News

River site now pegged for hotel

By Richard Gaines
Staff Writer
Published: June 23, 2009

Yankee Fleet owners Jerry and Carol Hill have optioned their extensive acreage on the west bank of the Annisquam River, just north of the Cape Ann Marina, to Maryland developers who plan to build "an upscale" Hampton Inn & Suite on the site.

Announcement of the deal came yesterday and included the support of both Mayor Carolyn Kirk and City Council President Bruce Tobey.

The developer, Caulk Management Co., became known in Gloucester earlier this year for an aggressive, but ultimately failed, effort to gain a zoning change that would have allowed them to put a Hampton Inn & Suites in the city's Blackburn Industrial Park on the site of the Cape Ann Medical Center.

That initiative had Tobey's — but not the mayor's — backing, and failed to gain traction. While Tobey welcomed the project, Kirk made it clear she did not want a competing business hotel that might undercut the success of Gloucester Crossing.

At the time, the Maryland-based company's Blackburn proposal was seen as an effort to create and win a race with Sam Park, who had previously been in negotiations with Caulk to include a Hampton Inn as part of Park's Gloucester Crossing development. When those talks broke down, the Caulk team began looking for an alternate sight, and Park moved on.

Caulk doubted that Park could or would be able to get a hotel chain to come to Gloucester Crossing. Park, meanwhile, has since signed a 15-year licensing agreement with InterContinental Hotels Group for a Gloucester Crossing Holiday Inn Express.

The signing of the hotel deal this year was a requirement for Park to receive a tax break from the city for the overall project. Construction has continued through the economic decline that began last fall. Paving of the main road into the 200,000-square-foot mixed use shopping center began earlier this month.

Meanwhile, Jerry Hill — who began building the Yankee Fleet in 1944, making it a pioneer in recreational "deep sea" fishing and later whale watching — had leased moorage in recent years from the Dominick family that owns the Cape Ann Marina. He yearned to break away and build a home of its own for the fleet, but said yesterday he was thwarted by the state's refusal to allow the river dredging necessary for the big fishing and whale watching boats in the fleet.

About two years ago, he said, he gave up and decided to sell.

He said David Hill (no relation), an Easton, Md., banker and chairman of Caulk, approached him about the river site.

"They had been looking around and came across my site," Jerry Hill said yesterday.

The Hills own close to 50 acres in a number of parcels to the north of the marina.

Tobey also said the permitting authority for such a major project is the council. He projected that Caulk could be ready to start permitting in 60-90 days, and could complete permitting and be ready to break ground another 60-90 days after that.

The land is zoned for a hotel, but a special council permit will be required. Also required, Tobey said, will be a height variance for the fourth floor proposed by Caulk.

Tobey said he believed the company would not be seeking permission for a marina. "These guys do hotels," he said.

Kirk said she likes the idea and the location. "It expands the commercial tax base that will help pay for services the citizens want, and support downtown," she said. "It lines up with my priorities."

Kirk, Tobey and David Hill met last Friday to scope out the project.

Jerry Hill declined to discuss the terms, but Tobey said the deal would close after Caulk clears the city's permitting process.

"We heard the mayor's concerns about the Blackburn Industrial Park site," David Hill said in a prepared statement, "and the community's desire for a waterfront, downtown oriented hotel — this site addresses both.

"Hilton Hotels Corp. (which owns the Hampton brand) has seen the site," he said, "and they like it."

Suhail Partawi, Caulk's vice president for development, said the precise location on the Hill's property for the hotel had not been decided.

But he said, "we will be sensitive to not obstructing the views of the water."

Richard Gaines can be reached at rgaines@gloucestertimes.com.

Photos

None/Staff Photographer