City gets first look at proposed Moody Street hotel

Hotel owner Michael Colomba presented the City Council’s Ordinances and Rules Committee with a first look at the hotel he plans to build at 220 Moody St. His team presented renderings of how the hotel would look to passers-by. 

The committee had requested a parking plan after councilors voiced concerns about adequate parking around the site. Colomba’s team presented a plan at Monday’s committee meeting, which reiterated previously discussed options for running parking shuttles and purchasing seven to 15 annual parking passes from the city to address the issue.

The committee had also requested the team present any plans it had to beautify the nearby Embassy Park. Colomba said he was “more than happy” to work with the council to design improvements to the park, such as creating an outdoor space that could be used for seating or performances. He added, however, that he “need[ed] to have some sort of cooperation” to deliver on all the committee’s requests and make sure the project was feasible.  

Colomba said he plans to pair the new hotel with a dinner cruise on the Charles River, which he’s in the process of developing.

The committee will revisit the hotel project at its next meeting on April 6. It has requested Mayor Jeannette A. McCarthy attend the meeting to discuss air rights for the proposed building’s cantilevered second floor and other plans for  the Riverwalk and Embassy Park.

In response to a memo from the Law Department, the committee also requested a number of updates from Colomba’s team including fixed inconsistencies in its draft decisions, a revised traffic plan with updated data, details on the presence of amenities such as fitness facilities and bike storage, a snow removal plan, a swept path analysis and building access details for the Fire Department as well as additional legal documents.