Even as his 92-room Marriott Springhill Suites Hotel continues to race towards completion, developer Sam Sandia is clearing land right next door on Cinema Way in Benton Harbor for another new lodging facility, a Staybridge Suites from the IHG group, including Holiday Inns. When complete, the property will bring to more than 800 the total number of hotel and motel rooms with access to Exits 28 and 29 off of I-94 in Berrien County.
As was the case in his site plan for the Springhill Suites Hotel facility, Sandia's development team will appear before the Zoning Board of Appeals in future days to seek a height variance, presumably to match the 4-floor property at Springhill Suites, and according to Benton Township Building Inspector Tom Baldwin, he also will need site plan approvals from the Benton Charter Township Planning Commission and eventually the approval of the Benton Township Board of Trustees as well.
Cinema Way will have three lodging facilities within yards of one another with the 92-room Springhill property, the 106-room Hilton Garden Inn across the street, and an expected 90-to-100 rooms at the Staybridge Suites site, although there was no immediate indication as to how many rooms are planned for that site.
At the head end of Cinema Way where it melds into Mall Drive there are also 98 rooms at the recently renovated Best Western Hotel which was formerly a Courtyard by Marriott until it changed hands. Next door to that are the Days Inn with 52 rooms and the Red Roof Inn with 108 more. Also at the Pipestone Road interchange with I-94, which is Exit 29, there are 78 rooms at the Holiday Inn Express of Benton Harbor, 62 rooms at the Comfort Suites of Benton Harbor, and 88 rooms at the Motel 6 in front of Home Depot.
At Exit 28 there is also the America's Best Value Inn with 108 rooms. That property is best known as the former Ramada Inn.
Also new to the market and nearing completion this summer is the 87-room Fairfield Inn & Suites on Red Arrow Highway.
The amazing impact of tourism on Michigan's Great Southwest is readily evident in the building boom for lodging facilities with increasing interest in the destination attractions of beaches, parks, golfing, fishing, antique hunting, wine trail touring, craft breweries, festivals, fairs, public art, indoor and outdoor music venues, and beyond.
While there is no known timeline for the new Staybridge Suites Hotel on Cinema Way, the removal of trees and underbrush pretty will indicate that they hope to put shovels in the ground sooner rather than later. Stay tuned.
