More room at the inn
Nearly 1,200 hotel rooms are under construction or planned for Hamilton County at eight new or renovated hotels.› Westin hotel, 801 Pine St., 259 rooms› Budgetel Inn, 1410 Mack Smith Road in East Ridge, 266 rooms› Holiday Inn & Suites, 434 Chestnut St., 140 rooms› The Edwin boutique hotel, Walnut Street and Aquarium Way, 90 rooms› Aloft Hotel at King and Market Streets, 150 rooms› Springhill Suites, 8876 Old Lee Highway in Collegedale, 106 suites› Hampton Inn near Camp Jordan in East Ridge, 88 rooms› Home2 Suites by Hilton, 2316 Center St., 97 rooms
Chattanooga's biggest hotel development firm is bringing another type of extended stay hotel to the local market next year - one of four new hotels the company is now building in Hamilton County.
Vision Hospitality Group Inc. is planning to open a 97-room Home2 Suites by Hilton at 2316 Center St., sandwiched between a Residence Inn by Marriott, a Towne Place Suites and a Microtel hotel, by the fall of 2018. The new extended stay facility will join 14 other hotels located at or near the Shallowford Road exit of Interstate 75 near the Hamilton Place mall.
"We are excited to have started construction on another hotel in the Hamilton Place market," said Mitch Patel, founder and president of Vision Hospitality, which has built or is building 47 hotels in nine states. "Twenty years ago, our company's first hotel, the Homewood Suites by Hilton, was built at Hamilton Place. Vision values its ongoing partnership with Hilton and the opportunity to develop one of its newer brands."
The Memphis-based Home2 Suites by Hilton is a mid-tier brand, all-suite hotel that offers affordable accommodations for the extended stay segment, targeting both the corporate and leisure traveler. It will include spacious suites with a customizable working area, fully-equipped kitchen, microfiber hypoallergenic bedsheets, and common entertainment, eating and recreation areas.
A Home2 Suites by Hilton is shown.The hotel will include a resort-style pool accompanied by a grilling patio, along with fitness facility and healthy options out of the 400-plus complimentary breakfast variations. Each Home2 Suites hotel features the Oasis, the lobby area that promotes community and connection. It consists of a 52" flat screen television and Home2 Market for travelers needing food and beverages on the go.
Paragon Construction Co. LLC is building the 97-room hotel, which is estimated to cost more than $7 million to build, according to the city building permit for the project.
There are now 216 Home2 Suites hotels throughout the United States and Mexico.
Vision Hospitality Group currently has a handful of properties in development in the Chattanooga area, including the company's first boutique hotel, The Edwin, and the company's first multi-family venture, 10/North located in Chattanooga's North Shore area. Vision also is building a Tru by Hilton next to the DoubleTree hotel on Chestnut Street downtown and a Hampton Inn near the Bass Pro Shopsin East Ridge.
Vision currently boasts a pipeline of 16 properties under construction or in development throughout the country. Still family-owned and operated today, Vision has a hotel portfolio and pipeline of premium hotels affiliated with the Hilton, Marriott and InterContinental brands.
Across Hamilton County, developers are now building nearly $200 million of hotels and related properties which collectively will add nearly 1,200 more hotel rooms in the next year.
"The state of the tourism industry in Hamilton County is strong and getting stronger," said Bob Doak, the outgoing president of the Chattanooga Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6340.