New development to include hotel, retailers, restaurant

A new development underway along Jimmie Dyess Parkway will include a 72-room hotel, stores and an Italian restaurant.

Hawthorn Suites, an extended stay hotel, will be the centerpiece of a 3.5 -acre development on the parkway where it turns into South Belair Road near Interstate 20.

The suite-style limited-service hotel will feature the usual amenities, including wireless Internet, a fitness room, a pool and a breakfast bar, said co-owner A.K. Gulati, also the spokesman for the hotel's parent company, SNAK Properties LLC.

Next door will be a $1.5 million retail center that Mr. Gulati hopes to break ground on in the next two to four weeks. The 6,000-square-foot center will include retail and office space, though no other tenants have been confirmed.

He said he hopes to have the center built by March or April, also in time for the Masters.

The development also will include the area's first Amici Italian Cafe, a mid-priced regional restaurant chain. The Covington, Ga.-based chain also has locations in Athens, Milledgeville and Madison.

Twenty of the Hawthorne Suites rooms will come equipped with a full kitchen. The hotel also will include 500-square-feet of meeting space.

He said the four-story, $4 million hotel, with rates at around $80 a night, should be ready by January or February, in time for the Masters Tournament.

Between the Masters, demand from Fort Gordon and Augusta's economic growth, it's a good move, he said.

So far its been a good year for hotel development. Close to 200 rooms have been added this year, said Barry White, president of the Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce.

Occupancy through July of this year was up 4.1 percent, to 62.9 percent compared to the same time last year, said Mr. White, citing data from Smith Travel Research.

The average room rate also is up 4.2 percent to $72.11, while hotel revenue has increased 6 percent, he said.