May 11--A hotel boom is underway in southern Mecklenburg -- a sign that Charlotte's business hub is no longer confined to uptown.

"In southern Mecklenburg -- with the increase in the office, the mixed use, the residential -- now it's becoming a destination area," said Vinay Patel, senior vice president for operations and sales of Sree Hotels. The Piper Glen-based company is building the SpringHill Suites by Marriott hotel in Toringdon, down the street from Earth Fare.

It's one of at least six hotels underway or under discussion in the southern region.

And owners expect these rooms to fill. Development along Interstate 485 brought with it a boom of business travelers, families on getaway and local companies in need of meeting space.

The 12 hotels in the south Charlotte/Pineville/Ballantyne area have higher occupancy rates and room charges than the Charlotte market as a whole, recent statistics show.

The south Charlotte area had a 66.9 percent occupancy rate in 2007, down slightly from 68.1 in 2006, according to Michael Applegate, director of research for the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority. But the Charlotte market's 271 hotels had a 65.8 percent occupancy rate in 2007. In 2006, the occupancy rate was 64.3 percent.

Hotels in the south Charlotte region drew an average of $107.51 per room in 2007, compared to $83.01 for the Charlotte market, according to Applegate.

The surge of office buildings underway, especially in the Ballantyne area, is the big magnet for new hotels, said Mohammad Jenatian of the Greater Charlotte Hospitality & Tourism Alliance.

"That's really the backbone of the (hotel) business," Jenatian said.

"Every time you have a new office building, or a collection of office buildings being built in an area, that creates a base for more hotels to be built."

Here's what's underway:

Hilton Garden Inn

Details: The 120-room, $15 million hotel in Ayrsley in Steele Creek is expected to open Sept. 2, according to Tom Henson, president of Henson-Tomlin Interests and co-developer of Ayrsley. The hotel will include a pool, gym, restaurant/bar, and over 6,000 square feet of meeting space.Serving: The business traveler, although Henson expects to draw visitors attending events in the area, from basketball tournaments at the uptown arena to NASCAR events. "If we were open in March, we feel we would have gotten a tremendous amount of overflow from downtown," Henson said, referring to the ACC and NCAA basketball tournaments. Helping matters is the LYNX light rail, Henson said, which has a park-and-ride lot four miles from Ayrsley.

Of interest: Hotel chains are focusing on placing new properties in mixed-use developments like Ayrsley, Henson said, where business travelers, especially women, feel safer walking to nearby restaurants, offices, shops, or entertainment such as the movie theater.

SpringHill Suites by Marriott

Details: The 120-room, five-story hotel, now underway at Johnston and North Community House roads, should open by spring 2009, according to Ravi Patel, president and CEO of Sree Hotels. It's an $18-$20 million project. The hotel will include close to 4,000 square feet of meeting space, an indoor pool, exercise room and bar.

Serving: Business and leisure travelers. The meeting space should draw area businesses in need of space that may find Ballantyne Resort too big of an option, said Vinay Patel, Sree Hotels' senior vice president for operation and sales.

Of interest: Sree Hotels has 11 operating hotels in the greater Charlotte area, including the Residence Inn at I-485 and Rea Road. Three more hotels are currently under construction.

Ravi Patel isn't worried about competing hotels taking away business -- including the possibility of another hotel being built directly across the street from Johnston Road. "There's enough growth in this area," he said.

aloft Hotel

Details: Groundbreaking is scheduled this fall on the 135-room aloft Charlotte Ballantyne, in a partnership with Bissell Hotels. It will be on Ballantyne Corporate Place, adjacent to Ballantyne Resort and The Lodge at Ballantyne. It's scheduled to open July 2009. Bissell won't disclose project costs.

Known for stylish living, aloft rooms feature loft-like nine-foot ceilings, high-tech work spaces, large walk-in showers and large flat-panel televisions.

Serving: Business and leisure guests looking for "a fresh and very different lodging alternative," said Joe Hallow, president of Bissell Hotels, via e-mail.

Hallow said aloft is being built to accommodate the demand for rooms due to the growth of Ballantyne Corporate Park, where more than 2.5 million square feet of office space is completed, and another 650,000 square feet is under construction to be completed by year's end.

Of interest: W Hotels, a division of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, created the concept. Here's what's being discussed:

--In Toringdon: The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Commission approved plans last November for NRI Communities, the developer of Streets of Toringdon in the Ballantyne area, to add a 120-room hotel to the site at the northwest side of Interstate 485 and Johnston Road. The site plan calls for a four-story hotel.

Melanie Mayo, manager of real estate equities for NRI Communities, said last year the property would be a limited-service hotel, without a restaurant, for example. Mayo could not be reached last week for a status update on the project.

--In Mint Hill, where the Bridges at Mint Hill shopping complex is planned off Lawyers Road near I-485, developers recently announced plans for a five-story hotel on the site. No details were announced. The complex has been projected to open in 2009.

--In southwest Mecklenburg, the developer of Whitehall Corporate Center, off West Arrowood Road and I-485, is seeking a rezoning that would include hotels in the project. Hilton Garden Inn

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