South End’s first hotel will be a Holiday Inn Express, now under construction

[Agenda story: Here’s a look at the plans for South End’s first hotel]

Now with construction underway, the developers told the Agenda about the final design and the hotel flag: Holiday Inn Express and Suites.

Some may dismiss this as a suburban or an “off-highway” brand but I actually think it fits the needs well. There are a bunch of higher end hotels being built Uptown, and even one planned for South End. As with apartments we see, not everything needs to be the highest ultra-luxury imaginable.

I see a ton of millennials in South End getting a perfectly affordable brand for friends and family visitors to stay. I see business travelers looking to stay in South End and wanting a more affordable option. I am a fan.

This hotel is filling a huge void in South End. It still blows my mind there won’t be a single hotel room in the area until 2018, when this project is finished.

The project has been redesigned to include 4,700 square feet of retail.

A total of 3,500 of it will be dedicated to a restaurant with a 1,500 square foot patio and the remaining 1,200 square feet will be dedicated to soft goods or services retail. I really appreciate that they took the hotel lobby to the second floor to reserve the ground floor for public patio and retail space.

[Agenda story: South End’s first hotel will now have retail space]

The design is much improved and the lighting package is phenomenal.

I appreciate the brick all the way to the top of the building. And while it still has some white stucco that people will be mad about, overall this is a great looking project and certainly the best Holiday Inn Express I have ever seen.

I like the industrial style beam that runs through the front facade to break it up. Also, I like the wood accents to cover up the parking so it is not your standard ‘cars behind bars’ look.

The interior gives off a more urban and contemporary hotel vibe that compliments the feel of the area.

Other cool tidbits

• With the parking on the first floor, there will be 8-10 electric car charging stations, bike racks and valet parking.
• There will be a mix of suites, regular rooms, rooms with a city view, rooms with a South End view and a connecting parlor room on the top floor.
• The hotel will also have 1,400 square feet of meeting space that can be expanded to 5,000 square feet if necessary. Plus a fitness center and a boardroom.
• Site grading is currently underway with full construction to start within the next 30 days. The project will be complete in the summer of 2018.

Developer: Divine South End, LLC
Architect: Overcash and Demmit

Cover image courtesy of Overcash and Demmit