A new high-end, extended-stay hotel could be coming to Greenwood next year.
A five-story, 171-room Hyatt Place hotel is in the works on the north side of the city, near County Line Road and Emerson Avenue, directly north of a 180-unit apartment complex that was approved by the city last fall. But city officials say there’s a holdup because Hyatt’s brand is undergoing some extensive design changes right now.
MHG Hotels, LLC, an Indianapolis-based hotel management and development firm, first introduced the project to city officials earlier this year as SpringHill Suites, a Marriott brand, said Bill Peeples, Greenwood’s planning director. It would have been a four-story, 107-room hotel.
“It’s causing a little bit of a problem because the brand they switched to (Hyatt) is starting to rebrand all of its hotels. A lot of the architecture is conceptual, so there’s no way of knowing what it will actually look like,” Peeples said.
“From our standpoint, if we could get actual architectural designs, we could get approval.”
The city has not been given a timeline as to when construction would begin or when the hotel would open.
“It was almost ready to go in the spring, and then they backed out,” Peeples said.
At that time, the hotel would have taken about eight months to build, he said.
There is a need for more hotels in Johnson County, especially higher-end, extended-stay hotels like this one, said Shayla Pulliam, Greenwood’s economic development director.
With a growing number of companies in the area, traveling business executives from around the world need a place to stay when they come to town, she said.
What city officials don’t want is cheaper motels that become more like apartments for a lot of people, they said.
“That’s not necessarily always associated with extended-stays, but it is something that we see. Even local families, if they’re renovating their home, we need something like this for them to stay in,” Pulliam said.
“Having that outlet for them is great as long as it’s well maintained. There is certainly a demand for it.”
Johnson County has eight hotels with a total of 740 rooms. Last year, the occupancy rate in 10 Johnson County hotels was 71.4 percent, above the 70 percent threshold that generally indicates to developers that there is a need for more hotels. Five other hotels are currently in the works — some being constructed, others being planned — throughout the county.
“What I can say is their team is working hard and our team is working hard. We’re confident the project is moving along and will be a huge success if it is approved,” Pulliam said.
“They’re updating their look to make sure they’re being more current and competitive in today’s market.”
