Hilton Garden Hotel Planned on Pittsfield-Lenox Road
PITTSFIELD — A leader in the Berkshire County hospitality sector has announced plans to develop a Hilton Garden Inn on the Pittsfield-Lenox Road.
Vijay Mahida, who got his start in the hospitality industry in Pittsfield some 15 years ago, plans to break ground on the Pittsfield project this spring with a grand opening targeted for late spring 2014. The 95-room, $10 million hotel will be constructed on the current site of Dr. Lahey's Garden Center, 1032 South St., adjacent to Guido's Fresh Marketplace and Pittsfield Rye bakery.
Hilton Gardens is expected to open 75 new hotels in the United States this year. Dr. Lahey's has started a 50 percent off sale and expects to close at the end of the month, with a new location to announced later.
Mr. Mahida said the current conditions in Berkshire County are ideal for introducing a highly respected hospitality brand with strong appeal to business and recreational travelers.
"I am encouraged by the consistent growth of travel to the Berkshires, even in the face of a less-than-robust national economy," said Mahida. "Business travelers visiting the Berkshires will appreciate seeing a trusted national brand like Hilton Garden Inn. Our new hotel will also be convenient to many recreational and cultural venues, from the excellent local ski areas to the Colonial Theatre to Tanglewood to our nationally renowned museums. We feel Pittsfield and Berkshire County deserve this project and we are committed to making it as successful as our other hospitality businesses."
Local business leaders expressed enthusiasm for the project.
Berkshire Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Mike Supranowicz said the construction project and ongoing operation of the hotel would have a positive ripple effect in the local economy.
"We welcome this project in Pittsfield," said Supranowicz. "The initial $10 million construction project could support employment for more than 95 construction professionals, and have a total impact of more than $16 million in the local economy. When you add up the direct, indirect and induced economic results, we estimate that the ongoing operation of the Hilton Garden Inn could generate about $4 million of total economic impact annually in the Berkshires."
Lauri Klefos, president and CEO of the Berkshire Visitors Bureau, indicated that the new Hilton Garden Inn would be positive news to people visiting the Berkshires.
"At the Berkshire Visitors Bureau we know that many travelers are brand loyal and want to stay with specific hotel groups where they can use their loyalty programs," Klefos said. "We also know that there is unmet demand during peak periods, when the 4,300 rooms offered in the Berkshires cannot keep up with the influx of visitors. This Hilton Garden Inn project provides visitors with more choices, offers a well-known brand for new visitors, and caters to the business traveler's needs."
Klefos added that despite the slow economic recovery, the lodging industry has started to bounce back.
"2012 was a year of unexpected strength for the US lodging industry," Klefos said, citing year-over-year increases of 2.3 percent occupancy, 4.3 percent for Average Daily Rate (or ADR, a measurement of average rental income per paid occupied room in a given time period) and 6.6 percent in "Revenue Per Available Room" (also known as RevPAR).
James Scalise of SK Design Group Inc. has been selected as the owner's project manager.
"I am very pleased to have James Scalise as our project manager. He shares my passion for quality and he enjoys a great deal of respect from Berkshire County builders and business leaders. He also fully supports my intention to provide opportunities for local contractors to bid on the project," said Mahida.
Mahida and his family are investors in numerous lodging properties in the Berkshires, including the 93-room Comfort Inn and Suites in Great Barrington.
Tags: construction, motels, hotels,
