The Evening Sun | Planners Aim For Boutique Hotel In Norwich Within Two Years

NORWICH

–

The

Development

Chenango

Corporation

(DCC),

the

economic

development

arm

of

Commerce

Chenango,

says

downtown

Norwich

could

see

a

boutique

hotel

by

2023

if

all

goes

accordingly.

Just

one

month

after

the

agency

announced

a

purchase

agreement

for

14-16

S.

Broad

St.,

former

home

to

the

SUNY

Morrisville

Norwich

campus,

Commerce

Chenango

President

and

CEO

Kerri

Green

said

there’s

already

been

interest

from

developers

to

overhaul

the

building

to

suit

overnight

accomodations,

meaning

Commerce

Chenango’s

years-long

effort

to

root

a

quality

hotel

in

Norwich

could

quickly

take

off

when

DCC

closes

on

the

building

next

month.

The

building,

with

ownership

downstate,

has

been

largely

vacant

for

more

than

a

decade.

The

only

current

occupant

is

a

custom

print

shop

business

on

the

first

floor,

which

DCC

has

no

intentions

of

evicting. 

Green

said

the

undertaking

is

a

positive

step

forward

for

the

city

and

the

county

at

large,

which

is

currently

losing

money

to

travelers

who

find

lodging

outside

the

county

in

nearby

Hamilton,

Oneonta,

or

Binghamton.

Establishing

a

hotel

has

been

a

blip

on

the

radar

for

DCC

and

Commerce

Chenango

since

DCC

released

an

accommodations

study

in

2014

affirming

a

long-held

notion

that

the

lack

of

quality

lodging

in

Chenango

is

putting

the

county

at

an

economic

disadvantage.