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| By Francis X. Gilpin, The Fayetteville Observer, N.C.McClatchy-Tribune Regional News Nov. 9--A Fayetteville nonprofit disclosed today that a hotel it has proposed for Spring Lake will carry the flag of Candlewood Suites. J. Carl Manning, executive director of Kingdom Community Development Corp., made the announcement as he and two other developers previewed a $1.7 million request for bond funding from Cumberland County commissioners. Manning said his nonprofit needs the bonds from a federal economic-stimulus program to close a $700,000 gap in financing for an $8.5 million hospitality complex that would be constructed on N.C. 87. In addition to the 180-room hotel, there will be an IHOP restaurant at the site. Gentry Group LLC would use the remaining $1 million of county bonds to begin other redevelopment in Spring Lake. Gentry Group owners Rocky Keim and Bob Stafford are planning Freedom Center, an office park in Spring Lake that would house defense and national-security contractors who need to be near Fort Bragg after military base realignment and closure. Candlewood Suites is owned by InterContinental Hotels Group PLC, which also owns Holiday Inn and other lodging chains. Candlewood Suites caters to mid-market business and leisure travelers looking for a place to stay multiple nights, according to the chain's United Kingdom-based corporate parent. Manning said Kingdom CDC originally considered a Motel 6 franchise. But local officials suggested the nonprofit pursue a higher-caliber lodging brand, he said. The nonprofit has a $6.5 million loan commitment from Carter Bank & Trust and another $1 million in state and county loans. Kingdom CDC is putting in $355,000. Commissioner Jimmy Keefe, whose family is in the lodging business, complimented the nonprofit for trying to get a hotel project off the ground in this economy with only a roughly 5 percent equity contribution. The county commissioners are expected to vote on the bond request at a meeting next week. Staff writer Francis X. Gilpin can be reached at gilpinf@fayobserver.com or 486-3587. ----- To see more of The Fayetteville Observer, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.fayettevillenc.com/. Copyright (c) 2009, The Fayetteville Observer, N.C. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. NYSE:IHG, NASDAQ-OTCBB:CARE, |
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