Redevelopment Plans Released for North Adams Motel
 Documents filed with the Planning Board shows a section of the 1960s motel will be demolished for parking and three new buildings constructed to the north. Future development can been seen in the shaded area at top. |
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A development group that includes a member of the band Wilco is planning to transform the dated Redwood Motel on Route 2 into "destination lodging."
"Through a series of design and construction initiatives, we will transform a neglected, but beautifully sited property into a destination lodging experience that celebrates its natural surroundings, particularly the Hoosic River, in the context of North Adams' exciting new West End," according to documents filed with the Planning Board by the principals of The Beyond Place LLC.
The development group is made up of Benjamin Svenson of Broder Properties of Boston; Scott Stedman of Northside Media Group of Brooklyn, N.Y.; John Stirratt, bassist for Wilco; Simeon Bruner of Bruner/Cott Architects of Cambridge; Francis "Biggs" Waterman of Waterman Construction in Cheshire, and project manager Eric Kerns of North Adams.
The plans are to demolish the west wing of the motel and a garage. The office and innkeeper's residence and an 11-room wing will be gutted and/or renovated with updates to the interior and exterior. A rear deck will be built along the length of the buildings and the office and garage space will be converted into a lobby and lounge.
Three new lodging buildings will constructed for a total number of 40 rooms on the north side of the property. The two larger structures will back onto a natural banking to give the impression of being elevated above the forest floor.
The developers also plan "significant practical and aesthetic improvements" to the landscaping and site to incorporate contemporary design and the natural beauty. The old buildings, which currently face the highway, and the newer ones would be oriented north toward the Hoosic River.
The driveway will be reconfigured for safer exit and access, and with new parking. A pool is planned on the east end of the property along with a possible structure that can serve as a pool and boat house.
The goal for Phase 1 is to open by 2016. Preliminary plans for Phase 2 indicate further development along the Hoosic River of camping clusters and events and wedding spaces, with access to the canoe launch off Ashton Avenue, fishing points and trails.
"The overarching design goal of the project centers around keeping the iconic vocabulary of a '60s motor court while reorienting focus away from the road and back toward the river," said developers.
Beyond Place purchased the three parcels that make up the State Road property from Surinder and Ravneet Bharara in mid-April for $350,000. The Bhararas had owned it since 2007. It had been built by the late Francis T. Shea in 1962, after he operated a fish fry at that location since 1955.
The motel revamp is the latest in proposed development along the Route 2 corridor between the renovated Clark Art Institute and the soon-to-be-expanded Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. New York architects Salvatore Perry and Karla Rothstein are planning a $5 million makeover of the Cariddi Mill for initially food production and events, with potentially residential or hospitality development in the future.
Museum virtuoso Thomas Krens is proposing a for-profit museum across the street on airport-owned land and farther west, in Williamstown, the closure of The Spruces Mobile Home Park anticipates a recreational area through which the bike path will run on its way to North Adams.
The plans for the Redwood will go before the Planning Board on Monday, Sept. 14. They will also have to go before the Zoning Board of Adjustment and the Conservation Commission.
Also on Monday's agenda are applications from New Hope United Methodist Church to use 192 State St. as a place of worship; from Ernest Perry to operated a secondhand store at 118 Eagle St.; and from Summit Distributing LLC to construct a new gas station at 330 State Road.
Tags: motels, hotels, Planning Board, renovation, west end,
