Jan. 13–The former Holiday Inn off Route 80 in Saddle Brook is now slated to reopen in late spring, with its sky-top, 12th-story restaurant and lounge also ready for business then, according to the property’s new owner.

Alena Hospitality LLC, which is spending about $10 million on renovations of the 148-room hotel, will likely open the property in May or June as a Crowne Plaza, said Alena President and Chief Executive Officer Jay Witzel.

The Orlando, Fla.-based hotel chain has changed some of its plans to renovate the Saddle Brook property, Witzel said, with those revisions now pending with township officials, who couldn’t be reached for comment Thursday.

“We actually expanded the scope of the work,” he said. “Once we expanded the scope of the work, we had to have [new] architectural drawings, and they had to be submitted for approval.”

So the hotel’s opening, once slated for Feb. 1, has been postponed again. The hotel’s new general manager and director of sales, whom Witzel declined to identify, started work this week. The hotel ultimately plans to hire about 80 people.

Alena bought the lease for the 97,000-square-foot former Holiday Inn for $1.6 million in June. The once-run-down hotel at 50 Kenny Place, with its cylindrical shape, is a landmark visible from Route 80.

Major work on the hotel’s first, second and 12th floors still must be completed, Witzel said. The first floor has a large kitchen, while the 12th floor once housed a restaurant-club.

Originally, Alena said it would reopen the hotel without having the 12th-floor restaurant open. But Witzel said that in order for the property to operate as a Crowne Plaza, the sky-top restaurant _ which has a 360-degree view _ will have to be open when the hotel opens.

“There’s lots of working titles [for the restaurant], but we haven’t locked down on one,” Witzel said. “The concept in general will probably be steak and seafood. There’s going to be a very nice bar there … but we’re not going to put a club up there.”

The first floor will have a lounge, with a Starbucks station that will serve as “grab-and-go” for breakfast in the morning, and will serve alcohol at night. It will have what Witzel called “e-seating,” electronic seating, so guests can plug in their laptops while having a snack or drinks.

One of Alena’s changes was its decision to make the hotel’s entrance “more dramatic” and modern, Witzel said.

“It will actually be an architectural feature that people can see when they drive by,” he said.