Stonington Economic Development Commission supports proposed hotel in downtown Mystic
An architectural rendering of the boutique hotel being proposed for the former Broadway Auto property in downtown Mystic. (Courtesy of Cherenzia & Associated Ltd.)
By Joe Wojtas Day staff writer — Published October 27. 2020 8:18PM
Mystic — The Stonington Economic Development Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to endorse plans to build a six-room, three-story hotel with a rooftop pool on the site of the former Broadway Auto service station.
The commission now will send its recommendation that the special use permit for the project be approved to the Stonington Planning and Zoning Commission, which has scheduled a virtual public hearing on the project for Nov. 4.
EDC members on Tuesday complimented the design of the hotel done by local architect Mark Comeau as well as its close proximity to the Mystic train station, downtown and Mystic Seaport.
On Tuesday night, the EDC first heard from project engineer Sergio Cherenzia, who outlined the plans for the hotel that is being developed by G Development LLC of Waterford. According to Cherenzia, G Development, whose principals are Candice and Fotis Georgiadis, also currently are constructing an office building in front of the Naik Family Branch of the Ocean Community YMCA and renovating the former Windjammer liquor building at 44 Williams Ave. (Route 1).
G Development originally had planned to construct a three-story restaurant with a rooftop deck on the Broadway Auto site but scrapped those plans after learning that zoning regulations would not allow the off-site parking that was needed. The Board of Police Commissioners also expressed concerns about parking and traffic. All the parking for the proposed hotel would be accommodated on the property.
Architectural drawings show a ground floor with parking spots, a second and third floor with three guest rooms each and a rooftop deck that contains an open-air pool and hot tub. There would also be landscaping to improve the appearance of the streetscape.
Plans call for tearing down the garage, which is located on a 0.18-acre site at 32 Broadway. Records show G Development purchased the property for $375,000 last year.
Cherenzia told the EDC that G Development would invest $1.5 million to $2 million to develop the hotel.
The EDC also asked that Cherenzia provide information about the number of construction and permanent jobs expected to be created by the project, as well as an estimate of its economic impact, so that data can be included in the letter to the Planning and Zoning Commission.