By Seth Daniel
City Manager Tom Ambrosino has withdrawn a zoning proposal that would have restricted hotel development in the Second Street area and surrounding industrial zones to just one location.
The zoning hearing scheduled for this month has been postponed as Ambrosino opts instead to commission a study examining the local hotel industry.
According to Ambrosino, the withdrawal of the zoning proposal will not affect a hotel project currently seeking approval on Second Street—a proposal that has generated mixed responses from other municipal officials.
“We have deferred the zoning hearing on my proposal,” Ambrosino stated. “We want to do a hotel study. I don’t feel we know the industry well enough to know how many rooms we can absorb. There are a lot of proposals floating around.”
Multiple potential locations exist for additional hotel development, Ambrosino noted. Currently, Chelsea operates three hotels, with a fourth—the Homewood Suites on Carter Street—scheduled to open in March. The same developer is proposing a fifth hotel near the Revere/Chelsea border.
The Second Street hotel proposal continues to move through the approval process.
Ambrosino referenced the ongoing waterfront study and highlighted the possibility of attracting additional hotels to that area.
“I think before we do anything it’s important to know how many rooms the city can absorb and what amount is right and where would hotels make sense,” he explained.
He estimated the study would take approximately six months to complete from its start date.