Some Springfield aldermen remain skeptical of a proposal to convert part of the Wyndham City Centre downtown into apartments, despite revisions to keep more hotel rooms in place in the 30-story structure.
The hotel’s current owner wants to sell to a New York developer, but aldermen have twice rejected the developer’s request for a zoning variance to convert nearly 300 of the Wyndham’s 400 rooms to apartments. The latest proposal would result in 125 hotel rooms and 275 apartments. But Alderwoman Erin Conley says most of those units would be small studio apartments, and she doubts there’s enough demand for them downtown.
And Alderman Ralph Hanauer questions whether the developer can again seek the variance with only minor modifications from the proposals that were voted down by the City Council.
