The construction of a new Holiday Inn Express has turned out to be something of a roller coaster ride, as only five weeks after it was announced that the project had been cancelled, a new owner has surfaced and plans to start building on Thursday.
The new owner’s name has not been released, but he does live in northern Arkansas, said Mayor Alan Dillavou. The former owner, Skip Davidson, a Little Rock attorney, spent more than $1 million in land acquisition and preparations in one year’s time before laying off employees. Davidson made the decision to halt the project after he could not find an additional investor to partner with him on the $5 million hotel. Anna Anthros was laid off in June as the manager.
Dillavou announced the new ownership. “Judging by what I’ve heard from the new owner, this has been an ongoing process,” he said Thursday. “I didn’t know it was in the works until (Wednesday).”
The hotel was originally designed to be an 80-unit hotel with 15 suites. It is unknown if there have been any altercations to the building’s architectural design, and there is currently no groundbreaking ceremony planned for the Holiday Inn. Under Davidson’s ownership, ground was broken in July 2008 at the prospective hotel’s location across from Cracker Barrel.