TCEDF announces Senatobia to get hotel
After years of stagnant progress, Senatobia is set to get a new hotel.
The Tate County Economic Development Foundation and J Hotel Group of Horn Lake announced Wednesday, March 30 the development of a Holiday Inn Express to be located at 206 Norfleet Drive in Senatobia between Kaye’s Foods and Delta Health- Highland Hills Hospital.
The hotel is slated to be 4-floors and offer 87 rooms with construction to begin in late spring 2022.
Rohan Patel, Chief Executive Officer of J Hotel Group, said the project has been a smooth asset for the group and they were excited to join the community.
“Senatobia is a growing city with a great community that needed a new hotel for their corporate and leisure guests,” stated Patel.
This will be Senatobia’s first large executive level hotel and comes in a timely manner with the development of several new projects in Tate County including Northwest Mississippi Community College’s Performing Arts Center.
Doctor Michael Heindl, NWCC President, was present at the announcement made at the Haraway Center on the campus of the college.
“We have 1,237 beds on campus here. With that comes along 12-intercollegiate athletic programs, many campus events, and now a new performing arts center which will be opened at the end of this calendar year with the official opening in January 2023. And I’ll tell you now, I can’t give any specific names, yet, of acts that will be coming to the performing arts center, but these are folks that are national known in Broadway performances, concert performers, entertainers, comedians, and all of that is coming to Senatobia and Tate County. So we’re excited. The timing is perfect for all of this,” said Heindl.
Additionally, Senatobia’s ABB has announced an expansion to move from 150 to 350+ employees and the facility will grow from 80,000 sq. ft. to 285,000 sq. ft.
All the growth will demand a need for lodging currently unavailable in Tate County.
Britt Herrin, Executive Director of the Tate County EDF, said the lodging need is critical for further development.
“It has been a critical market void here in Senatobia for quality hotel rooms to serve our local business, and industrial community, plus the hundreds of people who come to Senatobia for conferences, ball games, specialized training and other events on campus at Northwest Mississippi Community College, and the hundreds more coming to Senatobia for ball tournaments, and to attend special events like 5-Star City Fest,” said Herrin.
According to Rob Boyd, Senatobia’s Parks Director, the sports complex located on Industrial Drive, holds eight to 10 spring tournaments with each tournament drawing 20 to 100 teams. The tournaments bring teams from all over the Mid-South to Senatobia.
Additionally, the city’s various events and festivals, brings many out-of-towners to the Five Star City according to Senatobia Main Street Director Jamie Sowell.
“Five Star City Fest sees on average 5,000 visitors,” said Sowell. “But even our Bags and Brews Cornhole Tournament, last year, brought teams from six different states.”
Herrin said most of the residents of The Baddour Center are from out-of-state and family members coming in for special events and holidays want to be in Senatobia.
Senatobia also serves as headquarters for two banking entities- Sycamore Bank and Mississippi Land Bank. Both banks have a continual flow of auditors and officials from out-of-town in search of lodging while in the area.
Senatobia Mayor Gregg Graves welcomed the new business to the city at the announcement.
“We are thankful to Rohan Patel and the J Hotel Group for seeing the tremendous opportunity that Senatobia affords a quality hotel. With our beautiful Sportsplex, vibrant industry, new hospital and, of course, all that NWCC offers, the city feels like we will have a long and mutually beneficial relationship with the J Hotel Group,” said Graves.
J Hotel Group began in 1982 with the first construction project beginning in 1986. In the 35 years since, the company has built 26 hotels and managed 18. The company’s mission is to provide a high level of hospitality and value to guests, team members, community, and investors.
Patel said the hotel will bring about 20 jobs to the area; however, a partnership with NWCC with the site being a training facility for the college’s hospitality program might be in the works.
Tate County Board of Supervisors President Tony Sandridge welcomed J Hotel Group to the area.
“I don’t think you guys have a clue, what kind of family that you just got yourself involved with,” said Sandridge. “And that’s the way I want to look at this- family. We’ve put together a little team- both cities, the county. This timing is perfect. The pieces of the puzzle are coming together just right.”
