New furniture, room and public space upgrades and a host of other improvements are coming to the Sheraton Erie Bayfront Hotel as part of $7.5 million in planned renovations.

The Erie County Convention Center Authority's board of directors on Thursday signed off on the work, which is "necessary to meet the requirements of the Marriott brand," said Casey Wells, Erie Events' executive director.

More: After nearly 40 years at the helm, Erie Events Executive Director Casey Wells is retiring

Erie Events oversees the eight-story, 200-room Sheraton, 55 West Bay Road, which opened in 2008, was built for $60 million and is connected to the Bayfront Convention Center by an overhead public walkway.

The Convention Center Authority oversees Erie Events.

The Sheraton is one of the two publicly-financed hotels under Erie Events' umbrella. The $58.5 million Courtyard Erie Bayfront Hotel, a 192-room, 107,000-square-foot hotel at 2 Sassafras Pier, opened in 2016.

Wells said Marriott International is requiring the Sheraton upgrades and will contribute $2 million towards the work. Marriott purchased Starwood Hotels & Resorts, which includes the Sheraton brand, in late 2016.

Erie Events will use various reserve funds to cover the additional $5.5 million for the renovations, which should start before the end of the year. The work is expected to be finished this coming June, Wells said.

“We’ve already received design concepts, renderings, patterns for materials and the plans for the guest rooms, the public spaces and the furniture selection are being reviewed by Marriott,” Wells said.

“You certainly have to meet the brand standards, and complete the renovations on a schedule,” Wells said. “This is just a normal course of business.”

Wells said Marriott is allowing Erie Events some latitude when it comes to the design.

“The design will reflect maritime themes because of our location on the waterfront,” Wells said.

The work was originally scheduled to begin in 2020, Wells said. However, the COVID-19 pandemic, which prompted widespread construction shutdowns starting in March 2020, delayed the project.

Wells said early summer 2023 is the target completion time frame "because to do this you have to take rooms offline. We want to be at full capacity for most of the summer."

New furniture, fixtures part of renovations

The Sheraton saw roughly $2 million worth of renovations in 2014 — including painting, new furniture and carpeting, and replacement of vinyl wall coverings throughout the hotel — as part of renovations mandated at that time by Starwood.

Dan Pora, the Sheraton’s general manager, said the renovations will include “a complete overhaul” of the Sheraton’s guest rooms.

“All the furniture, fixtures and equipment will be switched out. There will be brighter designs and color schemes,” Pora said.

Hotel hallways will see new carpeting and lighting, Pora said, and the Sheraton’s lobby will be revamped with “new communal areas that encourage gathering” and a daytime coffee bar.

Further, the hotel’s restaurant, the Bayfront Grille, will see new furniture, equipment and an updated layout for dining tables, Pora said.

“We’re very excited,” Pora said. “We were really due for a refresh here.”

Renovations:Sheraton Erie Bayfront Hotel work complete

Both the Sheraton and the Courtyard by Marriott, which sit on valuable waterfront property, have been the subject of tax-related legal battles in recent years.

The city of Erie and the Erie School District challenged their tax-exempt status in court. However, Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court rejected the arguments in July 2021, upholding the property tax exemptions for both hotels and their parking garages. The appeals court ruled that the hotels/garages would remain tax-exempt.

Legal fight:State appeals court affirms exemptions for Sheraton, Marriott in Erie bayfront hotels tax case

Contact Kevin Flowers at kflowers@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ETNflowers.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: It's time for a $7.5M makeover at the Sheraton Erie Bayfront Hotel