Post by admin on Dec 4, 2009 6:23:42 GMT -5
www.app.com/article/20091203/BUSINESS/912030348/1285/LOCAL09/American+Hotel+set+to+reopen
When the American Hotel reopens this month, many in Freehold's business community will likely rejoice.
"I think it can have nothing but 100 percent positive (effect) for the borough and the area. . . . The hotel is coming back bigger, better and stronger than ever," said Marlene Rogala, who believes her business — the Especially for You florist and gift shop on West Main Street — stands to benefit when the hotel opens.
The American Hotel, a borough mainstay since the 19th century, will hold its first booked event Dec. 17. It will then open to the general public on Dec. 29, hotel owner Steve Goldberg said.
Many in Freehold have been eagerly anticipating the rebirth of the hotel, which was shut down for fire code violations in 2004. A fire the following year then caused significant damage to the historic structure.
In 2006 Goldberg, a Manalapan businessman who owns adult day-care centers in Brick and Jackson, paid $2.5 million for the property and its liquor license at a bankruptcy auction. He has since sunk approximately $3.5 million more into the renovations, he says, which included demolishing a 6,000-square-foot section that was deemed structurally unsound.
Inside the mustard gold building, the three-story structure has been re-decorated in muted earth tones. It includes 20 hotel rooms, three banquet halls, two bars and a wood-paneled restaurant with windows fronting East Main Street.
"We're trying to create an almost Old World charm," said Goldberg.
With a nod to the more modern needs of his guests, Goldberg has also added a small spa on the second floor, which will offer manicures, pedicures, massages and other treatments.
Goldberg says the facility already has bookings out to 2012. And during a recent tour, several groups of what Goldberg said were prospective clients wandered through the building, adding to the whirlwind of activity inside the hotel.
"It's really going to showcase the downtown," said the Freehold Center Partnership's chief executive officer, Richard Gatto. The partnership oversees the borough's special improvement district and promotes business in downtown Freehold.
Not only will the hotel attract new visitors to the borough, it will also bring jobs to the area, Gatto said.
About 100 full-time and part-time employees will be needed once the hotel is operating at full capacity, Goldberg said.
"It (the hotel) is definitely part of the revitalization of the borough," said Gatto.
Kim Predham: 732-308-7752 or kpredham@app.com
When the American Hotel reopens this month, many in Freehold's business community will likely rejoice.
"I think it can have nothing but 100 percent positive (effect) for the borough and the area. . . . The hotel is coming back bigger, better and stronger than ever," said Marlene Rogala, who believes her business — the Especially for You florist and gift shop on West Main Street — stands to benefit when the hotel opens.
The American Hotel, a borough mainstay since the 19th century, will hold its first booked event Dec. 17. It will then open to the general public on Dec. 29, hotel owner Steve Goldberg said.
Many in Freehold have been eagerly anticipating the rebirth of the hotel, which was shut down for fire code violations in 2004. A fire the following year then caused significant damage to the historic structure.
In 2006 Goldberg, a Manalapan businessman who owns adult day-care centers in Brick and Jackson, paid $2.5 million for the property and its liquor license at a bankruptcy auction. He has since sunk approximately $3.5 million more into the renovations, he says, which included demolishing a 6,000-square-foot section that was deemed structurally unsound.
Inside the mustard gold building, the three-story structure has been re-decorated in muted earth tones. It includes 20 hotel rooms, three banquet halls, two bars and a wood-paneled restaurant with windows fronting East Main Street.
"We're trying to create an almost Old World charm," said Goldberg.
With a nod to the more modern needs of his guests, Goldberg has also added a small spa on the second floor, which will offer manicures, pedicures, massages and other treatments.
Goldberg says the facility already has bookings out to 2012. And during a recent tour, several groups of what Goldberg said were prospective clients wandered through the building, adding to the whirlwind of activity inside the hotel.
"It's really going to showcase the downtown," said the Freehold Center Partnership's chief executive officer, Richard Gatto. The partnership oversees the borough's special improvement district and promotes business in downtown Freehold.
Not only will the hotel attract new visitors to the borough, it will also bring jobs to the area, Gatto said.
About 100 full-time and part-time employees will be needed once the hotel is operating at full capacity, Goldberg said.
"It (the hotel) is definitely part of the revitalization of the borough," said Gatto.
Kim Predham: 732-308-7752 or kpredham@app.com