Central West End Midtown Development's Development Committee signaled tentative conditional support for a five-story, 100-room hotel on Forest Park Avenue in Midtown at its August 2009 meeting. The new hotel, to be developed and managed by Sasak Corp. under the Holiday Inn Express & Suites flagship, would replace the former Raiffie Vending Co. warehouse located at 3663 Forest Park Ave. between Spring and Grand.
The hotel would be constructed of pre-cast concrete with an embedded brick veneer, with a 100-space, two-level parking structure located behind the building. Sasak Corp., represented by the father and son team of Amrut and Ankit Patel, is seeking a letter of support from the Development Committee for tax abatement for the project and permission from the city's Preservation Board to demolish the existing building.
The design was well-received by CWEMD Development Committee at its August 2009 meeting, but several members, including chair Dan Hellmuth, expressed skepticism that the hotel could be built as shown in the conceptual renderings for the project budget. Costs are estimated at $6.6 million, or approximately $90 per square foot for the hotel building. The Development Committee hinged final support for the project on receiving more information on how architectural details would be incorporated into the building. The committee is seeking confirmation that the renderings accurately portray what the hotel will actually look like.
Two years ago, CWEMD's Development Committee and the city's Preservation Board voted down a different hotel proposal from Sasak Corp. The new plans represent a shift to a more substantial, urban design.
While decisions of CWEMD committees are not official, the alderman and city officials consider support from the organization in deciding whether to approve a project.
Sasak Hotel Presentation
Sasak Hotel CWEMD Staff Analysis
Sasak Corp. website
Committee members present: Dan Hellmuth (chair), Jorge Andrade, Sarah Coffin, Marc Dangerfield, Sandy Felkner, Chris Papanickolas
Committee members not present: Brian Phillips, Peter Pierotti, Pete Rothschild
Others present: Ankit Patel, Amrut Patel, Greg Edwards (Sasak Corp.); Dan Krasnff (CWEMD Development); Kristin Rapinac (17th Ward)