From the Daily News:The Marriott Hotel chain has emerged as a possible suitor for a storied Queens tennis stadium that long hosted the U.S. Open, the Daily News has learned.
Marriott is expected to submit its bid to redevelop West Side Stadium in Forest Hills before a Nov. 15 deadline set by the club that owns the venue.
Marriott has long craved a presence at the horseshoe-shaped venue once graced by such greats as Arthur Ashe and Billie Jean King, according to a source close to the club.
The chain proposed a $7 million plan in the late 1990s to erect an extended-stay hotel that would encompass the stadium and surrounding plots, the source said.
But the project died when club members protested the plans.
Marriott recently decided to approach the club again after its members struck down a proposal by developer Cord Meyer to place 70 condos and a swimming pool at the site.
Marriott spokeswoman Kathy Duffy said she was "not aware" of a new project. Club President Ken Parker did not return messages seeking comment.
6 comments:
Oh goody! New Russian hooker (Natasha) hotel!
Forest Hills is fast on its way to becoming Corona South. Check out the shit stores on Austin Street. Used to be a classy shopping destination - no more!
Better a Wal-Mart than a hotel for benefit to the community as a whole.
At least the hotel will pay a living wage.
A hotel there? it all sounds like a planted story to scare residents into thinking the previous developer had a much better plan.
I liked Cord Meyer's plan - they have or build nice properties and Forest Hill Gardens was built by them. I don't live in FH and would like to see the area maintain it's original identity but progress pushes out ugly and disruptive projects no ne is happy with - ultimately unless the property is landmarked, someone with the biggest offer will build as they zoning allows.
My colleagues and I feel that if a proposal entailing on-site development and restoring and reusing the stadium was ever drawn up, the hotel (or condo) aspect would burden traffic, and some property values of the Forest Hills Gardens and adjacent sections of the neighborhood i.e. Van Court. That would be some cons, and anything that would compromise an iconic site, would be detrimental anyway. Considering the fact that the Marriott has approached the West Side Tennis Club board at least twice before, even if it was in the 1990s, the chances of them submitting a proposal prior to November 15, 2010 are next to none.
Fortunately, Cord Meyer Development's typical condo plans were rejected by a 56% vote of WSTC members (a 2/3 vote would be necessary for a sale). It would have never passed anyway by the Forest Hills Gardens Corp, which maintains the Restrictive Covenants which keeps the Forest Hills Gardens historic since its creation 101 years ago.
Cord Meyer's track record in recent years is banal boxes. The Cord Meyer of yesteryear was family-operated under the original, commissioned architects that thought "outside of the box," and no expense was spared when it came to superb craftsmanship, giving Forest Hills its identity, in contrast to today's rendition of "Anytown USA." Cord Meyer designed no properties in the Forest Hills Gardens, to clarify your comment.
The title of this post is not true. Marriott has submitted no proposal to the West Side Tennis Club to date. The Marriott spokesperson has denied it.
Post a Comment