Two new hotels, storage facility planned by developer in Lavonia
Two new hotels are planned for Lavonia.
At their meeting this week, the Lavonia City Council approved the first reading of an application to annex property at the end of Owens Drive next to the Hampton Inn and Holiday Inn Express.
City attorney Jay Doss went over a zoning and annexation request by Queen Mary Holding Company LLC of Ft. Pierce, Florida for 3.57 acres where two new hotels and a storage facility are planned.
Architects Ponder & Ponder asked for the annexation of the property which is just outside the City Limits. They also asked the property be rezoned B2.
“It’s right below Holiday Inn Express and there’s an adjacent piece of property that Queen Mary Holdings also holds that is in the City,” explained City Manager Charles Cawthon. “So, this is right in between that will allow them to access the property. The plans are to build two hotels and a climate-controlled storage facility on both properties.”
Cawthon tells WLHR News one of the hotels Queen Mary Holdings plans to build is a Tru by Hilton.
Hilton began the Tru line of hotels in 2016 to compete with Comfort Inn and La Quinta hotels.
The rooms are no more than 300 square feet with space-saving shelves instead of dressers, small, efficient bathrooms, and a mobile desk for a laptop.
The hotels also feature a cafeteria-style food area instead of a restaurant.
Cawthon tells WLHR News the developer has not yet indicated what the second hotel will be.
By law, there needs to be one more public hearing and a second read before the requests are approved.