Mystic — Demolition of the former Latitude 41 restaurant at Mystic Seaport Museum began this week to make way for a boutique hotel on the property.

Heavy equipment was in full motion on Tuesday tearing down the rear of the building, leaving the front of the building mostly untouched except for the missing windows, which had all been removed in preparation for the demolition.

The razing of Latitude 41 and the Shipyard Tavern, which closed in July of 2022 after 12 years in business, marks the beginning of the estimated $12 million Delmar Hotel project, initially approved in early 2020, but delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2009, Coastal Gourmet Inc. signed a contract to manage all events and dining at the museum, including the restaurant previously known as the Seamen’s Inne. After a refurbishment, it reopened that restaurant the following year.

A permit application for the Latitude 41 demolition, being conducted by Stamford Wrecking Company of Trumbull, was approved March 16, and the initial phase of the project is estimated to be completed within a month.

Stonington Deputy Chief of Police Todd Olson said traffic should not be impacted beyond trucks hauling away material from the demolition.

The project calls for a 30-room hotel and a 160-seat restaurant, as well as a guest cottage. Plans also call for a pool and outdoor patio with seating overlooking the river and an existing dock.

There will be eight valet parking spots along a circle in the front of the hotel which will be accessed via a shared driveway from a parking lot that would serve the future Mystic River Boathouse Park.

The rest of the parking will be located across Route 27 in the large museum lot.

The Stonington Planning and Zoning Commission initially approved Greenwich Hospitality Group and Clearview Investment Management’s plans for the project in 2020.

The founder of the Greenwich Hospitality Group, Charles Mallory, is a former member of the Seaport's board of trustees and developer of the Stonington Commons project in Stonington Borough.

Construction is anticipated to take one year.