LOCAL

Developer halts $7.2M plan to bring national hotel chain to Mason

Rachel Greco
Lansing State Journal

MASON - A $7.2 million proposal for the construction of the city's first national chain hotel by next year is a no go.

The project called for a 44,376-square-foot combination Main Stay Suites and Sleep Inn on West Kipp Road.

Mason Mayor Russ Whipple said officials received word the project's developer, Mason Hospitality Group LLC, had decided not to pursue the hotel last week.

A $7.2 million proposal from a developer for the construction of the city's first national chain hotel by next year has been revoked.

"It was (the developer's) decision," Whipple said. "Apparently when it came down to the end of things it just wasn’t going to work out financially for him the way he wanted it to."

The news comes after city officials approved the proposal's final site plan for the four-story, 72-room hotel and conference center. It would have been built on vacant property on the north side of West Kipp Road, west of US-127.

Patrick McCaffrey of Mason Hospitality Group LLC declined to comment when reached by phone Monday. 

Tony Burkholder, a representative for McCaffrey, said Monday that a "combination of a number of things" played into the decision to halt the project.

"It started going that way about two or three weeks ago," Burkholder said. He added that McCaffrey had not yet closed on the purchase of the property where the hotel was proposed.

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City officials announced the proposed hotel in March. 

Bringing a national hotel chain to Mason has been of interest to city officials for several years.

A market study completed two years ago by city staff showed Mason could support one, Whipple said. A hotel would be a "game changer" for the city's tax base, which is largely industrial, he said.

"It’s been something in the planning hopes and dreams of people for 25 years," Whipple said. "We believe the market's there. We’ve got a market study to show it. Our biggest concern is we’ve lost time."

On Monday afternoon a City of Mason Facebook post read, in part, "We met all timelines required for the development. Unfortunately sometimes the profit margins are not what the developer requires to make the project move forward. The developer confirmed that this project was profitable, but not large enough in the time frame they needed."

Whipple said he's still hopeful the city can attract another developer interested in bringing a hotel to the community.

"The good news is, we're no worse off than we were before," he said. "It just didn’t move forward. I wouldn’t say it’s a red flag. I would say it’s just disappointing.”

Contact Reporter Rachel Greco at (517) 528-2075 or rgreco@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @GrecoatLSJ.