WKRN, Nashville, Tennessee News, Weather, and Sports |New hotels to be built in Lebanon

New hotels to be built in Lebanon

LEBANON, Tenn. - "Help Wanted" and "Vacancy" signs will soon become part of the Lebanon landscape.

The Wilson County city has approved plans for three hotel chains, Candlewood Suites, LaQuinta and Staybridge, to break ground on new buildings.

The proposed hotels will make it easier to get a room.

"I-40 is one of the heaviest traveled interstates in the nation and it sometimes gets pretty hard to find a room at night," Lebanon Mayor Philip Craighead told News 2.

A LaQuinta Inn and a Staybridge Inn will be built off Highway 231, near the Prime Outlets.  Both hotels have passed the planning commission and should break ground in July.

"Two hotels, one of them is a 74 room-one of them is an 85-room," said Mayor Craighead.  "They plan to build one right after the other from what we have been told.  That will bring several jobs."

A Candlewood Suites has approval to be built off Hartman Lane, close to a recently built Hampton Inn.

The new hotels will create jobs for the sluggish local economy while adding additional sales tax revenue for the city.

"With the hotels coming, that is a good start," said Mayor Craighead.  "We have several projects that are on the way.  I would [prefer] they start today, instead of in a month or two."

Mayor Craighead also recently returned from a conference where he was trying to draw new restaurants and other businesses to Lebanon.