Hallmark Partners Planning Wellness-Focused Hotel adjacent to 220 Riverside

[KenFSU]

Source:

http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=543899

Hallmark Partners pursuing wellness-focused hotel for Brooklyn development
Thursday, September 18, 11:03 AM EDT

By Carole Hawkins, Staff Writer
NAI Hallmark Partners, developers of 220 Riverside/Unity Plaza in Brooklyn, has picked up land for another project — a wellness-oriented hotel.

Hallmark Partners purchased a warehouse parcel Tuesday at 803 Price St., just west of 220 Riverside, from Parkview Plaza Partners LLC for $645,000.

It's the final piece Hallmark needed to pursue a hotel project the company has contemplated for nearly a year.

"We've had that property under contract for quite some time," said Alex Coley, a Hallmark principal. "This acquisition puts us in a position to build that hotel."

Hallmark, since last year's Jacksonville Jaguars game in England, has been in talks with InterContinental Hotels Group, an international hotel giant that operates Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and others.

InterContinental is considering opening an EVEN hotel in Brooklyn, a new brand that caters to wellness-minded travelers.

EVEN hotels feature a 24/7 fresh-food bar, with healthy choices like fresh orange juice, yogurt, granola, goji berries and dried fruit. The hotel brand has an extensive gym and its hotel rooms have cork flooring, yoga mats, exercise balls and bands. The idea is that people don't have to sacrifice a wellness lifestyle when traveling.

More at above link.

[Jason]

Sounds interesting.  Looking forward to hearing more on this one.

[Dapperdan]

That whole area looks to be hoppin' real soon. I wonder if development will continue down or around Forest ?

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

EVEN hotels feature a 24/7 fresh-food bar, with healthy choices like fresh orange juice, yogurt, granola, goji berries and dried fruit. The hotel brand has an extensive gym and its hotel rooms have cork flooring, yoga mats, exercise balls and bands. The idea is that people don't have to sacrifice a wellness lifestyle when traveling.

M_m_R - sounds like an ever BETTER spot for your "friend's" artisan water & cracker concept.

[Tacachale]

That's that strange building that has "Education is the Key" and warriors painted on the sides, and is almost impossible to get to despite having one wall up against Price. I think it's the only thing on the entire block. I wonder who owned it before?

[jaxlore]

that's interesting

[exnewsman]

Need to get that Skyway expanded!

[jcjohnpaint]

for some reason I thought it was the land between 220 and Fresh Market.  What is that land for

[jaxjaguar]

Most likely guest parking.

[edjax]

for some reason I thought it was the land between 220 and Fresh Market.  What is that land for

On a site plan on another thread for 220 Riverside it shows it as an out parcel for a future office building.

[jcjohnpaint]

There is a small guest parking area, but further over is a nice plot.  I do hope this hotel isn't garden style with lots of surface parking.  I hope it is more urban. 

[ProjectMaximus]

My info comes from awhile back so I may have gotten confused at this point, but I think there was indeed a possibility that the hotel was going to be on the area you're talking about, jcj. There was a snag in negotiations over ownership of that lot, which in the near term is supposed to serve as additional parking.

Looks like they moved on and acquired this lot instead. And my info (which again is quite old) was that this land had been intended for Unity Plaza to utilize as an extension of the park area. Obviously all the "plans" are fluid...

[brainstormer]

I would love to see a smaller urban footprint with vertical height for this development. It will be nice to have a different hotel experience available as an option for visitors.

[thelakelander]

There is a small guest parking area, but further over is a nice plot.  I do hope this hotel isn't garden style with lots of surface parking.  I hope it is more urban.

^I assume it's the building with the parking lot in this site plan.

[thelakelander]

Here's an updated rendering of what Unity Plaza may look like through 2017. The hotel is the building surrounded by the parking lots.

Including Amphitheater with extended stage, UP commUNITY Center, Wellness Pavilion, food and beverage kiosks, neighboring hotel, Magnolia Street Lawn, and office building.

http://unityplazajax.com/2015/05/21/unity-plaza-campus-vision-board/