Lee — With still more rings of regulatory fire to jump through, the former Eagle Mill complex next to the Housatonic River is getting closer to its final transformation and may now feature a new 85-room hotel, larger than the one originally planned for the renovated development.
Developer Jeffrey Cohen of Mill Renaissance LLC said he modified his roughly $70 million redevelopment plan somewhat after two “significant” real estate development and construction companies approached him with the idea of a partnership to build an 85-room hotel.
He said he didn’t want to divulge those companies’ names yet but noted they “bring financial credibility and construction capability to the table.”
“They are large regional contractors and very financially capable,” he added. “They will ensure the successful completion of the development in an expeditious way.”
The site sat mostly vacant for more than 10 years. And Cohen’s plans got tied up for a bit over the last two years as he and his team navigated tricky state and federal historic preservation regulations regarding some buildings he had to demolish to make the project happen.
Plans also include market-rate and affordable housing, retail and office space, a fitness club and a pool.
Cohen said his ideal vision is to have “local retailers as opposed to national chain retailers,” and to try to “focus the retail on enhancing the use of the property and access to downtown.” His ideas include a river outfitter, two restaurants and possibly a coffee shop.
Cohen had already planned a 58-room hotel in one of the historic buildings, but this new potential partnership prompted a shift to move the affordable and market-rate housing into the historic buildings, decrease the number of those units, and build a new hotel on the site.
“This will mean more jobs,” Cohen said. “It will be better for everyone.”
Cohen had previously made an agreement with Main Street Hospitality Group for management of the hotel but now says, given these potential changes to the hotel plan, management “is yet to be determined.” Main Street is a Berkshires hospitality empire that manages the Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge, the Porches Inn in North Adams, the Williams Inn in Williamstown, and Hotel on North in Pittsfield.
Cohen also said he wasn’t yet sure how the hotel “ownership will be structured.”
He said there isn’t much difference in terms of process. “We first need to determine the economic viability,” he said. He plans to do a feasibility study for the hotel in the next 60 days and, if that looks good, he will resubmit the second part of the historic tax credit application. “We need to define the uses first.”
Next comes town permitting, which includes conservation commission approval in an area with wetlands.
Also, Lee’s antiquated water system isn’t powerful enough to handle this new development, let alone for the town as is, and the plan is to go for state funding for a townwide upgrade as soon as project plans are farther along. Cohen says this is a “timing issue.”
“Everyone’s common understanding is that, when we are ready to go, then the state will seriously consider the town’s request for water supply funding.”
He “hopes” to begin work in late 2017 and, in the meantime, he’s still doing maintenance and will do some demolition on an adjacent lot he also acquired. Soon he will install large gates to the mill entrance for security and safety along with signs and fences. He said that, as of March 1, the gates will be closed and people won’t be able to park there.
Redeveloping a historic mill is not easy and not fast. Cohen said it takes nine years on average, and this is according to former UMass Amherst professor John Mullin, who has lectured on the subject. “We’re four years in,” Cohen added.
“Slow but sure progress. There’s always a bump in the road.”
