By Carole Hawkins, [email protected]
NAI Hallmark Partners, developers of 220 Riverside/Unity Plaza in Brooklyn, has picked up land for another project — a wellness-oriented hotel.
Hallmark Partners purchased a warehouse parcel Sept. 16 at 803 Price St., just west of 220 Riverside, from Parkview Plaza Partners LLC for $645,000.
It’s the final piece Hallmark needed to pursue a hotel project the company has contemplated for nearly a year.
“We’ve had that property under contract for quite some time,” said Alex Coley, a Hallmark principal. “This acquisition puts us in a position to build that hotel.”
Hallmark, since last year’s Jacksonville Jaguars game in England, has been in talks with InterContinental Hotels Group, an international hotel giant that operates Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and others.
InterContinental is considering opening an EVEN hotel in Brooklyn, a new brand that caters to wellness-minded travelers.
EVEN hotels feature a 24/7 fresh-food bar, with healthy choices like fresh orange juice, yogurt, granola, goji berries and dried fruit. The hotel brand has an extensive gym and its hotel rooms have cork flooring, yoga mats, exercise balls and bands. The idea is that people don’t have to sacrifice a wellness lifestyle when traveling.
That’s a good fit with 220 Riverside and Unity Plaza, Coley said.
That complex aims to attract what Coley calls the “cultural creative” class, people who like to eat well and live well, and who do well by doing good.
The first apartments at 220 Riverside will be available by the end of this year.
“IHG saw we were attracting that same kind of person they were seeking,” Coley said. “They would love to see a hotel at that location.”
Coley said there is no timeline for the hotel project.