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 TODD WETHERINGTON | DAILY HERALD The new Hilton Garden Inn at Carolina Crossroads is set to open Feb. 18. |
Contractors continued working on finishing touches as Scott McAllister, president of Helm Builders LLC, and co-construction managers Jan and Rick Randall led the small media group through the first floor, showing the indoor pool and conference room.
McAllister said Helm Builders' goal is to have the 147-room Hilton Garden Inn complete by Feb. 18, and then move just a quarter-mile down Carolina Crossroads Parkway to lot 11 to begin construction on Devito's Rotisserie Bar & Grill and Shoppes at the Crossroads, a 46,000-square-foot retail/restaurant building, the same day.
The Inn began accepting reservations in November for March and beyond, officials said, and they are already heavily booked.
Helm Builders is a Raleigh-based company that specializes in large hotels and retail buildings all over the country, but according to McAllister, they focus primarily on the East Coast. They have recently finished several Wal-Mart Supercenter stores in just the past year.
In the company's 25-year history, McAllister said they have built 45 large hotels all over the country and are presently working on eight. The Hilton Garden Inn project is not a particularly large one for them, said McAllister, and moving down to the retail/restaurant building beside The Roanoke Rapids Theatre does not present much of a challenge.
“This (the retail/restaurant building) is actually a pretty small project for us,” said McAllister. “It should take just six to seven months to complete.”
The Randalls, who have overseen the Hilton project since day one, will also oversee that project.
“We were pleased to be able to stay in the area,” Rick Randall said. “We've been renting a house in Ebony, (Va.) on Lake Gaston, and we love it.”
Randall even joked about purchasing a home at the lake, but said he realizes the life of a construction supervisor is like that of a gypsy.
On Wednesday, though, McAllister and the Randalls were all smiles. They received the certificate of occupancy last Friday and are looking forward to turning the building over to the new management company by Feb. 18.
Shirley Baldwin, who will manage the Hilton Garden Inn, was also excited Wednesday. She reported that she has 45 employees hired and has them training now. She said they will be ready to go by opening day and are excited as she is.
“There will be 30 suites, five of which will be deluxe suites,” said Baldwin. “Those will have humongous bathrooms with large Jacuzzi tubs.
“There are 12 balcony rooms that have spectacular views of the Carolina Crossroads complex. They are all suites. There is also one very special VIP deluxe room,” Baldwin said.
There are plans for a ribbon cutting and grand opening celebration, but no dates have been positively established yet.
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