A temporary pandemic closure has given way to a permanent shuttering for the Renaissance Westchester Hotel in West Harrison.
The hotel filed a notice with the New York State Department of Labor, according to the Westchester and Fairfield County Business Journals. The outlet reports there appears to be no activity in and around the hotel and rooms can’t be booked for future occupancy.
A specific date for the hotel’s closing reportedly wasn’t provided in the notice, but the hotel said it plans to lay off the remaining nine members of its staff by around November 15.
While the hotel is closing, the property may be changing hands, as sale negotiations have kicked off, the publication reports. It’s not clear if a new hotel will spring up in its place or if the 30-acre parcel of land would be a prime candidate for redevelopment.
The hotel, originally completed at the beginning of 1978, had 347 guest rooms. Marriott International completed a $1 billion acquisition of Renaissance Hotels and Resorts – which bought the hotel in 1996 – in March 1997, taking control of the property.
In 2013, the hotel underwent a $13 million renovation for six months that included a redesigned lobby, a new restaurant, bar, meeting space and ballroom.
The property does have a dark history. In 1980, when the property was a Stouffer’s Inn, a fire in a third-floor meeting room killed 26 people. A busboy was convicted of murder and arson, only to have the ruling overturned upon appeal.
The hotel appears to be vulnerable to the same problems plaguing the rest of the industry since the onset of the pandemic.
A hotel project planned for New Rochelle and set to be the largest Westchester County had seen in 20 years filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September 2020. The Real Deal reported at the time the project owed creditors $4.67 million.
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[WestFair] — Holden Walter-Warner