UTICA, N.Y. — The City of Utica, in partnership with Visions Hotels, announced plans to build a waterfront living community along the north side of the city’s harbor, according to a press release from Utica Mayor Robert Palmieri.
Under the preliminary agreement, the city would sell just the 15-plus-acre area known as Dredge Spoils Area 1 to Visions Hotels for just over $1 million.
Visions $80 million to $90 million project will develop the land into a community including more than 120 housing units overlooking the water, two hotels ranging between 80 and 100 rooms each, and a 40,000-square-foot entertainment center featuring a restaurant, bar, and other entertainment amenities.
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“When we talk about Harbor Point, we’re now talking about a vibrant, mixed-use community unlike we’ve ever had in Utica,” Palmieri said in the news release. “This is beyond a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity because it’s never happened in any of our lifetimes before. Visions Hotels, Mr. Andy Patel, and everyone else involved are shaping a new future for the city of Utica, and I couldn’t be prouder to see it take shape.”
Patel is CEO of Visions Hotels, whose previous investments in the city include the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Utica, Fairfield Inn Utica, Hampton Inn Utica, Holiday Inn Express Utica, and Home2 Suites Utica. Visions also operates Wingate Rome, Towneplace Suites New Hartford, and Hampton Inn Rome.
“From Hotel Utica to this latest investment, Visions Hotels has a vision for Utica that appreciates the past while creating an exciting future,” Patel said. “We couldn’t be more thrilled about this all-inclusive living development. We think it will be very popular among the people that live there, but also add to the vibrancy and the beauty of this great harbor.”
Utica’s Industrial Development Agency already voted in favor of the agreement, according to the release. The Harbor Point Development Corporation must also ratify the agreement.
Harbor Point comprises more than 100 acres of waterfront real estate between the Mohawk River and Erie Canal. The city has been working to transform the former industrial area into a year-round destination for residents and tourists.
More than $10 million in investments have been made to date including building a road and entranceway, expanding water and sewer lines, demolishing old buildings, and rebuilding the bulkheads and seawalls.
The city is reaching near completion on $2.5 million in upgrades with American Rescue Plan Act funding that includes a floating dock system for recreational boating, waterside walkway railings, permeable pavers and walkway improvements, pedestrian connections to surrounding trails, pavilions and shade structures, enhancement of green spaces, and new light poles and lighting elements.
