Business leaders and elected officials gathered to celebrate the opening of the Marriott Residence Inn at the Hutch Metro Center atrium on Wednesday.
The 125-room hotel, which began hosting guests in May, is touted as the Bronx’s first upscale, brand-name hotel.
The event was an important milestone for the Hutch Metro Center complex, said Joseph Simone, president of Simone Development.
“It is also a landmark event for the Bronx, and an example of all the excitement happening across the borough,” said Simone.
The borough president extolled the accomplishment at the ribbon cutting ceremony.
“This is a big deal,” said Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr.
The hotel is a significant item in a long list of recent developments in the Bronx, he said, citing the Mall at Bay Plaza, the Trump Golf Links, and the upcoming Kingsbridge National Ice Center.
He thanked Simone Development for their contribution in the form of the Hutch Metro Center, among other developments.
“They’ve invested, they’ve bet on the Bronx,” said Diaz.
The Hutch Metro Center is a 42-acre, multi-building campus with tenants that include medical offices and city agencies.
The campus will almost double in size when the additional property, formerly used by Bronx Sate Hospital, is developed.
“This is only half of what the Simone organization is going to do,” said Diaz.
The campus, and specifically the hotel, is adjacent to the site earmarked for the future Morris Park Metro North train station, which promises future development in the area.
“I remember when nothing existed here,” said Councilman James Vacca about the site.
Now the center is an economic engine in his district and in the Bronx.
“The services, the jobs, it’s all been phenomenal,” said Vacca. “It speaks to the future of the Bronx.”
The hotel also has the potential to facilitate tourism in the Bronx, with easy access to the Bronx Zoo, New York Botanical Garden and Yankee Stadium, said Marlene Cintron, the director of the Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation.
“This is a game changer for the Bronx,” said Cintron. “We want this to be the first of many more.”
