places, officials would just ask for more property taxes from existing taxpayers through a Proposition 2 1/2 override. That’s not our approach here, and, instead, we’re working our economic development and other approaches hard and effective to produce the new tax revenue necessary to support the investments we want to make and our city critically needs.”
Market capacity concerns are unfounded, according to Ash, who is recognized as a regional economic development leader. He explained: “We’re in a regional market and we are thinking regionally. We’ve figured out something very special here in Chelsea: we’re closer to Downtown Boston and Logan Airport than most of Boston. Add a casino into the mix and I truly believe we can support even more than five hotels, and to that end and with that belief I’m continuing to work.”