Politics & Government

Danville Hotel Project Could Start Demo Early Fall

Financing has been difficult for the Danville Hotel project, developer says, but it's moving forward.

Last week Mayor Candace Andersen said during her that she's always getting asked, "What's happening with the Danville Hotel?"

She might not have to field that question much longer since the project may be getting off the ground as early as fall, according to Thomas Baldacci, president of Castle Companies and the project's lead developer.

The Danville Hotel project, which was first introduced to the town in 2005, was approved last March, after a few tweaks and cutting it from three stories, as requested by the town. The project was slowed, however, due to financing in a post-recession environment, Baldacci said.

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"It's difficult finding financing. Very, very difficult," Baldacci, who is also longtime Danville resident, said. "Finding long-term financial partners is taking longer."

However, Baldacci is working with three different financial institutions to get the project done from beginning to end, without having to "start, stall, stop," he said.

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So what's the project?

The project, at the southwest corner of Hartz and Prospect, is part renovation of the original Danville Hotel structure and part new construction. The original section of the Danville hotel is where is, plus the second floor. The rest of the block, behind Sideboard and the structures along West Prospect, will be demoed for new constriction.

The demo'ing, Baldacci said, could start as early as fall.

The space will make way for 5,700 square feet of restaurant space, 9,515 square feet of retail and 19,370 square feet of residential units, with 16 units, primarily for sale.

Residential units will be on the second floor and will include an open-air courtyard and balconies for some of the units.

A courtyard layout and sidewalk seating for the restaurants are included in lower-level plans.

The plans also call for adding 34 parking spaces, including residential parking.

The renovation portion of the project will historically restore the original Danville Hotel building. "We're going to renovate the existing original building. This part of the project will be more surgical," Baldacci said. "Similar to how the town restored the ."

Financing ain't easy

Baldacci said it's been particularly difficult since 2008 to secure financing for developments without pre-leasing, or dedicated tenants, first. Financial institutions don't want to lend if there aren't tenants and tenants are wary because that's the environment we are in these days, Baldacci said

"It's a challenge right now," he said.

He added that banks want to see regional or national retailers in the development, along with these pre-leased units. Baldacci said it's hard to get banks to lend for a project like this by showing plans and documents.

"Danville has an eclectic group of retailers already downtown," Baldacci said. "Downtown is very vibrant and this would be a good addition. So we have to grab the investor by the hand and show them around.

"We're swimming up stream with financial institutions these days but banks have been listening," he said.

What happens to Sideboard and the rest of the tenants?

The current retailers in the portion of the project that will be demo'ed are month-to-month. A few of them are already empty. "We're doing everything we can to keep (the existing businesses) in there as long as we can," he said.

For Sideboard, there's still a question mark on how this Danville favorite will be affected. Baldacci said he is hoping that the restaurant would be able to continue during the course of the project.

"Our intention is that Sideboard goes on without any disruption but I don't know that part yet," Baldacci said. "No decision as been made. Does it have a two-month disruption? We don't know yet."

With demo starting, potentially, as early as this fall, Baldacci said the project could be completed in 18 to 24 months.

Asked about the cost of the project?

"It's a bunch, it's a big project, and it has to be built at the same time because of the nature of the project," Baldacci said.

He said this project is in the center of downtown and it's important for him to get it right. "I've grown up in Danville, been here for 40 years," he said. "I don't want people to say, 'Look at that pile of crap.' This is my home and I have no place to hide."

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