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Holiday Inn could be built at airport by fall 2011

Holiday Inn & Suites owner must secure corporate and federal approval, financing.

submitted An artist's rendering shows the proposed design for the Holiday Inn & Suites to be built at Dayton International Airport. The owner of the Holiday Inn brand said construction is expected to start this summer and be done in fall 2011. Contributed photo

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By John Nolan, Staff Writer Updated 11:31 PM Friday, February 5, 2010

InterContinental Hotels Group, owner of the Holiday Inn hotel brand, expects construction of a Holiday Inn & Suites at the Dayton International Airport will start this summer and be done by fall 2011.

Specific dates aren’t yet available, but the project is moving ahead as planned, spokeswoman Emily Brinkley of Atlanta-based IHG said Friday, Feb. 5.

But the construction company that will build the hotel said that a challenging market for obtaining hotel financing, plus possible changes in the building’s design, make it difficult to predict the schedule. Plans for a six-story hotel have been submitted to IHG, which grants the franchise and could modify the building plans, said Dale White Sr., chief executive officer of D.A.G. Construction Co., a Cincinnati contractor working for the hotel’s owner, White Hills LLC, a Cincinnati-based hotel operator.

The Federal Aviation Administration also must review the plan to ensure that the hotel would comply with height restrictions for structures at airports, White said. The project’s backers would then seek financing.

“As you know, the current trend in financing is a very tough nut to crack,” White said. “It all depends on how fast the financing is obtained.”

White Hills is to pay the airport $48,800 annually to lease the land that the hotel will occupy. It will replace the 40-year-old Dayton Airport Hotel, which closed permanently last week. White Hills is to bear the cost of developing the new hotel, initially described last year as a $15 million, 140-room project.

The airport administration had announced last year that the hotel would be ready to operate by the end of 2010. Reflecting today’s uncertain market, a sign in the airport terminal’s lobby now describes the project’s schedule as TBD (to be determined).

“We do know that credit is going to be tight,” said Iftikhar Ahmad, Dayton’s aviation director. “It may not take place on time.”

Demand for hotel rooms nationally has fallen as business travel has been curtailed due to the recession, said Eric Belfrage, a hotel broker with CB Richard Ellis Hotels in Columbus who operates across the Midwest.

White Hills hopes to serve business travelers, flight crews and passengers with early flights to catch from Dayton. But its hotel faces competition from a Holiday Inn along Interstate 70 at Englewood and hotels along Miller Lane in Butler Twp., among others, said Terry Baltes, owner of Baltes Commercial Realty, a Centerville-based builder and developer of hotels.

“There’s a lot of competition here,” Baltes said.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2242 or jnolan@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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In my humble opinion this concept looks in line with the looks of all other big ongoing projects.

Flyer
12:24 PM, 2/7/2010

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I'm confused: How will the kick-backs be delivered to City of Dayton employees and elected officials? Do the individuals receiving the graft get cash in a envelope next to the dumpster in the parking lot? Or free food and rooms?

It must have been easier and simpler when the City of Dayton ran the airport....just take a slice of the top, according to status, seniority and overall level of SKANKINESS.

It's Great in Dayton!
12:44 PM, 2/6/2010

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Lets see the old airport hotel was some how not profitable even after a supposed $6 million in renovations yet Holiday Inn is willing to invest $15 million up front to build a replacement. No way they invest that kind of money if they don't think they'll make some in the long run. Makes me wonder just where and whom that $6 million went to..............hmmmmm

Roscoe2u
12:17 PM, 2/6/2010

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This is just what the airport needs.. and there would be no competition from Holiday Inn in Englewood, thier rooms are dirty, staff is rude and food and bar leaves alot to be desired. A New Holiday Inn right at the airport would be fantastic and could be used for more than just airline crews... This is just what Vandalia Needs.... We can turn this around!!!! thanks for sharing this story

michelle
12:05 PM, 2/6/2010

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The sooner, the better! The airport is looking up!

paul
8:33 AM, 2/6/2010

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