Hotel Project Moves Forward After Jumping Final Hurdle

Construction could begin as early as this fall on a new Cobblestone Hotel in Holdrege.

The Holdrege City Council and the Holdrege Community Redevelopment Authority approved TIF funding for the project on June 5, and now the developer can prepare an updated budget, finalize the investor group and begin the predevelopment planning at the site.

The hotel will be built on the site of the former Washington School on Burlington Street just west of the new Washington Square apartments.  The 45-room two-story hotel will include a lobby, meeting room, exercise room and breakfast area.

The project started after PCDC commissioned a study that revealed the need for a new hotel in Holdrege. According to the final report, many guests were staying overnight in Kearney, and business owners also cited a need for more local lodging rooms to accommodate business travelers attending meetings in Holdrege. The study estimated that a new hotel would generate close to $900,000 annually in hotel room fees.

PCDC Executive Director Ron Tillery said some neighbors expressed concern about truck parking at the new hotel. However, Tillery said the hotel parking lot won’t accommodate semi tractor-trailer parking, and there are no plans to build a truck stop next to the hotel.

Tillery also said that Mike Kalb, representing the investor group at the June 5 City Council meeting, said the hotel project shares some investors with the Washington Square apartments project so they wouldn’t do anything to negatively impact that investment.

Cobblestone Hotels offer mid-to-upper tier hotel rooms that would be comparable to a Hilton Hotel but not as expensive. The Wisconsin-based group has seen a need for this type of hotel throughout the Midwest and has recently constructed hotels in McCook, Cambridge and Broken Bow.

Construction on the project is expected to take 9-10 months, and Tillery said they are hoping to break ground this fall. The Cobblestone Hotel group has its own construction superintendent, but Tillery said they would likely seek bids from subcontractors for parts of the project.

“We will funnel information about the project to all the Builder’s Bureau members,” Tillery said.

Related: A possible new community event center will create even more demand for new hotel rooms. Read more HERE.