Holiday Inn Express Plans on Hold in Toccoa

Disagreements between developers and local officials has plans to build a Holiday Inn Express in Toccoa on hold.

Recently however, the “coming soon” signs around property at the corner of Big A Road and Fernside Dr. came down and were replaced by “land for sale” signs.

A representative for Toccoa Holdings LLC, the company planning to build the new hotel is pinning the blame on local officials.

That representative, who declined to be named for this story, says Toccoa Holdings received an approved commitment last year from the Toccoa-Stephens County Development Authority to provide bonds to finance the construction of the project.

However, according to the representative, once work started on the project, the Toccoa-Stephens County Development Authority, along with local officials, did not live up to their agreement.

Toccoa-Stephens County Development Authority Executive Director Tim Martin said though, a company must secure its own financing.

Martin did say that in May of last year, the Toccoa-Stephens County Development Authority approved an inducement resolution for industrial development revenue bonds not to exceed $10 million for “Project Blue,” identified as a hotel/restaurant facility.

Martin said inducement resolutions and industrial development revenue bonds are not used to guarantee financing and do not represent a financial commitment or obligation to pay for the project by the development authority.

Martin said rather they are a tool used to start the clock so that a developer can include development costs incurred but martin adds this tool is not in itself a guarantee by the development authority of any project financing.

Last October, plans were announced to build a 90-room Holiday Inn Express to the site of the former Host Inn.

Crews demolished the old Host Inn, but no work has been done on the site since.

Both sark wire and Nifco ktw received similar inducement resolution for industrial development revenue bonds from the development authority as “Project Blue” has received.

The Toccoa Holdings LLC representative says that they are willing to sit on the project for a long time, adding that he does not feel that the development authority and local officials have acted with a lot of integrity.

Martin says projects have ups and downs and the development authority and local officials recognize the need for hotel space in Toccoa and want to and are willing to work with any developer who wants to help fill that need.