LOCAL

Construction begins on new Fairfield Inn

Hotel to open in 2019 on site of former Travelodge

Port Clinton News Herald
Members of RAR Hospitality along with several local officials participate in a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday for the Fairfield Inn and Suites, set to open in April 2019.

PORT CLINTON - With the old Travelodge now gone, construction is underway for the new Fairfield Inn and Suites expected to be completed in April 2019.

RAR Hospitality, a developer and hotel management company based in Port Clinton, is making an $8 million investment in the four-story, 86-room hotel at 1811 E. Perry St.

RAR Hospitality previously owned the Travelodge at that location, which was demolished over the past several months.

More:Fairfield Inn to replace aged Travelodge

Raffaele Ruta, of RAR Hospitality, said the project has been moving along on schedule and that demolition was finished without any issues.

On Tuesday, they hosted a groundbreaking ceremony as construction begins on the new hotel.

Raffaele Ruta, of RAR Hospitality, said the new Fairfield Inn is expected to be completed in April 2019.

“It takes a lot of people working really hard to make a project like this happen and to get to this point,” Ruta said. “Obviously, we still have a long way to go. We’re really just getting started.”

The new Fairfield Inn and Suites, which is part of the Marriott International hotel chain, will feature an indoor pool, fitness center, fast Wi-Fi, a conference room and continental breakfast — similar to others in the chain.

What sets this hotel apart, according to Ruta, is the location offering many of the rooms with a beautiful lakefront view.  

“When we think about the future of Port Clinton and Ottawa County, we get excited knowing that we have a local government that supports this kind of development and growth,” he said. 

Port Clinton Safety-Service Director Olen Martin, right, presents a commendation from the city to Raffaele Ruta, of RAR Hospitality, as they broke ground on the new Fairfield Inn and Suites in May.

Ruta said both city and county officials have been fantastic to work with and the project would not have been possible without their support.

“When you combine that with the natural advantages we have here — the fishing, the lakefront, access to the islands, even proximity to Cedar Point — it paints a really bright future for this community.”

The new project is within Port Clinton’s community reinvestment area, or CRA, which offers tax incentives for property owners making improvements on or building new structures within defined boundaries and categories.

More:City Council OK's expansion of investment zone

In June 2017, Port Clinton City Council passed an ordinance expanding the CRA to include the properties along East Perry Street in the northeast corner of the city.

That was a significant contributing factor in RAR Hospitality’s decision to make the investment in Port Clinton, according to Ruta, as he said it made the most economic sense.

“Before we decided to develop here in Port Clinton, (the CRA) was sort of the final push in the direction to come here,” he said. “Without that, we may not be here.”

RAR Hospitality is the first to participate in the CRA with a project the city has executed on, according to Gabe Below, councilman and chair of Port Clinton’s planning and development committee.

“Hopefully, it’s the first of many,” Below said.

RAR Hospitality is investing $8 million in the new Fairfield Inn and Suites hotel on East Perry Street in Port Clinton.

jstinchcom@gannett.com

419-680-4897

Twitter: @JonDBN