In 2013, Scott Enterprises said they wanted to turn the east bayfront into Harbor Place. It would be a big development with hotels, apartments and offices, to name a few.
“This is a really cool opportunity. I think we’re at a point and juncture where all the stars seem to be aligning,” said Nick Scott Jr. in an interview after the project was announced.
More than 11 years later, this is what’s been built: a Hampton Inn and Suites hotel, a minigolf course and a beer garden.
The beer garden has “become one of the most popular summer venues in Erie,” said Nick Scott Sr., president of Scott Enterprises.
Now they want to take the next step and build a second hotel. It will be a Marriott AC, just east of the Hampton.
They applied for a grant to pay for it. They asked for $7 million but got $750 thousand.
“We’re going to take the money that was given to us and repurpose it,” Scott Sr. said.
“Not for the hotel but for other things down here.”
This summer, the minigolf course will get some additions. The beer garden will get more seats and a cover to keep people dry.
Instead, he hopes to pay for the hotel by being a part of the new City Revitalization and Improvement Zone.
“If we don’t get the CRIZ for some reason we would find other ways to finance it,” he said.
Scott said there is demand for another hotel on the bayfront. VisitErie agrees.
“You can advertise and promote but you have to have the product for people to want to come,” said John Oliver, president of VisitErie.
Hotel demand on the bayfront is up 10% since 2023, he said.
The average occupancy is 61%. He said that’s good for a city like Erie that has unpredictable winters.
He thinks the growth on the bayfront will continue.
“It takes time to be able to put all of the parts and the pieces of the puzzle together,” he said.
The Scotts hope to be a piece of that puzzle.
“We have one shot at doing it right and we want to do the best that we can for Erie, for the bayfront, and for our company,” Scott said.
They hope to begin construction on the new hotel in 2026. He is not sure what will be built after that.
It could be 10 years, he said, until Harbor Place is finished.