A developer is eyeing a vacant lot in West Lafayette for a new hotel.
The company is MHG Hotels, LLC and it wants to rezone property along Tapawingo Drive, south of State Street. According to the Area Plan Commission’s website, the request is to go from a General Business designation to a Nonresidential Planned Development.
A four-story hotel would be built at the site with 106 rooms and just as many parking spaces.
MHG President & CEO Sanjay Patel says they are interested in West Lafayette because of what he calls its tremendous growth.
“The (Purdue) student enrollment is at a record high. After studying it, there’s a need for more hotels.”
This is the third hotel proposal for the site since 2007, but smaller than the previous two. Patel says he’s working with the city on the project, but has not asked for a tax abatement to help out.
Economic Development Director Chandler Poole says MHG has been accommodating with what the city wants as far as the look of the property, which will take up two of the approximately 14 acres along Tapawingo between State Street and River Road.
If everything goes according to plans, Patel says construction on the Hampton Inn and Suites would begin in the spring and open in 2015.
City Councilor Eddie VanBogaert (D-Dist1) says he has not yet reviewed the latest proposal, but is generally supportive of investment in the Landing and Levee areas.
“Though, I do think that interest at the bottom of Chauncey Hill underscores the need for the City to invest in pedestrian and bicycle-friendly improvements that increase consumer accessibility.”
He says there has been work on Tapawingo Drive in the past year, but more is needed in order to make the space more than just a driving destination.