By ARIELLA MONTI
As a result of the delay, at least two weddings that were booked at the hotel were moved to other venues, and guests who reserved rooms have gone elsewhere.
“Allegria Hotel and Spa is set for a soft opening in the late summer,” owner and developer Allen Rosenberg, president of the Manhattan-based Alrose Group, wrote in a statement after the Herald called for comment. “The official opening will take place in the fall.”
By “soft opening,” Rosenberg meant that approximately a quarter of the hotel’s 143 rooms and its restaurant, the Atlantica, will be available in late summer, with the remainder of the rooms opening sometime in the fall. Rosenberg cited construction delays as the reason for the holdup, but did not offer specifics.
The Nassau County fire marshal’s division supervisor, Scott Tusa, said there were various issues with the sprinkler and fire alarm systems at the hotel that needed to be worked out. “It’s just been a series of problems,” Tusa said.
Both systems were inspected on Monday and Tuesday and passed, which will allow people to begin occupying the building, Tusa explained. But any guests would not be able to eat at the hotel because the kitchen’s fire extinguishing system still needs work.
“It’s not completely unusual that a project gets prolonged this far, but this was a little more than most,” Tusa said of the hotel. “Rarely do we ever see projects finish on their original schedule.”
Long Beach Building Commissioner Scott Kemins said there are no delays on the city’s end of the project. “I feel bad for Mr. Rosenberg, too, because he’s at the mercy of the contractors involved,” Kemins said, noting that the city is waiting for the necessary signoffs that would deem the building safe, like an electrical inspection. “We have not received any paperwork that we need to give them a Certificate of Occupancy,” he said, referring to the permit that is required for the building to open.
“If we have everything we need and everything is 100 percent, it’s relatively quick,” said Kemins, adding that the hotel could have its permit within a couple of days after an application is filed.
Kemins said he is unsure about the reasons for the delays. He added that the rain throughout the month of June —more than 8 1/2 inches in total —probably played a large role.
“When you build a new building, it’s easier than retrofitting an existing building, because [with a retrofit] you have to work with certain constraints that you don’t have with new construction,” Kemins said.
The Allegria, on the boardwalk at National Boulevard, was built in the shell of what was once the King David Manor senior facility. The first phase of construction began in October 2007, and a year later, work began on two additional floors, which house a health club, pool and spa.
“There’s always delays in construction,” said Kemins. “Unfortunately, they didn’t really figure them in.”
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