Bruce J. Hebert
December 11, 2006
Houma man leads police on chase
December 13, 2006
People visiting Houma n whether calling on family, attending a Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center event, or taking historic plantation tours n will have yet another option in choosing where to plan their overnight stay.
The Terrebonne Parish Council gave the green light to a sales agreement that will allow the Integral Hospitality Solutions, a hotel development company based out of Birmingham, to build a Hilton Garden Inn adjacent to the HTCC off of Civic Center Boulevard at the Nov. 29 regular council meeting.
Chief Executive Officer of the Terrebonne Economic Development Authority Michael Ferdinand has been working with the civic center, the parish government and Hilton to bring the new hotel to the area.
Ferdinand said although there is still legal work to be completed, the company would like construction to begin as quickly as possible.
The next step toward building is the signing of a sales document between the parish and the hotel. The 3.65 acres approved for sale behind the civic center and across the street from the library was initially appraised at $3.15 per square foot.
The parish will sell the plot for $5 per square foot, for a total of $794,970.
Hilton will then have a 120-day duration for “due diligence” to complete a physical search of the property and begin preliminary engineering, and up to six months to start construction.
If six months passes, the parish can opt to resell the property to another hotel company; the land has been zoned exclusively for hotel space.
“It’s really up to the company when they want to start construction but it sounds like they want to start right after they review the property,” said Ferdinand.
The Hilton Garden Inn will contain 125 guest rooms, a pool and a restaurant; the particular restaurant is still being determined.
A Hilton Garden Inn is a step beyond the typical hotel stay. Geared more toward the working person, the hotel promises luxury at reasonable prices.
Rooms are equipped with telephone voicemail service and a data-port as well as complementary high-speed Internet access all incorporated in an open workspace. Color printer, photocopier and fax machine usage is available at the complementary 24-hour business center.
Most locations include a fitness center, with cardio and weight equipment, as well as pool and whirlpool access.
The business-oriented hotel will hopefully attract more corporate events to the civic center, said HTCC Director David Ohlmeyer.
“It was a convenience factor before, not having a hotel near the civic center,” said Ohlmeyer. “Not only will it attract more big corporations to have events here, but people who are having weddings here or people coming from out-of-town to an event will have a place to stay,” he said.
Attracting more corporate events will not only put Houma on the map but also boost the parish economy when visitors spend dollars over their stay, Ohlmeyer said. Plus, corporate events such as training, seminars or meetings are less costly for civic center to host, requiring little clean up.
With the possible growth of business, the civic center would look to expand the number of available meeting rooms in the future, Ohlmeyer said.
Rendering by Integral Hospitality Solutions/ A proposed 125-room, Hilton Garden Inn is one step closer to becoming a reality along Civic Center Boulevard in Houma. The Terrebonne Parish Council approved the sale of 3.65 acres to Integral Hospitality Solutions, a Birmingham-based hotel development company.
