Griffiss Business and Technology Park to get another hotel

ROME — Griffiss Business and Technology Park will be getting a new hotel in the next couple years, now that Griffiss Local Development Corp. (GLDC) approved the sale of a parcel of land to Rome Hospitality Group, LLC.

Rome Hospitality Group, LLC will purchase a 4.25-acre parcel on the corner of Route 825 and Floyd Avenue for $450,000, according to a news release from GLDC. The GLDC board approved the deal Sept. 20.

The developer will build a 45,000-square-foot hotel on the site with plans to complete the project within two years. No other details were released.

Dominic Pavia of Pavia Real Estate Services in New Hartford, a real-estate agent representing Rome Hospitality Group, says the group members are not quite ready to come forward publicly at this time.

According to the New York Department of State website, Rome Hospitality Group, LLC filed as a domestic limited-liability corporation with the state on Sept. 25. No agent is listed for the company, which lists an address of 382 E. Second St., Corning. That address is also home to Binghamton Lodging Group, LLC.

“I am thankful to the Rome Hospitality Group for making the investment in our area,” Rome Mayor Joseph R. Fusco, Jr. said in a written statement. “This new hotel will lead to the creation of much needed construction and hospitality jobs in Rome. I look forward to working with them down the road.”

Griffiss Business and Technology Park is already home to one hotel — the Wingate by Wyndham Rome that opened in 2008 at 90 Dart Circle. Rome Griffiss Development Co. LP, which includes Edward Arcuri, David Bovi, and Thomas Bell, owns the 76-room hotel. The hotel also features meeting space, a pool, a fitness center, and high-speed Internet access. The developers targeted Griffiss for its growing list of business tenants that needed a nearby business-traveler friendly hotel. Wyndham Worldwide Corporation (NYSE: WYN) owns the Wingate brand.

The area will benefit from the addition of another hotel, said Rome Area Chamber of Commerce President William Guglielmo. “The chamber is a pro-growth organization, and we welcome additional economic activity in our community,” he said in an email. “New construction lifts people’s attitudes, creates jobs, encourages local purchasing, and adds to the vibrancy and attractiveness of Rome. We see this as a positive step in the ongoing efforts to promote Rome as an ideal community in which to do business.”

Griffiss Business and Technology Park is home to a number of businesses, both locally based and national, as well as several federal-government installations. The 3,500-acre park is located on the former Griffiss Air Force Base, and several Air Force operations are still located there including the Air Force Research Laboratory, the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, and the Eastern Air Defense Sector.

Other tenants at Griffiss (www.griffissbusinesspark.com) include AmeriCU Credit Union, Assured Information Security, BAE Systems, Cathedral Corp., a Family Dollar distribution center, Lockheed Martin, Oneida Savings Bank, Rome Free Academy high school, and Griffiss International Airport. 

GLDC oversees the development of Griffiss Business and Technology Park.  

Contact DeLore at tdelore@tmvbj.com