Ground broken for Holiday Inn

July 3, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

By Elise Franco

Austintown

Construction is under way on a multimillion-dollar Holiday Inn Express that officials say will bring new jobs and business to the township.

Township officials, Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber members and investors broke ground on the $6.3 million hotel Friday morning behind Bob Evans Restaurant, just off Interstate 80 and state Route 46.

Frank Pasqualetti, franchise owner, said he’s been looking for two years to bring a Holiday Inn Express to the area, and the Austintown location is ideal.

“I think this is a great exit,” he said. “We traveled up and down 80, and this spot really has all the advantages — fuel, restaurants, good lighting.”

The new hotel will be 50,000 square feet and have 86 guest rooms, soundproof windows to block highway-traffic noise and will be 20 percent more energy efficient than other area hotels, said John Moses, of HiFive Development Services in Mason, Ohio.

“Our goal is to create a great design that is efficient and effective to build,” he said.

Moses said the construction should take 10 to 12 months to complete.

Township Trustee James Davis said this hotel will thrive just off the I-80 West on-ramp and could even give the Holiday Inn Express in Boardman some real competition.

“It’s great. The location is perfect because any time you can put a hotel at a busy intersection, it’s perfect,” he said.

Pasqualetti said he owned a Holiday Inn Express in Florida that he sold in 2006. He said he was waiting for the right time to build again.

“I waited through the down period,” he said. “Now I think Ohio is poised for a recovery.”

The businessman said the Holiday Inn Express name should draw in customers.

“The name itself has been around and represents quality,” he said.