Union May Invest In S. Boston Hotel

BOSTON— The stalled headquarters hotel for the new South Boston convention center may receive some much needed financing from one of the nations largest unions. The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers is interested in investing money from its pension fund into the 1,200-room hotel, a top union official said. The unions pension fund is fresh from pumping tens of millions in equity into plans for a 33-story office tower in Boston. That project had been stuck on the drawing board since the 1980s. The IBEW investment has been credited with getting the tower project moving again. Frank Carroll, a top IBEW official, said the union wants to sit down with Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide to discuss a possible financing deal for the hotel, who’s price-tag has risen more than 10%, to $300 million, since it was proposed. Starwoods hotel project could mean work for dozens, if not hundreds, of union electricians. Work on the 33 Arch St. tower, for example, will employ as many as 100 electrical workers over the next two years. Overall, the IBEWs pension fund has more than $15 billion to invest in projects across the country, officials said. SOURCE: Boston Herald