Hampton Inn Groundbreaking This Morning in Lavonia

Officials will be gathering this morning in Lavonia for the ground breaking of the new Hampton Inn.

The Hampton Inn will be built across from the Holiday Inn Express at the 173 exit on SR17.  The new motel is being built by OM Ventures2, LLC developers.

Plans for the new motel have been in the works for about a year, according to city manager Gary Fesperman.

“There were several hurdles that had to be crossed both with the Environmental Protection Divsion and some redesign of the new motel,”  Fesperman said. “But those issues have been overcome.” 

At a cost of $6.5 million, the four-story, 82-room Hampton Inn and Suites is part of an overall development plan of acreage behind Hill’s Exxon by Jay Pearson. In addition to the Hampton Inn, the development calls for a J. Peters Restaurant, which recently opened, as well as a strip mall that will house offices and shops.

“This is a multi-phased development that will take place over four to five years,” Fesperman said. “Jay Peters and Hampton are the first two components. The third is a seven-suite office strip that will go directly behind J.  Peters.”

Plans are for construction of the Hampton Inn to take about 13-15 months, according to Fesperman.