Warrington to Get $5 Million Hotel

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Work is under way on the largest development project in Warrington in nearly 30 years, a $5 million extended-stay hotel scheduled to open this fall.

Clearing began this week for a 128 room Suburban Lodge of America at the corner of Barrancas Avenue and Old Corry Field Road.

The project will be a catalyst for development in the Warrington area, said Keith Wilkins, chief of the Escambia County Community Redevelopment Agency.

"The project is going to help define the commercial center of Warrington and it's going to be a draw for additional services, people and income to the area," he said.

The Suburban Lodge, the biggest project in Warrington since Warrington Village Shopping Center was built in 1971, will help satisfy lodging demands in the area, according to C. Ray Jones, a partner with AFCO Inc., the franchisee. 

"We felt like between the business community and the Naval Air Station there's a stable demand for a location like this," he said. 

Added Sam Friedman, Chairman of Atlanta-based AFCO.  "Our business depends on people coming and going, moving around, and the Naval Air Station generates a lot of that."

The west Pensacola area will also benefit because the boundaries of the Warrington Redevelopment Area were extended last month to include the area where the hotel will be built.  That means additional property tax revenue after the hotel opens will be used for projects in Warrington, said Steve Pitkin, director of planning and zoning for Escambia County.

Accommodations vary from a single room to one-bedroom suites, with average weekly rates about $210, or $30 a night, Friedman said.

"Our market is basically 60 percent of the population of America," he said.  "We're in the economy sector.  Why spend $100 a night when you can have a clean, decent safe unit for about $30?"

Rooms are available for single-night stays as well, with prices averaging in the low $40 range.

The lodge will employ about 10 people, significantly fewer than a comparable hotel.  Extended-stay guests don't require rooms to be completely remade each day, cutting down costs and labor needs, AFCO's Executive Vice President William Hargett said.

AFCO operates Suburban Lodges in Charlotte, N.C. and Nashville, Tennessee, and is constructing a location in Gauthier, Mississippi.  A second Suburban Lodge of America is planned for Pensacola under a different franchisee for later this year, Hargett said.