March 04–The city of Chardon will be home to a major hotel chain in the near future.

Longtime resident and businessman Marc F. Burr announced March 3 that he and a group of investors — collectively Chardon House LLC — are moving forward with the development of a 65- to 70-room “premium-branded” hotel near the Meadowlands development.

The exact location and chain will be announced once deals are finalized.

“We have identified and secured the perfect location for this project,” Burr said. “It is a location that offers high visibility and traffic, stunning views of our beautiful city, along with economic development incentives from the city.”

Chardon House LLC hired Westlake-based Emerald Hospitality Associates Inc. to assist in the development and operations.

The full-service hotel management and development company operates 21 properties in seven states, including Hilton, Marriott and Hyatt facilities.

“All things being equal, sometime in the summer of 2016, we should be open for business,” said Burr, 34, a lifelong Chardon resident and a sixth-generation funeral director at Burr Funeral Home, established in the 1850s.

Better known as “Burrly” to many in the community, Burr said he has thought for a long time that the area needed nationally known lodging. A recent feasibility study on the viability of a hotel in Geauga County encouraged him to moved forward with the other yet-to-be-disclosed investors.

The study was conducted by Leisure Advisors LLC, contracted by Destination Geauga (formerly Geauga County Tourism) in collaboration with Burr, Chardon Chamber of Commerce, Chardon Square Association, Chardon Tomorrow, the city of Chardon and UH Geauga Medical Center.

Lynda Nemeth, executive director of Destination Geauga, said independent surveys of the corporate community prompted the more comprehensive study.

“The accommodations we currently have in Geauga County are outstanding for a segment of the leisure market,” she said. “However, there are other travelers we are unable to accommodate, such as group travel, and corporate or seasoned travelers seeking the familiar comfort of a branded hotel like a Hampton, Fairfield Inn or Holiday Inn Express.”

The next step is finalizing the franchise agreement with the hotel chain and going through the city approval process, Burr said.

Mayor Phil King said there is a lot of community and business support for the project.

“I think it’s a wonderful thing that (Marc) was able to put it together and make the announcement,” he said. “He and his family are well-established and they’re very involved, and very strong members of the community, and I can’t think of a better family to lead the way.”

The hotel is expected to employ 25 to 30 people.