Sale Stopped:Wyndham Hotel Deal Now on the Rocks Due to Soil Contamination

A deal to sell and completely renovate the Wyndham Hotel has hit a snag this month and may not end up happening, according to sources and City Manager Tom Ambrosino.

“It’s run into a snag for environmental reasons,” said Ambrosino on Monday. “Everyone is trying to make it work notwithstanding this issue. Hopefully it will be overcome. It’s certainly in a holding pattern now. It’s not fault of any of the parties…but these environmental issues have a long life.”

Earlier this fall, XSS Group – which owns several other hotels in Chelsea – agreed to purchase the 15-year-old hotel and invest $9.8 million into updating it for a high-end customer base.

It would have been a joint venture with the current owners, WEDGE Group of Texas. The hotel was to close this month for renovations and remain closed until March 2016.

The City Council this fall approved a five-year Tax Incremental Financing (TIF) agreement for the new ownership configuration in order to preserve and increase the numbers of jobs at the hotel. Under the current ownership of WEDGE, community leaders have worried that the owners are having a hard time keeping up with the property.

Total new tax dollars projected for the City during the five-year TIF were just short of $250,000 – even with the tax break included.

Ambrosino said all is not lost and everyone is trying to keep the deal going.

“The hope right now is we can figure out how to move forward,” he said.

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