The conference center will be able to accommodate up to 300 people.
An architectural rendering of the proposed conference center.HADLEY -- The president of the Pioneer Valley Hotel Group said he hopes to begin construction of a $1 million conference center adjacent to the Hampton Inn within a month.
Shardool Parmar, the president of the group with hotels here, Ludlow and Springfield, said the 9,000-square foot building will include 4,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space, large enough to accommodate 300 people. “There is nothing to the scale we're proposing,” in the area, he said.
While the Lord Jeff in Amherst and the Hotel Northampton in Northampton provide banquet and meeting space, they’re more “of higher end meeting space.” He said they’re both historical buildings.
“We’re aiming for the upper and middle economy more for the masses than the upper tier. People looking for a decent modern space,” he said.
He said the center, which will also have a kitchen and lounge, will be able to accommodate weddings, receptions, and birthday parties and conferences.
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An architectural rendering of the proposed conference center.Parmar said they decided to pursue this project in part because it has been difficult to rent out some of the nearby Village Barn Shops that they own.
With the project, they will be razing three of the buildings, he said. The former Christmas Loft has been empty for some time and he said they are renovating a space for Off the Wall games and moving the store to another building.
Parmar also said they are hoping to bring in business to the Hampton Inn in the slower winter months of December, January and February by having the meeting space available. The group owns the Hampton Inn, the nearby Comfort Inn here and the Comfort Inn & Suites in Ludlow and the City Place Inn & Suites in Springfield.
“There is significant economic activity in Hampshire County. Even the colleges are looking for off-site space.”
He said the project has site plan approval and they are waiting for the Building Inspector to issue a building permit so the work can begin. He expects it will take about six to eight months for the center to be built once work starts.