One of East Ridge's oldest motels has a new name and look after undergoing a $2.9 million upgrade that will be financed, in part, from the additional sales tax revenues it helps generate.
The newly named Baymont by Wyndham motel at 6674 Ringgold Road just off Interstate 75 in East Ridge took on the new franchise this month after completing a refurbishment of the 85-room motel. The inn is the southern most motel at Exit 1 among nearly a dozen hotels or motels at the East Ridge exit.
"With the upgrades we made and the new franchise affiliation with Baymont, we should be able to draw more guests and generate more revenue," Pete Patel, the motel owner and general manager who bought the property in 2012, said in a phone interview.
Patel, who heads Darsh Hospitality LLC and also owns four other hotels or motels, said he thinks the Baymont by Wyndham franchise will work well at the exit as a mid-prized motel option compared with other higher-priced brands or discount properties in the area.
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The typical room at the newly refurbished Baymont motel will rent for between $80 and $150 a night and include a free breakfast and other amenities, including an exercise room. The motel also has meeting rooms for conferences and events, Patel said.
Photo by Dave Flessner / The Baymont by Wyndham motel in East Ridge, pictured Tuesday, has 85 rooms. The typical room will rent for between $80 and $150 a night and include a free breakfast and other amenities, including an exercise room.Originally built in 1966, the 47,934-square-foot motel was previously an independent property not affiliated with any motel chain and sits on 2.4 acres, according to the Hamilton County Assessor's Office. The motel was closed in the past before Patel reopened the lodge.
The motel upgrade is the latest among more than a dozen retail and hotel properties to take advantage of the development aid available in the border zone created for most of East Ridge by the Tennessee legislature in 2012. Within the zone, a portion of the additional state sales tax revenues generated by the property may be used by the developer to recover the capital cost of the improvements made on the site.
Under the agreement approved last month by the Industrial Development Board in East Ridge and by the East Ridge City Council last week, 65% of the sales tax revenues generated by the new Baymont by Wyndham motel will be given back to Darsh Hospitality until the developer has recovered $2 million of the $2.9 million investment on the site. The other money will be given to the city of East Ridge.
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Similar tax advantages for other developers in the border zone helped to lure Bass Pro Shops to East Ridge, rather than to go south of the border in neighboring Georgia, and encouraged the development of other stores, restaurants and hotels along Ringgold Road and the road to Camp Jordan in East Ridge.
East Ridge Mayor Brian Williams said the incentives offered within the border zone have spurred more than $220 million of upgrades and new developments in East Ridge just in the past four years, and he expects more development in the future.
"The border region legislation has been an amazing benefit for the city of East Ridge," Williams said in an emailed statement last month. "From the triggering event of Bass Pro opening and as you travel throughout East Ridge, it is easy to see the continued development of new businesses. "
Williams said additional development is moving up Ringgold Road on the other side of Exit 1, with the Red Wolves, Champy's and Portofino's restaurants. Farther down Ringgold Road to the west, other businesses such as Southern Honda Motorsports, Pandora, Jack's and Food City have also benefited by the border zone.
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Across Tennessee, the only other such border zone was created on the Tennessee-Virginia line in Bristol, Tennessee. Originally, the tax incentives were used to recruit the Bass Pro Shop to the Tennessee side of the border a decade ago.
Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6340.