Jason Dunovant - The Roanoke Times
Jul 12, 2023
Plans are for an 85-room, nationally branded hotel on a parcel with frontage along Rocky Mount’s North Main Street and Grassy Hill Road. Om Shree Suites LLC is investing $14 million in the project.
ROCKY MOUNT — The town council announced Monday it is working with developer Om Shree Suites LLC to build a new hotel.
Plans are for an 85-room, nationally branded hotel on a parcel with frontage along Rocky Mount’s North Main Street and Grassy Hill Road. Om Shree Suites LLC is investing $14 million in the project.
“I think it is something that everyone would agree is desperately needed,” Town Manager Robert Wood said. “It could be a great benefit for the town and county both.”
Amit Patel, representing Om Shree Suites LLC, said plans are to build a “business class” hotel on a 7-acre parcel on Grassy Hill Road just off North Main Street. He said the location would make it easy for visitors to enter and exit U.S. 220 nearby.
With the hotel, Patel said, people visiting the area for amenities such as the Harvester Performance Center or the recent USA Cycling’s Amateur Championships would be able to stay locally, providing more business for shops and restaurants.
Patel said he expects the construction to initially bring additional jobs to the community. Once completed, the hotel will provide at least 18 full-time jobs in hospitality and maintenance, he said.
“By supporting us building this hotel, you are investing in a brighter future for the town of Rocky Mount,” Patel said.
Patel also recently announced plans for a hotel near the entrance of the National D-Day Memorial and Welcome Center in Bedford. The Bedford Town Council approved plans for the hotel last month.
Wood said the hotel could be a catalyst in the revitalization of North Main Street in Rocky Mount. Much of the town’s recent construction has occurred in the eastern side of the town, he said.
“We feel like this could be a good anchor for that effort to get more development along North Main Street,” Wood said.
In a press release sent following the meeting on Monday, Mayor C. Holland Perdue III expressed his excitement for the project. He said Franklin County recently commissioned a study that concluded that the county needed two more hotels and this hotel project will aid in addressing that need.
“This is a great public/private partnership that will bring additional development to the town and Franklin County and help spur additional economic growth. Not only does this project help address the town’s need for additional hotel rooms, but it also shows our commitment to the revitalization of the North Main corridor.”
At Monday’s meeting, the council unanimously approved plans to authorize staff to draft an agreement with Om Shree Suites LLC. The agreement would include a proposal for incentives to assist the developer in the construction of the hotel. Details of the potential incentives were not discussed.