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Hernando Today

New Hotels On The Way

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TONY HOLT

Published: January 27, 2008

RIDGE MANOR - RIDGE MANOR - When you pull off the interstate anywhere

in Florida, chances are you're looking straight down a

corridor flanked by gas stations and a Waffle House.

For years, the lone Interstate 75 exit in Hernando

County was no exception. It just didn't contain much

else.

But due to the sprawling Tampa suburbs and the addition

of more industry and development, more and more

concrete is being laid down throughout the Ridge Manor

area.

New hotels have been the norm there recently with two

going up across from each other – a Holiday Inn Express

and a Microtel.

"This is really booming out here," said Sky Hospitality

spokeswoman Teri Fox. Her company owns the three-story

Microtel being built along the interstate at 6298

Nature Coast Boulevard.

"It's really become one of the fastest-growing

destination spots," she continued. "There is so much to

do in this (area). You got your golf. You got your

industry. You got everything coming."

The construction workers at the Microtel site seem to

be winning the race against the crew across the street.

That is where a Holiday Inn Select is being built.

Once the two are complete and operational this summer,

the area will have its cluster of hotels – just like

many of those other out-of-the-way communities with

highways running through them.

"There was a feasibility study done for the land," Fox

said of Ridge Manor. "The folks came back and said,

'Build it.'"

Interstate 75 cuts through Tampa to the south and Ocala

to the north while State Road 50 is a major highway

that leads to Orlando. Additional business and industry

on the east side of Hernando County also was a major

factor for the spate of hotels, fast food restaurants

and other businesses going up in the area.

But the highways have been there for decades and

Hernando County has been developing for years. Why did

the build up of Ridge Manor take so long?

Residents who live there do so because they like the

rural life. They do not want the big, bad builders to

come in and take away what they have. The ongoing

controversy over the Hickory Hill developers is proof.

Secondly, building new structures in a barren area

requires a lot more planning and labor. Scott Mackay,

the contractor who is supervising the construction of

the Microtel, said the nearby retention pond had to be

made larger. Before construction began, there were only

two businesses using the road, he said.

The hotel itself offers 57 rooms with flat-panel

televisions, a pool, elevator and laundry room.

Fox said it is an ideal place for those who come to the

area on business. There is the Wal-Mart Distribution

Center and various tourist attractions, not to mention

the Brooksville Regional Hospital, which may attract a

lot of traveling nurses during the year.

"We're seeing the beginning stages of growth already,"

Fox said. "This place is going to explode. Industry is

going up. Office parks are going up. This place is big

for fishing and water sports. It's becoming ideal."

Sections along interstates are like Monopoly in

reverse. Hotels are the first things to be built, which

are followed by restaurants, retailers and other

businesses – and then houses.

Ridge Manor is looking more and more like it is

following that model.

"This place is going to become very well-developed,"

Mackay said. "When you put up hotels, businesses

follow."

Valerie Pianta, a spokeswoman with the Hernando County

Office of Business Development, said companies like

those that own the Microtel and Holiday Inn Select

always study the statistics before committing to a

location.

"These companies watch the growth of a community and

they pay attention to the tourist dollars," she said.

"There will be a lot more hotels going up in that

area."

Pianta also said more restaurants, retailers and

industry also are on their way. It is only a matter of

time. Fox agreed.

"This is one of the fastest-growing rural areas in the

state," she said. "Being around an interstate really

helps."

Reporter Tony Holt can be reached at 352-544-5283 or

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