From silk mill to Petaluma’s newest hotel: Take a look at the transformation

After three long years of planning and construction, the Hampton Inn is finally set to open in Petaluma’s historic brick silk mill.|

After three long years of planning and construction, the Hampton Inn is finally set to open in Petaluma’s historic brick silk mill.

Unfortunate circumstances forced the hotel owners to push back the open date time and time again. Crews first faced Sonoma County’s rainiest winter on record, followed months later by October’s deadly firestorm. Unexpected retrofit issues and utility delays didn’t help matters, either, said Perry Patel, a partner with the hotel’s Palo Alto-based developer, BPR Properties.

Operators expect the 75-room Hampton Inn Petaluma to finally open for business at the end of this month. Reservations currently are being accepted for June 3 and beyond. Depending on the season and day of the week, room rates range from $139 to $339.

“I mean honestly, I’m relieved,” Patel said. “It’s been quite a project.”

The guest rooms feature 14-foot ceilings, high-definition televisions, modern furnishings, exposed brick walls and design touches done with Petaluma in mind. Photographs taken around town line the walls, while window shades feature a map of the city.

The historic building at 450 Jefferson Street was constructed in 1892 as the home of the Carlson-Currier Silk Mill. It survived the 1906 earthquake with just one crack, on the interior of the building’s northwestern tower, said general manager Max Childs.

In 1986, the building was designated a national historic landmark. It most recently housed a cord factory: Sunset Line & Twine, which shuttered in 2007. Since then, it’s been vacant.

What was the silk mill’s dye room has been converted into a dining area and bar, which will have beer and wine service for hotel guests and their visitors.

“We had sought to get a liquor license that allowed for us to be able to cater to the outside community ... to open up that dye house for locals to come to use,” Patel said. “But we couldn’t get liquor license approval for guests that weren’t registered at the hotel because we didn’t have enough parking.”

Depending on community demand in the first few months, the hotel might revisit that matter, Patel said.

The building’s design fits with the other hotels owned by BPR Properties: It is colorful, urban and modern, a departure from the classic Hampton Inn design. Other hotels owned by BPR Properties include Berkeley’s Hotel Shattuck Plaza, Palo Alto’s Hotel Keen and Santa Cruz’s Hotel Paradox.

By adding a Hampton Inn hotel to the portfolio, Patel said he hopes to capture a certain segment of budget business travelers who don’t want to sacrifice style or comfort. Patel said his team worked closely with the Hampton’s architecture and construction department for the project.

“It’s a great opportunity for the brand and for us as developers,” he said. “We’re obviously not a prototype Hampton Inn. They clearly have allowed us to bend the rules.”

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