New Developer Wanted As International Inn Goes On the Market

Main Street, Hyannis

HYANNIS – One of the largest properties on Main Street in Hyannis is on the market and local economists hope its sale can bring new development.

The International Inn and Suites, informally known as “cuddle and bubble” for its rooms with hot tubs, is up for sale at $7.5 million. It was listed last Friday.

Real estate agent Chuck Carey said the property could be valuable to a number of buyers because there is so much that can be done with it from a business point of view.

“There are a number of things that can happen there, aside from hotel,” said Carey. “It’s an excellent site for a hotel, you could build four stories, but it does have possibilities in many different categories of business. You could build quite an amount of building there.”

The property is exempt from oversight by the Cape Cod Commission as it is in a growth incentive zone, but may be subject to other restrictions because it is in the Hyannis village business district.

If the property is re-developed into a newer hotel, that could have a big impact in the community, according to Elizabeth Wurfbain, Executive Director of the Hyannis Main Street Business Improvement District.

“It’s very important to Main Street,” said Wurfbain. “In an ideal world, it would be a premier hotel, which we don’t really have in the area. So that would bring in better groups, more groups, more choices.”

The hotel last sold for $5.8 million in 2008, but has recently been the subject of reported drug and violence cases.

In August, the International Inn had its license suspended following a number of health code violations.

Health officials also ordered the hotel’s Main Street restaurant closed in July after the discovery of six critical violations, leading to an “F” rating for the restaurant.

The Barnstable Licensing Authority held a show cause hearing for the hotel last month.

Still, Wurfbain believes the hotel has a lot of potential.

“If somebody came in and rehabbed it completely, that would be also great,” said Wurfbain. “It definitely can use a fresh 2015 type of look.”

The property has received interest since it was listed.

A hotel developer looked at the hotel yesterday and a representative from an unnamed hotel chain took a look at it on Monday.