Feb. 22– Feb. 22–Belmont's transformation from a tiny textile town to a residential hotbed and an emerging tourist destination led to it getting its first branded hotel 12 years ago.
The city at Gaston County's eastern gateway is now poised to take a second step in that direction, as another hotel has been approved for development on three acres of land near Interstate 85. The $12 million project will involve a Home2 Suites by Hilton being built on Hawley Avenue, just west of Chick-fil-A. The 60,000-square-foot complex will feature 107 rooms on four stories.
"The city encourages tourism, we have a great downtown, and now this will provide another opportunity for visitors to stay right in the city of Belmont," said Planning and Zoning director Shelley DeHart. "So we're very excited about this."
Belmont City Council members voted in favor of the project earlier this month. It required the land in question to be rezoned from 'highway commercial' to 'highway commercial conditional,' though there was no public opposition to that change as it was discussed in recent weeks.
The city initially opened a public hearing on the proposal in January, but continued it to Feb. 4. The rezoning applicant, Warren Norman Co. of Rock Hill, South Carolina, needed additional time to work with city staff on the hotel's architectural design and building material mix prior to a City Council vote.
The building's elevation had to meet the specifications of Hilton, the city, and Belmont Abbey College's Southern Benedictine Society, the latter of which owns the land.
'A good fit'
Warren Norman Co. specializes in developing residential and commercial projects around the Charlotte area. Lane Norman, who oversees commercial building for the firm, said their aggressive goal is to begin construction this summer and open in time for the Republican National Convention in Charlotte in late August of 2020.
"We're already a month or two behind," he said. "We're looking for opportunities to make up time and we're going to be pushing that really hard."
Norman said they were brought into the fold by Belmont Abbey and its partnership with the Carstarphen family of Pharr Yarns in nearby McAdenville.
"(Belmont Abbey) wanted to build a new hotel in the area," he said. "We took the next step and started looking at proposals from different hotels."
In addition to being the lead developer on the project, Warren Norman Co. will also be a part-owner of the hotel.
"It's a good fit for us," said Norman, citing the close proximity to I-85, I-485 and Charlotte-Douglas International Airport. "It's a good area that's not already overserved."
Major money-maker
The Home2 Suites by Hilton brand was founded in 2009, and aims to offer an affordable price point within the extended-stay segment, targeting both business and leisure travelers. The hotel also stands to be a major producer of tax revenue for both Gaston County and Belmont.
Belmont's only other hotel is the 85-room Hampton Inn, which was built in 2007 at Exit 26 of I-85. In the 2018 fiscal year, it produced more than $46,000 in occupancy tax revenues for the city, which by law must be reinvested in tourism-related projects.
By comparison, city leaders expect the new Home2 Suites to produce about $100,000 in occupancy tax revenue, along with roughly $61,800 each year in property tax revenue.
DeHart said there is still plenty of land around the new hotel site, and up and down Wilkinson Boulevard, that will likely seem similar activity in the coming months and years.
"If you look at the Wilkinson Boulevard corridor, we have lots of opportunities for development," she said.
You can reach Michael Barrett at 704-869-1826 or on Twitter @GazetteMike.
