A developer is proposing a roughly 120-room hotel as the first stage of a large commercial development on former tobacco farms along Hopmeadow Street in Simsbury.
Adam Westhaver, a principal in the adjacent International Skating Center, plans a multi-phase project that would eventually include a restaurant and several commercial businesses related to skating, according to plans his consultant has submitted to the town.
The skating center is in the midst of a substantial expansion this fall, and has become a significant operation in southern New England since opening 31 years ago.
Westhaver’s W Development Co. LLC is seeking a wetlands permit to build on part of the 54-acre lot at 1503 Hopmeadow St., just north of the skating center in the northern end of Simsbury. The first phase of work would be restricted to a 15-acre tract north of Saxton Brook and close to Dorset Crossing Drive, according to Philip Doyle of LADA PC, the landscape architectural firm working for W Development.
The Inland Wetlands Commission is scheduled to act on the request Oct. 7.
Westhaver “has a long-term vision of developing all of the property into a commercial facility which is focused upon sports and skating,” Doyle wrote in an Aug. 20 letter to the town’s planning department. “The skating center has identified a strong need to supply hotel rooms for individual skaters and for ice hockey teams.”
More specifics about the hotel proposal such as the number and size of rooms, the number of floors, amenities, branding and prospective room rates could emerge if the wetlands approval goes forward. At that point, W Development would need to submit more detailed plans for a zoning permit.
“The applicant expects the vision to evolve over a number of years, with the initial effort being the building of a hotel on the land north of the brook,” Doyle wrote. “At this time, only the initial earthwork associated with the hotel and an internal loop driveway is envisioned.
“At some point in the future, additional applications will be made to the town to add commercial buildings, utilities and a crossing of Saxton Brook. The site development will happen over a number of years,” he wrote.
Ian Cole, a Middletown wetland scientist working for W Development, described the property to town officials as “one of the few remaining undeveloped parcels on this side of Hopmeadow Street. The parcel has been farmed with multiple relic tobacco barns that were removed circa 2021. The proposed building site is mostly field and previously was covered with pumpkin/squash crops.”
The land is currently owned by River Bend Development CT of Bloomfield. Town records list the appraised value at $2.2 million.
The International Skating Center has about 76,000 square feet of space with two full ice rinks, one Olympic size with seating for 820 and the other NHL size with seating for 360. It also has a pro shop, locker rooms, a cafe, the Legends Hall bar and a 3,200-square-foot fitness center.
The new addition under construction will bring about 25,000 square feet for two new half-rinks, additional locker rooms, meeting space, video review rooms and a second-floor sports performance center for athletes from multiple sports.