Construction on extended stay SoNo Hotel would begin next summer

NORWALK, Conn. – There will be less rooms in the SoNo Hotel than originally planned under a proposal to alter the design to turn it into an extended stay facility.

The SoNo Hotel, planned for 43-47 South Main St., was approved by the Zoning Commission in 2009. It has been given yearly extensions on that approval and there is now what Attorney Liz Suchy described as  a “live, real, ready to go operator” lined up for the project, if the Commission will allow the changes to turn it into an extended stay facility. 

The length of the stay isn’t actually much longer than a traditional hotel, Suchy said at last week’s Plan Review Committee meeting. The major change is adding kitchenettes, she said. The proposal includes minor changes to the exterior from the design approved in 2009, less parking on site, valet parking, and larger rooms. A rooftop gathering area, with a bar, would only be for those staying at the hotel, she said.

The approval made in 2009 called for eliminating eight on street parking spaces at the location, next to the Norwalk Police headquarters. That is still the plan.

The original plan called for 8,700 square feet of office space on the third floor. That’s been eliminated, Suchy said.

It’s going from 121 hotel rooms to 110 extended stay rooms, Suchy said. A traffic study indicated that would mean 34 less trips a day, she said.

The configuration of the rooms is a little different, she said. It’s adding the kitchenettes that is the main issue for zoning, she said. There are other little code tweaks needed, she said.

Zoning Commissioner Emily Wilson said the clientele would be different from an ordinary hotel and asked about transportation for people going to meetings. Suchy said the average stay at facilities like this is 3- to 5-days. Transportation to places like Merrit 7 will be part of the package, she said. The SoNo Hotel extended stay facility would be different from others in its type because they are usually in suburban areas, she said. The feeling is that the close proximity to the South Norwalk train station will make it work, she said.

Work can’t begin on the SoNo Hotel until a Certificate of Occupancy is delivered for The Pearl, an apartment building at 99 Washington Street which is also owned by TR Sono Partners, LLC, because their parking plans are linked, Senior Planner Dori Wilson said. Suchy said The Pearl is on track to open in June. It’s hoped that a ribbon cutting for The Pearl and a groundbreaking for the SoNo Hotel will happen on the same day, she said.

While the original plan included passes to the Haviland Street parking lot, the Parking Authority is committed to issuing passes to the Webster Street lot for a year instead, as there is more demand for the Haviland Street parking lot than there was five years ago, Wilson said. The proximity to the railroad station should make that work, she said.

Parking was originally planned to include one space per room plus one space per employee, she said. The proposal now is just for one space per room, she said.