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Lou Carrier submitting comments re: #202853, Union Sq zoning.
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Official Text
To the Honorable Board:
My name is Lou Carrier and my company, Distinctive Hospitality Group owns and operates the Holiday Inn hotel in our city. We purchased the hotel in April of 2010 at the depth of the recessionary period and during the hotel’s physical lifecycle which required a decision: a massive investment to simply maintain the Holiday Inn brand affiliation or no investment which would have led to the hotel being “de-flagged” of its affiliation within a matter of months. It was facing this outcome from a desperate seller that had neither the resources, the confidence in Somerville, or the inclination to continue on in the city. Having studied the hotel for more than 18 months prior to purchasing it I was familiar with its reputation of having an unruly nightclub and other unseemly social activities that were troublesome to business, a black mark to its East Somerville neighborhood and a location requiring engagement from the city’s police force on too frequent an occasion. At the same time I also became familiar with the SomerVision Plan and the corresponding elements related to Inner Belt/Brickbottom. At a chance meeting with Congressman Capuano in Washington, DC I was encouraged to reach out to Mayor Curtatone to understand the prospects for the area more clearly.
Based on that meeting, the confidence and commitment of you, Mayor Curtatone and the resolve you expressed imbedded in the relationship with the City’s Board of Alderman to together fulfill not just the promise of SomerVision but a revolutionary positioning of Somerville, I convinced my partners to join me through personal resource in the acquisition of the hotel. After a series of subsequent meetings with a variety of business owners in the city I convinced my partners to not just execute against the plan to retain a brand affiliation but to double down on Somerville’s future. This meant a complete re-capitalization of the investment, gutting the hotel for a restoration to like-new condition for the long term. Our group are owners and operators of first rate business class hotels, not nightclubs or second rate properties. Our mission has been to position this property to facilitate the needs of domestic and international business travelers as well as regional and national leisure/family consumers year round and by doing so contribute to the enhanced positioning of Somerville. This positioning and consumer legitimacy has taken years to accomplish and I’m proud to say our Somerville hotel is one of the highest ranked for customer service in all New England.
Mayor Curtatone, you asked for confidence in your alliance with the city’s Alderman to “make things happen”, as you said. But you also demanded engagement from me and my company. Civic engagement, professional engagement, and an unwavering adherence to the values of the city and its residents. I’ve done my utmost to fulfill your mandate. When you thought I hadn’t understood those values you let me know it in no uncertain terms! We have done our level best to enhance the neighborhood we reside, support the residents and businesses of the city in every way we can financially and through personal engagement of our team, and have had an open mind and open ear to participating in activities that are, “Somerville first”.
I say to you, Mayor, President White, and the distinguished leaders of the Board of Alderman the time must be now. I am a believer. I have consumed all the Somerville Kool-Aid I can hold….it tastes great. I’m all in. My hope and expectation is that together your commitment to the future of Somerville will fulfill the realization of this great city’s destiny. The re-development effort in Union Square and the greater zoning plan is the skeleton key to unlock the next glorious door of prosperity! Please turn that key together!
As one local employer, I’m trusting you’ll find a way.
Sincerely,
Lou Carrier, President
Distinctive Hospitality Group