The construction of the new La Quinta hotel on the site formerly occupied by the Ramada Inn will soon be completed, with the opening of the hotel quickly to follow.
“We’re looking at opening in mid-May,” owner John Tampa said Tuesday. “Like any projects, there have been some delays, but we’re back on schedule.”
The hotel is located at 1200 Highway 45 North in Columbus.
Larry Holden, the contractor for the project, said his work should be completed by the end of April.
“The interior units are about 90-percent complete,” he said. “The lobby should be completed in a few weeks.”
Holden said the project was delayed by “a couple of months” due to code issues.
“It’s something that happens with older buildings,” he said. “A lot of times you don’t know about them until you get into the demolition. That was what happened here.”
Kenneth Wiegel, the city’s building inspector, said there were two major code issues that had to be resolved.
“Once they got into demolition, there was an electrical code issue that had to be corrected,” Wiegel said. “Then there was some post-tension concrete issues that they had to bring in an expert to deal with. Both of those issues have been addressed, but I’m sure it did delay the work to some degree.”
Work on the project began September.
The hotel will add 105 rooms in Columbus.
Holder said the building is approximately 40 years old. It was originally the Land Mark Inn and Suites before a change of ownership and rebranding to The Ramada Inn. The Ramada closed on Dec. 28, 2016.
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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