Extended stay hotel plan draws discussion, criticism

Members of the West Homewood community gathered Tuesday night to discuss potential changes to the Econo Lodge on Oxmoor Road. Owner Sanjay “Sam” Patel presented the plans along with Woodspring Suites Regional Vice President Robert O’Leary and Sain Associates director of business development Joe Meads, before turning discussion over to audience questions.

“We’ve got some conceptual plans at this point,” Mead said. “Nothing is set in stone … We’re really here to gain your input and seek input from the community.”

Proposed changes include tearing down one wing of the Econo Lodge, decreasing the property from around 150 rooms to around 70 rooms and building a 124-room Woodsprings Suites extended stay hotel and a mixed-use retail space in the open area.  

“What we want to do is bring in a new development that will help out the neighborhood, bring up newer, nicer guests than we’ve been having on the Oxmoor acre,” Patel said. “Due to the age of the front building, we can only do so much.”

Tearing down part of the Econo Lodge will be the first step in reducing issues such as prostitution and “unsightly guests,” Patel said. That portion of the building is where the most problems have been seen. He added that a new development could also spur more growth in the West Homewood area.

West Homewood resident and Homewood City Schools teacher Austin Bonds said building a new hotel will not solve issues seen at the Econo Lodge, and there are concerns over how Patel manages his current property.

O’Leary compared the potential for growth to what has been seen on Lakeshore Drive. With new hotels came new stores and businesses, he said, helping to build up that area.

“As Sam mentioned, within a year possibly you have a new development in Homewood that can be a spark,” he said. “Then people say, ‘Hey, there’s money being invested in Homewood because it’s a great place to invest.”

He emphasized the potential benefits of a Woodsprings Suites by emphasizing how the hotel brand centers on a good product that is maintained with high standards. Community members, however, seemed more concerned about who would be staying at the extended stay hotel.

Linda Kizziah said extended stay hotels can attract “riff raff” and are not ideal for the community. Apartments where families could make their homes would be a better fit, she said.

“An extended stay hotel is just not going to work,” said Kizziah, who said she preferred the idea of apartments with office or store space on the first floor. “It could be more upscale.”

Concerns about an extended stay hotel seeing the same issues with prostitution as the Econo Lodge and the continuation of prostitution problems at the Econo Lodge were addressed. While prostitution is an issue at hotels across the country and not just the Oxmoor Econo Lodge, Patel said the extended stay hotel’s hours and security measures would limit unwanted or criminal activity as well as reduce those occurrences at the Econo Lodge.

“One of the things that we’ve found is if you keep your rate higher, then some of the unsightly guests you don’t want on the property go away and go to the cheaper hotels,” Patel said.

Another question asked why it was necessary to keep any of the Econo Lodge if a new hotel was going up. Patel said there is a demand for nightly hotel rooms in the area at this point, but he is open to tearing down the rest of the Econo Lodge in the future.

“I am in talks of someone buying that out and developing it into the mixed use, they’d tear down the hotel,” Patel said. “That’s currently in the plans. It’s in the process right now – nothing’s certain.”

While some community members agreed Woodspring Suites seemed like a good brand, others did not like the thought of simply bringing another hotel into the community.

“If we’re offering a value option, we’re guaranteeing mediocrity for the next few decades and missing an opportunity to upgrade,” said Cobb Street resident Jim Johnson.

Homewood resident Andy Conaway created a change.org petition titled "Stop Econo Lodge/WoodSprings Suites Expansion on Oxmoor Road" on May 27.