BRIDGEPORT – Add True North Hotel Group and Residence Inn by Marriott as the new neighbors to join the $1 billion, 2.8 million-square-foot Steelpointe Harbor development along the city’s waterfront.
The addition of a 300,000-square-foot, 6-story, 142-room hotel on East Main Street and Pembroke Street next to The August housing development was made official Wednesday morning at a groundbreaking, in partnership with RCI Group, that featured Gov. Ned Lamont, state Department of Economic Development Commissioner Daniel O’Keefe, Mayor Joseph Ganim, Bridgeport Regional Business Council President Dan Onofrio, state legislative representatives, Bridgeport regional leaders and representatives from Marriott and KBE Construction.
“I’m probably more happy than most people to see a hotel going up here,” Onofrio said above the din of the construction going at The August. “I get a call at least once a week asking, ‘Where can I stay in Bridgeport? I’m happy to stay right here at this spot.”
The hotel – the first major one in the city since Holiday Inn closed in 2022 – will include such amenities as access to Steelpointe Marina, Metro-North and Amtrak and pickle-ball courts. Construction on the project is expected be completed in 18-20 months.
“We’re extremely excited to join our colleagues at RCI Group and Flaherty & Collins to activate this stretch of Long Island Sound while bringing jobs, commerce and leisure back to Bridgeport,” said Chris Harlow, executive vice president of True North Hotel Group.
Bobby Christoph Jr., developer of Steelpointe Harbor and president of RCI Group which started the development in 2014, called the addition of the Residence Inn proof of his company’s devotion to the city’s long-term success.
“Today marks another major step forward for Steelpointe Harbor and for Bridgeport. From the beginning, our vision has been to create a dynamic waterfront destination that brings jobs, investment, and vitality back to the city,” he said. “This new Residence Inn by Marriott reflects our long-term commitment to Bridgeport’s growth and to Connecticut’s economic future.”
Harlow described how company from Kansas was drawn to the Steelpointe Harbor site.
“Shortly after the last branded hotel in Bridgeport closed in 2022, I received a call from Flaherty & Collins – the team behind The August apartments that you see under construction behind us,” Harlow said. “They encouraged us to visit Bridgeport. So, in June 2023 I along with my colleague Brad Wiens made the trip out to meet with Bobby Christoph Jr. and witness firsthand the positive momentum building here.”
It wasn’t long before True North signed on to be part of a development that is due to be completed in mid-2027. With the hotel, Steelpointe Harbor will have the already built Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World and The Lighthouse (includes Boca Oyster Bar), a Starbucks, Chipotle, Bridgeport Harbor Marina and the yet-to-be completed affordable housing 420-unit apartment building The August. There will also be luxury high-rise apartments and mixed-use retail spaces that will include a gas station/convenience store and car wash.
“After I got of the car this morning and walked over – for those of us who’ve been around a while – I had to stop and pause and take note where we were and where we are now,” Mayor Ganim said. “So many people here generationally, including Bobby (Christoph) at the microphone whose dad I met years ago, started at this site.
“It’s a big day for Bridgeport. It’s a big day for Connecticut. It means a lot when you see this kind of collaboration – grassroots up to the federal government – coming together.”
He cited the revitalization of the city’s East Side through job creation, improvements to the environment, housing and now lodging.
In his remarks, Gov. Lamont noted, “This hotel will bring much-needed lodging to the Bridgeport region for travelers’ work and leisure activities and will enhance our efforts to grow the economic vitality of our state’s largest city.”
City Council President Aidee Nieves, a longtime East Side resident, put the importance of the day in perspective for all those residents who live nearby having been promised for years that their neighborhoods would not be forgotten.
“We are moving our city forward progressively with the developer with a hotel that will be here with 140 rooms,” Nieves said. “I was born and raised right here on this corner down the street. This neighborhood means everything to people like me and (East Side Counciwoman) Maria Valle and those who have lived in the East Side all of their lives.
“It’s so (great) to see a transformative part of the waterfront and all of this beautiful housing for our families to stay at finally.”
