- By Matthew Umstead mumstead@herald-mail.com August 8, 2019
MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — The Martinsburg Planning Commission on Wednesday approved a site plan for a 115-room, extended-stay hotel at Foxcroft Towne Center in Martinsburg.
The Home2 Suites by Hilton, served by 130 parking spaces, is to be built at 800 Foxcroft Ave., where part of the former Martinsburg Mall shopping center once stood, according to site plan documents.
The planning commission’s approval was made contingent on final staff approval and obtaining a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit from the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection.
“One of the reasons we need to push forward is because (of) loan requirements and obligations to Hilton — dates were promised, and we thought we could meet it based on the old system of approval (that was in place),” said Chad Wallen of Gordon, the consulting firm that prepared the plans for the hotel.
David Hogg, CEO of York, Pa.-based Springwood Hospitality, reiterated at Wednesday’s meeting that he hopes to have the four-story hotel under construction by October.
The project should take about a year from start to finish, Hogg said. Central PA Equities 33 LLC, which is affiliated with Hogg’s company, is the hotel project applicant.
In discussing the project with the planning commission, Wallen agreed that the Foxcroft Avenue commercial district could be made more walkable with more sidewalk connections between existing businesses there.
“We wish there was better interconnectivity all the way up and down Foxcroft,” Wallen said. “One of things that really brought (this hotel) to this site was because they can reach the Chili’s (restaurant and other businesses) on a sidewalk — we’re extending the sidewalk from the hotel up beside (Grand Home Furnishings).”
From there, hotel guests will be able to take a right and follow the sidewalk in front of Hobby Lobby to reach the Chili’s restaurant and others nearby, Wallen told the commissioners.
The addition of the hotel is a continuation of efforts by Foxcroft Towne Center owner Paramount Development Corp. to redevelop the former Martinsburg Mall property.
Grand Home Furnishings and Hobby Lobby have replaced The Bon-Ton and J.C. Penney, former anchors for the mall that closed in fall 2016. The mall opened in 1991.
Since acquiring the former mall in 2013 from Mountain State University Building Co., Paramount has redesigned the retail center to include a cluster of individual pad sites and multi-tenant commercial buildings.
The new hotel is set to join Home2 Suites locations in Charles Town, as well as in Hagerstown and Frederick in Maryland. The Frederick location was also developed by Springwood.
Springwood Hospitality manages more than 750,000 square feet of Hilton and Marriott-branded hotels with about 1,200 guest rooms, according to the company’s website. (…and yes, this is valid. We keep it up to date – Dave Hogg)
springupblog 