By Shannon McFarlin News Director
Paris, Tenn.–Two high profile construction projects in Henry County have been delayed, with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic a factor: construction of The Lodge at Paris Landing State Park and the Hampton Inn project in Paris.
Henry County Mayor Brent Greer said completion of The Lodge at Paris Landing has been delayed until Labor Day 2021. In August of 2019, state officials had said The Lodge would be completed in spring of 2021.
He said the bid package and funding is in place for construction of The Lodge, which will replace the Paris Landing Inn. “They’re waiting right now on final construction plans to be approved by the State Fire Marshal’s office,” Greer said. “They plan to start foundation work by the end of May.”
Doster Construction is the general contractor for the project, with several local businesses, such as Ellis Heating and Norwood Construction, hired as subcontractors. “They wanted to hire as many local subcontractors as possible,” he said. “And all of the contracts are in place now.”
As previously reported, the total number of rooms to be constructed at The Lodge is 90, up from 65 that the original plans had called for.
As for the Hampton Inn project, Paris Community Development Director Jennifer Morris said the project “is still go, but is behind” on the original timeline which called for the project to begin in Spring of 2020.
“They are still getting contractors set up and he will be hiring a project manager,” Morris said.
The Hampton Inn is being built by Knoxville-area Developer Victor Patel, who told RadioNWTn earlier that plans are for a four-story, 72-room Hampton Inn to be built on Mineral Wells Ave. next to the Premier Nissan property. It also will include business center, meeting room and swimming pool, he said.
Photo: Work on the Lodge at Paris Landing came to a halt earlier this year. Photo by Shannon McFarlin.