Plans to sell the Kings Inn apparently fell through, and with it, plans to renovate the two-story motel this spring.
Category Archives: hotels
Candlewood Suites gets final OK
The Planning Board last night unanimously gave preliminary major and final site plan approval for a Candlewood Suites at East Milton Avenue and Routes 1/9, next to the Best Western.
Sleep Inn out, Candlewood Suites in
A long-planned hotel near the corner of Route 1 and East Milton Avenue looks like it will go through another round of changes.
The 4.4-acre site (667 E. Milton Ave./Block 338, Lot 3) already was approved for a Sleep Inn several years ago but the property changed hands earlier this year and now the plan is to bring in Candlewood Suites, an extended stay brand of Holiday Inn. The Redevelopment Agency was presented with the new concept earlier this month and owners are expected to file an application with the Planning Board as soon as possible.
The site was acquired several months ago for $2.35 million. Owners hope to break ground as soon as next spring, with construction anticipated for 10 to 12 months, taking it into the spring of 2010.
Plans still show an L-shaped building at the corner of Lennington Street with the same footprint, but the structure is four stories instead of three, with a maximum of 93 rooms. The mix of studios and one-bedrooms can be modified, such as combining two studios to create a one-bedroom.
An indoor pool and convenience store also were added to the original design, which had 72 rooms in three stories. Extended stay units also have kitchens and most clients stay an average of two to three weeks. A 8,000-square-foot restaurant is still planned but is not dependent on the hotel construction, and vice versa. The restaurant would abut the neighboring Best Western on Paterson Street with its parking lot at the corner of East Milton and Paterson Street.
The hotel site would have 90 parking spaces while the restaurant site would accommodate 42, for a total of 132. By city ordinance, an 8,000-square-foot restaurant requires one parking space for every three seats, which would meet the requirement for a 120-seat facility (40 seats).
The owners also operate the Horizon Inn on Route 1 in Avenel and told the Redevelopment Agency they already have approval for $7 million financing from Unity Bank. They would have a 10-year agreement with Candlewood which would be renewed based on performance.
Addition nixed at Kings Inn
The Kings Inn motel on Routes 1/9 south will eventually be renovated to become a Super 8 but the addition has been yanked from the drawing board.
Hotel to open June 16
Hotel Indigo at Sky View is scheduled to open June 16 and begin taking reservations starting July 15, City Administrator/Redevelopment Director Peter Pelissier said at Wednesday night’s Redevelopment Agency meeting.
Construction for the Irving-Fulton streets realignment will be completed the first week of June, with temporary paving in place for May 17’s Hot Rods and Harleys event, he said. Milling and resurfacing will take place the second week of June.
Planned retail for the hotel building includes a coffee shop, dry cleaners, fitness center and restaurant.
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Interesting story in Wednesday’s Star-Ledger about the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, not for the $15,000 Springsteen tickets necessarily, but as the story put it: “The Basie’s success is especially noteworthy because many performing arts centers are struggling with declines in attendance and dramatic changes in ticket-buying patterns.” The theatre is not unlike our own Union County Performing Arts Center in terms of size and age, and both have undergone recent renovations.
Perhaps the UCPAC can adapt some lessons from Count Basie, as well as other venues, like Paper Mill Playhouse, which tried to be daring but it didn’t work out as well. It’s not uncommon for art centers to lose money, and UCPAC is no exception, but now it’s taxpayers who own it after the $6.2-million renovation and acquisition. The center also was featured in the Ledger this week, mainly for its new air conditioning, which will allow summer events.
A Super 8 fit for a king
The Kings Inn — the motel on Routes 1&9 South with the distinctive tower that once appeared in a popular early ’90s rap video (look for it at about 1:26 of 4:26) — will become a Super 8 and part of the Wyndham hotel chain after renovations and an addition.
Preliminary plans presented before the Redevelopment Agency at its April 9 meeting indicated the structure would be renovated to hold 44 rooms — eight fewer than the current 52 — with a four-story addition that would include another 43 rooms (for total of 87), along with an area connecting the two. The tower will not remain.
Diversified Communities, developers of the adjacent Riverwalk townhouses, had been in discussions to build another 36 to 40 units on the motel property, but those plans eventually proved too costly because of environmental issues.
The Kings Inn, which was raided by police about a year ago (.pdf), is among a number of typical Route 1 motels getting a makeover or replaced altogether. The Best Western on Paterson Street was built a few years ago, and a new Sleep Inn (.pdf) is planned on the adjacent vacant lot which used to be home to the Village Inn.
Thanks to The Contrarian for info on the Kings Inn’s music video history, and some more links to other police activity at the motel.