Hampton Inn Motel Plan Gets Green Light

BRANFORD, CT — Currently, a room at the Branford Motel is $52 a night. The average for the area is in the neighborhood of around $130 to $150. Hotel and travel website reviewers have ideas about why the lodge is such a steal. One called it "scary" with "police circling all night." They claimed the “bullet-proof glass" in the office should have been a red flag.

Described as a “hot spot” for illegal activity for more than a decade, there was a 2014 robbery and killing in the motel. In 2016, a man staying there attacked police responding to a domestic dispute and cops said he even tried to choke a K9. Police as a matter of routine keep a watchful eye on the motel.

The motel, which on a Sunday morning appeared quiet with a dozen cars parked outside of rooms, is located near light industrial and business parks, a stones-throw from I-95. In addition to the concerns about illegal activity are reviews about the condition of the site as being outdated at best.

“Close it down,” one reviewer wrote.

With the unanimous blessing of the Planning and Zoning Commission, the Branford Motel won’t just be closed, it will be torn down to make way for a new motel, a 100-room Hampton Inn, the chain owned by global hotelier Hilton.

James Perito, lawyer for KJ Patel of JK Partners LLC, “whose family has owned the hospitality site for generations” told the PZC Wednesday that the new Hampton Inn is not only more compliant and conforms more to zoning regulations, it will “enhance the site,” and bring “tax revenue and employment possibilities.”

A special exception in the plan application is to allow for an adjacent as-of-yet unnamed restaurant.

Right now, the site has six separate buildings: three motel buildings with 97 rooms, three apartments and rented offices all uses are legal pre-existing uses.

The engineer for the project said that research showed cabins and a motel were on the site as early as the 1950s predating zoning regulations by decades. On the Hampton Inn project, the Zoning Board signed off on height variances for the few motel.

The plan calls for all the buildings to be taken down and a four-story, "modern motel" with a small dining room for breakfast, an indoor pool, exercise room and meeting rooms, to be constructed. And, a one-story, 3,000 square foot stand-alone restaurant.

When asked by the commission, the engineer said construction would take at least a year. There is no building design or architect for the building yet and that process would take three months, he said.

Economic Development Commission chairman Perry Maresca was the only person to speak during the public comments portion of the hearing, strongly recommending approval of the plan.

Maresca said the “most common” request of business owners in town is the “need for decent, updated hotel space,” noting that “demand far exceeds supply.”

Maresca said he’s only had “positive comments and much enthusiasm” from the business community.