A 8-10 million dollar hotel will begin being built in Grambling during the late Spring 2019. The hotel will be built in Legends Square, North of Legends Market. There is already a sign up near the Walk of Fame that states the hotel will be “coming soon”.
Grambling has already had several additions to the city over the past year. Most recently, Grambling opened its first grocery store in 35 years, Legends Market in Legends Square.
Along with the 25,000-square-foot Sullivan’s Grocery Store, Legends Square also is home to Dollar Tree and Hibbetts Sports. Although the Grambling hotel has been rumored to being built for many years, Mayor Jones has confirmed this new addition.
This new addition to the community will bring many benefits. The 120 room hotel is expected to bring jobs, conventions, and money for the city of Grambling. Mayor Edward Jones is “excited” for this new addition to Grambling.
“We applied for the new market tax credits early this year, for the 2018 cycle. Now we are just waiting any day to hear back. When working with the government you must be patient,” Jones said.
Grambling is waiting to hear back about the approval of the new addition to the city that will be government funded as a economic development project.
After being notified of the approval, Grambling will begin to break ground. The hotel will hold approximately 90-100 people. The hotel will also be a training place for students in hospitality and public administration.
The hotel will bring economic benefits and possibly increase enrollment at GSU. The hotel will offer family members a place to stay in town when visiting students. According to myarklamiss.com, “The new hotel will be funded by federal dollars, sales tax and a 4% hotel occupancy tax.”
The state provided a $430 thousand loan to bring infrastructure to the site. If 43 local residents are hired, the loan will be forgiven and the city will not have to repay it.
There were no outside investors in the hotel project. The city used the New Markets Tax Credit as a way to receive additional funding. There is no exact information that has been released about the hotel, but it will be a part of a national chain.