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BAM Cultural District Hotel Plans To Involve Local Arts Groups
In February, plans were announced for a 200-room hotel in the BAM Cultural District, and we chatted with a member of the development to get more details about the 30-story, Thomas Leeser designed tower soon to rise at 95 Rockwell Place. Mitch Garrett, Vice President of Acquisitions and Development at VOS Hospitality, Second Development Services' partner on the project, sent along a few more renderings, telling us the design is trying to "literally fracture the mold" with a sliced facade featuring crevice-like cutouts. Garrett highlighted the hotel's plans to connect with the local community. They hope to partner with an arts group or music venue for the basement performance space, a planned public plaza could feature rotating art exhibits, and the rooftop plaza will likely sell food and drink from local vendors.
Inside, the theme will be that of a "lifestyle boutique," but it was have a yet-to-be-named "major franchise behind it. Just as the design team tried to "fracture the mold" on the exterior, they are forgoing the traditional room layout and design to create rooms that are more unique and angular, which has lead to "some really cool shower spaces." The rooms will be your standard sizes, but there will also be a section of smaller "starving artist" suites (but not that small, they'll still have king size beds) available at lower price points. Garrett said they envision these as "the coolest room you could be in," and they hope to outfit the spaces with artwork from local artists or even enlist artists to paint original pieces directly on the walls. There will be 20 larger suites on the higher floors, with the Presidential Suite occupying the 26th floor.
The development team is currently in the process of getting approvals from the Department of Buildings, but they should break ground in either September or October. Construction will take about and year and a half, so they expect to open in early 2015. Currently, the site is occupied by a five-story structure, which will be partially incorporated into the base of the new building. On the neighboring lot, the Theater for a New Audience is set to open this fall.
