City officials have announced that Henderson Properties LLC has purchased a vacant area adjacent to Interstate 4 and plans to turn the site into a Hampton Inn.
The hotel will be at 2702 Thonotosassa Road, behind the existing Waffle House and just across the street from Starbucks and the new Wawa. It is expected to be four stories tall, cover 49,900 square feet on 1.66 acres, have 88 rooms and provide 24 permanent jobs.
“As a gateway into Plant City, Exit 19 on I-4 has a large number of high-quality national restaurants,” David Henderson, manager of Henderson Properties, said. “For some time, it has needed a first-class hotel to accommodate its many visitors.”
For a time, vagrants had used the site as a camp. But Waffle House employees said last November after a new owner had purchased the land with plans for a hotel, the homeless campers had moved elsewhere.
Henderson Properties began the permitting process last week. Permitting will take four to six months. Construction is expected to be 12 to 14 months.
Henderson estimates construction costs at $7 million.
“This is a welcomed addition to our lodging industry in Plant City, and certainly contributing to the local tourism economy,” City Manager Mike Herr said.