Executives from Meyer Jabara Hotels and Choice Hotels joined dignitaries and guests Wednesday night to celebrate the grand opening of the Cambria Suites White Plains.
At 250 Main St. in White Plains, the 130-unit, all-suite hotel is part of a mixed-use development that includes 35,000 square feet of retail and two floors of underground parking. Constructed as part of a joint venture between Meyer Jabara Hotels and franchisor Choice Hotels International Inc., the development was estimated to cost $37 million when ground was broken in 2012.
“It was a joint effort between our group, the city of White Plains and Choice Hotels,” said Richard Jabara, president and CEO of Meyer Jabara Hotels. Jabara said the rooms at the Cambria Suites are nearly 20 percent larger than those of competitors in the market. “It was a bunch of people who came together with the right idea at the right time, and the city was very receptive.”
According to William Meyer, chairman of Meyer Jabara Hotels, White Plains”™ economy made the project”™s completion possible.
“The White Plains marketplace came back very strong after the recession,” Meyer said. “We had owned this land since the early 2000s. When the recession started, we decided to refocus on retail and hotel, because the hotel market in White Plains had come back so strong.”
The eight-story hotel was built on the former site of an A&P supermarket that was demolished in 2011 and is next to the city garage on Main Street.
“Because of the proximity to the city garage, we knew that retail would be successful here,” Meyer said. “Unless you have convenient parking, it”™s very hard for retail to survive.”
White Plains Mayor Thomas Roach sees the mixed-use development as big piece of the downtown puzzle.
“For year after year, this was a vacant old supermarket. This is a great turn of events for the city,” Roach said. “People are coming back to cities to live, and when they stay, they want to stay in a downtown where they can walk out and sample the different restaurants and entertainment options.”
The hotel hosts a contemporary bistro, and TGI Fridays, Chipotle, Corner Bakery, Wild Fusion Asian Grill and Planet Fitness are below the hotel, offering guests additional options for meals and entertainment.
“We”™ve brought a little localization and urbanism into the hotel,” said Michael Murphy, senior vice president of upscale brands for Choice Hotels International.
“White Plains puts us on the global footprint,” Murphy said. “When you”™re launching a new brand, you want to be in a place like White Plains, where you”™ve got companies like Heinken, PepsiCo and MasterCard that”™ll stay in the hotel and make it their hotel, and then stay in our hotels around the country.”
The hotel also offers 2,000 square feet of meeting space in three meeting rooms that can accommodate up to 60 guests in a banquet setting or 120 guests for conferences.
“Because it”™s such an important corporate headquarters (location), there are a lot of travel planners in the area,” said Steve Joyce, CEO of Choice Hotels. “We”™ll be able to show those travel planners who are bo0oking across the country what a Cambria Suites looks like, and they”™ll be booking across the country with us.”
While business travelers are the target clientele, families also fit into the Cambria Suites business model.
“We are a major leisure company, so we”™re going to drive a lot of business on weekends, and families love that faux-suite concept because you can separate the kids and have a little bit of privacy,” Joyce said. “For the business traveler that is on the road, this gives them a living room and a bedroom so they can separate work and sleep, and it gives them a hotel that”™s flexible around their hours.”
Ultimately, Roach said he hopes the new development that includes the Cambria Suites White Plains will continue to draw travelers and residents alike to the downtown core.
“The way you revitalize your downtown is to have people downtown, having people stay downtown is crucial,” Roach said. “When they have people staying in these rooms, they”™re going to go out to dinner, do a little shopping, and not only does that provide business for our restaurants and other establishments, but it activates the street.”
I wish I could get a heads up on articles like this. I would love to be in the buiding during these interviews.