A new hotel is coming to Bellefontaine.
After years of anticipation, the city will soon see construction begin on a four-story, 80-room upscale hotel under the Cobblestone Hotels brand name. The hotel will be located adjacent to the Mary Rutan Health Center with frontage along Route 33 and access via both Main Street and Dowell Avenue. Groundbreaking is expected to take place in May or June following permitting.
The new hotel will feature a mix of king and queen studios and suites, extended stay options, a swimming pool, a 50-60 seat conference room, a breakfast room, an exercise room, laundry facilities, and an outdoor patio.
The vision for a hotel at this site dates back to 2016 when an initial feasibility study was conducted by the Logan County Chamber of Commerce and Mary Rutan Hospital. It wasn’t however until after the opening of a Cobblestone Hotel in Urbana in the summer of 2020 that momentum picked up for seeing a similar model built in Logan County. Community leaders toured the 54-room Urbana property and were impressed during meetings with the local investors who funded the hotel. This resulted in the commissioning of a fresh hotel feasibility study in July 2021 for both the Bellefontaine and Indian Lake markets.
The studies conducted by Core Distinction Group out of Wisconsin, overwhelmingly recommended a 50-60 room hotel be constructed at Indian Lake and a 60-80 room hotel in Bellefontaine. Chamber President Ben Vollrath shared “the studies showed that not having these hotels, meant incredible amounts of economic benefit were leaving Logan County for Marysville, Dublin, Sidney, and Springfield. The estimated lost revenue to our community was more than $15 million over a 5-year period.”
With Cobblestone as a partner, the Bellefontaine investment group gradually formed and documents were formally executed at the beginning of this month. The group is comprised of 22 investors, predominately Logan County residents and business owners, plus the owners of Cobblestone Hotels, LLC. Financing will be provided by Richwood Bank.
Janice Tata, a company representative was instrumental in facilitating the project formation and educating the community about the hotel brand and its three divisions, Cobblestone (the franchise), BriMark Builders (the construction company), and SHG management (professional property management). Headquartered in Neenah, Wisconsin, Cobblestone Hotels, LLC prides itself on filling the lodging needs of communities throughout the United States. Since opening its first location in 2008, the brand has expanded to over 160 hotels in 29 states. For more than ten years, Cobblestone Hotels has been known as one of the fastest-growing hotel brands in the country.
“This long overdue badly needed project will be a great asset to Bellefontaine and the greater Logan County region and will be something the community can be proud of,” said former Bellefontaine Service Safety Director signing member for the hotel investor group Jim Holycross. “Citizens, business people, and travelers alike will all feel good about having a great place to stay and will augment the energy of this thriving community. Thanks to Cobblestone Hotels and Brimark Builders for seeing the need and helping us get this project underway.”
For more information, please contact Signing Member Patrick James via email: [email protected].
Image of the proposed model for the 4-story Cobblestone Hotel slated for construction next to the Mary Rutan Health Center on the north side of Bellefontaine
