An architect’s rendering of the nearly $30 million Hammetts Wharf hotel, restaurant and retail project on Commercial Wharf in Newport. Courtesy Union Studio Architects

By Steve Klamkin WPRO News

A nautical gun was fired in lieu of shovels and hard hats to mark the “groundbreaking” of a nearly $30 million hotel, restaurant and retail development in what is currently a parking lot on Commercial Wharf in Newport. The Hammetts Wharf project will include an upscale, 84-room boutique hotel, and is scheduled for completion in 2020.

The project represents “…an investment in one of Rhode Island’s core foundational industries, hospitality and tourism,” said developer Colin Kane at a brief ceremony.

“This hotel is going to be a great addition to our city,” said Mayor Harry Winthrop. “Some people have made comments about, it’s going to be an obstruction of the views, I think it’s going to be much, much nicer having that than just a parking lot.”

Funded in part with $3.5 million in Tax Incremental Financing approved last July by the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation, the project is expected to create more than 80 permanent jobs and generate $6.7 million a year to the state’s gross domestic product, and generate $7.7 million in new hotel and other tax revenue over a 12-year period, according to a release issued by the developer.