Oct. 09–When the Hilton Garden Inn on South Ninth is completed in late 2016, Stanley Weilert will own four hotels in town, with nearly 200 employees and an annual payroll over more than $1 million.
Friday morning, Weilert led a groundbreaking ceremony at the 3320 S. Ninth site of the new, $14 million Hilton Garden Inn.
Weilert who originally is from Hays, and said he's excited to add another location here. He noted that 75 percent of the contractors working on the project are local.
In all, the hotel will have 100 rooms, and the convention center will provide space for gatherings of around 500 people.
Brian Richardson, vice chairman of the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce, said additional convention space is something Salina has needed for years, and it's been a chamber priority for the past five years.
"We've been losing business to other communities," Richardson said. "This gives us a chance to reclaim that market share."
The city of Salina, several weeks ago, approved allowing the Hilton, along with two other hotels owned by S&B Development — the Hampton Inn, 401 W. Schilling, and Courtyard by Marriott, 3020 Riffel — to charge an extra 2 percent sales tax to raise up to $5 million toward construction of the convention center.
Weilert said he expects more of the lots between the new Hilton and his other hotels to the north to fill in fairly rapidly.
"I'm really excited to be here, excited about this project," he said.
— Reporter Mike Strand can be reached at 822-1418 or by email at [email protected].
